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native plants | birds

seasonal biodiversity joys and benefits through the lens of native plants

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  • | SUMMER Blogs |
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Nature

Full Circle

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024June 29, 2019

Summer Solstice Hike and Flow with Athleta at the Sourland Mountain Preserve By Samantha Bean A few weeks ago my inbox dinged with the prospect …

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Tales and Tails

Tree Swallows and Dragonflies oh my!

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024June 6, 2019

Of the nearly dozen or so nest boxes around our property, two in particular have caught my attention in the past few days. The above …

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Right Plant Right Place

How Long Will It Take a Meadow to Grow?

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024May 3, 2019

The short answer is: you are going to have to wait. The good news is: they grow. There is a famous saying in meadow lore …

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Right Plant Right Place

What’s Blooming? Ragwort. And it’s prettier than you think!

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024April 29, 2019

Spring is in full swing finally at Flutter By Meadows. And what better time than blooming time to highlight a specific plant that is loving …

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Nature

Flying Jewels

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024February 20, 2019

Flying Jewels A Reflection on Hiking the Thompson Preserve with Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space for the Great Backyard Bird Count By Samantha Bean   …

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Tales and Tails

How Flutter By Meadows Began

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024December 27, 2018

On a very sunny Saturday afternoon in summer, my husband decided to take the long way home from a morning out with our then toddler, …

