Home Field and Swamp: Animals and Their Habitats

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Archived-by-Date Pages

 

March 2026

Durham, NC 3/29/26

Globular springtail (Bourletiella genus) Globular springtail (Bourletiella genus) Globular springtail Globular springtail (Bourletiella genus) Globular springtail (Sminthurinus atrapallidus)

 
Globular springtail Globular springtails (Sminthurinus atrapallidus) and (Bourletiella genus) Globular springtails, one (Sminthurinus atrapallidus) and two (Bourletiella genus) Seed shrimps  

Mystery hopper nymph Asian Multi-colored Lady Beetle Seed Shrimps, some insides showing Parlin's Pussytoes (Antennaria parlinii) buds, closeup Parlin's Pussytoes buds

Chipping Sparrow Painted Buckeye Tufted Titmouse Ruby-crowned Kinglet Flowering Dogwood

     
Common Whitetail Pennsylvania Bittercress      

Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 3/26/26

   
Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean False Garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve) False Garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve)    

Lake Park, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 3/26/26

   
Yellowbelly Slider Canada Geese Pied-billed Grebe    

   
Yellowbelly Sliders Creeping Wood-sorrel Canada Goose pair    

 
Yellowbelly Sliders Male Lesser Scaup Juvie Double-crested Cormorant Another juvie Double-crested Cormorant  

Carolina Beach State Park, New Hanover County, NC 3/26/26

Yellow Pitcher Plants, live and dead Yellow Pitcher Plants, live and dead Yellow Pitcher Plants, live and dead Red Chokeberry flowers and leaves Red Chokeberry plant

Fern, with unfurling fronds, unidentifiable Inkberry (Ilex glabra) Winter-hazel, an evergreen shrub (Distylium genus). Maybe a Turkey Oak It looks like sand, but in fact was very soft, the way you would expect a pile of dustbunnies to feel.

Battery Buchanan, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, New Hanover County, NC 3/25/26

 
Great Blue Heron Same Great Blue Heron American Oystercatcher landing and Laughing Gulls American Oystercatcher with Laughing Gulls  

 
American Oystercatcher about to depart Laughing Gulls American Oystercatcher departing Double-crested Cormorants American Oystercatcher pair  

     
Fly, probably in the Heleomyzidae family Aster seedhead      

Lake Park, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 3/25/26

 
Yellowbelly Slider and remains of white bird. Is there a causal relationship? Yellowbelly Sliders and remains of white bird Tricolored Heron Lesser Scaup  

Yellowbelly Sliders Snowy Egret      

Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 3/25/26

Foam, Atlantic Ocean Forster's Tern House Sparrow pair Dragon kite False Garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve)

Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 3/24/26

Blackberry flowers False Garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve) Same False Garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve) Same False Garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve)

North Carolina Aquarium, Fort Fisher, New Hanover County, NC 3/24/26

   
Otter Atlantic Tarpon Alligators    

   
Hermit crab in whelk shell Shark Yellowbelly Slider    

Battery Buchanan, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, New Hanover County, NC 3/23/26

 
American Oystercatcher, near jetty     Male Boat-tailed Grackles  

 
Male Boat-tailed Grackle Male Boat-tailed Grackles Double-crested Cormorant Tricolored Heron  

White Ibises        

Double-crested Cormorant Common Vetch Ants carrying a crayfish Ferry Great Egret

Same Great Egret White Ibises Same White Ibises Foam along the shore of the "Basin", a shallow area jutting off of the Cape Fear River A close-up of that foam

   
Low Hop Clover Tricolored Heron Same Tricolored Heron    

Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 3/23/26

Octopus mural Strange foam pattern on the ocean, a day before major cold front Male House Sparrow Blackberry flower and bud Blackberry flowers

Lake Park, Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 3/23/26

 
Male Mallard Boat-tailed Grackle Another Boat-tailed Grackle Male Lesser Scaup  

Carolina Beach, New Hanover County, NC 3/22/26

   
Brown Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, Ring-billed Gulls and Laughing Gulls Brown Pelicans, two Ring-billed Gulls and a Laughing Gull Brown Pelican and fleeing Ring-billed Gulls    

