View allAll Photos Tagged VirginiaStateParks
First Landing State Park is located at Cape Fort Henry n the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. As the first planned state park of Virginia, First Landing is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The state park is near the site of the first landing on April 26, 1607 of Christopher Newport and the Virginia Company colonists before establishing themselves at Jamestown.
A pair of butterflies and bumblebees sharing flowers. This was taken on Bayview Trail in Mason Neck State Park. The butterflies are Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. I think they're females by the blue on the back part of the wings. I don't know the bumblebee identification. There's too many different kinds of them. #MasonNeckStatePark #EasternTigerSwallowtailButterfly #PalilioGlaucus #butterfly #bumblebee #flowers #Blumen #fleurs #insects #昆虫 #Schmetterling #papillon #蝶 #BayviewTrail
A view of the Bayview Trail in Mason Neck State Park. A 1.2 mile trail with heavy usage and considered easy. There are some stairs and it's well maintained. #MasonNeckStatePark #Virginia #hiking #randonnée #Wandern #nature #Natur #BayviewTrail #VirginiaStateParks #trail
A Slaty Skimmer Dragonfly {Libellula incesta) in the marsh at Mason Neck State Park clinging to a twig. #MasonNeckStatePark #SlatySkimmerDragonfly #insect #animal #nature #Natur #arthropod #虫 #トンボ
Marshland in Mason Neck State Park. This was shot on Bayview Trail. A 1.02 mile trail that is considered easy. #MasonNeckStatePark #BayviewTrail #Virginia #marsh #nature #Natur #Sumpf #marais #Moor #marécage #沢
A bee visits a Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) in Leesylvania State Park, Virginia. Shot in macro. Thanks for your views, comments, and faves. #Black-EyedSusan #RudbickiaHirta
There really is one bird on every post and some in the water too. There are several varieties of birds
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus) and bees being good neighbors with Belmont Bay in the background. This was taken on Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail in Mason Neck State Park. #HFF #MasonNeckStatePark #butterflies #wildflowers #Schmetterlinge #papillons #花 #Blumen #fleurs
My hound dogs had their first encounter with a groundhog. They were on a leash, but with the scent of the groundhog and the movement I almost lost control of them. The groundhog ended up in this tree, which was on the edge of the river. The dogs and I almost ended up taking a tumble down to the river. I never realized what big front teeth they have.
I was watching them fishing as a break from a bike ride. They were fishing for food but did not catch anything while I was watching.
The eyes of this ghost crab look very different in this image. due to the angle of the shot and the point of view. My eyes look very different right now too. .My left eye has the shingles virus in it and looks awful. Hopefully it will clear up soon with all the medications that I am on.
The wind was making the bay look like the ocean. Look for the large military helicopter in the photo. It was practicing water landings in the rough surf.
This great white egret was trying to hide in the bush. Only it's head and beak were showing through.
This osprey nest is located near a rental house in the Belle Isle State Park. They seemed to get disturbed quite often. This one is returning to he nest.
This one has been hanging around the same place for several weeks now. I m surprised at the selection of the fishing spot as it is so close to the visitor center for the refuge. Lots of people going back and forth.
It was a sad sight to see. This whale had washed up on the beach several months earlier. Scientists were unable to determine the cause of death.
EXPLORE FRONT PAGE - 03/30/09
MUST. VIEW. LARGE. (seriously)
A morning shot of the Potomac River shrouded in a thick spring fog.
Your thoughts, comments and critiques are always appreciated :)
Thanks for viewing!
I was watching it for a few minutes till the park ranger scared it off. Turns out there was a loggerhead sea turtle nest right under the pole and she was checking on it. The park rangers think the turtle nest will hatch in the next couple of days. A nest nearby hatched the previous night and a mother turtle created a new nest overnight. The park rangers had to move the new nest as it was in danger of the high tides reaching it. The ranger said the turtles can drown if the eggs get too wet.
After a 35 mile bike ride and camping overnight, the morning was quiet and the light was soft. New River State Park at Foster Falls is one of the best places to camp in Virginia.
This cottonmouth snake was sunning itself om the edge of a little spit of land that jutted out into the water. It had camouflaged itself fairly well and I stayed well back.
They were all feeding in the waters of the Back Bay National Wildlife refuge. It is nice that these wetlands are protected habitats to sustain the birds and other wildlife.
This groundhog was not cooperating with the camera. It would peek up and then quickly scoot back into the burrow. I finally manged to get a quick shot. It had quite an extensive collection of burrow holes. Reminded me of the prairie dogs in the Midwest.
These are all growing just over the sand dunes from the Atlantic Ocean. I am amazed at how well they grow in such a harsh environment.
It's better (MUCH) LARGE
This is another (the last actually) shot from a foggy morning at Leesylvania State Park just off the Potomac River in Virginia.
I found this field of cotton to be so beautiful. I had never seen cotton growing up close like this before. This field was ready for harvesting as every pod had burst open into 4 quadrants of softness.
Shot Tower State Park is a historical building where lead was dropped through the air down a shaft inside the building to create lead bullets. The park and this farm scene is nearby the interstate highway near Pulaski. You can see the truck driving down I-77 in the background.
I had a close call with this snake as I rode past on my bike. It was sunning itself on the path and I did not see it until the last minute. Strange thing is there was not any water that close to where it was. I stopped my bike and went back to get a few photos. This was one of 5 different snakes that I saw today.
