When a Quiet Hike Turns Golden.....

- Seasonably pleasant today in the Sequatchie Valley.....mid 70s and a breeze....

- More showers yesterday.....it has been a great spring for all flora......

- Late May until late June....prime time for the does to have their young....hopefully photos of the young deer will be posted soon....

- Attached are a few photos taken on a recent woodland hike through some of our new properties.....

- The bottom two photos are of the Mountain Laurel (Kalmia), perhaps the most beautiful of all the woodland shrubs in southeast Tennessee. Due to the recent abundant rainfall, the blooms seem to be particularly brilliant this spring. An interesting note: named for a student of Linnaeus, Peter Kalm (1716-1791), a Swedish botanist.

- During this hike along the wooded ridges on the northern periphery of our developments, the scenery wasn't too bad! Middle photos.

- The top two photos are of a local tree that I had meant to enter on earlier posts. The tree, which is not common in this area, is the Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier), sometimes called 'Sarvis' or 'Shadbush' by locals. This tree will always catch the eye of those who enjoy identifying the flora, for it produces showy clusters of white flowers prior to producing leaves. It achieves heights of up to 40'.

Nature Throws a Curve.....

- Update.....The Holly tree near the office now has no berries.....The Waxwings finally win the turf war...I wonder where these winged nomads could be today?

- At dawn this morning I heard a Whippoorwill just outside my window....Quite unusual...as these mostly nocturnal avia usually only sound off at dusk......

- Warm and rainy today in southeast Tennessee. Cooler, drier air is forecast to be on the way. Next week looks delightful. If the forecast holds true....sounds like a good time for a long hike to enjoy the clear mountain air, the noisy waterfalls, the Mountain Laurel (blooming now) and the Flame Azalea (starting to bloom).

- From time to time, we hear stories of nature that, without tangible proof, we simply pass off as "Oh sure"....Well, here is one with tangible proof...courtesy of our residents Frank and Joanne Kahoun.

- Starting back in the early spring, I began to receive sporadic reports of a mysterious animal. Reports varied slightly by the eyes observing, but all the reports had a few common characteristics.....the animal was definitely 'wild', it was 'dog-like' and it was black.

- The animal was seen infrequently...near some of the more undeveloped areas of our 'nature preserve'. After hearing a few of the reports, on multiple occasions, I hid in the flora with a camera, hoping to get a glimpse of this 'Black Fox'.

- March turned into April and the reports became less...and then nothing for many days.

- Last week, I received an e-mail from the Kahouns with the attached photographs. Finally!

- They had heard some of the neighbors talking and Frank thought that I, a naturalist always interested in a good story, should be aware of his photographs. And they were correct...A big thank you to the Kahouns....for the great photographs of such a shy and furtive creature, and for their love of nature...which seems to be a common bond of many of our residents.

- It seems they had seen this 'fox' on several occasions....the last being near the first of April when they observed the canid walking across the corner of their lot, highlighted even more by a very unusual light April snowfall. They explained to me the behavior of the animal, which included the 'jump and pounce' technique of hunting....the tactic used by foxes and coyotes when trying to stimulate a small mammal to bolt from its hiding place in the grass. In our area, these small mammals are almost always Meadow Voles and White-Footed Mice.

- Exactly what is this animal? Good question. Vulpes? Canis? Hybrid? The mystery continues.....or does it?

A Rainy Night In.....Tennessee

- Rain...an abundance of rain....5+ inches last weekend...and more since...including today.....

- Enjoying the simple things Mother Nature has to offer.....last Thursday night....around 3:50 AM...lightning flashing through the glass caused me to awake....I opened the glass door (w/screen) out onto the back deck, and allowed the night breezes into the bedroom...along with the comforting sounds of rain falling in the deciduous forest behind the cabin.....thunder rolling/rain, rain and more rain........good night again......Priceless!

- The creeks throughout our nature developments are roaring to the point that many residents can hear them though they may live several hundred yards away....like me. I can easily hear Stone Creek rolling through the wooded hollow behind my cabin.

- Attached are photos of a wildlife scene that played out recently in Greenfields...thankfully in front of the camera. Driving along the access road into the developments I spotted three small shapes running down the pavement in front of the vehicle. Soon a larger avia sailed past the driver side window and alighted just in front of the three small shapes.....The large bird was a mother Killdeer (bottom photo) and the three small ones baby Killdeer chicks...perhaps 3 weeks old. Two of the chicks can be seen in the top two photos, partially hidden by the roadside grass...looking for momma. They were about the size of a golf ball....with a head. The mother, as they often do, put on quite a display of faked injury (2nd photo from bottom) while we watched.

- I see this display annually, as the Killdeer seldom flies, and they even nest on the ground. However, the display is hard to photograph, as the mother is in constant motion as she oversees the chicks. The display lasted for 20-25 minutes...until all the little ones disappeared into the taller grass. Why this species ((Charadrius vociferous) likes to hang around roads, I am not sure. Evidently the inherent danger is overcome by a favorite morsel that may inhabit the roadside habitat. Perhaps they just like to live dangerously.

Turf War.....

- It all started innocently enough......one of my co-workers asked me what was going on with all the birds flying by the office windows.....

- After a glance at the activity outside, I went for the camera.......

- There is a holly tree near the corner of our office, approximately 20' in height and it is loaded with red berries......

- The berries are a favorite food of the Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla), who were waiting, not always patiently, in the nearby Silver Maple trees around our parking lot (bottom two photos...this is the male of the species).

- Two of the Waxwings can be seen, along with the holly tree, in the photo 2nd from the top.....

