northeast-flora-and-fauna

Anemone encounters may sound like an enemy encounter, but they're far less confrontational. This joke was done better in a sea anemone cartoon , though sea anemones are not very closely related to the anemones I've seen walking in the woods. The anemones I see are small flowering plants in the buttercup family while sea anemones are invertebrate animals that sort of resemble plants [1]. Both these plants are native to New Jersey and are spring ephemerals . Both these plants spread when underground rhizomes spread out and sprout what appears to be a new plant near the "original" one; just because you see separate stems coming from the ground, it doesn't mean they're necessarily separate plants. Both these plants can also spread with the help of ants ( myrmecochory ), who feed on elaiosomes attached to their seeds then discard the rest, usually a little way away from the parent plant. While both these plants produce pollen that many bees and flower flies fe

Last May at Washington Valley Park I met bird cousins who were both fishing there (though not together). They were a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret . They are usually placed in the same genus ( Ardea ); the Great Blue Heron is always placed there, though some ornithologists place the Great Egret with other white-plumaged herons. I'm going with the more mainstream classification where they're in the same genus, which makes them each other's closest relative living in New Jersey . The Great Blue Heron definitely has closer relatives elsewhere. The Grey Heron of Eurasia/North Africa is easily confused with it ... except for that different-parts-of-the-world thing. (If you think you see a Great Blue Heron on your trip to Europe, you're more likely to be seeing a Grey Heron.) They're both also considered very close relatives of Cocoi Heron of South America [1].  The Great Egret is slightly shorter, considerably lighter, and lacks the head plumes of the typical Gre

One day late last April I didn't see a lot with 1 exception: the male Red-winged Blackbirds were out in force. I didn't see any females (who look a lot different ); I believe that the males arrive in a habitat earlier, establish their territories [1], and then the females arrive and pick a mate largely based on his territory. The love life of a Red-winged Blackbird is complicated and would probably make a pretty good soap opera plot. The males aggressively claim and defend territories and mate with the females that nest within their territories. Males with a good territory typically have 5 females to mate with, though apparently they could have as many as 15 females residing there. But these females aren't exactly faithful; between 25-50% of their kids had someone else as a father. My understanding is that a territory is claimed by finding a local perch, flashing the red/orange of their wings, and singing about how tough they are . (It sounds like this is usually suffici

Continuing my encounters last April at the Raritan River Greenway [1], here's an abundant, early-flowering plant I saw. It's almost certainly a Red Deadnettle (aka Purple Deadnettle aka Purple Arcangel aka Red Henbit aka Deadnettle), but the plant is similar to  and related to the Common Henbit (aka Greater Henbit aka Henbit Deadnettle aka Henbit). Much of what is true about Red Deadnettle is also true about Common Henbit. Unlike Stinging Nettle but similar to Carolina Horsenettle , Red Deadnettle and Common Henbit are not nettles . Red Deadnettle and Common Henbit are instead mints . (Carolina Horsenettle is a nightshade .) They also don't sting the way nettles do; the name "deadnettle" came about because they look a bit like a nettle but with "dead stingers". The name "henbit" comes from its tendency to be eaten by chickens . Both Red Deadnettle and Common Henbit are native to Eurasia and North Africa but can now be found across much of N

On the same day I met those Eastern Boxelder Bugs , I got a couple decent pictures of a couple of our common, year-round birds. These are 2 of the more dominant birds around bird feeders (though they have lots of rivals ). Both are handsome little guys, though their abundance might cause them to be a little under-appreciated. Since they showed up on my visit, I wanted to share their pictures. First I got this picture of a Red-bellied Woodpecker , 1 of our most commonly seen woodpeckers . April 24, 2023 at the Raritan River Greenway Photo 272681068, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) Later on I got this picture of a Blue Jay , 1 of our most common corvids . April 24, 2023 at the Raritan River Greenway Photo 272683068, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Last April along the Raritan River Greenway I saw a bunch of bugs on some of the greenery [1]. And while "bug" is sometimes used to refer to pretty much any arthropod from lobsters to millipedes to ants, I'm talking about the true bugs when I say this [2]. Being black and reddish orange bugs, they look a little like the milkweed bugs ( Large , Small , and False ), these Eastern Boxelder Bugs skew much more black than orange than you'll see with the milkweed bugs. Though I don't think their Western Boxelder Bug cousins live around here, they can be differentiated by the red veins on the otherwise black wings of the westerners.  These bugs can congregate together conspicuously because they smell and taste bad, keeping them safe from abundant predators like birds. They're another example of aposematism , where their black/orange color is an eye-catching signal that these guys taste bad. Their named after their favorite tree to feed on, Boxelder trees. They&#

