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    My Observation Lists

      Every bird watcher and nature observer has his or her "lists." Here are mine, complete with pull down menus.

      BIRDS

    Categorized by genus/species, placed chronologically by common name

      American Coot

      American Crow

      American Goldfinch

      American Kestrel

      American Robin

      American Tree Sparrow

      American White Pelican

      Bald Eagle

      Baltimore Oriole

      Barn Swallow

      Belted Kingfisher

      Black-Capped Chickadee

      Black Vulture*

      Blue Jay

      Blue-Winged Teal

      Bobwhite

      Brown-Headed Cowbird

      Brown Thrasher

      Bufflehead

      Canada Goose

      Canvasback

      Cedar Waxwing

      Chipping Sparrow

      Common Grackle

      Common Goldeneye

      Common Redpoll

      Cooper's Hawk

      Dark-Eyed Junco

      Downy Woodpecker

      Eastern Bluebird

      Eastern Goldfinch - See American Goldfinch

      Eastern Kingbird

      Eastern Meadowlark

      Eastern Phoebe

      Eastern Towhee

      Eurasian Coot*

      European Starling

      Fox Sparrow

      Gray Catbird

      Graylag Goose

      Great Blue Heron

      Great Egret

      Hairy Woodpecker

      Harlequin Duck

      Hermit Thrush

      Herring Gull

      Horned Lark

      House Finch

      House Sparrow

      House Wren

      Indigo Bunting

      Killdeer

      Lesser Scaup

      Lincoln's Sparrow

      Mallard (Domestic)

      Mallard (Wild)

      Mourning Dove

      Northern Cardinal

      Northern Flicker

      Northern Rough-Winged Swallow

      Northern Shoveler

      Orange-Crowned Warbler

      Palm Warbler

      Red-Bellied Woodpecker

      Red-Breasted Nuthatch

      Red-Headed Woodpecker

      Red-Tailed Hawk

      Red-Winged Blackbird

      Ring-Billed Gull

      Ring-Necked Duck

      Rock Pigeon

      Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

      Scarlet Tanager

      Solitary Sandpiper

      Song Sparrow

      Spotted Sandpiper

      Swamp Sparrow

      Tufted Titmouse

      Turkey Vulture

      White-Breasted Nuthatch

      White-Crowned Sparrow

      White-Throated Sparrow

      Wild Turkey

      Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

      Yellow-Rumped Warbler


      INSECTS, ARACHNIDS, MYRIAPODS & GASTROPODS

    Categorized by family, placed chronologically by common name

      Ants (Formicidae)

      Bee Flies (Bombyliidae)

      Blow Flies (Calliphoridae)

      Bumble Bees, etc. (Apidae)

      Cicadas (Cicadidae)

      Crane Flies (Tipulidae)

      Fireflies (Lampyridae)

      Flower Flies - See Syrphid Flies

      Funnel-Web Spiders (Agelenidae)

      Honey Bees - See Bumble Bees, etc.

      Hornets - See Yellowjackets, etc.

      Hover Flies - See Blow Flies

      Jumping Spiders (Salticidae)

      Katydids (Tettigoniidae)

      Ladybird Beetles (Coccinellidae)

      Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae)

      Leafhoppers (Cicadellidae)

      Lightning Bugs - See Fireflies

      Mantid Flies (Mantispidae)

      Mantids (Mantidae)

      Minettia Flies (Minettia)

      New York Weevils (Ithyceridae)

      Orb-Weavers (Araneidae)

      Paper Wasp - See Yellowjackets, etc.

      Plant Bugs (Miridae)

      Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae)

      Scentless Plant Bugs (Rhopalidae)

      Short-horned Grasshoppers (Acrididae)

      Signal Flies (Platystomatidae)

      Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae)

      Spittlebugs (Cercopidae)

      Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae)

      Swallowtails (Papilionidae)

      Sweat Bees (Halictidae)

      Syrphid Flies (Syrphidae)

      Tiger Moths (Arctiidae)

      Yellowjackets, etc. (Vespidae)


      MAMMALS

      American Beaver

      Common Raccoon

      Eastern Chipmunk

      Eastern Cottontail

      Eastern Fox Squirrel

      Eastern Gray Squirrel

      Groundhog - See Woodchuck

      Ground Squirrel - See Eastern Chipmunk

      Striped Skunk

      Virginia Opossum

      Woodchuck


      PLANTS

      Brown-Eyed Susan

      Buttonbush

      Clematis

      Crown Vetch

      Dandelion

      Day Lily

      Field Marigold

      Larkspur

      Mountain Blue

      Purple Coneflower

      Rose

      Sedum

      Spider Lily - See Spiderwort

      Spiderwort

      Stinkhorn

      Sweet Alyssum

      Whorled Tickseed

      Wild Pansy


      REPTILES and AMPHIBIANS

      American Toad

      Common Garter Snake

      Eastern Box Turtle

      Green Frog

      Long-Tailed Salamander

      Painted Turtle


      CRUSTACEANS

      Crayfish


      EVENTS / OTHER

      Events

      Landscapes / Rivers

      Planes / Trains / Autos / Boats

      Rainbows / Clouds / Sky Formations

      Structures / Buildings

      Sunsets / Sunrises

      Weather


    Tuesday, December 30, 2008
    IMG_6007

    Posted by: Moe in: News at 12:01 am

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    Wednesday, December 24, 2008
    IMG_6004

    Posted by: Moe in: News at 12:00 pm

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    Saturday, December 20, 2008
    Nabidae damsel Bug

    Damsel Bug - possibly Nabis sp. - in he Family “Nabidae,” or “Damsel Bugs.”

