iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 22h

A blue-winged teal at a pond in High Point, N.C., on Monday. I spotted her only because she's about half the size of the mallards in the pond. #birds

0141

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 23h

Warblers get all of the attention during migration but I was happy to see this female northern shoveler at a pond in High Point, N.C., today. She was hanging out with a blue-winged teal.

1141

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 23h

A young indigo bunting Sunday on Howerton Road in Gibsonville, N.C. A developer wants to build hundreds of houses in this area. I worry about what will happen to the birds that depend on open spaces.

2111

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A female American redstart in my yard last week. #birds

1151

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A snowy egret last week at the Russell Burgess Coastal Preserve in South Carolina. Under all that mud is a pair of bright yellow feet. #birds

0111

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Common gallinules at Sunset Beach, N.C., last week. #Birds

0111

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Butterflies at Lake Waccamaw on Monday -- a palamedes and a gulf fritillary.

1132

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

An alligator glides past an observation deck in Sunset Beach, N.C., on Monday, as an alligator-shaped cloud drifts out to sea.

0112

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A turtle basks on a tire in a canal in Columbus County, North Carolina.

2242

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Lake Waccamaw, Columbus County, North Carolina. Sept. 21. #birds

091

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Red-eyed vireos never disappoint this time of year. I don't even try to get photos of them during summer when they're high in the trees. This time of year, they come down lower. I found this one in my backyard. #birds

0122

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A doe wandering through the dystopian landscape of North Carolina stops to browse in the late afternoon. A girl's gotta eat, especially in times like these.

0121

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I braved the hellscape that is North Carolina to photograph a ruby-throated hummingbird Wednesday at the Guilford County Farm. #birds

081

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A young buck at Stone Mountain State Park in Roaring Gap, N.C., on Monday. Photo was taken from the car.

0122

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

In May 2023, a heavy rainstorm created a puddle on Howerton Road in Gibsonville, N.C. A solitary sandpiper passing through during migration spent a week here at the edge of the road. Developers now want to build hundreds of houses in this area that provides habitat for migrating birds.

030

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In 2021, a Say's phoebe flew east over the Mississippi River and traveled hundreds of miles to land at the Guilford County Farm in Gibsonville, N.C. It returned the next winter. Now, developers want to build hundreds of houses near the farm, in an area that attracts migratory birds.

030

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

A northern harrier swoops over a field at the Guilford County Farm in Gibsonville, N.C., on Nov. 19, 2022. Developers want to build hundreds of houses near the farm. Even when open spaces remain, habitat fragmentation threatens wildlife.

0162

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

July 20, 2026, near the Guilford County Farm on Howerton Road in Gibsonville, N.C. Developers want to build hundreds of houses near the the farm on land that provides habitat for migratory birds and a wide range of wildlife, including mink and otters.

062

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

A red-shouldered hawk in the evening light keeping an eye out for a meal in Greensboro, N.C. #birds

0131

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

A bobolink Sunday at the Guilford County Farm on Howerton Road in Gibsonville, N.C. Developers want to build hundreds of houses near the farm, which is an important habitat for migratory birds. Every day, I’ll be posting a photo taken at the farm so people are aware what is at stake. #birds

0131

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

A pollinator hard at work in my front yard.

0204

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I think this is a female indigo bunting I spotted at the Guilford County Farm in Gibsonville, N.C. If it isn't, let me know. #birds

0111

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A rabbit after the rain at Kathleen Clay Edwards Library in Greensboro, N.C.

091

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

It was a surprise to look up and see this subadult bald eagle so close yesterday at Jordan Lake.

0111

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I saw this guy in rural Guilford County, North Carolina, Sunday morning. He appeared to be making his way home after a rough night.

091

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This ruby-throated hummingbird appears to have a white beak. Seen today in rural Guilford County, North Carolina. #birds

0141

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Along a country road in Guilford County, North Carolina, last week.

0142

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

A butterfly expert once told me a buckeye could "make a living in a parking lot." Still, it's nice to see them on flowers. This one was at Jordan Dam.

081

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

A great-crested flycatcher last month at the Kathleen Clay Edwards Library in Greensboro, N.C. This is probably the last one I'll see until spring. #birds

0171

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

A visitor to my backyard on Sunday. #birds

0242

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Their wings look like church windows. I saw this monarch over the weekend in High Point, N.C.

1142

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I saw a couple of fawns in Greensboro, N.C., over the weekend. One was on the campus of an elementary school; the other was in a front yard near Guilford College.

071

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

This little diva created a spa in my garden. I managed to rescue the mouse-ear hosta that used to grow here. It's thriving in a pot on the deck.

150

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I took these photos in July. I saw the family last week -- they're all grown up! #birds

0141

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The marsh at Pee Dee NWR was teeming with life Monday.

1133

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I think these are all cloudless sulphur butterflies -- the large ones males. I saw these Monday along a road at Pee Dee NWR in Anson County, North Carolina.

191

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

This is one of hundreds of tree frogs at the Pee Dee NWR marsh Monday morning. They disappear in the afternoon when the sun is overhead, emerging again in the evening.

091

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge in Anson County, North Carolina on Aug. 24, 2026.

0132

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

A hermit thrush at Grayson-Highlands State Park in July. We see them here in North Carolina in winter but I usually don't get a chance to see them singing like this. They nest at Grayson, about a 2.5 hour drive from Greensboro. #birds

0193

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

A pine warbler last week at Jordan Lake in North Carolina. #birds

0243

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

An eastern box turtle embarking on an adventure earlier this month at Stone Mountain. We stopped the car so I could move him off the road but he out ran me. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

0143

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I took a lot of hummingbird photos yesterday because this ruby-throat perched and preened for about 20 minutes. #birds

291

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

A summer tanager showed up this afternoon at one of my local parks. I think it's an immature male because some of the feathers are turning orange. #birds

1212

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This ruby-throated hummingbird briefly distracted me from everything else in the world this afternoon. #birds

1142

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

A grasshopper sparrow earlier this month at the Guilford County Farm. #birds

061

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I almost missed this guy Tuesday at Jordan Lake. He was on the other side of the pier. We only saw him as we were leaving. It was worth going back for, despite the heat advisory. #birds

0101

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

A tiny dinosaur sitting on a fence yesterday at Jordan Lake Educational Forest in Chatham County.

091

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Vultures in training. "Large, dark, lazy butterflies," is how poet Mary Oliver described them. There were several youngsters in the group sunning themselves last week at Jordan Lake. One of my favorite birds. I wish they got more love in this world. #birds

0121

Brenda Hiles @beehiles.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I've only been to Sandy Creek Park in Durham once this summer to see the yellow-crowned night herons. These photos were taken in early July. It's been too hot to go back. #birds

081