YOUR MONTHLY FIELD GUIDE
December
The Woods at Rest
Southern Blue Ridge • Western North Carolina
December settles over the mountains with bare branches, cold streams, and long winter nights. Yet beneath the quiet, evergreen plants hold their color, woodpeckers search the trees, and hidden life carries on.
Meet This Month's Species
Running Cedar
Diphasiastrum digitatum
An evergreen clubmoss that spreads across the winter forest floor, holding its color when many surrounding plants have faded.
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
With leaves gone, this large crested woodpecker is easier to spot and hear while excavating dead trees for carpenter ants and other insects.
Chaga Conks
Inonotus obliquus
These dark, charcoal-like fungal growths develop on living birch trees, often remaining visible long after the leaves have fallen.
Brown Creeper
Certhia americana
A small bark-foraging bird that works upward along tree trunks, blending closely with rough bark as it searches for tiny insects.
Carolina Rose
Bright red rose hips linger on bare branches into winter, providing a seasonal food source for birds and other woodland wildlife.
Rosa carolina
Ring-necked Ducks
Aythya collaris
These diving ducks visit Western North Carolina's lakes and ponds during the colder months, gathering in flocks to feed on aquatic plants and invertebrates.
November Small Wonders
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Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis
Tiny Eastern Hemlock cones release their delicate winged seeds from fall into winter. Some become food for winter birds and small mammals, while others scatter across the forest floor.
Winter Stoneflies
Plecoptera spp.
Even in the coldest months, winter stoneflies become active along clean mountain streams. Look closely and you may spot these tiny insects crawling across wet rocks, streambanks, or even snow.