Paw Paw Tunnel

(Photo by Hank S)

Remember this?

Snow on Firs near end of Virage Ln in a storm. (Photo by Hank S.)

Cacapon River Overlook-Constant Run Rd.

Photo by Hank S.

Mid-morning Hampshire County Fair

Hank S shot this before anything open on the midway.

Bunny down on Constant Run Road near pond (photo by Hank S)

Archive of RR Photos Part 2

Wasp nest (Hank S)

Walking Stick Insect on Screen (Hank S)

Five-Lined Skink on Deck (Hank S)

Redbuds (Hank S)

Possum on path from end of Virage Lane to Big Wally's Pond (Hank S)

Archive of RR Photos courtesty of Hank S!

Northern Fence Lizard on Wood Pile-Virage Ln (Hank S.)

Dogwood blossoms on Virage Ln (Hank S.)

Bumble Bee and Clover (Hank S)

Bluebells (Hank S)

Black bear on Virage Ln!

Photo by Marie H.

Phoebe nest

These couple photos were taken in June. I don't think they made it as we returned the following week to see the nest on our deck. Something must have reached them up on the light.

Visiting black bears

Hello everyone. Jim K. spotted a black bear up on Honey Locust last evening. It seems to have wandered by properties from the upper gate on down. Only minor damage noted as it scavenged for food.
Remember to keep trash secured and bird feeders in at night this time of year.

Black Widows in RR

I received an email from Jim K regarding a visit in their yard from a Black Widow with a mass of eggs. He spotted this while splitting wood in the yard. She was protecting her egg mass but they were able to get a very good look at her from the top side as well as her distinctive hour glass figured bottom. He wanted to get a picture but alas his camera battery was dead.

They are in the area and active right now. They are not aggressive but do bite when accidentally encountered.

This image on the web site is apparently exactly like what he saw yesterday.
See the image and read a brief summary of them and their risks here:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/black-widow-spider.html

Birding (and snake and black bear) List for June

This is from a friend of Helen's, Jay Taylor. These are from around the area. I need to explore the park more and Eidelon!!

River Ridge/Cacapon River, Morgan Co., WV
Canada Goose: 16 in the river by the river park

Wood Duck: 1 f with 10 ducklings

Green Heron: 1 in the river park

Turkey Vulture: several

Mourning Dove: open areas, yards

Yellow-billed Cuckoo: 2

Barred Owl: 1 hunting from power lines along Rt. 9

Chimney Swift: several in Berkeley Springs

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: several

Red-bellied Woodpecker: 3

Downy Woodpecker: 1

Hairy Woodpecker: 2

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker: 1

Pileated Woodpecker: 2 at a nest in the river park, several others heard

Eastern Phoebe: common; 2 adults with young in the river park

Eastern Wood-Pewee: common

Acadian Flycatcher: 1

Great-crested Flycatcher: several

Eastern Kingbird: 2 in the river park

Red-eyed Vireo: common

Blue Jay: common

American Crow: several

Cedar Waxwing: several flocks

Black-capped Chickadee: several id'd by song

Tufted Titmouse: common

Tree Swallow: 1 along the Cacapon River

Northern Rough-winged Swallow: 1 along the Cacapon River

Carolina Wren: several

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher: 1 in the river park

White-breasted Nuthatch: several

Gray Catbird: several

Northern Mockingbird: 2 along the river raod

Brown Thrasher: 3

Eastern Bluebird: 2

Hermit Thrush: 1

American Robin: common

American Goldfinch: common

Yellow Warbler: 3 along the river road

Yellow-throated Warbler: 1

Worm-eating Warbler: 1

Louisiana Waterthrush: 2 along the river road, 1 in the river park

Baltimore Oriole: 3 along the river road

Brown-headed Cowbird: several

Red-winged Blackbird: 1 along the river road

Common Grackle: common along the Cacapon River

Song Sparrow: 1 in the river park

Chipping Sparrow: common

Eastern Towhee: common

Scarlet Tanager: 2

Northern Cardinal: common

Indigo Bunting: 3

Queen Snake (Regina septemvittata) - 1 sunning along the Cacapon River

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) - 2

Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) - several in the Cacapon River

Grey Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor) - 2 at Helen's

Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) - several along the river

Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) - 1 along the river

Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) - 1 along the river

Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) - numerous

Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis) - 1 along the river

Little Wood-Satyr (Megisto cymela) - several in the woods along Sideling Hill Road

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) - several along the river

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Eidolon Nature Reserve (June 5, 12, 13) Morgan County

Wild Turkey: 1 male near the ruined house

Turkey Vulture: 3

Mourning Dove: several

Yellow-billed Cuckoo: 1

Hairy Woodpecker: 3

Pileated Woodpecker: several

Eastern Phoebe: common

Eastern Wood-Pewee: common

Acadian Flycatcher: 3

Great-crested Flycatcher: 2

Yellow-throated Vireo: 3

Red-eyed Vireo: common

Blue Jay: several

Cedar Waxwing: several flocks

Black-capped Chickadee: common

Tufted Titmouse: common

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher: 3

White-breasted Nuthatch: several

Northern Mockingbird: several along Orleans Rd.

Eastern Bluebird: 2 along Orleans Rd.

American Robin: common

American Goldfinch: several

Cerulean Warbler: 12+

American Redstart: 6+

Worm-eating Warbler: 3

Ovenbird: 3

Brown-headed Cowbird: several

Chipping Sparrow: several

Eastern Towhee: common

Scarlet Tanager: 6

Northern Cardinal: common

Indigo Bunting: several along Orleans Rd.

Black Bear: one adult briskly pursuing a second smaller adult; possibly a male seeking to mate with a female?

