Sightings – Page 37 – Sharon Friends of Conservation

Eastern Towhee – 5/6/15

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/6/15 Observation Time: 3:30 p.m. Observation Location: field near Gavins Pond Common Name: Eastern Towhee Scientific Name: Pipilo erythrophthalmus Comments: The Eastern Towhee is our largest sparrow. Its song can be remembered easily because it sounds like it is singing, “Drink your tea.” More Information: All About Birds

Prairie Warbler – 5/6/15

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/6/15 Observation Time: 3:25 p.m. Observation Location: field near Gavins Pond Common Name: Prairie Warbler Scientific Name: Setophaga discolor Comments: This striking yellow and black warbler has a high-pitched trill that ascends. It can be seen in open fields and under power lines all summer in Sharon. More Information: All About Birds

Baltimore Oriole – 5/6/15

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/6/15 Observation Time: 2:30 p.m. Observation Location: tree near Gavins Pond Common Name: Baltimore Oriole Scientific Name: Icterus galbula Comments: I heard this oriole’s flutelike call before I spotted it. You can listen to a recording of an oriole’s song at: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Baltimore_Oriole/sounds

Common Baskettail dragonfly – 5/6/15

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/26/15 Observation Time: 2:05 p.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Common Baskettail dragonfly Scientific Name: Epitheca cynosura Comments: This is the most common baskettail within its range, hence the name. The scientific name, cynosura, means dog tail, and possibly refers to the way the cerci at the end of the abdomen curve outward like a dog wagging its tail […]

Eastern Bluebird – 5/3/15

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/3/15 Observation Time: 1:55 p.m. Observation Location: field near Gavins Pond Common Name: Eastern Bluebird Scientific Name: Sialia sialis Comments: I found a couple of sky-blue eggs in one of the nesting boxes near Gavins Pond. Then I saw the parents. As I was snapping photos of the male bluebird, it suddenly stretched out its wing. A moment later it was gone. More Information: National Audubon […]

Field Sparrow – 4/19/15

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/19/15 Observation Time: 4:50 p.m. Observation Location: field near Gavins Pond Common Name: Field Sparrow Scientific Name: Spizella pusilla Comments: The song of the field sparrow is a series of chirps that gets progressively more rapid like a bouncing ping-pong ball. Check it out at: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Field_Sparrow/sounds

American Chestnut tree – 4/19/15

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/19/15 Observation Time: 2:35 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: American Chestnut Scientific Name: Castanea dentata Comments: American chestnut was once very common in New England, but it has been practically wiped out by the chestnut blight, a pathogenic fungus. The fungus does not kill the roots, which continue to send up shoots for years. However, the fungus usually prevents […]

Little Wood Satyr butterfly – 6/5/13

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/5/13 Observation Time: noon Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Little Wood Satyr butterfly Scientific Name: Megisto cymela Comments: As the name implies, the wood satyr is most commonly seen in woods and shrubby areas. More Information: Wikipedia

Wisteria – 5/27/14

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/27/14 Observation Time: 6:50 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Wisteria Scientific Name: Wisteria spp. Comments: Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae), that includes ten species of woody climbing vines that are native to China, Korea, and Japan and as an introduced species to the Eastern United States. More […]

Willow Leaf Beetle – 6/25/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/25/11 Observation Time: 3:20 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Willow Leaf Beetle Scientific Name: Plagiodera versicolora Comments: I got help identifying this tiny beetle at www.bugguide.net. I set up a free account and uploaded my photo. In a few days I received an email from one of their entomologists with the identification. Given that there are thousands […]

Widow Skimmer dragonfly – 7/31/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/31/11 Observation Time: 3:45 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Widow Skimmer dragonfly Scientific Name: Libellula luctuosa Comments: The widow skimmer is famous for its pruinosity – the white, waxy coating on the dragonfly’s wings and abdomen. Dragonflies have excellent eyesight. Their compound eyes have up to 30,000 facets, each of which is a separate light-sensing organ or […]

Widow Skimmer dragonfly – 7/3/10

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/3/10 Observation Time: 8:05 a.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Widow Skimmer dragonfly Scientific Name: Libellula luctuosa Comments: Odonates (dragonflies) are completely harmless – they do not sting or bite. Indeed, they are beneficial in the same way spiders and other predators are beneficial – they keep the burgeoning insect population in check. More Information: North American Insects and […]