Relatively shortly after getting my 1st pictures of the season of early-emerging Mourning Cloak butterflies I got pictures of a prime time butterfly commonly seen in warmer months: a pair of Red Admirals .  Seeing this butterfly in April seems a little unusual. My understanding is that although they can hibernate in warmer parts of the country, they're not supposed to be able to do it in New Jersey where the winters are considered too cold for them. I guess I'm left with 2 theories: Maybe they can hibernate fairly close to New Jersey (Delaware/Maryland/Virginia?) and simply migrated north from there earlier than they usually do. Our winters "ain't what they used to be"; is it possible there's a population of them that's now able to hibernate through our winters? While the former theory seems more plausible, as the climate changes there will obviously be changes to our environment. And heavily mobile species like birds and butterflies are better positioned

No, this isn't an ugly duckling (or adult duck); it's a Turkey Vulture . Although I usually see them soaring overhead or perched on trees , rooftops , or even telecommunications towers , it's apparently not terribly uncommon to see them foraging near water. I don't recall if this was after a minor flooding event, but Turkey Vultures have noticed that sometimes fish get stranded in receding water and die, making their rotting carcasses a nutritious and delicious meal for the vulture community. And, like most birds, they will occasionally clean themselves using water. So even though I rarely see them there, this isn't an especially unusual place for a vulture to be. April 21, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 272674947, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

This picture was a little obscured by vegetation, but it's my 1st verified Greater Yellowlegs of the season. They are sandpipers , a large family of shorebirds [1]. Their closest relatives in my area are the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs and the Solitary Sandpiper , with all 3 being in the Tringa genus . Though they are the largest of these 3 species, pictures like this 1 probably don't give a strong sense of size. You'll mostly tell them from the Lesser Yellowlegs because the Greater Yellowlegs has a noticeably longer beak relative to the head [2]. In the picture below, the bill certainly appears to be longer than the rest of the head. Similar to their Lesser Yellowlegs and Solitary Sandpiper cousins, I've only seen these birds during migration. They generally spend our winters south of here (some going as far as South America), though some maps suggest they might winter as far north as southern New Jersey and Long Island [3]. These birds should have started migrating b

This was the 1st Mourning Cloak I was able to photograph this spring, though I'm almost sure I had gotten glimpses of them weeks before. Since they overwinter as adults (albeit in a dormant state) they are usually 1 of the 1st butterflies I see every spring. And although they're around all summer, they're not spotted in traditional butterfly hotspots - meadows with abundant nectar-rich flowers - since they prefer drinking sap or the juices from rotting fruits. Although lighting can affect any view , these butterflies are usually a pretty easy ID. A fresh individual will have rich brown wings with a golden rim; these alone distinguish them from any other area butterfly. Admittedly with a quick sighting in flight where all you see is a largish, dark butterfly, it could potentially be confused with our dark swallowtails or a Red-spotted Purple , but with anything close to a good look you should be able to ID these guys. This individual doesn't look especially fresh, no d

Here's a White-throated Sparrow I met last April. When I saw this picture this morning, my 1st thought was that April might not be a good time to find these birds in New Jersey: Although there are a lot of these birds that spend the winter in New Jersey, but they (mostly) migrate further north to breed. Some of our White-throated Sparrows had probably already migrated north, and even if all of them hadn't done so, they ought to be less frequently spotted by now. So I was a little surprised to see that sightings of these sparrows actually peaks in April. ( This link  demonstrates the idea.) What's going on? I think I know: Some (maybe even most) of the White-throated Sparrows that wintered here probably have migrated north by this time. But even more White-throated Sparrows who spent the winter further south are probably migrating through New Jersey this time of the year, more than making up for the losses of our winter residents. Migrating birds probably don't know all

