Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall

Here at the Colvin Run Habitat we see the coats of many animals change – especially in color – with each new season. The change in color allows the animal to blend into their environment (or surroundings) which change every season.
Well, pity the poor male cardinal. It sure is hard to blend in when you are always showing a bright red set of feathers. Take a look at the first three photos – winter, spring, and summer – he always stands out.

These photo of the male cardinals perched in the same dogwood tree. The only thing changing from photo to photo is the season. In winter, there is snow on the branches. In spring, the dogwood shows its white blooms. In summer, there is only the green of the dogwood leaves.
Finally, in fall, the dogwood leaves turn red. Fall, a season of the year when the male cardinal blends in with his surroundings.
Many thanks to the cardinals. They appear to be posing, looking right at the camera, and enjoying having their photo taken.

Butterfly Update

I received a note from Colvin Run Habitat friends Kay and Mike T. in Tampa providing additional details on the butterfly photos posted previously. Here are some additional photos of those same butterflies to help with the comments.

Mike and Kay explain, “The two of us agree that your black/orange butterfly [first three photos here] is a Monarch or Viceroy – hard to tell them apart unless you have them together.
The other cream/blue/black butterfly [last photo here] is probably an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The ragged wings on both of these guys are a sign of a competitive summer.” Kay and Mike also reminded us that butterflies undergo an Extreme Makeover and travel in a Strange Migration.

Many thanks to Mike and Kay for the update.

He’s Back – Red Fox is in the Habitat

Oh! I forgot to mention…In the late afternoon of last Saturday, I spotted (sorry no photo from last Saturday, the photo shown is from last spring) a fox in the brush about 30 feet from the bird feeders. This is the brush area where a pair of fox took up residence from April through July. For those of you reading this blog, I know that this is yet another fox teaser – I promise to take a week or two and share with you the wonderful fox stories and photos from this past spring and summer. For the record, this recent fox sighting was October 14. The last photo was dated July 15 and last pervious sighting was July 26 (mom, dad, and at least one of the young).

Welcome Again

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome those of you who have only recently tuned in the Colvin Run Habitat Blog. The first blog posting was September 9. 28 postings were added in the last 5 weeks. With this number of postings, people new to this blog will want to check out the photos and postings in the achieves (click the links on the right sidebar).

We Are Now International
In addition to known readers in Northern Virginia, Baltimore (Maryland), Brooklyn (New York), Frisco and Ft. Worth (Texas), and Tampa (Florida), I received an email from a reader in Argentina. By the way, her blog is at http://deferipula.blogspot.com – check it out, especially if you speak Spanish.

Please Add Your Comments
Please add your observations, questions, or comments (just click on the “comments” link at the bottom of each posting). After all this is more about community and sharing than it is about my photos or wildlife. And, feel free to add comments to older posts - Mike T. in Tampa, I know that readers would enjoy your insights on turtles in the Colvin Run Habitat.

Enlarging Photos
Remember you can enlarge any of the posted photos by simply clinking on the photo of interest.

Links for Additional Information
The blog format that I am using shows links by coloring works in bluish or reddish purple. The links are not underlined in the neon blue that you are used to seeing. Rest assured that the links are active. Most of the background links that I provide are from the National Wildlife Federation's eNature Field Guide, whose link is also provided at the right sidebar under Links.

Email Updates
If you would like to receive emails whenever a new posting is made to the Colvin Run Habitat Blog, send an email to simon.newcomb@cox.net with "CR Subscribe" in the subject field.

Future Postings
Here are a few of the things that you requested, which I am working on:
- Description of the location and lay out of the Colvin Run Habitat
- Additional history of the Habitat (the George Washington comment caught your interest – hey?)
- More on the road photos from Texas
- On the road photos from Mike and Kay’s habitat in Tampa, Florida
- The photo gear that I am using
- Bird tongues
- Action shots in the Habitat
- And I promise the fox photos

Daily Deer

The members of the deer family are near daily visitors to the Habitat. Typically, mom continues to bring the two young ones, who were born this year. The first photo show is typical – mom walks by herself, but as in the second photo the two youngsters are never far behind. Dad, whose alters still are quite small, continues to show up by himself. I am beginning to believe that the photo of him with the two youngsters is rare.

Yes, We Have No Hawk Photos

Well, it happened again. Another hawk visited the Habitat. This hawk came in and simply perched on top of the birdfeeder tree (the metal pole on which I hang various suet and thistle feeders). As I slowly approached the window, the hawk clearly was watching me as well as I was watching him. As I raised the camera, he flew away – oh! the pain! the agony!

But, here is what I can tell you. This hawk is not the hawk that has recently been observed in the Habitat. He was slightly larger than a blue jay and slightly smaller than a crow, with black-slate upper parts and light chest and belly. His yellow legs stood out in the gray, overcast day. Most likely this was a Cooper’s Hawk, but of course the Sharp-shinned Hawk looks nearly identical. The Cooper’s and the Sharp-shinned hawk different only in their size. The Cooper’s Hawk is crow sized, while the Sharp-shinned Hawk is blue jay sized.

Both these hawks are likely visitors to birdfeeders (see Feeder Hawks) especially during the winter months. Of course, neither is interested in the sunflower seeds nor other feed that I serve; rather both are interested in the smaller birds that I attract.

With my sincere apologies for not getting photos, I offer these links about watching hawks during the fall and the best places to see hawks.

Snapping Turtle in the Mulch Also

The Eastern Box Turtle is not the only turtle that has visited the Colvin Run Habitat. In June of 2004, this prehistoric looking Snapping Turtle was discovered digging in the mulch not far from where the box turtle was digging this past summer.

Finding a snapper digging at this location was not a surprise in that Colvin Run is only about 200 yards way. However, this location is at the top of a hill which is about 35 feet higher in elevation than Colvin Run. If the snapper originated at the Run (a likely place for a snapping turtle to hang out), the turtle clearly does not mind climbing.

As early to mid-June is peak egg laying time for the snapping turtle, I assume that egg laying was the purpose. As you can see the photos, the snapper was about 2” deep in the mulch and had dug two holes. No eggs or young turtles were ever found. I did not disturb the mulch after the snapper left. As I know little of turtle egg laying, perhaps someone can help out with some information in a comment (Mike T. in Florida – can you add some information please?).
When the snapper was clearly leaving the area, my younger son picked the turtle up for this look at the underside. If you ever come across a snapper, remember they are called snapping turtles for a very good reason – be careful.