Birding and Butterfly-ing in Bucks County with my Brother

I went 'home' to visit my family over the weekend.  I think when you grow up somewhere you really love, no matter how long you live somewhere else and love that place;  your childhood home will always have a special place in your heart.  This is true for me.  I love our home now, but I love the farm where I grew up, too.  Luckily, I can still go back and visit!  And even more than that, when I go visit, I can do some of the things I love; with my brother!

He's out pretty much everyday, watching birds on the farm or working... or a combination of the two.  So, he knows where to watch for special birds.  The last few years he's had rather rare Blue Grosbeaks nesting on the farm!

We patiently waited awhile for them to appear, but after a bit the male perched on this wire.

He preened and showed off his rusty wing patches.  Then the female came and sat a little closer to us.

She is the perfect color to not-be-noticed when she sits on a grassy nest.  This pair had a nest in some weeds a few feet off the ground, and we were hoping to see the babies, but a recent storm had knocked the nest sideways.  My brother thought the babies may have been old enough to survive on the ground.  Since both parents were still hanging around the area, hopefully that is true.

Maybe the Willow Flycatchers we saw also had a nest somewhere. 

You know it's a Willow Flycatcher when it says, "Fitz-bew" like this one did.

There were two adults, and one was carrying food in its bill.  There was also a lot of scolding going on as we walked by a certain tree.

Indigo Bunting showing it's not sky blue, it's indigo!

We saw Indigo Buntings galore and lots of other birds as well.  Our ebird list came to 48 species when we got back to the house after almost 4 hours of birding.

A pair of American Goldfinches

I probably would not have seen this Wood Duck mom and 3 babies in the 'back creek' if my brother had not spotted them and pointed them out to me.

Wood Duck hen on the left, 3 juveniles to her right

We walked a big loop around the farm-- luckily part of it was thru the woods.  It was nice to sit on a log in the shade for a little while, listening for a cuckoo!  (Turned out to be just crows making a funny noise once and awhile, we decided).

Then we headed on back toward the house, up thru the cornfields.  My brother said, "You can't get a photo in that direction - the light's not good".  (Oh, yes, I did, and you are in it!)

Looking back the other direction, you can tell that a farmer who loves birds lives here.

We had seen a Great Spangled Frittilary on our walk and talked about going 'butterfly-ing'.

My brother said it's good to get a photo of their underwing if you can... it can help with identification.

That butterfly co-operated for another photo, though it didn't matter too much since he had already identified it for me!

I didn't have to rush off for anything, so.... we decided even though it was really hot, we'd go to Bowman's Hill. 

It's not far away, only about a 10 minute drive.  You can see the tower from the farm (and vice-versa). Bowman's Hill also holds a special place in my heart.  My family used to have picnics there and several members of my family have volunteered or worked there (including myself).

The area we were headed for is only a small part of the wildflower preserve, and it is a part that has changed a lot since I worked there.  It's now a native meadow with a pond, which is a whole lot better than the mowed lawn it used to be!  Butterflies, bees, and dragonflies think so, too.

Tiger Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail on Wild Bergamot

Tiger Swallowtail on Button Bush

Bumblebee on Wild Bergamot

Honeybees on Mountain Mint

Besides butterflies and bees on the flowers, there were dozens of dragonflies by the pond.  

Paths wound thru the native plants in the dazzling sun but were occasionally shaded by beautiful old red cedars and other trees.

It was worth it to be a little hot, just to be with my brother and see what we could find.  One butterfly we were looking for eluded us until we were leaving.  Just a small one, but exceptionally beautiful... a Juniper Hairstreak.  Try as I might, I was not able to get a photo of it.  Well, that's a good reason to go back.  And, you know I'd love to!

 

What's Blooming Here - Early May

This isn't meant to be a comprehensive list of what's blooming here.  To keep up with a really complete record of what's in bloom might not be too difficult at the beginning of the season, but I don't think I could keep up with it after awhile!  And this blog is for our enjoyment, not serious record-keeping.  

I love to stomp around in the woods to see what wildflowers I can find.  (though I'm very careful not to stomp ON them!)  But you can even see quite a few right from your car.  Be careful if you are driving, please!

I'll start with one that you are perhaps most likely to see and has been in bloom the longest.  That would be Coltsfoot.  They have been blooming along the roadsides in damp ditches for a few weeks now (since about the middle of April here this year).

Some of them are already showing their fluffy seed heads, another similarity they have with Dandelions.  (Though, sorry, I don't have a photo of that!)

