writing – Page 12 – Roadkill Crossing

Can You Eat Upside Down? Birds Can!

A female American Goldfinch plucks a seed from a sunflower head. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

Can you eat upside down? American Goldfinches sure can!

In the summertime, the acrobatic little birds put on a show around sunflowers. Often, they hint at their arrival at a sunflower patch with a distinctive, cheery call. Soon, they land atop a flower and begin their feeding.

The lively and colorful birds use their short, sharp beaks to pry the juicy new seeds from the flower head. Their sturdy pinkish bill effortlessly cracks open the seed, and the birds devour their reward.

The American Goldfinches seem able to eat in any position: upside down, sideways, or at any angle. Since the laden flower heads bend toward the ground as their seeds mature, the birds have no choice but to attack their target in any way they can. The birds gain needed nutrition and moisture from the fresh seeds.

The male looks regal in its summer mating plumage of bright yellow with jet-black wings, tail, and forehead. A white wing-bar adorns each wing. The female is duller in color year-round. She is feathered more for camouflage than fashion. Her pale yellow-green is much duller to help blend in with the greenery she inhabits. The female’s coloration helps conceal the eggs during incubation and the young when they hatch.

In the winter, both sexes turn dull to protect themselves by blending in with their weedy surroundings. Black oil sunflower seeds draw them to feeders, though the pulp center has to be much drier than the fresh-off-the-flower summer offerings.

Of course, goldfinches aren’t the only species with this feeding trait. Nevertheless, it’s a joy to watch their antics in any season.

Birds aren’t the only animals that prefer fresh sunflower seeds. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

Embracing Morning’s First Light

Thistle blossoms ready to flower. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

When I awoke, I noticed the ripples of the morning’s mackerel clouds glowed pink. I headed for a location with an open view to the east. Arriving a few minutes later, the colors had dimmed but were still lovely.

I hustled to a high point on a paved trail that separates a golf course and an overgrown field. I snapped several shots of the sunrise but quickly became distracted by all the bird calls.

When I turned to find the Indigo Bunting, this stand of ready-to-bloom thistles caught my focus. I was struck by the faint kiss of the day’s sunrise on the thistle’s buds. The embrace was subtle but evident nonetheless.

I never did find the Indigo Bunting, however.

My initial view of the morning’s beauty. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

The Sweat Bee

A Sweat Bee on a sunflower. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

The volunteer sunflowers in our backyard appear to be at their peak bloom. In the photo of the prettiest one, I spotted a Sweat Bee on one of the flower’s pedals. I decided to feature the sole insect on the lovely blossoms.

According to Kenn Kaufman in Field Guide to Insects of North America, more than 500 species of the tiny bee inhabit the North American continent north of Mexico. It’s a female-dominated society, too. The daughters help their mothers maintain their expanding nests in the soil. Males aren’t born until later in the summer, so my subject is likely a female.

Help People in This Heat!

Like many Mid-West and eastern U.S. areas, the National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory for Virginia for today. Many urban areas have Excessive Heat Warnings for heat indexes well above 100.

People without air conditioning, and especially the homeless, have to find ways to stay cool. Many have nowhere to turn unless agencies or regular institutions intervene. Individuals can make a difference, too.

As I write this, it is currently 96 degrees Fahrenheit, but it feels like 103 when the humidity and dewpoint are factored in. This morning, I drove to downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia, where we live, and I distributed a case of bottled water to folks who needed it.

Because Harrisonburg is a small metropolitan area, I knew where to go, where the homeless hangout. However, I had to hunt for them because they were already seeking shelter wherever they could find it.

I found several people gathered under small shade trees, their few belongings stuffed in shopping bags, duffle bags, and backpacks. As I approached the largest group huddled under the larger tree, one of the men came out to greet me and offered to help me with the carton of water.

I simply handed it to him with the instructions to make sure everyone got what they needed. He thanked me and said he would. As I pulled out of the parking lot, I saw the same man distributing bottles of water to those under the other tree closer to the road. I smiled and waited until he had finished before driving away.

I am not sharing this to brag. I am posting this in the hope that those of you reading this post will do likewise in your own community. When the opportunity to help others arises, respond appropriately and humbly in ways that people’s needs are met. It’s the right thing to do.

Evolution of Sunflower Blossoms

The gang of volunteer sunflowers. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

What better way to celebrate the Summer Solstice than to feature sunflowers?

We were fortunate to have volunteer sunflowers sprout up in our backyard flower garden this year. Seeds dropped by birds or buried by squirrels from one of my birdfeeders created these wonders.

At first, the gang of neighborhood rabbits nibbled the tender leaves. But apparently, there were so many sunflower shoots that the bunnies couldn’t keep up. Consequently, for the first time in the seven years we have lived in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, we have a helter-skelter stand of sunflowers.

I have enjoyed watching them grow so quickly in the string of warm days and nights we have experienced. As the flowerheads began to form, their various shapes, textures, and swirling patterns intrigued me. At the corner of our back porch, pure art in nature flourishes.

