We’re getting near the end of photos, and few are coming in. I’m afraid I’ll have to make this feature more sporadic. Today I’m combining photos from three contributors; all their notes and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
The first is Rachel Sperling.
I’m attaching a few photographs I snapped the other week of a female Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) and a male Downy woodpecker ( Dryobates pubescens). These were shot in the southern Adirondack Mountains of New York.I’m only a casual birder, but I’ve observed hummingbirds to be very territorial; they’ll expend energy chasing one another away from feeders when there’s plenty of nectar to go around. But this hummingbird didn’t seem at all bothered by the presence of the downy woodpecker. For all I know, that’s common, but I’d never seen it before. I wasn’t able to get a photo of the woodpecker drinking the nectar, but he did appear to be drinking it.
Arthropods from Christopher Moss:
I always called these things tent caterpillars, but now I learn their web tents are seen only in the spring, and in the nodes of large branches and trunks. However, the Fall Webworm (Hyphantria cunea) makes its tents at the end of branches and appears at this time of year. This one caught my eye as it was so big—about four feet long. It’s a good thing for them that my mother, a horticulturalist, is no longer with us. She used to smash the webs up and grind the caterpillars with her bare hands, which made me rather squeamish!
And having these around can hurt your horses.
A black and yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia), that has made its home on my basil. Apparently venomous and willing to bite if disturbed, with an effect like that of a bumblebee sting on the recipient. I’ll have to leave that pot of basil till last and manage with the others in the meantime!
. . . and astronomy photos by Terry Platt.
Here’s a few more images of hydrogen in the Cygnus – Cepheus region of the Milky Way. I hope that they are useful.
Simeis 57 – the ‘Propeller’ nebula is a small component of a much larger area of hydrogen found in North West Cygnus. It is probably about 5,500 light years away.
IC1340 is a very different kind of nebula, in that it is part of a huge expanding cloud of debris from a giant star that became a supernova about 15,000 years ago. Such explosions are the source of the heavy elements that make up most the Earth and the life upon it, so our bodies are composed largely of the debris from similar explosions that occurred billions of years ago. This nebula is in Eastern Cygnus and is often called the ‘Cirrus’ or ‘Veil’ for obvious reasons. The distance is 2,400 light years.
NGC 7380 – the ‘Wizard’ is one of the few nebulae that seem to fit quite well with an anthropomorphic name. The wizard’s pointy hat is clearly seen near the top, as a dark cone of dust, and his outstretched hands are seen near the centre, full of glow from the magical spell that he is casting. In reality, this is a region of hot hydrogen, which is expanding to the left and sculpting the cooler dust cloud. The Wizard is in Cepheus, a little North of Cygnus, and is about 8,500 light years away.
Wonderful photos!
I’m afraid the hummingbird feeder is in critical need of sterilizing and de-moulding with some bleach solution. It must be hard to maintain these things in very humid climes and seasons.
We too derive great pleasure from our hummingbird feeders here in SW Ohio – this has been an excellent year, in that we’ve seen as many as 12 at a time swarming the feeders at a time. On the issue of territoriality, there was an interesting piece in WaPo recently. in which a number of ornithologists indicated that the behavior stems from the fact that in the wild, birds are dependent on the small amount of nectar produced by multiple flowers, so they will defend a patch they find vociferously. In that context, a feeder is just a giant flower.
I saw that! It was interesting. I was discussing this with my father, who occasionally teaches ornithology, and his hypothesis was that the hummingbird doesn’t want to mess with anyone bigger than itself – even though downy woodpeckers are fairly gentle. He also informed me that the Aztec god of war was sometimes depicted as a hummingbird: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Huitzilopochtli
Beautiful photos from everyone.
The downy woodpecker in the first three photos is not a male, but a juvenile. Males have the red spot on the back of the head, behind the eyes, while this one has the red spot on top of the head. That is typical in juvenile downys and hairys, apparently both males and females. That spot disappears gradually over several weeks, producing some interesting patterns on the tops of their heads. At some point after that the males develop the red spot on the back of the head.
I have not seen any literature that explains why the juveniles have the spots on the top of their heads, but it may be an attention-getting device having to do with feeding when they are still in the nest. This juvenile may be on the hummingbird feeder because he/she doesn’t know any better! They have done some strange things around my feeders.
Thank you for the correction!
Very good! I don’t know why webworms would be harmful to horses, but perhaps they feed on toxic leaves and their droppings get eaten by grazing animals?
The garden spider can bite, but I’ve handled hundreds and have never been bitten. In any case, it is fun (of sorts) to catch a live insect and toss it into the web. The lady spider would appreciate it.
The link provided by Christopher Moss says this and more:
“The theory of Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome first appeared in 2011 when Kentucky gained the spotlight with roughly 1/3 of the foal crop (over 3,500 foals) were prematurely born or aborted. This included 3,600 Thoroughbreds and 1,000 Paint and Quarter Horses. The epidemic resulted in ~`$500 million in industry losses. The mares who aborted their foals showed few, if any signs of illness. The proposed rationale for this tremendous loss was linked to the hatching population of the Eastern Tent Caterpillar. Although these caterpillars are not toxic, the danger lies in their body’s hairy setae.
As ETCs hatch from their web tents, they will migrate through fields to find an area to pupate (or initiate the cocoon state). This occurs in February and can continue for 4-6 weeks. Broodmares foraging in pastures unintentionally ingest these caterpillars. As the horse digests the insects, the setae or hairs will break off and lodge into/through the digestive tissues. The setae act as transporters of gut bacteria that then are released into the bloodstream with the setae. Bacteria laden setae invade sensitive areas such as eyes, neural, cardiac, and fetal tissues”
Very nice photos, thanks to all the readers for their submissions.