Another flower you can see right from your car -- usually in lawns, are Quaker Ladies, also called Bluets.  We used to have some large patches of them in the old cow pasture, but search though I did, this year I only found this tiny bunch:

They are quite diminutive - only about 2" high, so in small quantities they are easily overlooked unless you love them like I do and keep a careful eye out.  

Finding only a tiny patch on our farm made me a bit jealous of our neighbor's lovely patch:

Though, mainly I am just glad they are there!
You can enjoy them from afar, but they are also exquisite up close:

The next blooms you might also see from your car.  I know where there are some growing in a roadside ditch near our house.  However, the ones in the next two photos were taken up on our hill.

They are Marsh Marigolds and they do love to grow right in the water.

Violets are also beginning to bloom.  

This one's a Sweet Yellow Violet, but many other kinds are or will soon be blooming.

The Dog-toothed Violets (which aren't really violets at all but are in the Lily family) are blooming brightly on sunny days now.   Amazingly enough, this batch was blooming right along our road a few years ago:

April 25, 2008

The next photo is how you are more likely to see them unless it's a warm, sunny day-- and there are almost always many more of their mottled leaves than there are flowers.

 

The Red Trillium are starting to bloom now.

As you can see there are more buds still to open.  

Next is a patch of Squirrel Corn in our woods.  It's dainty, silvery foliage is very pretty in person, though a little hard to see in the photo.  I wanted to show you how many leaves are there and only one flower stem (at least so far).

Squirrel Corn foliage stretches from in front of the rock on the left side of the photo to the right end of the log in the middle foreground.

Here's what it looks like up close:

And even closer...

I can't show you why it has the name Squirrel Corn, because I did not want to dig up any of the roots (which are corms said to resemble small ears of corn, hence the name).  It apparently is on the endangered species list in New Jersey, and I don't know if that is true in Pennsylvania, but in any case it doesn't seem right to dig it up!

Also blooming now in my woods are Twinleaf.  I have not ever found this plant in the wild, though it is a native of Pennsylvania.  My plants came from Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve and have been happy where they were planted and seeded themselves into a nice bunch.  You can read more about both Twinleaf and Bowman's Hill in a post I wrote last spring by clicking here.

Twinleaf

So, there you have some of the wild things that are blooming in my neck of the woods.  What's blooming where you live?

An Enchanting Plant and Place

"Though little known by most gardeners, this plant is beloved by those who grow it" is the way Bebe Miles began her description of Twinleaf in her book, 'Wildflower Perennials for Your Garden'.  Indeed, you've surely heard of Thomas Jefferson, but you may have never heard of this name-sake of his-- Jeffersonia diphylla.  This neat little plant was given this scientific name during Jefferson's lifetime, in 1787 in Philadelphia.

You may not know it, partly because it's quite unassuming when it is in bloom.  You are likely to miss it, unless you look closely....

It really comes into its glory later-- in the early summer, when its leaves, which resemble butterflies, are lovely (especially after a rain!)

 One of the most unique things about it are its seedpods.

They have a hinged cover that pops open once the seeds are ripe.  As the capsule dries it shrinks and forces the seeds to pop out.  This one is just starting to open:

The next one is fully open and its seeds have already dispersed. 

I think they are awfully cute... a term I don't say often about plants!

 If you'd like to learn more about growing native perennials in your garden, Bebe Miles' book that I mentioned above would be a great place to start.  

 Another way is to take a trip to the enchanting place I mentioned in my title.  That place is Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, located in southeastern Pennsylvania. 

Do you recognize the plant on their logo?  That's right, it's Twinleaf!  

Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve is a wonderful place to visit to see native wildflowers anytime between February (when the Skunk Cabbage start blooming!) and October (see Witch-hazel flowers then!).  Of course, the best time is when the spring woodland wildflowers are blooming, but in the summer the meadow is in beautiful bloom.  Here's a link to their "What's In Bloom Page".

They also have a great giftshop (appropriately called the Twinleaf Shop) with lots of nature-related books and gifts, and even native plants raised in their own nursery. 

If you visit on a hot day, after a walk on the trails you can visit the Platt Collection of birds, eggs, and nests in the downstairs level of the nature center to cool off.  On the main floor, in the auditorium there are lots of live birds to see from the windows , too!

It's really well worth a visit to Bowman's Hill.  I grew up within sight of the Bowman's Hill Tower and wish I could get back to visit more often.  I think I'm going to plan a visit soon! I hope you will, too!