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native plants | birds

seasonal biodiversity joys and benefits through the lens of native plants

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Nature

What is Milkweed?

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024July 30, 2021

    Why Milk? Why Weed? The short answer is this: A plant with leaves that emits a milky white substance when the leaf is …

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Nature

From Seed to Shining Seed

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024July 4, 2021

Birds in My Backyard — The American Goldfinch Did you know that American Goldfinches are known in the bird world as some of the strictest …

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Seasons of Change

We Planted Weeds, and We Couldn’t Be Happier

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024June 23, 2021

The Wild Nature of Native Plants Gardening for wildlife is not something we set out to do early on. But then, something happened. Waking up …

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Nature

One of These is Not Like the Other

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024April 28, 2021

Like an Easter egg in software, it’s something you don’t expect to find. Disney, Tesla, and video game makers have figured this out, and have …

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Seasons of Change

Nature’s Resiliency

by Samantha BeanUpdated on October 11, 2024April 14, 2021

This year, I have been taking notice of the sun setting a little further and further away in the western sky each evening as every …

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Nature

Wild Life

by Samantha BeanUpdated on March 26, 2021March 26, 2021

We share our property with the creatures around us, and there is no doubt that it is a ‘wild life’ out there. With several years …

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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
The yard is very alive this morning. So much activ The yard is very alive this morning. So much activity. Before nesting begins the Eastern Bluebird sheds his passive gentlemanly demeanor for all out aggression. Such a docile sweet bird has a strong will when it needs it most. To the victor goes the spoils. #birds #easternbluebird
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
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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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