Encountering The Red-Shouldered Hawk

Today I was enjoying a day off and taking a short drive through the countryside, just enjoying the autumn leaves and fall colors, now starting to fully show themselves in the golds, browns, reds, and oranges as the leaves begin to change -- and in some cases, already beginning to fall.

In about six weeks from now all of the previously green trees from this past summer (save for the various evergreens) will be bare for the winter months here in South Carolina and North America. The grass will become a dull brown and yellow from the frosty winter mornings.

I was out and about running errands, but had my trusty camera with me. At present I'm photographing various points of interest and the autumn colors around my little corner of Dixie over the course of the month of November; all of which I plan to post at the end of the month.

While I was out, I spotted this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) perched on one of the power lines by SC Highway 9. I was able to stop and get out of my car right underneath just long enough to capture these beautiful images of this outstanding raptor before he decided to fly off.

Red-shouldered Hawks are medium-sized North American raptors (roughly between the size of a Crow and a Goose) with broad, rounded wings, and medium-length tails that they fan out when soaring.Adults are colorful with dark-and-white checkered wings and warm reddish-brown barring on the breast. The tail is black with narrow white bands and they have dark on the tips of their curved beaks.

These wonderful birds of prey can be found year-round across the eastern United States from Nova Scotia to eastern Mexico where some migrate for the winter. One subspecies of the Red-shouldered Hawk can also be found in western California.

I was fortunate to have encountered this beautiful bird and been able to share the experience with y'all here. I hope to have more photography for y'all in the near future.

Until next time, have a wonderful Dixie Day, y'all.

Red Spider Lilies, Yellow Butterflies & Red-Shouldered Hawk All Herald Autumn In South Carolina

Red Spider Lilies and Yellow Butterflies are common in the
Carolinas during the beginning of the autumn months following
the fall equinox.

As the month of September comes to an end here in upstate South Carolina, autumn begins to make its presence known. Although most of the trees have yet to change into their glorious red, yellow, and orange fall colors, some leaves have already begun to fall. Yet there are already other signs that signal that the autumn season has finally officially arrived.

This afternoon while I was cutting my lawn -- for what will thankfully be one of the last times for this year -- I had to leave one little patch of my yard uncut to preserve the newly sprouted Red Spider Lilies (Lycoris radiata) that sprout up every late September and early October here.

The red spider lily -- named so because of its beautiful bright red color and umbels that look like spider legs -- are also referred to along the eastern coastal areas of the United States as Hurricane lilies because they often bloom after first fall hurricanes.

Outside of the American Southland, the red spider lily is often commonly called the Schoolhouse Lily because it blooms when school has started. Other names for this fall flower include: Red Magic Lily, Corpse Flower, Resurrection Lily, and the Equinox Flower.

Like the dreaded Kudzu vine, the Red Spider Lily is not native to the South, but rather comes from eastern Asia; possibly Japan or China. In Japan the red spider lily is called the "Flower of Death"; its bright red color said to guide souls into the afterlife. The Japanese common name for this flower is higanbana (which literally means "flower of higan" -- a Buddhist holiday around the autumn equinox). In Chinese culture, the red spider lily is an auspicious symbol that represents beauty.

Today, the red spider lily can be found growing in the early fall throughout the Southern United States from the Carolina and Florida to eastern Texas and Oklahoma.

Believe it or not, this seasonal flower also has a connection to the South's Confederate historical heritage.

Its believed that the red spider lily was introduced to America by Captain William Willis Roberts (1822-1875), a Southern-born botanist from New Bern, North Carolina and friend of explorer Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S Navy. Roberts -- then a First Lieutenant in the U.S Navy -- first introduced the plant to America sometime around 1854; bringing three bulbs home from Japan and gifting them to his young sister-in-law, Lavinia Ellis Cole Roberts (1833-1923), for her extensive New Bern garden.

Captain William W. Roberts served in the United States Navy from 1839-1860 when he resigned following the secession of North Carolina at the start of the War Between the States (1861-1865) and took a commission in the Confederate States Navy (CSN) serving as a Lieutenant on three ships -- CSS Charleston, CSS Albemarle, and the CSS Torpedo on the James River near the end of the war.

Today his grave, located in his native New Bern, North Carolina, has red spider lilies that grow every autumn around his grave marker, a beautiful tribute to the man who introduced this plant to America.

The grave of C.S. Captain William W. Roberts (1822-1875) at
Cedar Grove Cemetery, New Bern, North Carolina.
Red spider lillies grow at his grave every fall.
Photo courtesy of Find-A-Grave.com.

Like the Kudzu vine, the Red Spider Lily is Just about every yard in my small Southern town has at least one patch of wild Red Spider Lilies that pop up out of the blue this time of year. Sadly they don't last more than a couple weeks, or so. That's what makes this surprise flower so interesting and precious to see every year here in Dixie.

The following are the photos I took of the small patch of Red Spider Lilies under the tree in my front yard:

Y'all might have noticed the small, yellow-green butterfly in the last two photos above -- the last one capturing the little beauty in flight.

This beautiful yellow butterfly is the Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) common to most of this part of the eastern United States and America from Argentina to southern Ontario, Canada, especially in late summer and early fall.

In addition to capturing this lovely lady in flight (you can tell by the markings on the wings she's a female) I was about to get a great close-up of her on one of the lilies. 

As I finished giving my front lawn its first official sheering of the autumn season, in addition to the cries of my feral cats for their food, I also heard another cry coming from the trees across the road in my neighbor's back yard. I retrieved my camera and located the source of the crying -- a female Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)perched high on a branch.

An extremely vocal bird, this apex predatory bird is well known in the Eastern United States and Appalachia all year around. 

I managed to capture a few great (mostly clear) shots of this lovely beauty as well.

Please let me know what y'all thought of this post below, and as always have a wonderful Dixie Day, and y'all come back now, you hear!