Ants, bees, butterflies, flies, wasps, and other insects depend on sunflowers for nourishment. See how many different creatures you can spot in this series of photos.

Please click on the photos to enlarge them.

How long will it be before the American Goldfinches and other seed-eating birds begin to dismantle these living sculptures in the quest for fresh, tasty seeds?

Reality vs. Fantasy

Sometimes, reality is stranger than fantasy. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

When I happened upon this tender scene, I did a double-take.

My wife and I had joined an entourage from church for a Sunday afternoon of baptisms for three teens in the chilly mountain stream. After the dunkings and the celebratory congratulations shared, I wandered away from the rest of the revelers to see what I could find.

Scores of Pipevine Butterflies and Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies flitted through the woods. They danced carefree from rays of broken sunlight to dense shade, oblivious to the human invaders.

I certainly didn’t expect to find a cat casually nursing three young ones in the forest. And I especially didn’t expect to find a stuffed cat and her young stuffed kittens. But that is exactly what I discovered.

Some children not connected with our group were splashing in the nearby stream. Perhaps one of them thought this wild cherry tree along the banks of the Dry River at the base of Shenandoah Mountain was a lovely and safe haven while romping in the water.

I’ll never know for sure, but this composition of fantasy playthings among nature’s real and evolving habitat was too good not to share.

Three-for-One Sunset

Whenever I visit Lakeside, Ohio, I always head to the dock around sundown. Even if it is cloudy, I never know what to expect.

Two blocks from the shore, the sky looked promising for another spectacular sunset. When I reached the dock, however, I noted the thick cloud bank to the west. Given past experiences at Lakeside, the Chautauqua on Lake Erie, I hung around.

Part of my interest was in the crashing waves driven by a strong northwest wind. Lakeside is on the western end of the lake, where Erie’s waters are the shallowest. Consequently, strong winds play havoc with the water, causing continuous erosion to Lake Erie’s southern coast.

The dramatic show of the wild waves assaulting the cement dock distracted me from the setting sun. A break in the clouds, however, gave me a shot at capturing a sunset.

The sun peeked through an opening in the clouds and sent a crepuscular ray upward, where it illuminated a high cloud. The fury of the waves colliding with the dock created a mirror-like reflection of the evening’s sun.

It was a three-for-one sunset!

From One Nest to Another

A Cedar Waxwing collects nesting material. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

Birds always teach something new.

While mainly looking for warblers on Reddish Knob on the Virginia/West Virginia boundary, I spotted a Cedar Waxwing light into a wild cherry tree. I aimed my camera to capture a shot or two of the always lovely and entertaining waxwings.

At first, I thought the bird might be after the Eastern Tent Caterpillars in their silken nest. Waxwings supplement their spring and summer diets with insects when berries aren’t available.

Since the bird stayed in the same spot, I kept clicking away. It wasn’t until I loaded the photos onto my laptop that I realized that the Cedar Waxwing was after nesting material, not food. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the female Cedar Waxwing usually gathers the nesting material for the first brood.

In this case, the waxwing collected the tent’s silk support strands and ignored the rest. Perhaps those connecting threads are stronger than the silk that forms the tent.

The process took less than a minute, and she was off to add her precious cargo to construct her own nest. The female waxwing weaves grasses, twigs, cattails, and pine needles to form her cup-like nest. Now, tent caterpillar silk threads can be added to the list.

The sequence of the Cedar Waxwing gathering silk from the Eastern Tent Caterpillar tent. Please click on the photos to enlarge them. Photos by Bruce Stambaugh.

Not only did I see a beautiful bird at work, but I also learned about Cedar Waxwing nest building. And, yes, I heard and saw a few colorful warblers, too.

On Sunny Slope Farm

The lane to Sunny Slope Farm. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

Sunny Slope Farm is a popular venue for weddings, banquets, fundraisers, and other gatherings in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

I go there to shoot sunset photos during all four seasons. They are friendly folks, for certain. It’s less than a mile from my home, which makes it handy for me if the western sky suddenly erupts with a stunning sunset.

Such was the case recently. I captured the above photo before the sunset peaked. The lane goes west and then turns sharply southwest, where this image was shot. Ironically, the southwestern sky was brighter than that of the west.

The combination of the fence and the farm lane leads the eye right to the old farm buildings. With all the clouds, the photo had to be taken in low-light conditions.

Still, I wanted to share this image with you.

Crepuscular Sunset

Crepuscular rays at sunset. Photo by Bruce Stambaugh

I was ready to give up on this sunset that had looked so promising. A layer of clouds hung above the Allegheny Mountains, creating a narrow break in the sky. I hoped for a brilliant sunset, but most of the color was in the southern sky.

I’ve learned to be patient, though. Long after the official sunset time, these crepuscular rays suddenly appeared. Crepuscular rays often occur at twilight and are created by sunlight shining through gaps in the clouds.

The rays created a sharp contrast between light and dark. In this case, the sun turned the rays terracotta and brightened the evening sky for a brief time. The local landmark of Mole Hill stood dark in the foreground.