There are lots of butterflies in NJ that look similar [1] though most of the time there are subtle differences that allow them to be identified (even if it requires getting a better look than the butterfly provides to you). But I'm not confident this can be done with the Spring Azure ,  Summer Azure , Lucia Azure , and Appalachian Azure . They (and other) species are small butterflies with light, speckled underwings with (at least for males) bluish-purple upperwings, and without the "tails" and orange spots associated with Eastern Tailed-blues .  Although today these butterflies seem to be recognized as separate species in a Spring Azure Complex  (where a complex is a set of related species that are difficult to differentiate) there have been times in the past when they were all considered one species with different broods and with regional variations.  Having said that, some lepidopterists appear to have detected subtle physical differences between Spring and Summer Az

Last spring at the Plainsboro Preserve I noticed a couple of unusual "birds" at their bird feeders [1]. What was especially unusual about these birds was that their wings looked more like forelegs, and that their plumage had a furriness that you rarely see in adult birds [2]. I'm still struggling to ID them [3].

During the spring quite a few birds migrate through New Jersey including but not limited to shorebirds like this Solitary Sandpiper . But it's not just New Jersey that's flyover country for these birds; other than a few that overwinter in southern Texas, the lower 48 states are all basically just used during migration. This bird was no doubt hoping to get a bite to eat as it journeyed north to its mostly Canadian breeding grounds. As their name implies, they're frequently seen alone. Though they mostly eat small invertebrates, I wouldn't be surprised if things like tadpoles and small fish get eaten if the opportunity presents itself. Without a strong beak or talons to tear stuff up, they probably only eat what they can swallow whole, and their options are presumably much more limited than those of a much larger bird like a Great Blue Heron . The sandpipers are a fairly large family of birds distributed across the world and consisting of 13 genera. Many of the species d

Like quite a few birds, this bird is easier to identify when spotted with her significant other ; she's a Brown-headed Cowbird . Due to their tendency to be monogamous plus plain old birds-of-a-feather behavior, I usually see them with prominently brown-headed males around, greatly improving my confidence in IDing them. My understanding is that Brown-headed Cowbirds are the only obligate brood parasites in my area. Obligate brood parasites have essentially lost all their parenting skills, and thus if they were ever unable to fool other birds into raising their young, they would (almost certainly) go extinct [1]. There are, however, other brood parasites in New Jersey. These are called facultative brood parasites, and these birds will usually raise their own offspring, but will also engage in brood parasitism. (Exactly when birds perform facultative brood parasitism seems variable; one source said it occurred when resources were scarce while another said it occurred when resource

This spring I met a gulp [1] of Double-crested Cormorants , presumably stopping at the Raritan River for a little rest and food [2]. (I mostly see them during migration season .) Of the fish-eating birds I see the most, cormorants may be the most social. Other than parent/offspring groups, I rarely see herons, eagles, ospreys, or kingfishers hanging out together, but cormorants seem to enjoy each other's company. One thing that stands out in my picture is that 1 of the cormorants is quite a bit paler than the others. I suspect that individual is a 1 or 2-year-old bird that hasn't gotten its breeding plumage yet; it apparently takes a variable amount of time to acquire true adult plumage. April 20, 2023 at the Plainsboro Preserve Photo 272672670, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] Wikipedia also suggests a "flight of cormorants" as a collective name for these birds, though I suspect that collective name is shared with other flying animals. [2] They a

We all know most of our turtles swim better/faster than they walk (except maybe you, Eastern Box Turtle ), but most of my pictures show them basking on a rock or a log . And if I'm lucky enough to meet 1 on land , I can almost always get a reasonable picture of them. Sometimes though if the turtle's swimming at the surface and isn't vacating the area quickly, I can get a picture like this Red-eared Slider below (or this older 1 of an Eastern Painted Turtle ). Although a lot of times the turtles consider me to be too scary (or ugly?) to be around, and dive into deeper waters, this 1 stayed near the surface a bit longer. This is the 9th and final blog post for my April trip to the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Although I sometimes go someplace that turns out to be disappointing, this particular trip was pretty productive.  April 14, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 272126752, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

As has happened in previous years , this spring I saw quite a few of these small insects flying, often hovering, around the ground at Sourland Mountain Preserve. I suspect they're Large Bee-flies (aka Greater Bee Flies aka Dark-edged Bee-flies), a species of fly that: Resembles a bee. As larva, they parasitize the larva of solitary bees and wasps. Their fuzzy, striped appearance probably has 2 benefits: Looking a little like a bee, the females may be able to inconspicuously lay their eggs around the nests of bees/wasps. Some predators might avoid attacking them thinking that they're bees who can sting, as opposed to the relatively defenseless flies that they actually are. I suspect I see them at Sourland hovering over a dirt trail because a fair number of bees/wasps dig little nests in the ground, and these bee flies are hoping to find such a nest, flick some eggs in the vicinity of the nest, and then fly off. They are considered hypermetamophic , a big fancy word indicating t