Whorled Loosestrife – 6/14/09

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/14/09 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Farm, Trustees of Reservations land Common Name: Whorled Loosestrife Scientific Name: Lysimachia quadrifolia More Information: Wild Flowers of Sleepy Hollow Lake 3 Whorls: 4 Whorls: 5 Whorls:

White Squirrel – 5/8/04

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 5/8/04 Observation Time: 8:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Parkway Common Name: White Squirrel (leucistic variation of the Eastern Gray Squirrel) Scientific Name: Sciurus carolinensis Comments: There are several different reasons why Eastern Gray Squirrels sometimes are sometimes white. Check out this video: http://www.untamedscience.com/biodiversity/white-squirrel/ More Information: White Squirrel Research Institute and Jamaica Pond’s Albino Gray Squirrel

White Corporal dragonfly (female) – 5/26/14

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/26/14 Observation Time: 12:10 p.m. Observation Location: Borderland State Park Common Name: White Corporal dragonfly (female) Scientific Name: Libellula (Ladona) exusta Comments: Dragonflies eat insects. That’s a good thing because bat populations have plummeted due to a mysterious disease called white-nose. More Information: White corporal dragonfly

White Corporal dragonfly (female) – 5/25/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/25/11 Observation Time: 12:25 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: White Corporal dragonfly (female) Scientific Name: Libellula (Ladona) exusta Comments: The pale rusty abdomen indicates this is a young female. Older females have a drab white abdomen more similar to the males. Found in fields and clearings near water. White corporals inhabit the northeast coastal plain into SE Canada. Fairly common in […]

White Baneberry – 9/9/12

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/9/12 Observation Time: 3:15 p.m. Observation Location: Sandy Ridge Circle Common Name: White Baneberry, or Doll’s Eyes Scientific Name: Actaea pachypoda Comments: Both the berries and the entire plant are considered poisonous to humans. The berries contain cardiogenic toxins which can have an immediate sedative effect on human cardiac muscle tissue, and are the most poisonous part of the plant. Ingestion […]

White Baneberry – 8/24/09

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 8/24/09 Observation Time: 12:30 p.m. Observation Location: Margin of wetland behind Hunter’s Ridge Common Name: White Baneberry (a.k.a. “Doll’s Eyes”) Scientific Name: Actaea pachypoda Comments: Needs continuously damp soil. Seeds, which are highly toxic, were once used as eyes for rag dolls. More Information: Dave’s Garden

White-footed Mouse – 4/12/14

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/12/14 Observation Time: 2:00 p.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road (back yard) Common Name: White-footed mouse Scientific Name: Peromyscus leucopus Comments: This juvenile mouse was in our garden. More Information: Wikipedia

Water Shield – 7/13/13

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/13/13 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Water Shield Scientific Name: Brasenia schreberi Comments: Leaf floats like a water lily, but the stem is attached in middle. More Information: USDA Forest Service

Water Lily – 9/12/09

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/12/09 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond (near the dam) Common Name: Water Lily Scientific Name: Nymphaea odorata Comments: It usually flowers only from early morning until noon. The black specks in the first photo might be black aphids. More Information: The University of Texas at Austin

Water Forget-Me-Not – 6/6/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/6/11 Observation Time: 1:15 p.m. Observation Location: bank of Beaver Brook (near tennis courts) Common Name: Water Forget-Me-Not Scientific Name: Myosotis scorpioides Comments: Water forget-me-nots are usually found in damp or wet habitats, such as bogs, ponds, streams, ditches, fen and rivers. While it favors wet ground, it can survive submerged in water, and often can form floating rafts. More Information: […]

Viscid Violet Cort mushroom – 9/9/12

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/9/12 Observation Time: 3:00 p.m. Observation Location: Sandy Ridge Circle Common Name: Viscid Violet Cort mushroom Scientific Name: Cortinarius iodes Comments: This striking violet mushroom has a watery sheen. More Information: American Mushrooms

Virginian Tiger Moth caterpillar – 6/29/11

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/29/11 Observation Time: 10:20 a.m. Observation Location: near outflow pool at Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Virginian Tiger Moth caterpillar Scientific Name: Spilosoma virginica Comments: This caterpillar, which was chewing on grape leaves, will metamorphose into a beautiful white moth. More Information: Moths in a Connecticut Yard

Velvet Ant – 5/19/13

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/19/13 Observation Time: 3:20 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Velvet Ant Scientific Name: Pseudomethoca simillima Comments: This ant-like creature is not an ant at all, but rather a wingless wasp. It can sting you, so don’t pick it up! Watch (and listen) to a velvet ant in action. More Information: The Backyard Arthropod Project

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