Appalachian Wildlife – Page 9 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Mr Hawk Comes Calling

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Red Tail Hawk 80620” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Even the wind dare not whisper his name as he sails silently over my mountain. The eyes miss nothing as he scans the forest for a twitch of the tail or the flick of a long ear. His talons are cocked and ready to snatch his prey. Even the most subtle earthbound serpent in the forest is vulnerable to the speed of his silent wings. The only clue I had to his presence was the disappearance of songbirds. As I gazed through my window the smaller birds suddenly vanished into the dense brambles borrowing their thorns for protection. When he took up his perch on my carport I knew that the best chance I had to capture his image was through the dirty window in the back of the house. Still, I had to try. As I lined up my lens with his permission and attempted to focus past the airborne pollen and new cobweb clinging to the glass he cocked his head my direction. I don’t think he actually saw me through the glass but he definitely knew that something moved inside the house. After a few shots I decided to try and ease my why outside for a closer photo. It’s been a while since I’ve practiced my weasel walk but my feet remembered the pattern. Stepping with the balls of my feet and allowing the foot to roll into place before shifting my weight would minimize the sounds of movement in the house. I made it all the way to the side door and he didn’t seem to notice. It was the click of the deadbolt that got his attention. Slowly I allowed the door open but with the sudden creek of the hinge the Hawk turned as if he were spring loaded. The gaze of his piercing eyes struck me with a perceived impact that raised the hair on the back of my neck. The eyes felt like they were attempting to burn through to my very soul as our gazes locked. For a moment I wasn’t really sure if he would flee or charge. Even the largest Red Tail Hawk is no match for a human but he does have razors on his feet and I have enough “cool scar stories” to last for the rest of my life. I slowly shifted the camera in order to raise it to my eye and he drew himself skyward and commanded the wind to carry him over the ridge. Before I could even focus he was just a little dot in the sky.

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Encounter With A Mydas Fly

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Mydas Fly 80420” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

A the movement of a shadowy predator catches my attention at Kanawha Falls. I’d actually come here looking to see if the mushrooms I’d spotted in July were still around but they were gone. The creature moved again and at first I thought it was a Mud Dauber wasp but something was wrong with the flight pattern. It didn’t move like a wasp should move. It’s was at that point I began to suspect that I was being lied to. Mud Daubers are generally non-aggressive even when I’m close to their nests. Sometimes they’ll hover close and try to intimidate you but I’ve never had one actually land on me. Mud Daubers can fly in a curve but tend to prefer flying in straight lines. The dark insect before me now moves in curves and circles like a fly. Still, getting stung by any wasp isn’t really my idea of a good time. So I took out my long lens and zoomed in for a better look. The first thing that struck me was the club like antennae and an abdomen that wasn’t connected to the body by a slender waist. The insect looks like a robber fly but is huge compared to the robber fly. The distinctive reddish orange spots on the abdomen were also an identifying trait. This is a Mydas Fly.

Image Titled “Mydas Fly 80420b” showing the iridescent blue sheen on the wings.

The Mydas Fly buzzed me a few times and flicked it’s a few times in an effort to convince me that I was about to be stung. I called it’s bluff and moved a closer. It charged me and pulled away st the last second.

Most likely it’s there simply to lay eggs in the rotting log. It needs to do this because it’s babies are predators. The larvae actually resemble the Graboid monster from the movie Tremors. The maggot has an armored head with powerful looking jaws and it hunts beetle larvae. There’s actually over 400 species of Mydas Flies and some lay eggs in the soil instead of wood. Because they hunt destructive grubs they’re being studied as a natural control on pests.

Image Titled “Mydas Fly 80420c” showing the “claws” on the hind legs.

My internet research says that the adult Mydas Fly is also a predator. A closer look at the hind legs shows that they are built like the front legs of a preying mantis. The claw structure is pointed forward suggesting that the a Mydas Fly overtakes it’s pretty in mid flight. There’s actually controversy in the scientific community about the feeding habits of Mydas Flies because they have been seen pollinating and eating nectar. I suppose that nobody has considered that they might be omnivorous.

After a few minutes I decided it was time to leave the Mydas Fly to go do Mydas Fly things in peace. Perhaps at some point I’ll be able to photograph one with prey and put an end to the controversy.

