This Week at Hilton Pond

Bill Hilton Jr.

Executive Director
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
York, South Carolina 29745 USA

A Midsummer Night's (Spider) Dream (15-21 August 2006)

Little did we know when we upgraded the old farmhouse at Hilton Pond by installing vinyl siding that we would create a paradise for web-spinning spiders of all sorts and sizes. The largest of these are orb weavers (Araneidae) like the one shown in Fig. 1. To read an original essay about our thriving spider population--including some hard-to-get nocturnal photos--check out the current installment of "This Week at Hilton Pond" at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek060815.html .

Figure 1. This orb weaver (Araneidae) resides along with the Hiltons at Hilton Pond. Photograph copyright by Bill Hilton Jr.

Long Live Our Hummingbirds! ( 22-31 August 2006)

Everybody loves hummingbirds, in part because these tiny balls of fluff come to sugar water feeders we hang outside our kitchen windows. It's fun to watch them and to speculate about where they go in winter or how long they live, but when an ornithologist actually captures and bands hummingbirds we may learn for sure about migration and longevity. "This Week at Hilton Pond" you can read about some "old" ruby-throated hummingbirds recaptured near York, SC. The photo essay is at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek060822.html .

Figure 2. This ruby-throated hummingbird was releasded after study. Photograph copyright by Bill Hilton Jr.

To help support the education, research, and conservation work of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, please see http://www.hiltonpond.org/FundingMain.html . Editor.