Geraniums, Geraniums, Geraniums, and More Geraniums!

              One of my favorite flowers that blooms in Wildwood 

               Park is the Wild Geranium, (Geranium maculatum).

                I begin looking for it in late spring. It has flowers that 

            measure about one to one and a half inches across 

          so they are very easily seen along the bike path.

                                     The plant grows from one to two feet tall and has distinctive

                                 leaves with three to five lobes and deep clefts. It is a perennial that

blooms in spring and early summer. Please remember that fact!

                                     You may read more about this plant on the Wildwood website:

http://www.radfordpl.org/wildwood/today/Plant_Spp_pp/Wild_Geranium.htm

   I thought that this was the only geranium in our park. 

However, one day as I explored the park

with my camera, a small flower caught my eye.

And the small leaves made me take a closer look.

They looked very much like geranium leaves

only they were miniature!

A close up view from my camera makes anything look huge,

but trust me - they were very much smaller 

than any geranium leaves that I had seen before.

With the help of Dr. Gary Coté, Professor of Biology at

Radford University and Webmaster of the Wildwood 

website, I learned that I had found Carolina Cranesbill,

(Geranium carolinianum). The carolinianum part of

its name probably means that the species was first 

discovered in one of the Carolinas. Keep reading, 

and I will explain about the cranesbill part of the 

name soon. That made two species of geraniums in Wildwood.

A couple of weeks later, while wandering with my camera,

a small, bright pink flower caught my eye.

The leaves looked a bit like geranium leaves, but not

so deeply lobed.

But the flowers were so tiny - less than half an inch.

It almost looked as if there were ten petals, but closer

inspection showed that each of the five petals had a 

rather deep cleft.

Again I consulted my friend, Gary Coté. After some

searching, he told me that I had found Dove's-foot  

Geranium, (Geranium molle)

Now we had three geranium species in Wildwood.

Read more about this plant:

http://www.radfordpl.org/wildwood/today/Plant_Spp_pp/Dovefoot.html 

The month of May passed, and I continued to hunt.

In mid-June, I spotted a tiny, bright pink flower.

This one had deeply lobed leaves that were 

delicately spindly with sort of a geranium shape. 

"Am I beginning to image that all new leaves remind me 

of geraniums?", I wondered.

And yes, I again sent photos to my friend Gary.

And yes, we had another species of geranium.

This one was number four, Longstalk Cranesbill,

 (G. columbinum). The Latin word columbinus means 

"pigeon" and the leaves do resemble pigeon's feet.

Isn't it lovely with dew drops on it!

 A few days later, I again looked down to see a

small pale pink flower. Its leaves had that "G" look!

The flowers were tiny as all the others had been.

Of course, I snapped a few pictures.

 Yes, I had another geranium - Small-flowered Cranesbill,

(G. pusillum). Pusillum means "tiny" or "small".
 How many species in all? Five!!!!!

I'm sure that you have been patiently waiting to know why

some of these plants are named Geranium and why some are 

named Cranesbill. Take a look at the fruit that these flowers

produce - sort of looks like a crane's bill or beak! The name
Geranium comes from the Greek word for crane, geranos.
The four new species are all annual plants, and perhaps
their seeds hitched rides on mowing machines that were
used to cut the grass in the park.

 

The summer months passed quickly as I continued to enjoy
hunting with my camera. As I walked Wildwood Drive (that's
the part of the bike paths that goes to the Main Street entrance
of Wildwood) I saw a purplish-pink flower reaching up to the
sun from beneath a privet hedge. "That looks like a Wild Geranium,
but it's too late in summer for that." Its flower was even a big
one, more that an inch across!

 I checked the leaves - yes, those sure looked like G. maculatum!

I n spite of the fact that it was almost the last day of August,

the 29th in fact, it sure was a geranium. Dr. Coté was stumped.

We could find no other geranium species that matched its

description. Perhaps it was just a second flowering of our original

Wild Geranium or perhaps we have a sixth and new species.

Ahh, the mysteries and puzzles of nature!

My Own Moth!

I'm always delighted to see a critter on the outside wall of the 

restroom building in Wildwood Park. The wall provides a nice 

background to show off the insect's features without distractions.

I found a lovely moth there at the end of March. I sent it off to

Bug Guide for identification and was even more delighted when 

I learned its name - Kent's Geometer!

    Santa put the Peterson Field Guide to Moths in my Christmas
stocking, and I immediately looked up my moth. It is listed in
 that book as being "uncommon". I guess that one reason why I

    had never seen one before. 

 Notice in the photo below its lovely, long, and large antenna.

 I have not been able to find much information about my moth. Its

   scientific name is Selenia kentaria. As a caterpillar, it looked like a 

    stick and liked to eat leaves of hardwood trees. There are plenty 

  of maple, oak, and cherry trees in Wildwood so it had plenty of  food.

I'll certainly will look for another one this spring!

A Super Saturday Adventure!

                                  Clyde Kessler writes:

        November 17, Melanie Fox invited us over to her home in 

             Radford to watch the banding of two hummingbirds. A week 

      earlier she had emailed me photos she had taken of two 

        hummingbirds at the hummingbird feeder in her front yard.

                                        Mel had also told me that during the cold spell that had 

                                     started a few days early, the feeder’s nectar (sugar water) 

                                        would partially freeze up. So she started bringing the 

                                        feeder in at night. She would put the feeder out early 

                                       before sunrise, because the hummingbirds would show 

                                                  up at first light looking for their breakfast.

