Animal – Page 42 – Sharon Friends of Conservation

Great Spangled Fritillary – 7/16/11

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 7/16/11 Observation Time: 3:00 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Great Spangled Fritillary Scientific Name: Speyeria cybele Comments: Easily confused with Aphrodite Fritillary – see: http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabambc/frames-2species.asp?sp1=Speyeria-cybele&sp2=Speyeria-aphrodite More Information: Butterflies and Moths of North America

Pearl Crescent butterflies mating – 7/13/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/13/11 Observation Time: 2:00 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond soccer field parking lot Common Name: Pearl Crescent butterflies Scientific Name: Phyciodes tharos Comments: Here is a sequence of four photos, taken over a span of just a few minutes, of a pair of Pearl Crescent butterflies mating near the Gavins Pond soccer field parking lot. I was walking on my way to get […]

Northern Water Snake – 7/9/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/9/11 Observation Time: 3:45 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Northern Water Snake Scientific Name: Nerodia sipedon Comments: Water snakes are not venomous, but they can be large (4 feet long or more, and as thick as a man’s wrist) and aggressive. This one was more interested in avoiding me than attacking me. More Information: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory The […]

Painted Turtle – 7/6/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/6/11 Observation Time: 4:50 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond outflow pool Common Name: Painted Turtle Scientific Name: Chrysemys picta Comments: I found this specimen on the dam, so I photographed it and then put it back in the water. In June, painted turtles lay their eggs in holes they dig with their hind legs in sunny patches of sandy soil. More […]

Halloween Pennant dragonfly – 7/6/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/6/11 Observation Time: 4:30 p.m. Observation Location: field near Gavins Pond Common Name: Halloween Pennant dragonfly Scientific Name: Celithemis eponina Comments: This is one of my best wildlife photos. The late afternoon sunlight provided perfect illumination. More Information: Wikipedia

Green Frog – 7/4/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/4/11 Observation Time: 4:10 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Green Frog Scientific Name: Lithobates clamitans Comments: This is one of our most familiar frogs, and is found statewide. It has some green on its face and a mostly brown body, with a ridge running down each side of its back. This species prefers permanent or semipermanent water bodies […]

Japanese Beetle – 7/4/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/4/11 Observation Time: 4:05 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Japanese Beetle Scientific Name: Popillia japonica Comments: Japanese beetles are not very destructive in their native Japan, where they are naturally controlled by indigenous predators, but in North America it is a noted pest of about 200 species of plants including rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden […]

Eastern Towhee (Female) – 6/29/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/29/11 Observation Time: 11:40 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Eastern Towhee (female) Scientific Name: Pipilo erythrophthalmus Comments: This female Rufous-sided Towhee chirped “towee” repeatedly as it hopped around in a shrub. It’s a common bird that is heard more than seen. The male’s song sounds like he’s singing, “Drink your tea.” More Information: All About Birds

Eastern Bluebird (Immature) – 6/27/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/27/11 Observation Time: 6:10 p.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Bluebird (Immature) Scientific Name: Sialia sialis Comments: SFOC has installed 38 bluebird nesting boxes around Sharon. This young bluebird is among the first this year to roll off SFOC’s “bluebird factory” assembly line. The speckles on its breast and noticeable white eye-ring indicate that it is a juvenile. Other broods have not yet […]

Common Pondhawk dragonfly – 6/25/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/25/11 Observation Time: 2:45 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Common Pondhawk dragonfly Scientific Name: Erythemis simplicicollis Comments: Female (males are blue) More Information: Insects of West Virginia

American Goldfinch – 6/25/11

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 6/25/11 Observation Time: 1:00 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: American Goldfinch Scientific Name: Carduelis tristis Comments: The first photo is of a female; the second a male. More Information: All About Birds

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird – 6/25/11

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 6/25/11 Observation Time: 1:00 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Ruby-throated Hummingbird Scientific Name: Archilochus colubris Comments: Female (sticking out her long tongue, which is adapted to probing for nectar in flower blossoms) More Information: All About Birds

American Lady Butterfly – 6/24/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/24/11 Observation Time: 2:15 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: American Lady Butterfly Scientific Name: Vanessa virginiensis Comments: American Lady butterflies have two distinctive eyespots on the brown underside of the lower wings. The upper sides of the wings are orange and black. More Information: See: http://bugguide.net/node/view/236368

