*Common Loon Screaming At 3am*

Birds and bees, and other neat things.

[kaijutegu]

confirmed

[bountifulbombus]

@theuniversalchild

[bountifulbombus]

Unfortunately I haven't had too much time for birding recently, so I haven't been posting much. I'll be doing the Christmas Bird Count this year, so hopefully I'll get some pictures that will be good enough to post.

[weaksorry]

do u ever think about how much you’ve changed in the past 2 years and ur just like, thank god.

[foxthebeekeeper]

Presenting: The American Bumblebee!

[foxthebeekeeper]

Good to know! Care to elaborate on differences and why this is in fact the cutest bumble bee ever? :3

@bountifulbombus

[bountifulbombus]

I'd love to! Bombus fervidus has four yellow segments and two black segments on its abdomen, and it goes in that order. They also have the cutest little heart on their thorax. Bombus pennsylvanicus has a black segment, three yellow segments, then two black segments in that order. Bombus pennsylvanicus also looks very similar to Bombus auricomus since they have the same markings, so you need a microscope to properly differentiate the two species. In Bombus auricomus, if you draw a line between the two compound eyes, the ocelli will be beneath that line, and in Bombus pennsylvanicus, the ocelli will be along the line. All three of these bees have the heart shape on their thorax, though they’re not always very visible. These are just some of the more simple forms of identification for these bees. Bombus fervidus just happens to be one of my favorite bees because of how much yellow they have on them. It’s just adorable, but all of these bees are perfect in their own way. 

Unfortunately the auricomus in these photos isn’t really in the best of shape, but you can still see the pattern on her abdomen. :)

[bountifulbombus]

Odocoileus virginianus - White-tailed Deer

[bountifulbombus]

Some kind of mushroom I found at Andy Guest State Park, in Virginia. I’ve never seen a purple mushroom before so it was kind of odd. It was seen in September of this year. Does anyone know what it could be? 

[bountifulbombus]

[bountifulbombus]

[bountifulbombus]

I think this is an Eastern Ringtail. It was found on August 5th, at the Shenandoah River State Park in Virginia. What a neat bug!

[bountifulbombus]

What a precious baby.

[bountifulbombus]

This is the jumping spider that lives on my desk. It just caught a fruit fly.

[bountifulbombus]

My desk spider has disappeared, the fruit fly population in my room has skyrocketed.

[bountifulbombus]

This is the jumping spider that lives on my desk. It just caught a fruit fly.

[bountifulbombus]

Nice.

[bountifulbombus]

Bombus impatiens (Common Eastern Bumblebee) and Papilio glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail)

[bountifulbombus]

Hog Island Audubon

Some of you may know that this past June I went to the Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens Audubon camp on Hog Island, off the coast of Maine. I wanted to make a post to let you all know about how great it was. 

It’s an incredible program that allowed me to meet some great birders and ornithologists. Thanks to this camp, I was able to connect with people who have similar interests. I learned so much about birds, along with many other things. Here are some of the absolutely amazing things I learned about during this camp: The history of Hog Island, the history of the Hog Island Audubon Camp, Project Puffin, Project Snowstorm, shorebird ecology, the science behind birdsong, global warming’s affect on the gulf of Maine and other places around the world, understanding bird behavior, and even a bit of marine biology and geology. 

The food is amazing, honestly I was surprised by how great it was. They can accommodate to almost any diet, the food is locally sourced, and it’s all delicious. It’s definitely not your average camp food, this isn’t exactly an average camp though anyway. It’s wonderful. The staff there are very nice, helpful, and easy to talk to. There is an artist-in residence who you can talk to about art and maybe learn a thing or two from. I myself learned quite a bit about field sketching from the artist-in-residence. 

The thing we’ve all been waiting for… Birds! There was definitely no shortage of birds during that camp, I was able to add over 30 species to my life list just from the six days that I was there. There were warblers, crossbills, gulls, owls, puffins, razorbills, terns, gannets, hawks, vireos, herons, loons, and so much more! There was no lack of excitement during this camp either, because there was always something cool going on! Such as presentations, banding demonstrations, recording birdsongs, bird walks, boat trips, the bird-of-the-day, and just the incredible amount of diversity! The ecosystem was so healthy, there were all sorts of things there. 

I’d love to go to this camp again, it’s honestly the best camp that I have ever gone to. I would recommend it to anyone that’s looking to learn more about birds, it’s a hands-on learning experience and it’s quite an adventure. It really is a once in a lifetime experience.

If you’d like to learn more about this camp, or any of the other programs available, the link is here.

Happy Birding!

[bountifulbombus]

Distracted by Birds

I went outside to look for moths this morning since it's National Moth Week, and I had my camera with me to take pictures. I ended up finding a Barred Owl being yelled by Northern Cardinals and attacked by Blue Jays. I tried to get a picture of the Barred Owl, but the other birds scared it off.

[bountifulbombus]

Just a few of my favorite tern photos from my trip.