 

                                              Odds were that the two unidentified hummingbirds 
                                   visiting the feeder in front of Mel’s house would be 
                                   Rufous Hummingbirds, the most common late fall
                                   migrant and wintering hummingbirds in the         
                                   eastern US. And since they appeared to be 
                                   immature hummers, they might also be hatch-year 
                                   Allen’s Hummingbirds. It was also possible that the  
                                   greener one that visited much less frequently 

                                   than the rufous, or chestnut-colored one did, 

                                   could be a Broad-tailed Hummingbird. 

                                              So our anticipation grew 
                                        as we awaited Bruce’s arrival.

                                    He got to Mel’s home right on time. We had already 

                              been treated to a couple of quick flurries of hummingbird 

                                   activity. Stan Bentley was there taking pictures, as was 

                                  Nancy Kent. Mel and family were outside, too, watching. 

                                                     A bit later so were a few neighbors, 

                                    curious and then excited about what was happening.

                                         Stan has traveled out to the western states many 

                                        times, and has seen these species of hummingbirds 

                                       several times before. I have seen a couple of Rufous 

                                       Hummingbirds over the years in Virginia, but never

                                       two in one day. That number in Virginia visiting at one

                                                   feeder was really close to a miracle, 

                                                     at least it seemed that way to me.

                                      Earlier that morning, Bruce Peterjohn 

                                        had already banded a hummer near Blacksburg. 

                                     That one turned out to be an adult Rufous Hummingbird. 

                                    He also told us that there were two other unidentified

                                    hummers coming to feeders in Christiansburg, but he 

                                    didn’t have the address of the homeowners. Those 

                                     would remain mystery hummers, at least for that day.

                                            Bruce set up his hummingbird trap in only 

                                             a few moments. The effort to catch and 

                                          band the mystery hummingbirds became 

                                          a bit like a fishing expedition, with the nectar 

                                      in the hummingbird feeder functioning as bait. 

                                        The hummingbird feeder was placed inside  

                                        the trap and a door to the cage was open. 

                                      Bruce kept the trap door open by fishing line 

                                             that he held spooled out from a distance 

                                                         of 15 or so feet from the cage.

                                         In just a few short minutes, one of the hummers 

                                        flew into the cage. Bruce let the cage door close, 

                                       then expertly caught the little guy in his gloved hand. 

                                          He took the hummer over to the back of his 

                                          vehicle where he had all sort of equipment for 

                                                      measuring and banding it. 

                                     Before the trap had been set up, Bruce had shown 

                                    us the tiny numbered aluminum bands that he gently 

                                                 places on a tiny leg to identify the bird. 

                                        He had to prepare the bands by cutting them 

                                        from a printed aluminum sheet and crimping 

                                        them around a band holder. The bands must 

                                           be smooth and light-weight so that they do 

                                                       not restrict the bird's movement. 

                                       While the banding was proceeding, I held the spool 

                                        of fishing line to keep the cage door open in case 

                                          the other hummer came in to visit the feeder in 

                                          the cage. I was never any good at fishing, so 

                                         during the time I kept the cage door open and 

                                              ready, the little hummer never appeared. 

                                           After the hummer was recorded and banded, 

                                            Bruce delicately placed the little creature on 

                                                  Melanie's hand for her to release it. 

                                                   With probable relief, it flew away. 

                                          Of course shortly after Bruce had banded and 

                                        released the hatch-year male, and had taken the 

                                        fishing line from me, hummer number two flew into

                                              the cage. He deftly caught this little one, too. 

  

                                       Bruce weighed the tiny creature - about 3 grams, 
                                  I think. (An average paperclip weighs about 1 gram!) 
                                       He measured the length of its feathers and recorded 

                                    the information with the band number.The 2nd hummer

                                                  turned out to be a hatch-year female.

                                   When Bruce left us, he was heading to Franklin County 
                                   to band yet another hummingbird. He was successful 
                                   in capturing and banding this one--it was a hatch-year 
                                  female. So that’s a tally of four Rufous Hummingbirds 
                                        (Selasphorus rufus) in Virginia one day.

                                   Some Rufous Hummingbird facts:

                                   The Rufous Hummingbird nests further north than any other 
                                   species of hummingbird (61° N).

                                    Breeding range is from Prince William Sound, 
                                         Alaska to northern California.

                                      It has a very short nesting season in Alaska
                                   -shorter than for any other species of hummingbird.

                                       There are more and more records of this species 
                                     wintering in the eastern US. Perhaps one reason for 
                                     the increase in sightings is the increase in the number 
                                        of hummingbird feeders. This fact alone likely 
                                     helps with their survival. Bruce told us that Rufous 
                                    Hummingbirds are able to endure several days and 
                                            nights in a row of sub-freezing weather.

                                       Bruce Peterjohn works at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife 
                                       Research Center in Laurel, Maryland. He is the Chief 
                                         of the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL). He 
                                         coordinates bird banding activities throughout the 
                                                  United States and also U.S. Territories.

                                        He also volunteers with the Hummer/Bird Study Group, 
                                         and bands hummingbirds in Maryland, Delaware, and 
                                        Virginia. HBSG has documented fourteen species of 
                                         hummingbirds in the eastern US.

                                         To learn more about HBSG, visit their website:

                                           http://www.hummingbirdsplus.org/index.html

                                           And to find out more about the 
                                            USGS Bird Banding Lab, visit:

                                          http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/

                                 Photos ©N. Kent unless otherwise noted