Here's another pond denizen I met in the Sourland pond during my springtime visit: an American Bullfrog . The tympana "ear" looks larger than the eye so I think this is a male bullfrog who's slightly obscured under a stick: If you want to over- anthropomorphize his motivation for this location, perhaps he was trying to be discreet while the pond's toads were engaging in public displays of affection . More likely, frogs feel less exposed to danger when they're a little bit under cover, like these guys . (Although sticks can be a landing spot for some of our dragonflies, our frog friend looks poorly positioned to see, let alone eat, them.) There is zero evidence that a game of fetch was going on, and the frog was retrieving the stick. April 14, 2023 Photo 272126203, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  

For a lot of identifications I warn people not to be too focused on color [1]. Whether it's due to funny lighting or natural variation within a species or natural variation over the life of an individual, color can easily fool you [2]. So today I'm showing 2 different Six-spotted Tiger Beetles , 1 that's a greenish-blue and another that's more of an emerald green. Though they're small, their (usually) vivid color and shininess can get your attention [3]. It's at least possible to think they're different species of beetle, but they're the same beetle. April 14, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 272130292, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) April 14, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 272130320, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] While I'm not immune to making this mistake these days, I used to make this mistake a lot when I first started trying to ID our plants and animals. [2] My Newcomb's Wildflower Gui

In warmer weather when I go to the Sourland Mountain Preserve I'll usually look around for frogs and (as recent posts demonstrate) toads around a small pond located near the parking lot. I'm always hoping to get a picture of these amphibian friends of ours. Here's someone else that's looking for frogs and toads but for more dietary reasons, an Eastern Garter Snake . Eastern Garter Snakes have familial ties to our Northern Watersnakes (including this one from the same pond ); apparently some garter snake and watersnake species have been reclassified as the other [1]. Both species are pretty comfortable in the water [2]. It not only provides them with a fairly good way to escape terrestrial threats, but also has the allure of nearby amphibians to eat. Similar to Northern Watersnakes, they'll also participate in mating balls . They'll also crowd together over the winter when brumating. Although there are warmth, moisture, and safety reasons to do this, it's

Let's anthropomorphize a little bit. Is this White-breasted Nuthatch giving me the New Jersey "You looking at me?" stare? The little fella at least looks like it might be giving me some "attitude", though that was the only challenging-look picture I got of it. The other pictures looked more like a little bird doing its job of foraging on a tree trunk. Still, some New Yorkers like to think their pigeons act like tough guys , so if we want to attribute something similar to our nuthatches I'm sure we can dig up some anecdotal evidence. April 14, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 272129860, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

In yesterday's post I mentioned that I heard American Toads as they were advertising their availability (and perhaps desirability) during their mating season. Today's picture actually shows the toads while mating. When I 1st saw the pair, I thought maybe I was seeing the same toad's face twice, once with it reflecting off the water. But upon closer inspection, the toad on the top is clearly smaller than the one on the bottom, and both heads are out of the water. Among toads (and many turtles, and some raptors) the females are noticeably larger than the males, as is true in this case. And despite the closeness of this pair, most toad reproduction happens quite a bit differently than (for example) human reproduction. In most of our toad species (you can read about other varieties here ) the female releases her eggs directly into the water, and the male (at approximately the same time and place) releases his sperm into the water, hopefully resulting in many of those eggs bei

I have to admit I wasn't sure what I was seeing at a Sourland Mountain Preserve pond around mid-April. Although I frequently see toads (both American and Fowler's ), I usually see them dry and away from water; seeing these toads all glisteny in the water did have me wondering if I was seeing a frog instead. Still, our toads begin life in the water, and that's also where their parents "got together". And on this day the pond was a regular Toad Single's Bar of toads looking to breed [1]. I also have to admit that although iNaturalist has IDed them as American Toads, looking at them right now it's difficult to make a case distinguishing them from Fowler's Toads. Still: The views don't give a good view of the number of warts/blotch on their backs, And the views also aren't ideal for telling whether the ridge between the eyes and their (protruding) paratoid glands touches the glands. In my defense, to get those better views I probably would have ne