Feathered Collision

Soccer balls slamming against the windows of the cafeteria at the elementary school where my wife teaches is pretty much an every day occurence. To their surprise the bang they heard the other day didn't originate from an errant ball.


According to David Malakoff in an article in the March 2004 issue of Audubon, "window strikes kill between 100 million and 1 billion birds in North America each year......" One theory states that this happens because birds see their reflections in the glass and think they're seeing another bird and being territorial tries to attack it.


While everyone else in the cafeteria refused to approach the injured juvenile Cooper's hawk my wife (the "cajun") was the first and only one to go to its aid. It's injuries must've been severe because by the time I arrived it had expired.


Rather than allow this beautiful creature to go to waste, I was able to find an ornithologist from a local university through acquaintences of mine to legally take it for study.

One other tidbit of information should be noted. Several custodians that were present kept commenting on the fact that even though the bird had just died there were already flies being attracted to its carcass. At first I disreguarded this due to the “tunnel vision” I was exhibiting over my excitement of seeing a hawk so close up.

Eventually I began to look at the flies and noticed that they were rather odd looking. Unlike the usual house, blue or green bottle fly they had a flat looking appearance. I captured two in a vial and later found these to be louse flies. These ectoparasites feed on the blood of pigeons and doves, which are prey items of hawks. When feeding on these birds the flies jump onto the hawks and began feeding on them. Their flat profile along with specialized claws allow them to scurry easily through the plumage of birds.

Crack Kills

This picture is being passed around via email and I do not know who took it, but it is an extraordinary picture. Moose have to avoid hunters, predators, worry about food supply, and disease and as we see here, the condition of the terrain that they live in.

What are the chances of this happening? Apparently the moose had been distracted in some way and didn’t see this large crack in the ground. Once it became trapped there was no way it was going to be able to escape. This followed by starvation and predators having their way.

Not a very pleasant way to go….

Sabine Pass Trip

With fall migration going on I decided to take a trip to Sabine Pass a week ago to check for migrants at Sabine Woods. Before I arrived I came across a dead river otter alongside highway 87 about 1-2 miles from town. This is the second road-killed otter I've discovered along this highway.

About 1 mile from Sabine Woods I found a freshly killed 3 1/2 foot long cottonmouth along the road's edge. Seems lately all of the snakes I come across are dead. We've had a really sweltering summer and when it's like this snakes usually find a nice shady place to hide and stay cool during the day and do all of their hunting at night. As soon as fall arrives and begins to drop daily temperatures they'll become more active to try and get as much to eat before winter. This means I'll probably come across a lot more road-killed snakes because of this. Hopefully though I'll also come across a few live ones as well.


Arriving at Sabine Woods I doused myself with mosquito repellent and put on a long sleeved shirt. If you're from my neck of the woods you're aware of our mosquito dilemma. As I approached the edge of the woods it was as if I crossed an invisible boundary that set off an alarm. The six-legged blood suckers were on me like stink on a monkey. I was hit from every angle possible and every piece of exposed flesh was covered even if it did taste of deet. I can usually handle mosquitoes, but this was insane to the point that had I opened my mouth and inhaled deeply I would've surely choked. So much for birding this area today. I decided to head down highway 87 towards Willow Pond Nature Trail even though there's not much left of this patch of willow trees.


Hurricane Rita began its downfall and then the salty storm surge of Hurricane Ike finished it off. What was once a beautiful, serene local with a petite wisp of willows is now no more than a graveyard of wooden skeletons. During spring and fall migration these trees served as rest and feeding areas for migrants that had traveled the lengthy expanse of the Gulf of Mexico on their way to their breeding areas. Now it is no more. The boardwalk that once snaked its way through the trees was washed away leaving a sandy floor. As I walked through the area I found that the resident bobcat was still frequenting this spot. There in the soft sand were tracks that appeared pretty fresh. I made its acquaintence several times in the past, once in the winter of 2005 and then again in the spring of 2008.

Willey Bandits

They've been called many things: ring-tailed bandits, night raiders, long-tailed bear. They're known to Mohican Inidans as sha-wee (graspers) and the Dakota-Sioux as weekah tegalega (magic one with painted face). Raccoons can be compared to your average neighborhood feral cat- curious, stealthy, and inquisitive little varmints and when food is involved they’ll do whatever it takes to get to it. And being omnivorous means they'll pretty much consume anything. They 're even aware of the feast that can be pilfered from a deer feeder. When a buddy of mine was checking his game camera he found that the on/off switch was in the “off” position. At first he thought that maybe he forgot to turn it on, but when we checked the sd card we found pictures……and the last one revealed the culprit. The incredible dexterity they have with their little hand-like paws enable them to open jars, latches, turn doorknobs, and turn off game cameras….

Pileated vs. Flicker

While sitting on the front porch enjoying the hot afternoon I began hearing the drumming of a woodpecker. It was close and echoed loudly through the wooded area that borders our property. Hollow snags are used by woodpeckers to drum allowing each repeated thud to resonate long distances. Drumming is performed for several reasons- to attract mates, to communicate with mates, and as a way of claiming territory. (Check out this really cool blog for sound recording of various woodpeckers drumming.) This area runs rampade with various types of woodpeckers (i.e. red-bellied, downy, hairy, pileated, flickers, red-headed, and sapsuckers) so drumming is a common sound. But the drumming I was hearing was really loud and the sound was trailing off at the end. I glassed the area where I thought the din was coming from and noted several old pine snags about 30-40 yards into the woods. Scanning each snag from top to bottom I eventually spotted the source of the drumming- a pileated woodpecker. This woodpecker is the largest found in the U.S. next to the supposed extinct ivorybill woodpecker. They are found all over this area and are very interesting to observe.



