Blog #24—Early November Happenings

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"This Week At Hilton Pond North" is an on-going series of original photo essays—posted more or less weekly—about natural history happenings here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of upper Ashe County, North Carolina. If you want a free e-mail reminder about each new installment, click here to SUBSCRIBE.

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EARLY NOVEMBER HAPPENINGS

#24: 1-15 November 2025

Random observations about Blue Ridge Birds & Nature

BIRD BANDING RESULTS FOR

HILTON POND NORTH DURING CURRENT PERIOD

1-15 November 2025

● Banded in 2025: 50 species, 1,136 individuals

● All-time totals, March 2024 to present: 70 species, 3,148 individuals

The table below shows birds banded during the Current Period (Columns 1 & 2), each species' Yearly Tally (Column 3), and a Grand Total for each species (Column 4) since banding began at Hilton Pond North in March 2024. Any new species for the current year are in RED.

NEWLY BANDED BIRDS

AT HILTON POND NORTH

1-15 November 2025

All photos, videos, maps, charts, drawings, and text © Hilton Pond North

BANDED BIRD RECAPTURES/RETURNS

AT HILTON POND NORTH

1-15 November 2025

American Goldfinch banded here 04/08/24; now 2nd-year female

Carolina Chickadee banded here 10/13/24; now after-hatch-year unknown

Carolina Chickadee banded here 10/21/24; now after-hatch-year unknown

Dark-eyed Junco banded here 03/09/25; now 2nd-year female

Tufted Titmouse banded here 09/05/24; now 2nd-year male

Tufted Titmouse banded here 09/09/24; now 2nd-year female

Tufted Titmouse banded here 10/04/24; now after-hatch-year unknown

Tufted Titmouse banded here 03/28/25; now after-hatch-year female

White-breasted Nuthatch banded here 09/05/24; now 2nd-year male

We banded precious few birds during early November at Hilton Pond North, but other wonders of nature in the Blue Ridge were abundant and well worth viewing—and absorbing. Every day was different; often we were a little surprised but quite delighted at what transpired. Occasional nighttime storms passed through after dropping rain, raising humidity; clear skies next morning were obscured until warming rays of the sun burned off the fog (above). What a calming, idyllic, beautiful way to start the day.

The Brown-hooded Cockroach, Cryptocercus punctulatus, is a wood-feeding species native to the Appalachians and surrounding regions of eastern North America. Unlike pests most people associate with cockroaches, this secretive insect lives in decaying logs and stumps, where it feeds exclusively on rotting wood (as shown)—aided by symbiotic protozoa in its gut that break down cellulose. These cockroaches are notable for behavior rare among insects: They live in small family groups where both parents care for their young. Nymphs acquire essential gut microbes by feeding on parental fecal material, a dependency that keeps families together for extended periods. (When we disturbed this adult two pale white nymphs were with it; they scurried away before we could photograph them.) Both male and female adults lack functional wings—unusual among cockroaches but understandable given their lifestyle; note also the banded antennae that help them navigate in darkness. This primitive cockroach is of special interest to evolutionary biologists because it shares many characteristics with termites. It is among those overlooked creatures that serve as all-important decomposers of fallen forest trees.

Evenings were equally gorgeous, so several times as dusk approached we hiked our steep Back Mountain Trail up to Sassafras Overlook to watch a setting Sun bathe the landscape in a soft glow (panoramic photo above). Phoenix Mountain in the distance took on a purplish hue and and tall dried stalks of Wingstem were radiant beneath towering Black Locust snags. Watching sunrises and sunsets: What a terrific way to start and end each day.

All photos, videos, maps, charts, drawings, and text © Hilton Pond North

That first snow of the season was fun, but as skies darkened on the 11th something far more spectacular appeared overhead: Aurora Borealis, usually associated with much higher latitudes. We could see impressive sky color from our property but got a better view by driving down Silas Creek Road and facing north (above). From that point we regaled in an intense blanket of red, complemented by a pale layer of green underneath. Just below the horizon a half mile away we saw a pinpoint of white—indoor lighting from our cozy little cabin on the ridge.

And speaking of morning vs. evening, the 11th of November saw two very different phenomena at Hilton Pond North. We awoke that day to a dusting of white stuff (above), some left over from our first snowfall the afternoon before. Altogether we got maybe an inch of very dry crystals that melted off by mid-afternoon.

This was the second local appearance of "Northern Lights" in two years. This latest event was much showier than one back on 10 October 2024—shown above as it and stars appeared above the roof and lighted great room of our cabin.

