Interesting Names and Cliches That Should Have Been

I find some of the names given to things found in nature to be very dull. House fly. Earwig.

Some, however, are marvelously interesting. Take this dragonfly that I captured for my specimen box. How cool a name is "Halloween Pennant". Somebody put some thought into that name. The name was no doubt derived from its coloration, very orange and brown. It could just as easily been named a Fifteen-spotted Pennant . . but why settle for boring when something like "Halloween" is available? It's kind of like signing up for a new YouTube account . . you try the most interesting usernames first just to see what's available. Kudos to the scientist who went bold with this guy's name.


Although this Cicada Killer wasp earned its name for its behavior rather than its appearance, it's a cool name nevertheless. There have been a half dozen or so of them swarming around the stairs leading down to our neighborhood pool, and they send Avery into a tizzy every time she sees one. I've always insisted they wouldn't hurt her, although I didn't know that for certain. This week I decided to figure out what they were once and for all, and it turns out I was mostly right. Cicada killers are said to "very rarely" sting humans, with their primary interest of course being the killing of cicadas to feed to their larvae. How uniquely specialized.


And I know this is random, so please forgive me, but I wondered yesterday why herons haven't ever been ( to my knowledge) the basis for any sayings or idioms relating to their behavior. I watched a Green Heron forage for almost half an hour yesterday, and the patience of these birds amazes me. This particular bird was slowly and deliberately hopping from branch to branch in a willow tree that was growing in a small marshy area. With every hop he'd get closer and closer to the single branch tip where a dragonfly was perching repeatedly. Then, after 10 minutes or so, he got close enough and made his lunge, snagging the dragonfly.

What came next really surprised me. The heron did not eat the dragonfly. Presumably having either paralyzed or killed the bug, the heron flew down to a spot near the edge of the water and stood among the reeds. He took 2 or 3 steps over the next 10 minutes, still holding on to the dragonfly. Then all of a sudden he dropped the dragonfly on to the water and watched as it lay there still. A moment later he struck at the water next to the bait and emerged with a small green frog in his bill. Talk about resourcefulness! And patience to boot. So why is it then that nobody's ever been called "As patient as a heron"?

A Big Morning

This morning Lily and I went on a long walk on the Moss Creek Nature Trail. Each subsequent trip on the Trail in the last few weeks has brought about a great variety of wildlife. Migrating birds are plentiful, but it's the other creatures that have really piqued my interest. I'm no expert, but my guess would be that this particular area offers one of the most diverse combinations of habitat in Cabarrus County.


Above is a Blue Corporal (Libellula deplanata) dragonfly. This is a mature male.


Another dragonfly, this one I could not identify.


This one (above) is a Common Whitetail (Libellula lydia).


Another unidentifiable dragonfly.


And another.


As much as I'd like to see Monarch butterflies, this is not one. It is a Viceroy (Limenitis archippus).


Above, the white butterfly with black spots is a Cabbage White (Pieris rapae).


An oriole sighting is exciting for all birders. A singing male Orchard Oriole is even more uncommon. At this particular spot on the Trail, I've seen as many as 5 of them, 3 males and 2 females.


I went further down the Trail today than I've gone recently, and I was rewarded for it. I saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird near the stream, and this male Prairie Warbler.


Taking cover in this tree is a Brown Thrasher. This isn't an uncommon bird in Cabarrus County, but it's the first one I've ever seen here on the Trail. I saw a total of 2 today.


The Killdeer was leisurely strolling along the trail just ahead of us.



The Indigo Buntings were singing loudly this morning. There were at least 15. I also saw a pair of Blue Grosbeaks, a first for the Trail. In all I recorded 40 species of birds on my walk this morning. To date I've ID'ed over 60 species at the Moss Creek Nature Trail since December. The count for my Big Year count now stands at 107 species identified, with a trip tentatively planned this weekend to a migratory bird walk held by the Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation Department at the Evergreen Nature Preserve. I hope to be able to add a good number of migrants to the list at that time.


Apparently Lily was comfortable in her new jogging stroller. She napped for about 30 minutes while I birded.

This thistle flower, the particular species of which I can't determine, was a very bright spot in an otherwise leafy landscape.