- It did not take long to understand why the nomadic Waxwings were waiting, and not being allowed to enjoy their desired food of the morning........

- It seems the holly tree was the nesting site of a Northern Mockingbird (Mimus) that is shown in a typical defiant pose ( top photo) on the roof of our office......

- Periodically the 15-20 Waxwings would ascend on the holly tree, and pluck as many berries as possible before the Mockingbird would aggressively drive them away.....

- This scene played out several times over a 30-40 minute period, and I must say the Mockingbird seemed to win this turf war......as the tree is still loaded with berries....

- The Waxwings would try and try for the berries, but were never allowed more than a few seconds of delight before the proud, territorial Mockingbird would arrive on the scene .....

- The Waxwings wander continuously and photos of these beautiful birds are hard to come by. The male Waxwing is striking...and can identified by the black 'mask' through the eyes, the crest, yellow band at the tail tip, and red tips to the secondary feathers.

- At my cabin in Stone Creek, I heard the first Whippoorwill of 2009, just prior to dusk, on April 24th.

Spring in Tennessee

- Beautiful sunrise on the mountain this morning...clear and seasonably cool....followed by a high in the 70s.

- Very long hike through the woodlands yesterday...and the beauty and fresh breezes of spring are inspiring.

- Many species of woodland plants, trees and shrubs are blooming in southeast Tennessee currently....
- Attached is a photo of the Wood Anemone (Genus Anemone)....this small, single stalked woodland flower lives a solitary and inconspicuous existence, until someone notices it's brilliant white springtime flower protruding above the dead leaves of winter.

- Also attached is the Eastern Redbud (Cercis), which is blooming all over Tennessee currently.

- Though the photo is a bit fuzzy, I could not help but include the attached photo of a Song Sparrow (Melospiza) in the journal. I watched this small bird hop around for a time, and at irregular intervals, it would perch atop the woodpile and sing its heart out....only to return to the grassy slopes to continue its search for a snack. It is shown here in full cry with Lake George in the background.

- Also shown is the Robin, which is more common than ever in many parts of Tennessee. Never one to frequent a bird feeder, the Robin, like this one shown hopping about in the grass near Lake George, is seemingly always in pursuit of a terrestrial meal...like an earthworm or an insect, to satisfy nutritional needs.

- I also saw many Red-Winged Blackbirds in the willows around the lake, as well as Purple Grackles, the Eastern Kingbird, European Starlings, and an interesting mix of swallows. After many photographs and a bit of research all the birds in question were either Tree Swallows or Barn Swallows. I triple checked the Tree Swallows, as some of my ID books say they are not found in southeast Tennessee. But alas, there was no doubt! I took several photos of the two species perched together on limbs of fallen trees near the edge of the lake. They seemed to have a comfortable tolerance of each other.

-Finding the identity of the birds is a relaxing and sometimes challenging activity. I still recall seeing a Merlin years ago....at first I had my doubts, and then more doubts...and only when this small falcon was viewed from a variety of angles, mostly in flight, did I know for sure what I had seen. The close cousin of the Merlin, the American Kestrel, is common here, but I still have yet to see another Merlin. Priceless.

- Though no photograph was possible, I observed a Cooper's Hawk at quite close quarters when on the hike yesterday. This impressive mid-sized predator, larger than the Kestrel, but smaller than the Buteos, has three horizontal dark bands on the tail when viewed from the dorsal side (in flight). It is larger that the very similar Sharp-Shinned Hawk, with which it is often confused.

Love Triangle - Goose Style

- Cool and crisp this morning, after the passage of a weather front over the weekend that brought rain and eventually lower temperatures to our southeast Tennessee area.

- The Redbuds are blooming in the mountains, the first leaves have appeared in the Sequatchie Valley (not very many in the mountains as yet), the creeks are swollen and noisy from spring rains, and the birds at at peak activity.

- The attached provide a pictorial of the competive, and sometimes nasty, disposition of the male Canada Goose during the spring mating period. From bottom to top.....

- Two male geese size each other up and posture for position as a nearby female takes on the role of a submissive, and seemingly uninterested, bystander (I couldn't tell if she was smiling).....

- The battle gets heated as the female looks on.......

- One of many chase scenes back and forth across the lake.....

- One male flies alongside his rival.....but they were simply moving from one battleground to the next......

- The top photos are of a comparatively docile pair of House Finches (the more colorful male is in the background...and yes, it was raining when the photo was taken). Their nest was approximately 10' away.

Springtime in the Mountains......

- Cool and sunny this morning, followed by a warm, breezy, radiant afternoon in southeast Tennessee! The temperature is currently in the low 70s.

- I heard the first Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) on March 5, 2009. These small members of Order Anura are often called "The harbingers of spring". Only the males call and they are almost impossible to observe as they sit motionless near wetland areas and woodland pools of water.

- Also, a real treat for this nature buff...twice in the last three weeks, during hikes through our properties, I have encountered Woodcocks. Both flew up unexpectedly, practically under my feet. One flew only a few yards and alighted next to a small woodland pond...in wet leaves. Though there was no other cover of weeds, saplings, etc., the bird was so well camoflouged I could barely make it out against the leaves, though only about 20' separated us.

- Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls are sounding off nightly on the wooded ridge behind my cabin.

- The attached photos...the top photo is the water's edge of Lake George. Deer party.

- The bottom photo is of a group of Red-Winged Blackbirds near Lake George. Note the colored shoulder patches (usually scarlet/orange/yellow in the males) on a couple of the birds. These birds nest in the willows along the banks of Lake George. A couple of European Starlings are also in the photograph.