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Journeys from before

Samantha Bean

flutterbymeadows

🌿Nature writer sparked by wonder in every day—plants, birds, trees
What once felt unnoticed blooms into stories and photos
writer • blogger • birder
I spend many times throughout my week walking the I spend many times throughout my week walking the grounds of Princeton University. Near and dear to my own Environmental Studies degree (not from Princeton), it has been a treat to watch an entire project take shape as they build a new home for the ES & SEAS. Or Environmental Studies and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Apparently the new buildings are even connected underground in a continuous sequence, not unlike the roots of plants and trees. Even a brand new parking garage complete with Bird Safe glass and native plants along both pedestrian walkways did not go without Princeton Facilities doing a stellar job. Princeton does a lot of things right and when I once saw a person taking a photo and close up look at one of the shrubs in bloom, I quickly realized they may not have intended to, but Princeton is teaching people even outside those classrooms. #sustainability #rainwaterharvesting #nativeplants #pollinatorfriendly
On Your Lark, Get Set, GO! If you love watching bi On Your Lark, Get Set, GO! If you love watching birds, counting them is just as rewarding! The 2025 Great Backyard Bird Count is going on right now! Learn more at www.birdcount.org. Maybe you will see a Ruby-crowned kinglet like this fiery one photographed by @masonmaronphotography during the GBBC 2023! This is a worldwide event, so get out that smartphone, binoculars, and start your count now! Bring the whole family! As long as you count for at least 15 mins and log it on the birdcount website (or on the eBird app, or Merlin too) it counts! Join the @cornellbirds , @audubonsociety, and @birds.canada for the Great Backyard Bird Count, which runs through Feb. 17! Make sure your observations count: You can use either app: Merlin or eBird, just make sure you're signed in to the apps or on eBird desktop to ensure all your species count towards #GBBC2025.
Reddy Set Go (Plants and Birds Just Go Together) Reddy Set Go (Plants and Birds Just Go Together) This particular time in the winter garden is challenging to look past the brown and golds...the sullen attitude the cold and clouds are so good at bringing along. Vibrancy is not in the winter vocabulary. (But red is certainty vivacious when it wants to be! ♥️) But it was just this week that the male cardinal decided it was time to brush up on his vocals and start belting out his tunes for his lady. In the tallest tree he senses changes, and sings differently. And louder than he has in months. Red-tail hawks are seen in pairs perhaps and great-horned owls are already well into their courting. Love is in the air they say. The winter is far from over yet, but tiny clues are at the ready, like a pit crew for native plants. It won't be long before I will be able to take a clue from nature and notice the red oak finally shedding its leaves to ready for the spring growth. I'll look for signals in my early spring garden like the tiny magenta flowers of the hazelnut. They will all be there, at the ready, and before we know it the brown and gold of winter will be under pressure to maintain its stronghold. Spring will be ready. So very much ready. As will I. #nativeplants #garden #birds #backyardbirds
Holes for moles? Holes in the ground are not neces Holes for moles? Holes in the ground are not necessarily bad. The Northern Flicker is a migratory woodpecker that tends to dig holes in dirt or lawn instead of wood to search for food. In between these snowstorm dustings of late that don't amount to much other than messy cars and delayed openings, these white-rumped, flashes of yellow are digging up the yard and we don't mind them doing it one bit! They are wonderfully colorful birds. #northernflicker #woodpeckerwednesday
For the Kestrel Kickoff with @fohvos and @wildbird For the Kestrel Kickoff with @fohvos and @wildbirdresearch in an effort to Hatch A Hundred chicks this season, more boxes were built today by volunteers of all ages. Of the nearly 20 nestboxes built today, this is only a portion of those already constructed, and of course to add to the ones already out in the fields and farms in the local area. Those boxes around the countryside of my town and surrounding areas don’t build themselves. And with the help of many hands at the Calvary Baptist Church who kindly let us use their first floor as a woodshop, the Hatch A Hundred campaign is officially in full swing... kicked off on Super Bowl Sunday of course! #kestrels #conservation #nestboxes #volunteering
Sorry Kendrick, no, it's not the Super Bowl, it's Sorry Kendrick, no, it's not the Super Bowl, it's cooler. Lots of people have turned to birdwatching during the past few years, seeking enjoyment and relaxation. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a great time to put those new skills to use to help birds.  Each February, for 4 days the world comes together to admire birds during the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Participants spend time in their favorite places observing and counting as many birds as they can find and report their findings. This helps scientists better understand global bird populations. This year's count is February 14-17—we hope you'll join this 🌎 event! Participating is easy, fun to do alone or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds. Step 1: Decide where you will watch birds. Step 2: Watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 14–17, 2025. Step 3: Identify all the birds you see or hear within your planned time/location and use the best tool for sharing your bird sightings: If you are a beginning bird admirer and new to bird identification, try using the Merlin Bird ID app to tell us what birds you are seeing or hearing. If you have participated in the count before and want to record numbers of birds, try the eBird Mobile app or enter your bird list on the eBird website (desktop/laptop). #gbbc, #gbbc2025
No luck hunting here. No luck hunting here.
Can You Hear Me Now? So that little curiously ador Can You Hear Me Now? So that little curiously adorable thing with their heads that some animals do is not in fact a nod to curiosity at all, well not entirely anyway. (Nor does it have to do with the intonation of how you say the word “treat” “walk” or “outside”.) Then again, maybe so! Those ears and eyes are dialing in the cues as they turn their head left, right, and left again. It’s adorable yes, and it is also a necessity to locate lunch down there under the snow. It is the power of being in the moment. I took a detour yesterday with the sole intention to visit a favorite winter birding spot. I didn’t see a single bird in the field, but I was blessed with 5 minutes of silence amid the frore landscape. No traffic noise, no airlines whooshing overhead, not even a drop of wind…the only sound was my car. I immediately turned off the climate and let the apricity shower down on me. The sun reached down into my bones I swear. If I listened long enough, perhaps I could have heard some movement of mice and meadow voles in their subnivean underworld, but likely my hearing is not THAT good. That is only a feat fit for a fox. I adore the cold. There I said it. The blue sky, the chill that obliterates the skin heaving a blow straight to the bones. I find it refreshing. While it takes twice as long to get out the door and remember to cover all exposed extremities, the effort yields a peace in frozen air. What I love even more is the way a good snowfall silences everything. Each and every fallen flake an air pocket that sucks the soundwaves away like the sea steals back away each crashing wave back into the ocean. Silence is not something we hear very often. But I'm thankful to find it even if only for a fleeting moment. #foxes #fox #foxesofinstagram #redfox #wildlife #foxlovers #foxesofig #foxlove #vulpesvulpes #foxy #ilovefoxes
The Ayes Have It Visual acuity and hawks go hand The Ayes Have It Visual acuity and hawks go hand in hand. Like a windshield wiper for their eyes, fancily known as a nictitating membrane is seen here. (A schmancy word for blinking). Moving across the eye, it functions as a protectant (in flying and hunting too), and aids in moisture. Yesterday I took well over 100 photos of this bird, and I just happened to get a few with the membrane or sometimes called “third eyelid” in action. Swipe through to see one where you can see it in the middle of the eye. The membrane swipes from the inside of the eye to the outer edge. Over time, this bird’s eye color will also change. Currently in the amber glow of juveniledom, Cooper’s hawk eyes are gray at birth, followed by the yellow you see here, and then morph into orange of adulthood. Something about watching hawks to me is like being in the presence of greatness. Not sure why, maybe it's just me. All in favor? Aye. #birdsofinstagram #birds #bird #birdlovers #nuts_about_birds  #bird_brilliance #natgeo #birdwatching  #birdwatchingphotography #planetbirds  #eye_spy_birds #your_best_birds  #raw_birds #best_birds_planet #best_birds_of_ig #bestbirdshots #birds_in_view #canon #feather_perfection #bestoftheglobebirds  #naturephotography #wildlifeplanet⁣ #coopershawk
So stinking cold, the floof factor goes up as the So stinking cold, the floof factor goes up as the temp goes down and they gotta keep those talons warm! #hawk #nature #bird #wildlife #birdsofinstagram #birdsofprey #birds #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #birdwatching #raptor #birding #coopershawk #birdofprey #photography #raptors #birdphotography #your_best_birds #birdstagram #nuts_about_birds
Backyard shenanigans. Let me know what you think o Backyard shenanigans. Let me know what you think of when you see this. #hawks
I now know mice climb trees, or at least bushes an I now know mice climb trees, or at least bushes anyway. I watched this mouse grab a berry from a low shrub on my way to pick up my daughter at practice. I filmed him the moment I saw it and to my amazement, the mouse took an interest in my boot. Wasn't sure a mouse in my jeans was the best idea so I kept walking. This mouse was so tiny! At 18 °, not sure how this creature will make do. I can understand why Walt Disney was enamored with them. They are adorable when they are not inside your car chewing it to shreds or loose in your house ! #wildlife #mouse
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What is Flutter By Meadows?

I love to chronicle my discoveries about creatures that share my home while describing the habitats that exist for them on this blog. With a BA in Environmental Studies, I learned the natural world was a special place, and I was inspired to share the beauty in my writings.

Seeing a migratory bird in our yard, or an opportunist native plant that chooses to grow, I find joy in the unexpected. An amateur bird and butterfly photographer...trying to document what I see as much as possible, sprinkled with a touch of humor. Also a member of the Garden Club of America.

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