Snowy Owl-2

I was able to see the Snowy Owl again that has been staying in Beckley, WV since the 5th of January.

My previous pictures were hampered by darkness, a bright light and rain. This time he was in a very tall pine with no real  good vantage, and I just did not have enough lens. 

Snowy Owl 

         

Snowy Owl Dozing 

         

Snowy Owl

This Owl was first reported in Beckley West Virginia on Jan 5, 2014. I work in Beckley so I was able to spend at least a little time for five of the last seven days looking for the bird. On Sunday, I spent most of the afternoon cruising the mall area where it was hanging out glassing the light poles and rooftops, but all to no avail. I was watching a Twitter feed that had been reporting its location occasionally and as I was leaving a meeting at 5 pm it was reported near by, so I took off and was able to finally see it. It was on a light pole, with an intensely bright light, so the combination of dusk and rain prevented a really good picture. I never saw its face. I hope to see it again and get better pictures. The only thing I can compare this find to was when I finally found Showy Ladies Slippers after searching for three seasons.

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owls are an Arctic bird but often fly south in search of food sources in the winter. This year the unusual numbers of owls is referred to as an irruption. This is only the 2nd one I have heard of in WV this year but Ohio has 150 or more. I have heard of people from Virginia, Tennessee and Florida coming to Beckley to see this extremely rare owl for this far south.  I hope it stays around a little while longer to give as many people as possible the chance to see him.

I hope to post better pictures in the near future, but am satisfied to just see him.

Ross's Goose

A Snowy Owl was sighted in Beckley, WV and I spent part of the morning searching for it. Yesterday, it was 48 degrees Fahrenheit  and the owl was seen in a grassy area relaxing. Today it has snowed and was 18  degrees Fahrenheit and falling fast. I never saw it but I did meet three others searching for it, who sent me a message later on about a Ross's Goose in a nearby pond. I was unfamiliar with it but they indicated that I really needed to see it. So I was able to find and photograph it and now understand how rare it is in this area. Since I work near the area the Snowy Owl has been frequenting, I will be able to continue searching, but this bird was equally interesting. I really appreciate the tip on the Goose.

Ross's Goose

Years End

Well, 2013 is coming to an end. I made a decision last December to spend and entire year searching for and photographing every possible wildflower that I could find in West Virginia. Well it was a great year and I far exceeded my expectations by finding 308 wildflowers. Around 86% of those were natives and a 148 of those were found on the 28 acres where I live. That alone was amazing to me; 148 wildflowers on one small farm, many of them new to me, because I was actually getting out searching almost daily during the peak growing season. Most of those were common but many are not; Painted Trillium, Nodding Ladies Tresses, Yellow Tresses, Slender Ladies Tresses, Large Pad Leaf Orchid, Ragged Fringed Orchid and Reclining St. Andrew's Cross to name a few.
        And I keep thinking of the ones I missed for one reason or another; Clintonia, Indian Cucumber, Canada Lilly and others. I will be continuing to add West Virginia wildflowers until I have them all, well, probably not all of them, but many more.
      In January, I photographed the first flower, a Common Dandelion. And  this December I have seen it twice, on the 3rd and 28th; proving that in West Virginia, you can see flowers every month of the year. I really need to read up some more on the Dandelion; why does it bloom in winter months when there is little chance of pollination. Is it something it does in its European home range?

Well, Onward to 2014 . The weather will be dreadful the next few days; zero at night early next week and a daytime high of 12. Snow is also forecast several days this week. But, I get out occasionally, like today, the last day of 2013, I hiked into Piney Creek canyon to see the ruins of an 1800's grist mill. I also scouted out some new locations to look for wildflowers this Spring.

There is much to look forward to in 2014.
                                                                        Happy New Year to all.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade 
winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” —Mark Twain

Winter for Real

After several fits and starts, winter seems to be here for real. Today, we are in midst of ice and sleet storm that has affected much of the East Coast. Church has been canceled all day, so I am watching out the window and reading up on birds, even though I vowed not to get hooked on them.  Probably won't spend a lot of time posting birds, just interesting items. ( but they all tend to get more interesting when you are stuck in the house)

Below are some wildlife from around the farm, roaming among the Christmas decor, and grandbabies toys.

Rusty Blackbirds (Apparently, not very common)

Joe Pye Weed in August

Joe Pye Weed in December 

J

"When your hobbies get in the way of your work - that's OK; but when your hobbies get in the way of themselves... well...”. Mark Twain

Witchhazel

This flower has always interested me, and after reading its description from the US Forest Service

Celebrating Wildflowers website, I find much more that is fascinating. Just read this excerpt:

#308- American Witchhazel

      "Generally, its bright yellow flowers are the only sign of color in woods where all the autumn     leaves lay upon the forest floor. American witchhazel is pollinated by a moth. The small, tanish to gray, hard capsules go dormant throughout the winter and then develop over the next growing season and then in autumn forcibly expel two shiny black seeds 10 to 20 feet rarely to 40 feet. The seeds then take an additional year to germinate."



November is the eleventh month in a row, this year, that I have found and posted a new wildflower. Winters are sometimes bleak and seem that they will never end, but a wildflower is never too far in the future. I probably will see the lowly Dandelion this December after a couple of warm days, making it possible to see wildflowers every month of the year in West Virginia. A Dandelion was the first flower that I posted in this wonderful year of attempting to  photograph and record every wildflower that I can in West Virginia for one year. 308, I never really expected that high of a count. Anyone that I happen to mention that figure to usally say something like, '300? Flowers? Around Here?' and then quickly lose interest. My obsession is almost mine alone. 
        I am making plans for this Winter and next Spring. This Winter compiling this years data into charts that show information like the number of natives vs. non-natives (roughly 86% native) that I found, or how many were found on the 28 acres that I live on (wow 148 or so) and etc. I will also continue to add new flowers as I find them, I know of a few that I missed this year.

My obsessions used to be my protectors, but now they have taken me prisoner. -- Mason Cooley 

There's an App For That

I recently received an iPhone from work and have been taking a few pictures with it. Now, I find that Google has an app for Blogger, the blog service I use.  So, yesterday I was trout fishing near Thurmond, and saw several nice flowers that have outlasted the snow and frost. I took a few iPhone pictures and now am producing a 100% iPhone blog entry. Below are a couple of the flowers.