    Chrysanthemum - Chrysanthemum sp..

    Predacious on soft-bodied insects including aphids, caterpillars, spider mites and leafhoppers. The enlarged forelegs can grasp prey while the mouth parts can pierce and/or suck, depending on the situation.

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and the Sigma 70-300mm Lens on October 6, 2008 in Davenport, Iowa.


    Posted by: Moe in: Insects, Iowa, Plants at 12:00 am

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    Wednesday, December 17, 2008
    brown lacewing

    Brown Lacewing - Hemerobius sp..

    Voracious predators, lacewings are used as biological pest control, eating aphids and mealybugs (and others) as well as their eggs. Only a few millimeters long.

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and the Sigma 70-300mm Lens on October 6, 2008 in Davenport, Iowa.


    Posted by: Moe in: Insects, Iowa at 12:00 am

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    Sunday, December 14, 2008
    box turtle 2
    box turtle

    Eastern Box Turtle - Terrapene carolina.

    Caught on the Green River Lake in Kentucky, he was set on the deck of the boat for photographs and then sent on his merry way. The red eyes indicate it is a male.

    Found from Maine to Florida and west to Texas, I do not think you would ever find the Eastern Box Turtle in Iowa. They are found in southern Illinois, Missouri, and eastern Kansas, however.

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and a Sigma 70-300mm Lens on August 7, 2007 near Campbellsville, Kentucky.


    Posted by: Moe in: Kentucky, Reptiles at 12:00 am

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    Wednesday, December 10, 2008
    new york weevil

    New York Weevil - Ithycerus noveboracensis.

    A weevil so unique it is the only weevil in the Family - not genus, but Family - Ithyceridae.

    Primarily found on the limbs and foliage of hickory, oak, and beech, the adults feed on soft parts such as new growth, leaf petioles, and buds, while the larvae eat the roots of the same plants. Found on the beach juxtaposing an oak wood.

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and a Sigma 70-300mm Lens on July 5, 2008 in Oak Run, Illinois.


    Posted by: Moe in: Illinois, Insects at 12:00 am

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    Sunday, December 7, 2008
    long-tailed salamander

    Long-Tailed Salamander - Eurycea longicauda. Not to be confused with Onychodactylus fischeri, also commonly called the “Long-Tailed Salamander,” but only found in NE Asia.

    Found from New York south to Virginia and west as far as Kansas, the Long-Tailed Salamander “ventures about on the forest floor in search of tiny invertebrate prey.” Cite.

    This guy was under a rock in a shallow inlet off the Green River Lake.

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and a Sigma 70-300mm Lens on August 9, 2007 on the Green River Lake, Kentucky.


    Posted by: Moe in: Amphibians, Kentucky at 12:00 am

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    Thursday, December 4, 2008
    multi-colored asian lady beetle red with seven spots_12
    multi-colored asian lady beetle red with seven spots2

    Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle - Harmonia axyridis - commonly called a ladybug.

    From Bug Guide:

    The adult is highly variable in color and pattern. In the east, the elytra (hard shiny wing cases) range from orange to red, with many to no black spots. In the west, some individuals are black with two large red patches… and some are black with several large orange spots.

    As the name implies, this bug is not native to North America, although it is now widespread. It is a beneficial garden resident, however, as it eats aphids, mites and other plant pests.

    For a native “ladybug” see the Twelve-Spotted Lady Beetle.

    See the “related posts” below to see the variation in this species of beetle.

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and the Sigma 70-300mm Lens on October 5, 2008 in Davenport, Iowa.


    Posted by: Moe in: Insects, Iowa at 12:00 am

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    Monday, December 1, 2008
    multi-colored asian lady beetle

    Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle - Harmonia axyridis - commonly called a ladybug.

    From Bug Guide:

    The adult is highly variable in color and pattern. In the east, the elytra (hard shiny wing cases) range from orange to red, with many to no black spots. In the west, some individuals are black with two large red patches… and some are black with several large orange spots.

    As the name implies, this bug is not native to North America, although it is now widespread. It is a beneficial garden resident, however, as it eats aphids, mites and other plant pests.

    For a native “ladybug” see the Twelve-Spotted Lady Beetle.

    See the “related posts” below to see the variation in this species of beetle.

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and a Sigma 70-300mm Lens on September 26, 2008 on Davenport, Iowa.


    Posted by: Moe in: Insects, Iowa at 12:00 am

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    Saturday, November 29, 2008
    frog

    Green Frog - Rana clamitans - also known as Bronze Frog.

    A helpful range map provided by the USGS (interesting how one just popped up in NE Washington State).

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and a Sigma 70-300mm Lens on August 9, 2007 at Green River Lake, Kentucky.


    Posted by: Moe in: Amphibians, Kentucky at 12:00 am

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