r_brennan's Favorites

Everybody's heard of "Walking with Dinosaurs" - how about "Swimming with Salamanders"? haha! Part of an awesome field day with my cousin Pete 30-some years ago - found about 15 of these amazing creatures in all growth stages, saw Long-tailed Salamanders, Milksnakes, Wood Turtles - and even saved a beautiful black-phase Timber Rattler from a miserable fate at the hands of two trout fishermen (of the "only good snake is a dead snake" mentality!). Good times! Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovely Ladies of iNaturalist!

This cool hybrid columbine came up spontaneously in my front flower bed. I assume it's a cross between the volunteer, short-spurred, red and yellow A. canadensis in this bed and the planted, long-spurred, yellow A. longissima in a bed a few meters away. Those are the only two species in my yard, and its floral traits fall neatly between what its parents have. This means my little bees haven't totally been ignoring my long-spur columbine.

This is the only hybrid I've gotten after years of growing the parents, so I'm not concerned, but hybridization is one way that invasive species can negatively impact natives. For example, in Kentucky, invasive white mulberry outnumbers (and hybridizes with) native red mulberry, and now it's hard to find individuals of red mulberry that aren't actually hybrids. This is also known to happen with Lantana species in Florida.

On the up side, spontaneous hybrids like this in garden settings are one way horticulturalists discover cool new garden plants.

Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata (fledgling)
I came across this bird almost hidden in long grass after a heavy downpour in Durham NC. Would have walked right by it except for my (leashed) dog, who made an unsuccessful lunge at it. When I returned with camera, it took up a photogenic perch on the curb and watched traffic go by, seemingly uninterested in me.
Edit. One more photo added, showing a little bit of behavior--hearing adult jays calling in the distance, it would perk up and give a weak version of the adult "jay" call.