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Another hot burst of colors to warm you up! A lucky day when a male Blue dasher perched in my zinnia garden. North Georgia
p.s. stay warm everywhere ... snow/ice storm across much of the east/central USA ... my bird feeders are busy
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Explore on January 8, 2025 - thanks!!!
Thought you all might enjoy some hot, blazing colors here in mid-Winter! Windy & cold even in the Deep South. We've got some great irruptive birds this Winter ... I need to get out there & give them more food. Stay warm!
3 years ago today ...
This beautiful warbler showed up - far from his Wintering grounds, acted like a family pet, and didn't leave for 98 days!
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Some of you may remember this story. My phone had gone into a Factory Reset all on its own (thanks Samsung!) so you can say I was a bit stressed. Then I looked out our Big Kitchen Window at our leafy beech tree and saw the back of a bird that didn't match our Winter birds. He turned around and I saw that bright yellow throat ... a Yellow-throated warbler (Setophaga dominica) ??? in Winter??? They overwinter from the GA coast (300 miles from us) & Florida down into Central America & the Caribbean.
I had never gotten a photo of a Yellow-throated warbler. They pass thru here during migration & are known to be a bit elusive & stay up in tree canopies. Even Winter sightings on the GA coast are considered RARE. Giff said he looked like Setophaga dominica albilora.
I grabbed my S5 to get a documentation shot before it disappeared - certain I had just MOMENTS! But that rare warbler stayed ... FOR 98 DAYS ... and became like a family pet. He would come down to me and chirp twice a day when I would feed him - Bark Butter. He survived all Winter on Bark Butter! He would come so close I could feel the flutter of his wings across my hands. I am CERTAIN that the Good Lord sent that warbler that day - and that Winter ... that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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Details are also posted on ebird. Just check out the Map for this species in Jan-Feb '22 and you'll see how lonesome he was up here!
Which shot do you prefer? I have SO many Gulf frit shots waiting to be posted. I raise them on passion flower in our yard & see them many places. Check out the 2nd pose below on lantana.
ALBUM - to see all: 12 Days of Christmas Butterflies 2024:
www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/albums/72177720322526231
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THANK YOU to everyone who has been visiting - God Bless!
You all know which butterfly will wrap up the series ;-)
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Not a perfect shot but I couldn't resist his "show pony" pose! I now realize just how many of my choices this year were on lantana - so be sure to plant some next year.
... or do you prefer the dorsal view of this fritillary??
Our local version of Junonia is this Common Buckeye. They are eye-catching and the Winter form is pink below. They fly right up until frost here & use some beautiful host flowers like purple Gerardia/False foxglove at the wetlands. These were enjoying yellow cosmos near the Etowah River. North GA
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Check out the FANTASTIC Christmas musical here @ FBCW - especially the 4 tenors & Messiah at end!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUsWL6l3k6M
ALBUM - to see all: 12 Days of Christmas Butterflies 2024:
www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/albums/72177720322526231
This is not what I was preparing to post this morning ... but here's another RARE hairstreak: Juniper Hairstreak on giant coneflowers. The park maintenance guys cut these towering coneflowers down for no reason - and I haven't seen this species, anywhere, since then. One of my favorites and I love seeing YOURS! North GA
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Check out the FANTASTIC Christmas musical here @ FBCW - especially the 4 tenors & Messiah at end!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUsWL6l3k6M
ALBUM - to see all: 12 Days of Christmas Butterflies 2024:
www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/albums/72177720322526231
COVER PHOTO: Rainbow of Nature - Level 3 Yellow, January 13, 2025 - thanks!1
I love to photograph these iridescent skippers in the sun! This one on lantana ... they don't often spread their wings this wide. A migrant up from Florida in Summer - they often lose their tails. I think a Long-tailed was the very last butterfly in our yard in November. North Georgia
ALBUM: 12 Days of Christmas Butterflies 2024:
www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/albums/72177720322526231
Some of you all wanted me to post more snakes or frogs before "12 Days of Christmas Butterflies" begin - so here's one of our native Green treefrogs against red flowers in my Georgia yard. I shot this cutie with my 100mm macro lens. Can you all believe it's only 2 weeks till Christmas??!!!