Watching the sunrise after camping overnight at Rhododendron Gap, Wilburn Ridge, Grayson Highlands State Park
The pier at Freestone Point in Leesylvania State Park. Thank you for the faves and comments. Explored May 29, 2021 #336. #LeesylvaniaStatePark #PotomacRiver #FreestonePointPier
Mabry Mill is a popular spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway and usually very crowded, but it was a beautiful day after the smoke cleared out and it wasn't so bad on Monday before July 4th.
There were actually 2 eagles in this pine tree but only one was visible to take a shot. They were across a body of water and on the edge of the Rappahannock River in Virginia. Locals said that there was three sets of nesting bald eagles in the area. I watched this pair for awhile and was in awe of the beauty even from the large distance.
[ EXPLORED #77 ]
VIEW LARGE & ON BLACK
The Road Less Traveled (especially this morning, with tons of deer out and thick fog, average speed was ~5 miles per hour..)
Also notice the visitors that were watching me from the sidelines.
A beautiful morning on the Parkway
Colonial Parkway was created in 1930 to connect Yorktown Battlefield with Williamsburg Virginia
After biking 3 miles, I got to the High Bridge over the Appomattox River right as the sun set. High Bridge State Park is a rail trail that you can bike 30 miles near Farmville Virginia
This is a non venomous Northern Watersnake. It was camouflaged fairly well by the path to the kayak launch at the Belle Isle State Park in Virginia.
This is what I was greeted with in the morning after camping overnight on New River Trail State Park at the campground at Foster Falls.
There's nothing quite like the fresh blossoms of spring wildflowers. These tiny flowers always remind me of peppermint candies.
(NDL8397)
Taken at one of my favorite places in the world! First Landing State Park (formerly Seashore State Park) in Virginia Beach, VA. www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/fir.shtml
Golden Garden Spider, Agriope Aurantia, Female. They are beautiful and fascinating creatures!
Wikipedia
The spider species Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Writing Spider, Banana Spider or Corn Spider. It is common to the lower 48 of the United States, Hawaii, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. They have distinctive yellow and black markings on their abdomens and a mostly white cephalothorax. Males range from 5 to 9 mm; females from 19 to 28 mm. Like other members of Argiope they are considered harmless to humans.
Garden Spiders often build webs in areas adjacent to open sunny fields where they stay concealed and protected from the wind. The spider can also be found along the eaves of houses and outbuildings or in any tall vegetation where they can securely stretch a web. The circular part of the female's web may reach two feet in diameter. Webs are built at elevations from two to eight feet off the ground.
Female Argiope aurantia spiders tend to be somewhat local, often staying in one place throughout much of their lifetime.
The web of the yellow garden spider is distinctive: a circular shape up to 2 feet in diameter, with a dense zigzag of silk, known as a stabilimentum, in the center. The purpose of the stabilimentum is disputed. It is possible that it acts as camouflage for the spider lurking in the web's center, but it may also attract insect prey, or even warn birds of the presence of the otherwise difficult-to-see web. Only those spiders that are active during the day construct stabilimenta in their webs.
To construct the web, several radial lines are stretched among four or five anchor points that can be more than three feet apart. The radial lines meet at a central point. The spider makes a frame with several more radial lines and then fills the center with a spiral of silk, leaving a 5/16" to 3/8" gap between the spiral rings, starting with the innermost ring and moving outward in a clockwise motion. To ensure that the web is taut, the spider bends the radial lines slightly together while applying the silk spiral. The female's web is substantially larger than the male's, who builds a small zig-zag web nearby. The spider occupies the center of the web, usually hanging head-down, waiting for prey to become ensnared in the web. If disturbed by a possible predator, she may drop from the web and hide on the ground nearby. The web normally remains in one location for the entire summer, but spiders can change locations usually early in the season, perhaps to find better protection or better hunting.
The Garden Spider can oscillate her web vigorously while she remains firmly attached in the center. This action might prevent predators like wasps and birds from drawing a good bead, and also to fully entangle an insect before it cuts itself loose.
In a daily ritual, the spider consumes the circular interior part of the web and then rebuilds it each morning with fresh new silk. The radial framework and anchoring lines are not usually replaced when the spider rebuilds the web. The spider may be recycling the chemicals used in web building. Additionally, the fine threads that she consumes appear to have tiny particles of what may be minuscule insects and organic matter that may contain nutrition.
The Garden Spider does not live in very dense location clusters like other orb spiders such as the Golden Orb Web Spider. The Garden Spider keeps a clean orderly web in comparison to the cluttered series of webs built and abandoned by groups of Golden Orb Spiders.
Yellow garden spiders breed once a year. The males roam in search of a female, building a small web near or actually in the female's web, then court the females by plucking strands on her web. Often, when the male approaches the female, he has a safety drop line ready, in case she attacks him. After mating, the male dies, and is sometimes then eaten by the female.
She lays her eggs at night on a sheet of silky material, then covers them with another layer of silk, then a protective brownish silk. She then uses her legs to form the sheet into a ball with an upturned neck. Egg sacs range from 5/8" to 1" in diameter. She often suspends the egg sac right on her web, near the center where she spends most of her time. Each spider produces from one to four sacs with perhaps over a thousand eggs inside each. She guards the eggs against predation as long as she is able. However, as the weather cools, she becomes more frail, and dies around the time of the first hard frost.
In the spring, the young spiders exit the sac and are so tiny that their collection of bodies look like dust gathered inside the silk mesh. Some of the spiderlings remain nearby, but others exude a strand of silk that gets caught by the breeze, carrying the spiderling to a more distant area.