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Archive for March, 2022

“This bud’s for you.” A Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) seemed happy that buds are finally starting to appear on the trees on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “In winter, the Carolina Chickadee’s diet is about half plant, half animal. The rest of the year about 80–90 percent of their diet is animal (mostly insects and spiders).”

Progress is uneven, but it looks like spring inexorably is on the way.

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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This female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) was sporting a spiky punk rock hairstyle when I spotted her on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Female cardinals do not have as many bright red feathers as their male counterparts, but I find them to be equally striking and arguably even more beautiful.

Northern Cardinal

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sunflowers were already Ukraine’s national flower, but they have emerged as a symbol of resistance after a widely shared video clip appeared to show a Ukrainian woman berating Russian soldiers, telling them to put sunflower seeds in their pockets so that flowers would grow after they died in battle—see this article in Business Insider India for more information on this subject.

I just listened the words of Ukrainian President Zelensky as he described the horrific Russian cruise missile strike on Freedom Square in the center of Kharkiv and the tears are still wet on my cheeks. These sunflowers photos that I have taken in recent years are a visual sign of my support for the ongoing heroic actions of the Ukrainian people. Please pray for all of those affected by Putin’s unprovoked war, especially the Ukrainians, who are paying the highest price.

sunflower for Ukraine

Sunflowers for Ukraine

Sunflower for Ukraine

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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