By Jessie Wingo, Center for Urban Habitats Yellow False Foxglove Aureolaria spp. Family: Orobanchaceae A couple weeks ago, while working as a trail technician for the Albemarle County Parks Department, I was tasked with checking out the trails at Walnut Creek Park [Central Virginia] to ensure they were safe and usable. I’d been walking […]
11
Oct
Oct
By Rachel Floyd, Center for Urban Habitats Ever since a grass tapis vert (green carpet) was installed in the palace gardens of Versailles in the 18th century, manicured lawn grass has been in fashion. Americans are particularly smitten, having rolled out some 40 million acres of lawn across the continental United States, making turf grass […]
07
Oct
Oct
By Drew Chaney, Center for Urban Habitats The Southern Piedmont Granitic Flatrock is a globally rare plant community restricted to the Piedmont from Alabama north to south-central Virginia, occurring on exposed bedrock outcrops of granite and related rocks, where streams have eroded the rock smooth over time, creating a unique ecological niche where lichens and […]
27
Aug
Aug
By Cinder Stanton, Center for Urban Habitats Woodland Sunflower Helianthus divaricatus Family: Asteraceae Average Height: 4 feet (range is 2-6 feet) Bloom Time: June through August Elevation Range: All elevations in the Piedmont Geologic/Soil Associations: Typically found on bedrock that is rich in cations (rocks with dark minerals, such as metabasalt, gabbro, amphibolite, biotite-plagioclase […]
19
Apr
Apr
By Drew Chaney, Center for Urban Habitats American Toad Anaxyrus americanus Family: Bufonidae One late March day, I decided to check out the new boardwalk that was recently installed at Greenbrier Park in north Cville. It was pleasant outside, the birds were active, and spring peepers were calling incessantly. The boardwalk was added as […]
28
Mar
Mar
By Ezra Staengl, Center for Urban Habitats American Woodcock Scolopax minor Family: Scolopacidae Other common names: Timberdoodle, Labrador Twister, Big-eye, Bog Snipe, Bog Sucker, Night Partridge I stood at dusk in the middle of a field near the North Fork of the Rockfish River in Nelson County. The cool, evening air blew gently around […]
20
Feb
Feb
By Devin Floyd, Center for Urban Habitats (Above: Blue Ridge-Piedmont Basic Woodland by Devin Floyd) Between day jobs and family life, a dedicated crew of volunteer experts is chipping away at laying the groundwork for an interactive online resource that tells the rich story of Charlottesville’s Natural History. Here’s a quick project update. Aquatic Macroinvertebrates […]
01
Jan
Jan
By Ezra Staengl, Center for Urban Habitats (Above: Purple finch by Ezra Staengl) Many species of birds, including raptors, warblers, waterfowl, shorebirds and sparrows migrate twice each year, south in fall, north in spring. Not all birds migrate to the same places each year though. Some birds that breed in the boreal forests of the […]
08
Nov
Nov
By Eric Anderson, Center for Urban Habitats (Above: Nyssa sylvatica [black gum]) Gazing out at these November landscapes, we find ourselves enveloped in the warm yellows, oranges, and reds so comfortingly juxtaposed against the brisk seasonal air nipping our skin and vaporizing in our lungs. Few experiences delight with the same universality as this transformation […]
29
Oct
Oct
By Ezra Staengl, Center for Urban Habitats Common Buckeye Junonia coenia Family: Nymphalidae Distinguishing Features/Description: Common buckeyes are medium sized, brightly colored and strikingly patterned butterflies. Each of the buckeye’s four wings have two dark colored eye spots circled in a thin band of yellow. The eye spots are positioned along the edges of […]