Hilton Pond North—Blue Ridge Birds & Nature

08/30/2026

#44—TEN “NATIVE” WILDFLOWERS: SUMMER’S LAST BOUQUET 🌸
Colorful “native” wildflowers were everywhere “This Week at Hilton Pond North,” some planted and some volunteer. Installment #44 showcases these blossoms and their ecological value, with images of pollinators and predators that use them. There are notes about the Garden Gurlz and a rusty little toad, plus our usual tally of birds banded and recaptured—especially Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. All this and more are at https://www.hiltonpondnorth.org/twahpn-20260801.html . After browsing, check out the link to our latest “Deep Dive” podcast for a whole ‘nother perspective on early August in the mountains.

Happy Nature Watching,

BILL

08/14/2026

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (RTHU) banding season at Hilton Pond North (Lansing NC) is proving quite productive, with capture today (13 Aug) of our 102nd ruby-throat of 2026—a recently fledged male (see photo) showing moderate dark throat streaking and his first two iridescent red gorget feathers. If he returns in 2027 he'll have a full red gorget. Curiously, last year by this date we had also banded our 102nd RTHU of the year and ended up with 171 for 2025. It will be interesting to see where this year's total ends up.

08/07/2026

Photo essay #43 of "This Week at Hilton Pond North” (Lansing NC) is now online! Join us for a late-July tour of Blue Ridge nature as we build owl nest boxes, explore spectacular wildflowers on Pond Mountain, celebrate National Moth Week, and share our hummingbird presentations for local summer campers. We offer video snippets of White-tailed Deer and Wild Turkey, plus our usual banding and recapture tallies (including hummingbirds). We hope you'll enjoy this latest installment and share it from https://www.hiltonpondnorth.org/twahpn-20260716.html

P.S. If you like to listen, don't miss our companion "Deep Dive" podcast linked from the installment.

Happy Nature Watching!

BILL

07/24/2026

Thirty-two tiny teeth, paper-thin wings, and a life spent among the leaves—meet the Eastern Red Bat in Installment #42 of “This Week At Hilton Pond North.” We also offer photos of a Hooded Warbler, nestling Eastern Bluebirds, and a beetle whose wing covers resemble a Turkish rug, as well as our latest banding results (including hummingbirds). Please take a look at https://www.hiltonpondnorth.org/twahpn-20260701.html
Enjoy!

(There are also links to our nature livestream and latest “Deep Dive” podcast.)

Happy Nature Watching!

BILL

07/09/2026

Thanks to trail cams and personal observations we concluded “This Week at Hilton Pond North” (Lansing NC) we’re hosting at least EIGHT American Black Bears on our 35-acre property! These big furry mammals are out and about day and night, as described in our latest photo essay #41 at https://www.hiltonpondnorth.org/twahpn-20260616.html . We include information about our first fledgling hummingbird of the season (right on time!) and a Worm-eating Warbler, plus our usual bird banding tallies. After reading, check out our podcast, too.

Happy Nature Watching!

BILL

07/07/2026

07/04/2026

What a great way to start our mountain morning at Hilton Pond North (Lansing NC)—pondering the prolific blossoms of two kinds of Beebalm, accented by a feathery tower of Fennel. This is our kind of fireworks!
(All this thanks to the generosity of the Garden Gurlz, Kim and Amy!)
Happy Fourth of July weekend!

06/30/2026

Another big happening today (30 Jun 2026) at Hilton Pond North (Lansing NC) where we captured and banded our first fledgling Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the season. Interestingly, first banding of a youngster in 2024 was on 2 Jul, and in 2025 it was 1 July—an interesting progression of dates. (Looks like it may be safe to expect our first young ruby-throats of the year about the first of July.)

Today's hummer was a female, determined by measurements and the shape of her wing feather; we figured her age from a yellow mouth gape and tiny bill etchings that will smooth out as she ages. (Unfortunately, none of these age/sex characteristics show in the photo!) Note, however, she has a "five o'clock shadow" on her throat—pale streaking that many observers incorrectly claim only occurs in young males.

06/26/2026

Mayapple is a favorite native wildflower across the eastern U.S.; parts are highly toxic but its seeds are disseminated by box turtles. “This Week At Hilton Pond North” (Lansing NC) we discuss this complex relationship and talk about birds we’ve recently banded or recaptured, including Eastern Wood-Pewees and Gray Catbirds and returns of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. All this and more in photo essay #40 at https://www.hiltonpondnorth.org/twahpn-20260601.html

There are also links to our nature livestream and latest “Deep Dive” podcast.

Happy Nature Watching!

BILL

06/24/2026

At 7:08 a.m. today (24 Jun 2026) it was 48.7° at Hilton Pond North (Lansing NC)—chilly enough for a light jacket—but the ruby-throats were already hitting our feeders for their first sips of "hummingbird coffee" (a 1:4 sugar water mix). Look closely and you'll see this thirsty adult male has a tiny aluminum band on its left leg. He's undoubtedly a returning bird we banded in 2024 or 2025 since birds we've already captured this year get a dot of temporary bright green color mark on their breasts.

P.S. Our actual overnight low was 48.4° under crystal clear skies. A fine morning to be in the Blue Ridge Mountains in June.