Eastern Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis) - 1

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapne carolina) - 1

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National Fruit Road (June 10)

Northern Bobwhite: 3 calling from the orchard

Field Sparrow: 5+ in the orchard

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Allegheny Highlands Trail, near Corriganville, Md (June 2)

Turkey Vulture

Black Vulture: 1 near Pawpaw

Mourning Dove

Chimney Swift

Pileated Woodpecker: 1

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Great-crested Flycatcher

Red-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay

American Crow

Cedar Waxwing

Tufted Titmouse

Barn Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Carolina Wren

White-breasted Nuthatch

Gray Catbird

Northern Mockingbird

Brown Thrasher

American Robin

American Goldfinch

Yellow Warbler: 5+

Brown-headed Cowbird

Red-winged Blackbird

Common Grackle

Eastern Meadowlark: 3

Song Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Eastern Towhee

Northern Cardinal

Indigo Bunting

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New River Wilderness Area (June 7-8): Hawk's Nest State Park (HNSP), Fern Creek Parking Area

(Lansing Road)

Turkey Vulture

Red-shouldered Hawk: 1 carrying a snake along Opossum Creek Rd.

Mourning Dove

Hairy Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Great-crested Flycatcher

Acadian Flycatcher: several near FCPA

Red-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay

American Crow

Cedar Waxwing

Tufted Titmouse

Barn Swallow

Carolina Wren

White-breasted Nuthatch

Gray Catbird

Northern Mockingbird

Song Thrush: several in HNSP

American Robin

American Goldfinch

Northern Parula: 1 HNSP

Yellow-throated Warbler: 1 HNSP

Black-and-white Warbler: 1 near FCPA

Swainson's Warbler: 1 singing near FCPA

Ovenbird: several at HNSP

Hooded Warbler: 2

Common Grackle

Song Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Scarlet Tanager: 2 HNSP

Northern Cardinal

Indigo Bunting

Foxhat's Latest Visitor

First Fawn at Foxhat

Spotted this babe in the woods Saturday. The first of many I am sure.

Butterfloths

UPDATED: THESE ARE APPARENTLY SKIPPER (SILVER-SPOTTED) BUTTERFLIES ON A THISTLE! Thanks for the identification!

I don't know if these are moths or butterflies hence the name. They seem too pretty to be moths but ironically they are on decent flower emanating from a weed so who knows? I don't and if you know the weed/flower and/or name of the butterfloths feel free to comment below.

Luna Moth

Last year I encountered this monstrous moth with one of its "tails" missing. We had one land on a tree near a feeder this weekend and after realizing it wasn't a leaf stuck on the bark I took these photos.

Peek a boo

Yes, there are A LOT of deer in River Ridge and they eat just about everything except the asphalt on Sideling Mountain Trail but I liked these photos from the past week. There have been some pretty small fawns strolling around but I did not have a camera to capture them.

Annual Picnic

A prepicnic midweek shot of the park followed by a shot during the meeting.


Wildlife at the picnic included the usual discussion on snowplowing and road maintenance but there are usually Canadian Geese in the river nearby too.


The other wildlife attending was our daughter, Poppy, modeling the latest in River Ridge attire.

Plenty to report so far this summer

It was a hot weekend which is probably why one of our newest neighbors on Milo School Road noted a black bear heading into the woods near Panorama at the Peak just after Midnight on Friday evening while driving up for the annual picnic.

After 1.5 years I finally saw a cedar waxwing. Actually, there were several of them together on a pine tree. Juveniles are lighter in color and it takes about 2 years before they develop the wax-like bright wingtips seen on one of these birds. These birds were on a tree just off Detour Road. (CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE). One photo has three of them in it if you look closely.



The hummingbirds have returned and we finally had a male (ruby colored throat patch) at one of our newest hummingbird feeders.

Although we see turkey vultures circling up high every day it's rare to get too close to them on the ground but I was able to snap this picture off Milo School Road when I saw him take off from whatever he was eating and land near the road. They have no feathers on their head which may protect them from whatever diseases lurk in the carcasses they help in disposing.

It's great to know...

I'm not the only jackass around town!
This guy scares the heck out of us as he screams and charges. Does anyone know if he can clear the fence or just break through it?? He is one very angry burro so I had to take this shot and peel out.

It's been a while...

We saw this Eastern Box Turtle crossing Pioneer Trail

A view near the top of Cacapon Mtn. in the Cacapon State Park.

Deer helping lawn maintenance at the Cacapon State Park this past weekend.

It's Poppy season and we couldn't resist posting this.

The phoebe who managed to quickly build a nest on our back porch light. There are juveniles in there now.


Other notes include a few wild turkeys and hawks seen the past few weeks. I'm not sure why the turkeys were light brown and whether it's seasonal or related to gender/age. If anyone knows feel free to post it in the comments.

Your photos wanted!

We won't be up for a bit and will miss some of the Springtime blooms. If you have daffodil, redbud, forsythia photos, etc. please post away. If you don't know how to get the photos up here just send pic(s) to me at mrglenn71 at yahoo dot com (written out to prevent the spam sites from grabbing the email address). You can also send via the RR Google Group as an attachment and I'll get it and post.
Thanks!
Glenn

Better shot of Chipping Sparrow

At least he is in focus this week...

Phoebe aka muddy nest dweller

This guy built this entire nest in 6 days since I saw a little dirt on the light last week and scraped it off. He built one on the other light out back last year. Oh well, he's far along so I guess he'll get to stay this summer unfortunately.

Pileated woodpecker

I heard him for a while before I could find him about 40 yards or more from our house.

Daffodils and more daffodils

A springtime shot from Pioneer Trail courtesy of Linda C.

Easter Weekend 3

The latest in wildlife viewing construction...we can't wait for this to be finished!

Downy woodpecker (male) down by the river.

Downy woodpecker


The power of the pileated woodpecker