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Outstanding In His Field

Color Photography, wildlife

The curiosity of a squirrel is really an amazing thing. I don’t think there’s a nook or crany that they won’t explore given half a chance. They are masters of trees and if the forest is dense enough only a bird could cover more distance without touching ground. But on open ground they’re vulnerable. As I eased the big blue truck along the gravel road the fox squirrel must have perceived me as a threat and he stood up to get a better look. In this position he has nearly a 360 view of the world. A squirrel has to have great focal eyesight to accurately leap from branch to branch and their peripheral vision is almost as good. He stood in the spot like a furry garden gnome. I don’t think he even blinked for several minutes but as soon as I let my foot slip from the break pedal and the truck he broke from his stance and made his way to the closest tree in long bounds. In a gravity defying feat of acrobatics he ran a spiral pattern up a huge hickory tree and vanished like ghost. I have know doubts that those incredibly keen eyes remained fixed on the big blue truck as it rolled away in the distance.

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Silk Tree

Color Photography

The warm humid air carries a sweet scent as I cross the little bridge over Peter’s Creek near Panther Mountain. I stop the big blue truck in the middle of the bridge and look over the edge I see the silky pink puffs that connect Appalachia to an ancient civilization on the other side of the world.

This beautiful delicate bloom would have once graced the landscapes of ancient Persia. As a child I learned about the hanging gardens of Babylon as one the ancient wonders of the world. Today there’s a little controversy over if it was Babylon or Nineveh but either way it’s safe to presume that it was the Persian culture in one form or the other. We also tend to think of ancient Persia as the desert that Iraq is today but I don’t really believe that’s accurate. There’s evidence that as recently as 5000 years ago the Sahara Desert in Africa was a lush landscape with a large river. If that’s true then perhaps ancient Persia was also a climate more like Southeastern North America today. And I think that the Persian Silk Tree is evidence of that.

The tree is tolerant of hot dry conditions that we see in the region of modern Iraq but in the the humidity of the Southern United States it thrives to point of being invasive. The dried seed pods spread on the wind similar to Honey Locusts and other pod bearing trees. However I would be amiss not to mention that the humidity also encourages a particular blight that shortens the lifespan of Silk Tree here.

I grew up calling this tree a Mimosa but the scientists who decide on what classifications a tree falls into chose to remove it from Memosea and into the Fabaceae family with trees like Redbud and garden plants like peas.

Image Titled “Silk Tree 70620d”.

Regardless of the name it seems to be a particular favorite of butterflies. While there didn’t seem to be any butterflies visiting the tree on the day that I took the photos I have seen Swallowtail Butterflies if every kind swarming the pink blooms. But this brings me to a personal conflict with myself concerning the Persian Silk Tree. While it produces a high quality food for the adult butterfly population it also crowds out the plants that many of those same butterflies host their eggs on. Eventually this leeds to a decline in the population of native species. West Virginia is already experiencing a crisis in the native firefly population and because silk tree is a pioneer species that means that it competes with the pines. Because the litter from pine needles create a good habitat for fireflies to reproduce it’s possible that Silk Tree along with other escaped non-native trees and bushes could be one of many factors leading to the loss of fireflies. But that’s just my theory for now. And nurseries are already trying to develop a sterile version of Silk Tree that provides the beauty and the nectar but isn’t capable of producing viable seed. It is possible that pollen spread to wild strains of Silk Tree would also produce seed that not viable and thus slow down the spead of the invasion.

My grandmother used to tell me that there was times when we had to laugh with the sinners and cry with the saints. It was her way of saying that you take the good with the bad in life and that sums up my thoughts on Silk Tree. It’s a beautiful plant that I enjoy seeing and smelling but it’s also one that I keep an eye on and don’t want to allow to spread more than it has already. There has to balance in everything.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

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Things Are Just Ducky #13 Finding Family.

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Naptime At The Lake 52620” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

George settled down in the grass and allowed warm morning sun to gently caress his body. It was good to be part of a community again. George valued his solitude but he also craved companionship and the feeling of belonging. The flock provided all that and more. It was common for the members to check up on each other. Or warn the others if a hawk was spotted. When out foraging a call was made when a plentiful food source was found and nobody went hungry. Every day the flock held a waterborne parade by the campground and the campers would show their appreciation by tossing food into water. George felt like a star when they did that. What’s even better was that the flock fully accepted George the moment he got there. He simply landed on the lake next to them and they each greeted him with the words “Welcome Home” as was the flock’s tradition when accepting new members. The more George thought about it the more he realized that a community was really a type of family. That meant that “neighborhood” wasn’t a place but an attribute of belonging like “brotherhood”. George gave a sigh of contentment as he lay in the grass with his flock and drifted into the dreamworld in the mid morning sun.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

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