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Durham, NC 2/29/12
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| Male Eastern Towhee, |
scratching for insects |
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Red Maple seeds |
Speedwells |
Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, Orange County, NC
2/28/12
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| Honeybee |
Crane Fly Orchid |
Field Pansy |
Spring Beauty |
Unfolding Spring Beauty |
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| Trout Lilies |
Trout Lilies, focus on
leaves |
Wildflower, possibly an
oddball Common Chickweed |
Trout Lily flower |
Froghopper |
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| Hepatica |
Star Chickweed |
Trout Lilies |
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Durham, NC 2/28/12
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| Long-jawed orb weaver |
Jumping spider (Hentzia
mitrata) |
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Durham, NC 2/27/12
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| Neighborhood dog |
White-lined Burrowing Bug |
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North Carolina Museum of Art (outside), Wake
County, NC 2/24/12
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| Male and female Hooded Mergansers |
The Hooded Merganser
couple joins, |
They swim together. |
The female pulls ahead. |
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| Male Hooded Merganser,
alone |
Leaf? Leaves? Hard to
tell. |
Field Pansy |
Speedwell |
Rosemary flowers
(Rosmarinus genus) |
Tree sculpture |
Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC
2/23/12
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| Common Buckeye, unusually
small and lively |
Yellowbelly Slider |
Spring Azure |
Grasses |
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| Siler's Bog, with an
iridescent oily sheen |
A small marsh in a large
field |
The creek and the other
side |
A group of deciduous trees
in a field, with a pine border |
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Durham, NC 2/22/12
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| Pine flower snout beetle
(Cimberis pilosa), about 5 mm long. |
Male midge |
Moth |
Jumping spider
(Paraphidippus aurantius) |
Spider |
Durham, NC 2/19/12
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| A cardioid in nature. In
theory, it's a geometrical figure formed by the path traced by a
point on a circle rotating along another circle of the same
size. This photo was taken of a bowl placed under a ceiling
light. |
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Durham, NC 2/18/12
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| Common Chickweed |
Bagworm moth (thumbnail
rotated 90 degrees, unfortunately) |
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Durham, NC 2/17/12
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| Contrails |
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Flat River Waterfowl Impoundment, Moncure, NC
2/17/12
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| Swampy area |
More swamp |
Grass |
Common Dandelion |
Megachilid bee |
Ebenezer Church Recreation Area, Apex, Chatham
County, NC 2/15/12
The mystery of the
thousands of feathers left behind here last year (2/20/11) was
solved by this visit.
Hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls congregated
alternately on a barrier marking the limits of the public swimming
area and on the shore. I watched them move one by one to the
shore, with birds typically landing within the group rather than at
its edges.
The gulls were initially in the water. After I did a
turn through the woods, about 100 had moved to the shore. The location
of the feathers on the ground suggested that this group on the shore was
so large that it extended partway onto the grass, although they avoided
the sidewalk.
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| A large group of
Ring-billed Gulls that assembled during our visit |
This Ring-billed Gull
chose to land near, but not at, the edge of the group. |
The first set of gulls to
come over, from a distance. Feathers on the ground show where
gulls were before, so this is a relatively small assemblage. |
Ring-billed Bills on the
swimming area barrier |
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| This gull as coasting
along the water surface. |
Ringed-bill Gull feathers
on the grass. |
Ringed-bill Gull feathers
on the grass |
Gulls out in the water,
where they flew after a disturbance |
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| A
well-camouflaged male midge seen in the woods |
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Durham, NC 2/14/12
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| Brown Thrasher |
Jumping spider (Hentzia
mitrata) |
Jumping spider (Hentzia
mitrata) |
Jumping spider
(Paraphidippus aurantius) |
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| Mating Scuttleflies
(Phoridae family) |
Mating Scuttleflies,
dorsal view of male |
White-breasted Nuthatch |
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Durham, NC 2/12/12
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| American Robin |
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Durham, NC 2/11/12
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| Tufted Titmouse |
White-throated Sparrow |
Flower fly (Chrysogaster
genus). ID thanks to
Martin Hauser. |
Fly |
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Durham, NC 2/10/12
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| Male House Finch |
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Third Fork Creek Trail, Durham, NC 2/8/12
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| Katydid |
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Sandy Creek Park, Durham, NC 2/7/12
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| Swamp view |
Lesser Celandine |
Purple Dead-nettle |
Spring Cress |
Flowers on a mystery bush |
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| Tachinid fly |
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Durham, NC 2/6/12
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| Red-bellied
Woodpecker |
Pine Warbler |
White-throated Sparrow |
Females: House Finch and
Northern Cardinal |
Female House Finch |
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| Female Red-bellied
Woodpecker |
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Durham, NC 2/3/12
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