LarryNAME: Larry Butts
LOCATION: Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA
AWARD DATE: February 20, 2007 GOLD

ANIMALS

  1. Northern Cardinal-Cardinalis cardinalis
  2. Eastern Blue Bird-Sialia sialis
  3. American Robin-Turdus migratorius
  4. Carolina Wren-Thryothorus ludovicianus
  5. Northern Mockingbird-Mimus polyglottos
  6. Mourning Dove-Zenaida macroura
  7. Eastern Wild Turkey-Meleagris gallopavo silvestra
  8. Pileated Woodpecker-Dryocopus pileatus
  9. American Crow-Corvus brachyrhynchos
  10. Sharp-shinned Hawk-Accipiter striatus
  11. Mallard-Anas platyrhynchos
  12. Wood Duck-Aix sponsa
  13. Red-tailed Hawk-Buteo jamaicensis
  14. Great Blue Heron-Aredea Herodias
  15. Tufted Titmouse-Bacolophus bicolor
  16. Blue Jay-Cyanocitta cristata
  17. Hermit Thrush-Catharus guttatus
  18. White-breasted Nuthatch-Sitta carolinensis
  19. Pine Warbler-Dendrica pinus
  20. White-throated Sparrow-Zonotrichia albicollis
  21. Ruby-throated Hummingbird-Archilochus colubris
  1. Red Fox-Vulpes vulpes
  2. Gray Fox-Urocyon cinereoargenteus
  3. Whitetail Deer-Odocoileus virginianus
  4. Eastern Gray Squirrel-Sciurus carolinensis
  5. Fox Squirrel-Sciurus niger
  6. Nine-banded Armadillo-Dasypus novemcinctus
  7. Coyote-Canis latrans
  8. Opossum-Didelphis virginiana
  9. Raccoon-Procyon lotor
  10. Beaver-Castor canadenis
  11. Bobcat-Lynx rufus
  12. Striped Skunk-Mephitis mephitis
  13. Eastern Cottontail-Sylvilagus floridanus
  14. Eastern Chipmunk-Tamias striatus
  1. Water Moccasin-Agkistrodon piscivorus
  2. Speckled Kingsnake-Lampropeltis getulus holbrooki
  3. Eastern Diamonback Rattlesnake-Crotalus adamanteus
  4. Copperhead-Agkistrodon contortris
  5. Southern Black Racer-Caluber constrictor priapus
  1. Green Anole-Anolis carolinensis
  2. Five-lined Skink-Eumeces fasciatus
  3. Fence Lizard-Sceloporus undulates
  4. American Alligator-Alligator mississippiensis
  1. Red Wasp-Palistes
  2. Bald –faced Hornet-Dolichovespula maculate
  3. Bess Bug-Passalidae
  4. Fire Ant-Salenopsis invicta
  5. Lady Beetle-Coccinellidae
  6. Dung Beetle-Scarabaeidae
  7. Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly-Calopteryx maculate
  8. Yellow jacket-Vespula sp.
  9. Honey Bee-Apis mellifera
  10. Firefly-Lampyridae
  11. Mosquito-Culicidae
  12. Walkingstick-Diapheromera femorata
  13. Carpenter Ant-Camponotus sp.
  14. Zebra Swallowtail-Eurytides Marcellus
  1. Daddy Longlegs-Liobium vittatum
  2. Black and Yellow Garden Spider-Argiope aurantia
  3. Southern Black Widow-Latrodectus mactans

FLOWERING PLANTS

  1. Yellow Poplar-Liriodendron tulipifera
  2. Bigleaf Magnolia-Magnolia macrophylla
  3. Eastern Redcedar-Juniperus virginiana
  4. American Beech-Fagus grandifolia
  5. Eastern Hophornbeam-Ostrya virginiana
  6. Black Locust-Robinia pseudoacacia
  7. Black Walnut-Juglans nigra
  8. Mockernut Hickory-Carya tomentosa
  9. Bitternut Hickory-Carya cordiformis
  10. Pignut Hickory-Carya glabra
  11. Black Cherry-Prunus serotina
  12. Red Maple-Acer rubrum
  13. White Oak-Quercus alba
  14. Post Oak-Quercus stellata
  15. Pin Oak-Quercus palustris
  16. Southern Magnolia-Magnolia grandiflora
  17. American Holly-Ilex opaca
  18. Black Willow-Salix nigra
  19. American Elm-Ulmus Americana
  20. Winged Elm-Ulmus alata
  21. Osage orange-Maclura pomifera
  22. Sassafras-Sassafras albidum
  23. Sweetgum-Liquidambar styraciflua
  24. Common Persimmon-Diospyros virginiana
  25. Loblolly Pine-Pinus taeda
  26. Flowering Dogwood-Cornus florida
  27. Red Mulberry-Morus rubra
  28. Eastern Redbud-Cercis Canadensis
  29. Sycamore-Platanus accidentalis
  30. Eastern Cottonwood-Populus deltoids
  31. Blackgum-Nyssa sylvatica
  32. Boxelder-Acer negundo
  33. Devils-walkingstick-Aralia spinosa
  34. Hackberry-Celtis accidentalis
  35. Hercules-Club-Zanthoxylum clava
  36. Honeylocust-Gleditsia triacanthos
  37. Southern Red Oak-Quercus falcate
  38. Overcup Oak-Quercus lyrata
  39. Chickasaw Plum-Prunus angustifolia

*****

REMARKS ON THE FIVE SPECIES
OF MOST INTEREST TO LARRY:

One of the most exciting things you can experience in the woods is to hear an Eastern Wild Turkey gobble at the crack of dawn on a beautiful spring morning when the birds are singing. The closer to the gobbler, the more hair that will stand up on the back of your neck. This is a clear signal that spring has finally arrived.

I was amazed at the White Breasted Nuthatch’s habit of walking down the side of a tree with his head pointed toward the ground. This is the opposite of what all other birds do. I can identify with this bird because I have been doing things backward from what the general population does for most of my life.

My Daddy was a great hunter and there were times in my boyhood that the only meat on the table was fried Eastern Gray Squirrel. I salute their resiliency as he did his best to wipe them out on our place. Long may he wave that bushy tail!

The Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly will always be special to me because the first time I ever positively identified one was downstream from a waterfall on a limestone shelf in a creek called Mill Creek about two miles from my house. It was a Kodak moment!

I finally saw a Zebra Swallowtail on a trip to Big Black River which is two miles distant from my house. I wondered why I never saw one in my yard and when I began to research I found out that they were exactly where they were supposed to be-near sand and a river.

LARRY'S THOUGHTS THOUGHTS ON WHAT HE'S LEARNED IDENTIFYING THESE SPECIES

I really learned that I don’t know very much about nature while making this list. There is so much out there to know. I wish I had been more serious about studying nature at a younger age, but now I will try to make up for lost time. My thanks to my friend Jim Conrad for getting me started on this quest.