At 1:25 p.m. on 8 November, a few days before our first snowfall and the aurora, regional seismometers picked up minor movement: An earthquake measuring 2.2 on the Richter scale "shook" the town of Jefferson about eight miles to our south. We put "shook" in quotes because it's likely no one even felt this latest temblor that occurred about three miles deep in bedrock. Earthquakes are not common in our area—on average since 1950 there has been only about one per month within a hundred miles of the Jeffersons. Nearly all these were magnitude 2.0 or less, with the biggest recorded for Ashe County in 1995 at 3.5. In August 2020 a 5.1 shake occurred near Sparta in neighboring Alleghany County NC (see map), one of the strongest recent quakes in the region. Homes and businesses in Sparta had cracked chimneys, broken masonry, and damaged foundations; some roads cracked or buckled, water-lines broke, and there was at least one reported injury. Fortunately, none of that happened in Jefferson's recent mini-quake.

Although an earth-shaking even didn’t occur on 14 November, it was officially "turn around day" at Hilton Pond North as two species of migratory winter birds finally crossed our banding table. The first was a very dark Dark-eyed Junco (top photo), colloquially known as a "snowbird" because it's among the first birds to appear as cold weather arrives. Juncos don't breed here but nest not far north or west of us at 4,000' elevations and above. (We're at 3,000'.) That said, most of our winter juncos probably come from Canada. We also recaptured a second junco we banded back on 09 March; who knows if it spent the breeding season just up the road or in Canada's boreal forests? (NOTE: The other newly arrived winter bird this week was a hatch-year Purple Finch. More about it in the section below about current banding results.)

Along with that first seasonal Dark-eyed Junco we banded on 14 November we also caught a hatch-year Purple Finch (PUFI, above), our first of its species this fall. Adult males are raspberry-colored, but both females and young males are brown—the latter taking two years to get full reddish plumage. The bird in the photo is likely a male because of rump feathers tinged with pink and gold; its neck feathers and superciliary line were also golden and undoubtedly will be raspberry by next fall. (We should mention our recaptures of old female Purple Finches we banded reveal they often have pink or pale gold rumps, and occasionally show pinkish tint to body, wing, or tail feathers.) PUFI breed primarily in Canada, New England, and the Great Lakes states, with the closest regular nesting probably occurring in eastern mountains of West Virginia. If this turns out to be an irruptive winter we should be seeing lots more PUFI in coming weeks. (For now—as shown on the chart below—we banded just eight birds in early November. This is a drastic drop from last November's first two weeks when we captured 133 birds of 13 species, including 34 Purple Finches! We can't explain the variance but fall back on our maxim that "every year is different and some are more different than most.")

While juncos foraged for seeds in grassy areas, White-tailed Deer continued to roam our 35+ acres at Hilton Pond North—although the eight-member herd we had last winter seems reduced by half. We also have seen fewer fawns this year, perhaps three instead of a former five. Older bucks finally appeared in early November as the rut was approaching, although some are youngsters with only unbranched spikes for antlers. The oldest buck we've encountered so far this year is a relatively small ten-pointer (still image from trail cam, above) that probably was born in the spring/summer of 2023. If he makes it through hunting season and puts on more muscle, in future breeding cycles he'll be able to boss around neighborhood peers and service some does.

People usually seem surprised when we tell them that in many habitats water is more scarce than food. Indeed, water often occurs locally just in fast-moving streams or deep ponds, both of which may provide accessibility problems for wildlife. That may be why we often see birds huddled around puddles, bathing and drinking without risk of getting swept under or grabbed by riparian predators. Particularly in hot weather birds need fresh water to quench thirst and help with thermoregulation, but come winter accessible water may be even more important as local sources freeze over. For these reasons, at Hilton Pond North we have several water features, from a recirculating waterfall to large saucers flat on the ground. This week we added a nicely designed pedestal fountain made of resin, complete with recirculating pump AND thermostatically controlled heater to keep everything thawed and moving as cold weather approaches.

The first visitor within a few hours of our installing the new water feature was, unsurprisingly, an American Robin (above). This species is famous for being attracted to the sight and sound of water, so much so that researchers wishing to capture them use dripping water as bait in their traps. Robins aren't especially common here on the mountain, but the day the one above came to drink and bathe it was accompanied by a flock of at least 50—some of which joined it on the newly installed bubbling pedestal fountain.

Sunset from Hilton Pond North, 01 November 2025.

Although it wasn't quite dusk, the Sun was low in the sky and highlighted the ridge above Landmark Baptist Church—idyllic in shadows just below our property. (And check out the illuminated half-Moon at upper left.) It was our last chance to watch the Sun go down so late; Standard Time raised its ugly head that night.

If you missed our 2025 Ruby-throated Hummingbird Banding Summary, it's still posted HERE.