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Recent Posts
- 22 September 2017 – Hidden Bog – A New Discovery
- 6 May 2016 – Newly Discovered Plant Species for Maryland
- 25 April 2017 – Forget-me-not or not – Part 2 – SUCCESS!
- 16 April 2017 – Mollusks Galore
- 14 April 2017 – Poet’s Daffodil – Narcissus poeticus L. –
- 14 April 2014 – Oldtown Elkridge and Thomas Viaduct
- 14 April 2017 – Forget-me-not or not – Part 1
- 11 April 2017 – Cerastium
- A Harbinger of Spring – Draba verna
- 8 April 2017 – Spring Wildflower Walk
- 8 April 2017 – American Field Pansy – Viola bicolor
- 7 April 2017 – Azure Bluets – Houstonia caerulea
- 5 April 2017 – How to Identify Erythronium americanum
- 4 April 2017 – Tiny Pants on Tiny Plants
- 4 April 2017 – Yellow Fumewort
- 3 April 2017 – Chickasaw Plum – How to Identify
- 1 April 2017 – Chickasaw Plum
- 30 December 2016 – Hairy Bracken Fern
- 30 December 2016 – Western Sword Fern
- 30 December 2016 – Nature Hike with Granddaughters in Bellevue
Invasive Species of the Week
Category Archives: Journal
20 June 2015 – Worm Plots
The worm plots are historically significant because of the role they played in DDT research. In the 1960’s, researchers at the USGS’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center conducted research on the effect that certain pesticides had on raptors. Rachel Carson in … Continue reading
Posted in Journal
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20 June 2015 – Whooping Crane Observatory
(Above photo: Two whooping Cranes at Patuxent Research Refuge.) The Patuxent Research Refuge is home to the USGS’s (United States Geological Survey’s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. One of the on-going projects conducted by the USGS there is the Whooping Crane … Continue reading
Posted in Fauna, Journal, Sites around refuge
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20 June 2015 – Gerronema strombodes
Spotted this interesting mushroom along Mill Race Road just past the swamp. They were growing all over the woods from the humus soil. I can’t seem to find a common name for it, but its scientific name is Gerronema strombodes. … Continue reading
Posted in Journal, Plant Profile
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19 June 2015 -Common Pug – a Type of Inch Worm
As I was driving away today at the refuge, I spotted an inch worm on my arm. So I decided to take a few photos of it. It is apparently called a common pug (Eupithecia miserulata), a moth of the … Continue reading
Posted in Journal
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19 June 2015 – Great Spangled Fritillary
Several individuals of this beautiful butterfly, called the Great Spangled Fritillary, were flying around the North Tract Contact Station this afternoon. They were feeding on the nectar of the Common Milkweed growing in the flower beds around the building. … Continue reading
Posted in Fauna, Journal
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18 June 2015 – Spotted Wintergreen – Chimaphila maculata
Spent 1.5 hours on the refuge today. Drove out to Lake Allen and spotted some white-colored flowers off in the pine woods on the east side of the lake. I got out of the Jeep to investigate and discovered it … Continue reading
Posted in Journal, Plant Profile
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17 June 2015 – Chicken- of-the-Woods – Laetiporus sulphureus
Found some Chicken-of-the-Woods growing on a rotting oak log today. Its scientific name is Laetiporus sulphureus. It is a polypore shelf mushroom. The Chicken-of-the-Woods is edible, although some people may be allergic to it. It is said to taste … Continue reading
Posted in Journal
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13 June 2015 – Memorial Rose – Rosa wichuraiana
About 15 years ago, I spotted two colonies of white roses across the street from our house. They were not the Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) which had already mostly finished because blooming, and this rose was in its prime. … Continue reading
Posted in Journal, Non-Refuge, Plant Profile
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13 June 2015 – Common Winterberry – Ilex verticillata
(Photo above: flower cluster) I found some Common Winterberry that was in full bloom today along the Little Patuxent Trail. The scientific name for this member of the holly family (Aquifoliaceae) is Ilex verticillata (L.) A. Gray. Its native range … Continue reading
Posted in Journal, Plant Profile
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9 June 2015 – Spotted turtle – Clemmys guttata
While I was driving on Wildlife Loop on the North Tract today, I saw a small black object in the road. At first, I thought it was a piece of debris, but on closer examination it was a Spotted Turtle … Continue reading
Posted in Fauna, Journal
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9 June 2015 – Harvestman
I don’t know which species of Harvestman this is. It stood still long enough for me to take a couple of good shots. Some people mistakenly believe that Harvestmen are spiders, but they are not. They belong to the Opiliones … Continue reading
Posted in Fauna, Journal
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9 June 2015 – Maleberry – Lyonia ligustrina
(Photo of a maleberry shrub in habit.) Maleberry (Lyonia ligustrina (L.) DC.) is an Ericad (member of Ericaceae – Heath Family) that is found on the refuge around the margins of wetlands. Its white flowers mature into brown dry capsules … Continue reading
Posted in Journal, Plant Profile
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6 June 2015 – Hilltop Bog
(Above photo is a full view of the bog.) Hilltop Bog is the headwaters for one of the small streams which feeds into the Patuxent River. The water from this bog flows in generally south. The plant community is a … Continue reading
Posted in Journal, Refuge Bogs
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