This Week at Hilton Pond

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

Water, Water Everywhere (15-21 July 2007)

In the 25 years we've been at Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, we've often wondered about the water quality of the pond itself and how that quality might affect local birds and other wildlife. "This Week at Hilton Pond" we finally had opportunity to get answers to some of our questions as an environmental class from York Technical College came out to conduct a thorough water analysis. To read about their work and what we can learn from water analyses, please visit our photo essay for 15-21 July 2007 at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek070715.html .

As always we include a tally of all birds banded and recaptured during the period.

Figure 1. A spectrophotometer used by visiting students from York Technical College revealed some very interesting results about dissolved oxygen from various sources at Hilton Pond Center. Dark purple in the vial at left showed there was available oxygen within the surface waters of the pond itself. Photograph copyright Bill Hilton Jr.
 

Full Buck Moon (And Other July Delights) (22-31 July 2007)

The full moon in late July is always an awesome sight, unfortunately enhanced by pollution and other airborne particles. But mid-summer also brings a wealth of natural delights, some of which we photographed "This Week at Hilton Pond." For a photo essay about the full moon and a variety of flora and fauna, please visit the installment for 22-31 July 2007 at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek070722.html .

As always we include a tally of birds banded and recaptured during the period--plus notes about a summer tanager and two quite ancient ruby-throated hummingbirds.

Figure 2. During the days of the Full Buck Moon, monarch butterflies and much-smaller Ailanthus webworm moths were nectaring on swamp milkweed on the banks of Hilton Pond. Photograph copyright Bill Hilton Jr.

The Artsy Side Of Insect Damage (1-7 August 2007)

By mid-summer, most foliage in the Carolina Piedmont has been damaged by insect herbivores, but some of their work is rather aesthetic. For a look at the artsy side of insect damage, please visit our "This Week at Hilton Pond" photo essay for 01-07 August 2007 at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek070801.html .

We include our usual compilation of birds banded during the period, plus a photo and description of a leucistic hummingbird spotted nearby in Rock Hill SC.

Figure 3. Caterpillars often graze on the leaves of white oaks, rasping away the lower epidermis to get at nutritious cell contents of the leaf. This leaves behind an abstract mosaic and reveals the cellular structure. Photograph copyright Bill Hilton Jr.

Dog Days Of August 2007 (8-21 August 2007)

The middle of August has brought real "Dog Days" to the Carolinas and beyond, but despite the heat and lack of rainfall, nature carries on. Our photo essay "This Week at Hilton Pond" reveals some of that activity among birds, reptiles, insects, and small mammals. To view the installment for 8-21 August 2007, please visit http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek070808.html .

We also include a tally of all birds banded during the two-week period, as well as a note and photo of a vagrant adult male Rufous hummingbird that may be close to an early record for North Carolina.

Figure 4. Even though the Dog Days of August are often hot and muggy, there's still plenty of nature activity--such as when a leafhopper known as the versute sharpshooter visits a wild grape leaf. Photograph copyright Bill Hilton Jr.

Dog-Day Cicadas Revisited (22-31 August 2007)

The Dog Days of August are officially over, but Dog-day Cicadas are still producing that incessant buzzing call that serves as dominant background noise during summer in the Carolinas. To view a photo essay about cicadas and their amazing lifestyle, please visit the 22-31 August 2007 installment of "This Week at Hilton Pond" at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek070822.html .

As always we include a tally of birds banded or recaptured during the period, plus some notes about a close encounter for a ruby-throated hummingbird, an "early" summer tanager, and other nature topics.

Figure 5. Periodical cicadas are well known for their plague-like emergences, but the dog-day cicada of the Southeast has a shorter life cycle and erupts in smaller numbers. The nymph pictured here was just about to metamorphose into an adult. Photograph copyright 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.