Shot with my Canon 100mm f/2.8L macro lens
A male Tiger swallowtail on one of our buddleia. N Georgia yard - this week
Happy Butterfly Monday!
I rarely see Painted skimmers obelisking (to cool off) - because their season starts early. Here are a couple of never-posted Painted skimmer shots - foty from March a few years back. These guys are rare but there is a small population @ the wetlands, N Georgia
I've been working all Winter on getting my best ode records caught up in the Odonata Central database ... and I'm up to June 2022! I love these big spiketails - hope you enjoy too.
*Praying for you all in S. California
Spiketails are some of my favorite dragonflies - and are rare. The 3 species we find are also big (3.5"+ long). Arrowhead spiketails around here also tend to be friendly ... though I had a few running from me this past season! Shot at the nearby wetlands, North Georgia (Cordulegaster obliqua)
When this Yellow-throated warbler appeared in our yard 2 years ago ... I would have been less shocked if a Black Bear had strolled up! I had never seen one close up in warm months - and this guy should've been in Florida or the Caribbean. I grabbed my camera knowing he could be gone in a moment. Then he stayed for 98 days - becoming a bit of a family pet, coming down to greet me within arm's length. What a blessing! (Setophaga dominica albilora per Giff)
Happy New Year!!!
Long-tailed skipper in my Georgia flower garden last Summer ... hope this warms you up on a January day!
Fall pink anemones growing up through my pink glass solar flowers - our N Georgia yard
We went down to 9oF last night ... and our POWER went off at bedtime - yikes! The whole area was black ... until the house lit back up at 1 a.m. and took my computers into a hard re-boot - which caused problems on this computer that has ALL of my nature photos. I could not get to Flickr. Hubby helped trouble-shoot and I WILL finish 12 Days! We also have a Noah's Ark of lemon trees & blooming flowers in our garage that were suddenly at risk if the power stayed off. Stay safe & warm as you go to candlelight services! Thanks Don for your severe cold tips ;-)
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12 Days 2022 album: www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/albums/72177720304365083
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>> Christmas-y stuff: It's almost Christmas - Hallelujah!!!
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One of my favorite butterflies to photograph - these iridescent beauties were very scarce this year. They fly up from Florida. Shot on the lantana in our yard in North Georgia.
12 Days 2022 album: www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/albums/72177720304365083
p.s. a bad tooth has put me at 3 doctors' offices instead of finishing Christmas shopping! I'm catching up tomorrow ... hope everyone is good. Our WONDERFUL neighbor Lynn surprised us with a GORGEOUS raspberry cake when I got home from the doctor late today. btw we could have a white Christmas Eve ... stay tuned!
I've got a LONG queue of butterflies and odes wanting to be posted for Christmas! Hope this lady Halloween from August warms you up.
12 Days 2022 album: www.flickr.com/photos/vickisnature/albums/72177720304365083
>> Christmas-y stuff: check out this atheist's other-wordly story after drinking very very bad water at a construction site:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lZ4QmW-mTY
>> Shout out: to Don www.flickr.com/photos/donaldsducks for his encouragement and just being a good friend up there in the North Woods - oh, and also for his stunning photography!
The King of butterflies for the King of Kings - one of hundreds in the cosmos fields this October.
CHRISTMAS STORY: Christ is Born!!! Go to a Christmas candlelight service - you'll be glad you did!
If you don't know where to go ... here are just a couple around Atlanta that you could attend or stream:
+ FBCW - 5pm EST: live.fbcw.org/
+ Church of the Apostles w/Mac Powell singing @ 3 & 5pm Christmas Eve: apostles.org/christmaseve/
>> YOUR PHOTOS: Check out Brad's [https://www.flickr.com/photos/bradontca/] gorgeous 'stream ... here's a very rare Baltimore Checkerspot - I've never seen one but know of one colony near the river in ATL. We planted their host plant this year: flic.kr/p/2jezJUJ
M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !!!!!!!!