Lake Crabtree County Park, Wake County, NC 10/31/12
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| Purple Martin bird apartments, with the lookout tower in the background | An inlet near the beginning of the trail | A Song Sparrow | A Weeping Willow that has lost most of its leaves |
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| Ichneumon wasp | Belted Kingfisher in flight | Sumac leaves | Cloudless Sulphur, which had strayed too far north too late in the season |
Durham, NC 10/25/12
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| Male midge, one of many moving vigorously in a stationary "cloud." | Globular springtail (Ptenothrix unicolor), seen on a log showing evidence of termite tunnels. ID thanks to Frans Janssen. | Aphid, which I caught flying | Spanish Needles |
Jordan Lake Dam, Chatham County, NC 10/24/12
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| Turkey Vultures on a little building housing chlorine stores | Northern Mockingbird | Jordan Lake | Dam gate, viewed from top of dam |
Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, Southern Pines, Moore County, NC 10/23/12
I'm probably the last person to know, but Weymouth Woods has an established population of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, no doubt due to their efforts. Still, it was pretty exciting to see one of these endangered birds and photograph it!
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| Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) | Same Red-cockaded Woodpecker | Same Red-cockaded Woodpecker | Pine Barrens Gentians (Gentiana autumnalis) | Pine Barrens Gentian |
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| Sleepy Orange on Carolina Ironweed | Red-cockaded Woodpecker | Chinese Mantis | Ichneumon wasp |
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| Scoliid wasp (Campsomeris plumipes) | Carolina Ironweed |
Southern Pines, Moore County, NC 10/24/12
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| Gulf Fritillary on Lantana, seen downtown |
Durham, NC 10/22/12
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| Little Yellow (Pyrisitia lisa) on White Heath Aster | Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) on goldenrod |
Durham, NC 10/19/12
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| Question Mark |
Durham, NC 10/18/12
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| Red-shouldered Hawk | Basilica Spider | Asian Ladybug Beetle |
Durham, NC 10/17/12
While I was photographing this Hentz Orb Weaver (Neoscona crucifera), a slender leaf landed on its web. It traveled quickly over to the leaf and started wrapping silk around it. At this point, its fangs started pointing outward, though it did nothing with them while I was watching (which I was able to do only for a short time).
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| Hentz Orb Weaver (Neoscona crucifera), dorsal view | Hentz Orb Weaver dashing across web; fangs appear withdrawn. | Hentz Orb Weaver starting to wrap silk around the leaf; fangs are out. | Hentz Orb Weaver after more silk-wrapping; fangs are visible. |
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| American Lady, 10/17/12 | Same American Lady, 10/17/12 | Male Hentz Long-jawed Jumping Spider (Hentzia palmarum) |
Flat River Waterfowl Impoundment, Durham County, NC 10/16/12
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| Little Yellow (Pyrisitia lisa) | Cloudless Sulphur | Checkered White | Gallinipper, starting to bite | Sleepy Orange |
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| Female Wood Duck | Male Wood Duck | Flower fly (Helophilus fasciatus) | Belted Kingfisher |
Sandy Creek Park, Durham, NC 10/14/12
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| Stink bug nymph | Orange Sulphur (ventral view) | Orange Sulphur (dorsal view) | Fiery Skipper |
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| A tiny scavenger beetle (Corticariinae subfamily, Latridiidae family), 1 mm long, which flew onto my hat. | Bumblebee on goldenrod | Flower fly on White Heath Asters | Coreopsis grandiflora |
Durham, NC 10/12/12
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| Diamondback Froghopper | Pink Muhly Grass | Porcelainberries | Jumping spider (Hentzia mitrata) |
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| Honeybee on White Heath Asters | Common Buckeye | Mating flies |
Durham, NC 10/10/12
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| Tiny wasp (Ichneumonidae family) | Crab spider (Tmarus genus) |
San Rafael, Marin County, CA 10/6/12
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| A camellia bush branch left in the street | Unusual clouds | Edge of a neighborhood |
San Rafael, Marin County, CA 10/5/12
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| Female Tricolored Blackbird | A Western Fence Lizard | Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus) |
Hawk Hill, Marin County, CA 10/4/12
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| Red-tailed Hawk, which was trying to avoid running into me as a big fog swirling up from the west brought it to the top of the hill. |
Angel Island, Marin County, CA 10/4/12
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| Angel Island, seen from other side of harbor | Mule Deer doe and fawns | Mule Deer stag | Hummingbird | Same hummingbird |
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| Western Scrub Jay | Western Grebe (actually at the ferry station in Tiburon) | A cluster of Aloe Vera plants | Two Blue Angels practicing for the air show the next day |
Mount Tamalpais State Park, Marin County, CA 10/3/12
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| California Sister | Another view of the California Sister | Sandhill Skipper | Pink pea flower | Yellow pea flower |
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| Wild Radish | Scabiosa atropurpurea. ID thanks to Miss M on Google Plus. | Indian Paintbrush | Monkeyflower | Graffiti |
Rodeo Beach, Marin County, CA 10/3/12
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| Surfer #1 | Surfer #1 | Surfer #2 |
Stinson Beach, Marin County, NC 10/02/12
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| Stinson Beach, seen from highway | Adult Glaucous-winged Gull teaching a juvenile how to process a crab | More instruction from the adult Glaucous-winged Gull |
Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County, NC 10/01/12
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| Sandhill Skipper | Elephant Seal | Leaffooted bug | Indian Paintbrush | Ice plants (unusual variety, very small leaves and flowers) |
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| Male Tricolored Blackbird | Heermann's Gull, seen at a secluded beach. One of about ten. |
San Rafael, Marin County, CA 10/1/12
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| Hills | Full moon |