Turkey Vulture #WingsOnWednesday

My grandson Isaac and I were driving along the Snake River near Swan Falls Dam on June 15, 2011, and saw a flock in a parking area near the dam.  They all left as we drove up except for this one, who started walking away as I stopped to take this photo.

Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura

Rocky Mountain Indian Paintbrush – Castilleja covilleana – Added to USWildflowers Database

Mountain Indian Paintbrush, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (07/26/2011.) Scientific name is Castilleja covilleana. It is also known by the common name Coville Indian Paintbrush.  Photo below was taken in the Boise National Forest in Ada County, ID  on June 10, 2011.   Go to the Rocky Mountain Indian Paintbrush detail page for more photos and information.

Rocky Mountain Indian Paintbrush, Coville Indian Paintbrush - Castilleja covilleana

Salad Burnet – Sanguisorba minor – Added to USWildflowers Database

Salad Burnet, an introduced species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (07/23/2011.) Scientific name is Sanguisorba minor. It is also known by the common names Small Burnet and Garden burnet.  Photo below was taken along the Hull’s Gulch National Recreation Trail in the Boise Foothills on July 21, 2011.   Go to the Salad Burnet detail page for more photos and information.

Small Burnet, Salad burnet, Garden burnet - Sanguisorba minor

#NPOD: Sensitive Partridge Pea #Nativeplants

Sensitive Partridge Pea, Wild Sensitive Plant, Sensitive Pea – Chamaecrista nictitans

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Fly on Mullein Foxglove #WingsOnWednesday

I ran across my first-ever Mullein Foxglove last Saturday along the gravel road to the Blue Hole at Pigeon Mountain.  I had made a few trips down this way, monitoring a location for a couple of orchid species I want to catch in bloom.  Jay Clark and I spotted the leaves of these orchids back in March, but now there is so much understory growth I haven’t been able to relocate them.  In any case, it wasn’t a wasted trip since I was able to photograph a Whiteflower Leafcup, Heal-all, Agrimony, Tall Bellflower, Browneyed Susan, Pale Indian Plantain, and the Mullein Foxglove, all before the rain sent me home.

While I was photographing the plant, this fly landed on one of the blossoms.  Dr. John Hilty at illinoiswildflowers.info says that bumblebees, honeybees, miner bees, and butterflies sip the nectar of this plant.  We add this fly to his list.

Fly on Mullein Foxglove - Dasistoma macrophylla

Click on the image to go to Flickr, where you can view a larger version.

Mullein Foxglove – Dasistoma macrophylla – Added to USWildflowers Database

Mullein Foxglove, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (07/19/2011.) Scientific name is Dasistoma macrophylla. It is also known by the common name Mullein Seymeria.  Photo below was taken along the road to the Blue Hole along Pigeon Mountain, in Walker County, GA  on July 16, 2011.   Go to the Mullein Foxglove detail page for more photos and information.

Mullein Foxglove, Mullein Seyemeria - Dasistoma macrophylla

Browneyed Susan – Rudbeckia triloba – Added to USWildflowers Database

Browneyed Susan, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (07/17/2011.) Scientific name is Rudbeckia triloba. It is also known by the common names Thin-leaf Coneflower and Three-lobed Coneflower.  Photo below was taken along the road to the Blue Hole along Pigeon Mountain, in Walker County, GA  on July 16, 2011.   Go to the Browneyed Susan detail page for more photos and information.

Browneyed Susan, Thin-leaf Coneflower, Three-lobed Coneflower - Rudbeckia triloba

Interesting Robin – Leucistic?

I was heading out to work this morning and saw this very oddly colored bird in my neighbor’s yard.  I pulled my camera out of the backpack; unfortunately a 90mm macro lens without VR is not the right lens for a bird at 60 feet.  But I didn’t have time to dig out the longer lens and change it; I was on the way to work after all.  This is a significant crop of a photo of a very interesting American Robin – Turdus migratorius. Presumably this is a case of leucism.

Leucistic American Robin - Turdus migratorius

Click on the photo to go to Flickr where you can display a larger image.

Western Clematis – Clematis ligusticifolia – Added to USWildflowers Database

Western Clematis, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (07/14/2011.) Scientific name is Clematis ligusticifolia. It is also known by the common names Western White Clematis, Western Virgin’s Bower, Creek Clematis, Old Man’s Beard, and Pepper Vine. Photo below was taken along the Kleinschmidt Grade in Adams County, ID on June 19, 2011. Go to the Western Clematis Detail Page for more photos and information.

Western Clematis, Western White Clematis, Western Virgin's Bower, Creek Clematis, Old Man's Beard, Pepper Vine - Clematis ligusticifolia

Mountain Bush Honeysuckle – Diervilla rivularis – Added to USWildflowers Database

Mountain Bush Honeysuckle, a native species, has been added to the USWildflowers database (07/11/2011.) Scientific name is Diervilla rivularis. It is also known by the common names  Hairy Bush honeysuckle, and Riverbank Bush Honeysuckle. Photo below was taken at Cloudland Canyon State Park in Dade County, GA  on July 2, 2011. Go to the Mountain Bush Honeysuckle detail page for more photos and information.

Mountain Bush Honeysuckle, Hairy Bush honeysuckle, Riverbank Bush Honeysuckle – Diervilla rivularis

Dusty Maidens – Chaenactis douglasii – Added to USWildflowers

Dusty Maidens, Douglas' Dustymaiden, Chaenactis, Douglas False Yarrow - Chaenactis douglasii

Probing Proboscis #WingsOnWednesday

OK, you only get a part of the wings in this Wings On Wednesday post, but the wings delivered the proboscis we see here probing a Phacelia blossom along the Hull’s Gulch National Recreation Trail in the Boise Foothills on July 21, 2011. 

Butterfly on Phacelia