I waited until noon-ish for the holler walk today but it was still just barely 60-degrees or so when we went out.
Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) flowers and buds, 4 May 2011.
We've had a noticeable explosion of blackberry and hawthorn budding -- and some flowering -- in the past couple of days, and I saw honeysuckle buds today as well.
Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) flowers and buds, 4 May 2011.
Young honeysuckle vine (Lonicera japonica) buds.
The daisy fleabane is still going strong...I think I misjudged their peak last week...here around the house I'd say they are peaking now. Here's my prize fleabane photo of the day:
A soldier beetle (I think) on a daisy fleabane flower.
It was a pretty good day for bird sounds: white-eyed vireo, pileated woodpecker, cardinals, tufted-titmice, Carolina wren, and what I think is a warbler, but haven't identified the song for sure. I saw an eastern phoebe and -- the most awesome bird event for me today -- the sound and sighting of a sharp-shinned hawk. I didn't have my binoculars with me today, but the tail and wing shape in flight were definitely of an accipiter, and the size and behavior suggested a sharp-shinned hawk. The call for the sharp-shinned hawk that I found on All About Birds was the best match for what I heard. The Cooper's hawk was another possibility, but the call for them is different than what I heard.
Before I hit the publish button, here's an image of "jewelweed1" -- one of the plants I observe:
Pale jewelweed (Impatiens pallida), 4 May 2011
[Photo credits: Cathie Bird]
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