Hummer

Ruby-throated hummingbirds in the northeastern U.S. feed on the nectar produced by a fairly small suite of wildflowers: cardinal-flower, spotted jewelweed, wild bergamot, trumpet creeper, wild columbine, several milkweeds and a few others. Most of these plants grow in small colonies or as scattered individual plants.

Because their primary food sources are usually either limited or scattered or both, these hummingbirds aggressively defend “their” flowers from other hummingbirds. Those of us who have hummingbird feeders filled with a sugar/water mixture have created new “flowers” that bloom continuously and have an unending supply of “nectar”. But the hummingbirds don’t know that these “flowers” won’t stop blooming in a few days as wildflowers typically do, so they often defend them just as vigorously.

An adult male ruby-throated hummingbird has taken possession of the feeder hanging outside our kitchen window. The bird’s found that a dead branch mere feet from the feeder is an ideal spot from which to watch for interlopers. The branch is the place from which he launches attacks on any hummingbird that approaches the feeder.

It was a cloudy, drizzly, occasionally rainy day when the male hummingbird perched on the dead branch for quite a while. That gave me the opportunity to photograph him as he repeatedly turned his head, displaying the gorget on his throat as its feathers reflected various colors depending on the angle of the light –

The concept of sharing is obviously not part of this hummer's world. 

Soon all the hummingbirds, whether they use our feeders or not, will head south for the winter. Some making a non-stop flight across the Gulf of Mexico, until then the feeders will help them to store energy for the flight ahead. 

Butorflēoge

The word "butterfly" apparently comes from the Old English word butorflēoge, the butterfly; similar words in Old German and Old Dutch lead to the conclusion that the name dates to antiquity. Many believe that the name originated because butterflies were flying in pastures during the spring and summer when the grass was lush, cows gave a lot of milk and the winter’s supply of butter was produced from the abundance of milk.

There are competing theories about the origin of the word butterfly, but wherever and whenever the word originated, few would deny that butterflies are beautiful creatures.

As with many insects, butterflies have a somewhat complex life-cycle. Impregnated females lay their eggs on the food plants that the larvae prefer. When the eggs hatch the larvae feed and go through several stages (instars) as they grow, shedding each time. As the larvae finish their growth they pupate in what’s known as a chrysalis, they then metamorphose and emerge as butterflies.

Many butterfly species spend the winter in the egg stage, some as a chrysalis, some hibernate as adults and others actually migrate. The monarch is the best known, but not the only, species of butterfly that migrates.

Enjoy the beauty of butterflies –

Yes, enjoy the beauty of butterflies for as the weather cools and winter approaches butterflies will disappear from the meadows. Habitat loss from intensive agriculture, manicured lawns and industrial development means there are fewer butterflies each year – enjoy them while you can.

While I Was Gone

If you’re a regular visitor to In Forest and Field you know I was hospitalized for all but a few days of the month of May. All the time I was in the hospital three camera traps on the hill above the house continued capturing the comings and goings of some of the wildlife that inhabits the hillside.

Here are the videos taken during May and June by those camera traps. Videos from each of the three cameras are grouped separately. There's an abundance of videos of white-tail fawns as well as some videos of bucks growing their new antlers.

Last, but far from least, is a video, taken on June 24, of a cinnamon-colored black bear; this is the only video I’ve ever gotten of a bear of that color. Cinnamon-colored black bears are uncommon to rare in Pennsylvania but are much more common in some western states.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy this video –

The camera traps on the hill have often gotten videos of both red and gray fox, but during these two months there was only one appearance by each of the two species.

Morning at the Beaver Pond

It was back in mid-April when I spent a morning sitting beside my favorite beaver pond. The waterfowl migration was tapering off, but a couple of green-winged teal had stopped on their way north and a male wood duck and a female hooded merganser were in residence –

A late migrating fox sparrow stopped on a pond-side shrub –

Great egrets don’t nest this far north, but every year we see a few that have overshot their breeding grounds by many miles. There was one at the beaver pond this morning. It searched for fish and frogs along the edge of the pond –

And then flew up into a dead tree –

As I sat beside the pond and the day warmed up a number of painted turtles clambered up on a dead tree that had fallen into the pond –

Later an early-migrating palm warbler searched for insects among the sedges bordering the pond –

The entire time a number of tree swallows squabbled over a dead snag that had several old woodpecker nest holes –

The swallows didn’t settle their contest over the snag while I was there and the squabbling probably went on for several more days.

There’s always something interesting happening at a beaver pond and it’s always worthwhile spending time sitting along the shore.

National Moth Week - 2025

This year National Moth Week was July 19-27; it’s an annual event during which people share photographs of moths they've found with science sites.

Moths are some of the most diverse and successful creatures on earth. Since new species are being found each year, no one knows how many types of moths exist, but it’s been estimated there are between 150,000 and 500,000 species.

Moths come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, colors and patterns – some moths are amazingly colorful, others are extremely well camouflaged.

Although most moths are nocturnal and are only active after dark, some are active during daylight hours. It’s widely believed that butterflies evolved from day-flying moths about 45 million years ago.

Almost any kind of light will attract moths – a porch light, a flashlight, a blacklight or a mercury vapor light. Moths can be attracted to a bait concoction of mashed overripe bananas or peaches, brown sugar, maple syrup and beer or wine.

Here are some of the moths I’ve captured around the house so far this year –

This has been the worst year for moths since I began catching moths at our outside lights – WHY ??? Perhaps it was the gypsy moth outbreaks of the last several years depriving other species of food. Perhaps it's part of the general decline in insect populations in North America and Europe. Perhaps it's because more than half of the lawns on our road are treated with herbicides and pesticides, making the world safe for Kentucky bluegrass but little else. 

Moths will continue to be active until the cold weather of late-fall/early-winter, so there’s still time to search for moths in your yard, a local park or extensive woodland – why not give it a try?