Northern Flicker (fledgling) – 6/24/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/24/11 Observation Time: 10:45 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Northern Flicker (fledgling) Scientific Name: Colaptes auratus Comments: This fledgling Northern Flicker was on the ground at first, but it hopped over to a tamarack tree and climbed up, pecking from time to time under the bark and calling repeatedly as if it wanted its mother. More Information: Cornell Lab of […]

Dusted Skipper Butterfly – 6/9/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/9/11 Observation Time: 3:40 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Dusted Skipper Butterfly Scientific Name: Atrytonopsis hianna More Information: BugGuide

Red-Spotted Purple butterfly – 6/5/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/5/11 Observation Time: 4:50 p.m. Observation Location: Kendall estate, Moose Hill Street Common Name: Red-spotted Purple butterfly Scientific Name: Limenitis arthemis astyanax Comments: The red-spotted purple butterfly is the same species as the white admiral butterfly. It is a North American species in the cosmopolitan genus Limenitis. It has been studied for its evolution of mimicry, and for the several […]

Slaty Skimmer dragonfly – 6/2/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/2/11 Observation Time: 2:50 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Slaty Skimmer dragonfly Scientific Name: Libellula incesta Comments: The first photo is a female. The second is a male. Watch this video of the slaty skimmer dragonfly as it oviposits at Gavins Pond. More Photos: Odonata.bogfoot.net

Common Baskettail dragonfly – 6/2/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/2/11 Observation Time: 2:10 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Common Baskettail dragonfly Scientific Name: Epitheca cynosura Comments: This is the most common baskettail within its range (eastern North America), hence the name. More Information: Wikipedia

Common Ringlet butterfly – 6/2/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/2/11 Observation Time: 1:30 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road near soccer field parking lot Common Name: Common Ringlet butterfly Scientific Name: Coenonympha tullia Comments: Ringlets can be found in a variety of grassy habitats, including roadsides, woodland edges and clearings, prairies, bogs, and arctic and alpine taiga and tundra. It is a poor flyer, but can sometimes be found along […]

Northern Flicker – 5/23/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/23/11 Observation Time: 2:35 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Northern Flicker Scientific Name: Colaptes auratus Comments: This northern flicker was injured, perhaps as a result of a hawk attack. The Northern Flicker is part of the genus Colaptes which encompasses 12 New-World woodpeckers. There are two living and one extinct subspecies of C. auratus species. The existing sub-species were at one […]

Red Admiral butterfly – 5/7/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/7/11 Observation Time: 11:40 a.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Red Admiral butterfly Scientific Name: Vanessa atalanta Comments: Red Admirals prefer sap flows on trees, fermenting fruit, and bird droppings; visiting flowers only when these are not available. Then they will nectar at common milkweed, red clover, aster, and alfalfa, among others. More Information: Butterflies and Moths of […]

Eastern Towhee – 5/4/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/4/11 Observation Time: 1:50 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Eastern towhee Scientific Name: Pipilo erythrophthalmus Comments: Towhees are the largest of the sparrows. They are quite common in Sharon. They have a distinctive call that sounds like “Drink your tea.” More Information: All About Birds.org

Tree Swallow – 5/4/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/4/11 Observation Time: 1:00 p.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Tree swallow Scientific Name: Tachycineta bicolor Comments: Tree swallows compete for bluebird nesting boxes. Bluebird house are often set out in pairs. One box gets taken by a pair of tree swallows. They drive other tree swallows away from the other box, but allow bluebirds to move in. More Information: […]

Short-tailed Weasel – 4/16/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/16/11 Observation Time: 7:35 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road behind Shaw’s Plaza Common Name: Short-tailed weasel Scientific Name: Mustela erminea Comments: White undersides (as opposed to cream-colored), white feet, and small size differentiate this road-kill specimen from a long-tailed weasel. Mink are all brown. Short-tailed weasel is also known as a stoat. In winter, they turn all white with a black-tipped tail, […]

Song Sparrow – 4/7/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/7/11 Observation Time: 5:40 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road near soccer fields Common Name: Song Sparrow Scientific Name: Melospiza melodia Comments: This song sparrow was gleaning seeds. Their distinctive, melodious song is a good one to memorize because it is so common. More Information: Cornell Lab of Ornithology “All About Birds”

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