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A hodgepodge of spring birds
I was out and about, to the extent possible, finding and photographing birds this spring. The last year has been my busiest ever for speaking engagements, thanks in part to my new book, Gardening for...
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Osprey seizes fish, Black Terns watch
As always, click the photo to enlargeAn Osprey labors skyward, having just caught a Common Carp. The fish looks shocked as it should be. "Fish Hawk" attacks come without warning. One minute you're...
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Shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica)
Like an elfin garden, a colony of Shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica) springs from well-drained soils of an upland forest in Mohican State Forest in Ashland County, Ohio. Shauna and I did a bit of hiking here...
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Cedar Bog Moth Night: Saturday, June 22
A LeConte's Haploa (Haploa lecontei) at rest on the needles of White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis). I came across this moth last June 8, while on a whirlwind trip around Cedar Bog, near Urbana, Ohio, on...
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Raccoon rears up like a little bear
I recently received a timely request from a magazine, BWD, that I regularly work with. It's the former Bird Watcher's Digest, now truncated to the acronym. If you're into birds, on any level, I highly...
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Confused Eusarca moths nectar at rare plant
Last Saturday evening, Cedar Bog hosted a moth night, headlined by speaker Chelsea Gottfried, coauthor of THIS BOOK. It was a great program, and Chelsea played to a packed house of about 55 people....
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Nature: A portal to Ohio's glacial past can be found at Cedar Bog
A fen meadow, full of rare plants, surrounded by white cedar, can be seen at Cedar Bog/Jim McCormacThe Columbus DispatchJune 30, 2024NATUREJim McCormacOne of Ohio’s greatest biological hotspots lies...
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Parasitoid wasps dispatch prey in a hideous manner
A blue-winged wasp (Scolia dubia) nectars on wingstem/Jim McCormacParasitoid wasps dispatch prey in a hideous mannerColumbus DispatchJuly 7, 2024NATUREJim McCormacWe humans have our fair share of...
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Major Moth Night
As always, click the image to enlargeA group of us enjoyed a superb night of mothing last night at Beth Crane's property in Hocking County. Thanks to Beth and Richard McKee for hosting everyone, and...
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Moth Night Part II
A Black-waved Flannel Moth (Megalopyge crispata) stares rather inscrutably into the camera. Yes, they're cute. And quite common.The flannel and the following moths were imaged on July 13, during the...
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Orchids and Moth Eyeballs
These are the leaves of one of our more interesting - and overlooked - orchids, the Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor). It, along with the Puttyroot Orchid (Aplectrum hyemale), sends its...
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Say's Mantidfly
As always, click the image to enlargeThis oddity is a Say's Mantidfly (Dicromantispa sayi). It's as if the thing was assembled by a mad scientist: part lacewing, with the body of a paper wasp, the...
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Nature: Cast-off crimes must be prevented in the wild
Barred Owl snared by fishing line. Photo by Dutch GordonNature: Cast-off crimes must be prevented in the wildColumbus DispatchJuly 21, 2024NATUREJim McCormacPeople love to fish, as evidenced by the...
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Juvenile Osprey expels a stream of fishy guano
A juvenile Osprey strikes a pose. A pose that can mean only one thing: an impending fecal effluvium. I've got nothing at all against kayakers but couldn't help thinking how cool it'd have been if one...
View ArticleTwo upcoming moth programs
Saturday, August 17. Startford Ecological Center, Delaware County, Ohio. 7 - 10 pm.My coauthor on the Gardening for Moths book, Chelsea Gottfried, will be giving her moth program, then we'll head...
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A few random things from recent days, including a beautiful grass
A Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) strikes a pose on a wingstem leaf. Last night was hot, humid, with some showers and lots of the little frogs were out and about. This was at a recently acquired...
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Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel
The eastern "prairie dog", a Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) crouches at the entrance to one of its burrows. Like true prairie dogs, this species is a member of the...
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Some juvenile birds: Tis the season
An immature White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) peeks inquisitively from a grape thicket. It was part of a family unit of 3-4 young birds and two adults. I have found this species to be quite curious;...
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Blanchard's Cricket Frog
As always, click the image to enlargeBlanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi) can be tough to see. This is Ohio's smallest frog, measuring a wee 0.6 inches in length and weighing but a gram. They...
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Epic caterpillaring results in many cool finds
Cherry Dagger moth caterpillar (Acronicta hasta)Shauna and I spent last weekend at the fabulous Highlands Nature Sanctuary in Highland County, Ohio, which is owned by the Arc of Appalachia. A bunch of...
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