Durham, NC 3/21/26

Male Eastern Bluebird Red-shouldered Hawk pair, with inchworm Same Red-shouldered Hawk pair, with inchworm obscured by branch Hermit Thrush Sugar maple flowers and leaves

 
Common Blue Violets? Confederate Violets Crabapple tree Henbit  

Chipping Sparrow Painted Buckeye Jumping spider (Hentzia genus) Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) flowers Carolina Cherry Laurel flowers False blister beetle (Asclera puncticollis)

Durham, NC 3/20/26

Question Mark Same Question Mark on a plum tree Common Blue Violets Male Eastern Bluebird Female Eastern Bluebird

Durham, NC 3/19/26

 
Mite (Leptus genus) Field Pansy Jumping spider (Hentzia genus) Oak catkins, fallen  

Hoverfly (Toxomerus geminatus) Hoverfly (Toxomerus geminatus) Common Vetch Mock Strawberry Mouse-ear chickweed

Durham, NC 3/18/26

 
Blueberry flowers and buds     Redbud flowers  

   
Redbud tree Maybe walnut catkins Painted Buckeye flower and buds    

Durham, NC 3/15/26

 
Male Downy Woodpecker Same male Downy Woodpecker Painted Buckeye Local TV station (ABC-TV, Channel 11) helicopter  

Durham, NC 3/15/26

White-breasted Nuthatch Juvenal's Duskywing Common Chickweed Pennsylvania Bittercress Mock Strawberry

Confederate Violet Another Confederate Violet Tiny Bluets Virginia Spring Beauty Peach flowers (cultivated plant) Blueberries (cultivated plant)

Common Chickweed flowers Field Pansy flower Ivyleaf Speedwell Little Brown Jug flower bud Virginia Spring Beauty

Durham, NC 3/14/26

Henbit Cabbage White      

Red-shouldered Hawk Same Red-shouldered Hawk Red Maple samaras Song Sparrows Saucer Magnolia

Durham, NC 3/12/26

   
Storm coming in Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci) Begonia flowers, bought at the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati, OH, in 1994    

Durham, NC 3/11/26

Tufted Titmouse          

Durham, NC 3/9/26

 
Sugar maple flowers Ruby-crowned Kinglet Same Ruby-crowned Kinglet Same Ruby-crowned Kinglet  

Red Maple samaras Eastern Comma Same Eastern Comma Japanese Mazus Common Blue Violet

 
American Elm seedhead Antmimic jumping spider (Synageles genus) Crab spider (Synema parvulum) and mite Wasp  

Durham, NC 3/8/26

       
Star Magnolia        

Durham, NC 3/7/26

 
Henbit Springtails (Bourletiella arvalis) Springtails: one Sminthurinus atrapallidus and 13Sminthurides bifidus Springtail (Sminthurinus atrapallidus)  

Springtail Springtail Springtails (Sminthurinus atrapallidus and Bourletiella arvalis) Springtail Springtails (Bourletiella genus and Sminthurides bifidus)

 
Springtails (Bourletiella arvalis and Sminthurides bifidus), right to left Seed shrimp Horsehair worm (enlarged) with springtails on left Horsehair worm  

     
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Springtail (Sminthurides bifidus)      

Durham, NC 3/6/26

Moon Female Red Maple flowers Canada Geese White-tailed Deer Red-shouldered Hawk

 

   
Mystery bird on Winged Elm A tuft of feathers, one of many from a predation victim Song Sparrow    

Durham, NC 3/4/26

Jumping spider (Paraphidippus aurantius) Antmimic jumping spider (Synageles genus) Antmimic jumping spider (Synageles genus) Jumping spider (Hentzia genus) Red-shouldered Hawk

     
Jumping spider (Paraphidippus aurantius), dorsal view Running crab spider      

Durham, NC 3/3/26

Dimpled Trout Lily Dimpled Trout Lily Dimpled Trout Lily Purple Dead-nettle Cooper's Hawk

     
China Paper Bush Henbit      

Durham, NC 3/1/26

Winged Elm flowers Winged Elm flowers Winged Elm flowers Winged Elm flowers Ivyleaf Speedwell

 

Dimpled Trout Lily     Song Sparrow Persian Speedwells

 

Copyright © 2026 by Dorothy E. Pugh.  All rights reserved.  Please contact for rights to use photos.

 

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