silhouette

This red bellied woodpecker was working its way up a dead tree.  Looking for bugs maybe.

 

More Fall flowers

Some late summer/fall flowers are bright but smaller like this cardinal flower.

And this Jewelweed.

 

Fall flowers

There are plenty of late summer/fall flowers blooming.  

Some are bright and large and hard to miss.  This one is called Spanish Needles.

This beauty is called Partridge pea.

Passion

This purple passion flower seems very exotic.  But it's native to North Carolina.

The fruit is not quite ready to pick.

 

Do not hook turtles!

This sign was posted on the fishing pier at Durant Nature Park.  You'd think that you wouldn't need to be told that, but the turtles hang out around the pier.  Probably looking for a hand out.

 

Is it a bird? or is it a moth?

I really did think it was a hummingbird at first.  And then it just looked so scary I didn't want to get near it.

It's a Hummingbird Moth (see here)

 

Mean trees

I can see where JRR Tolkien got the idea for the Ents.  These trees look like very crabby old men...