The pileated was perched near an entrance hole to a nest cavity that had been excavated on this particular snag. To possibly find the nest of this bird so close to camp was very exciting to say the least. Upon taking a closer look though I noticed that the entrance hole was not typical of a pileated woodpecker. Normally they excavate a hole that is oblong or rectangular in shape and this particular hole was round. Then again I can recall seeing photos of pileated cavity entrances that were round.

After a few minutes of observing I spotted the true owner of this cavity- a northern flicker. It was peering from the entrance watching the larger woodpecker as it drummed nearby. Was the pileated trying to claim this site by this drumming? They’re known to take over red-cocked woodpecker cavities, so why not a flicker cavity?

What happened next was something I had never seen. The flicker, after putting up with the seemingly endless drumming, decided to leave its cavity, which would prove a mistake, because seconds later the pileated entered it. When an invading bird does this it’s usually not a good thing. Straight away the pileated’s head appeared at the entrance with one of the flicker’s eggs in its bill. Jumping from the cavity it disappeared into the thickly wooded area with the egg in tow. I watched for quite awhile longer and only saw the flicker return.

There are several questions to consider:

1)Was the flicker using a hole previously owned by the invading pileated woodpecker? Flickers excavate their own cavities in dead trees and sometimes take advantage of previously used cavities.
2)Was the removal of the egg a territorial behavior?
3)Would the pileated be back to remove the rest of the eggs?
4)Would the flicker abandon its nest site now that it had been invaded?

I’ve check Bent’s Life Histories, SORA, and several other sources for any info on this type of behavior in pileateds and have so far found zilch. The only woodpecker I did find that exhibits this behavior is the red-headed woodpecker. If anyone has any information on this type of behavior in pileateds please let me know.

Abnormal Antlers

Do you notice anything peculiar about this white-tailed deer? Obviously the antler on the deer’s left side is abnormal or “stunted” in comparison to one on the right. Now look closely at the right hind quarter where you’ll notice a “lump” that appears to be some sort of injury. Well believe it or not the two are interrelated. It has been found that there is a cause and effect relationship between leg injuries and abnormal/stunted antler growth. Many hunters have reported seeing this phenomenon in the field for years. And get this- from what I’ve read the only time abnormal/stunted antler growth occurs “contra-lateral” (opposite side) to the injury is when the injury is to a rear leg as with the deer in the photograph. We’re not finished- If the injury occurs on one of the front legs the antler is abnormal/stunted on the same side as the injury. There have been studies done on this weird phenomenon and to this day it’s still not understood why this happens.

Ringtail Cat

I knew of their existence in Texas, but never thought I would actually ever see one. Well actually I didn’t see it "in person". A buddy of mine had a camera trap set up near one of his deer feeders and captured a sweet photo of one that happened by. They had been getting lots of photos of raccoons here, so when I first saw this picture I was only focused on the tail thinking it was a raccoon until I noticed the difference in body type. That’s when my jaw dropped.
Primarily a nocturnal animal, ringtails (Bassariscus astusus) are not actually cats, but in fact are related to raccoons. They are though like cats in the way they groom themselves and by way of being very curious creatures. Some say they resemble a cross between a fox and a raccoon due to its fox-like face and it elongated raccoon-like body and tail. The scientific name, Bassariscus astusus, when broken down basically means “cunning little fox”. They inhabit rocky, semi-arid regions and are very adept at climbing and negotiating tree limbs, crevices, rocks, and tight ledges. They are able to rotate their hind feet 180 degrees furthering their agile abilities. They are also very secretive and rarely seen during the daylight hours when they’re usually asleep in their dens. Dens are located usually in hollow trees, stumps or logs, caves and between or under rocks. They are mainly carnivorous consuming rodents, rabbits, squirrels, small birds, toads, frogs, snakes, lizards, insects (grasshoppers, crickets), spiders, scorpions, and centipedes, but will also eat various fruits (hackberries, mistletoe, persimmons), prickly pear cactus, juniper berries, and the nectar of the agave plant. Mating occurs between February and June producing litters of 1-5 young born in May or June. Predators include great-horned owls, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, and even their cousin the raccoon. Farmers have also been known to kill them because of the damage they may cause to orchards and poultry. Vocalizations include squeaks, barks, screams, whimpers, and snarls.

Other interesting facts:

~ Known as “cacomistles” which is a term coined by Nahuatl (Aztec) Indians, which means “half mountain lion”.

~ They’re also known as “miner’s cats”, because years ago miners would use them to rid their quarters of disease carrying rodents.

~ Ringtails are the official state mammal of Arizona

~ Their claws are retractable and rarely show in their tracks. They have five toes on each foot.

~ They wrap their furry tails around themselves during the winter months to stay warm.

~ Ringtails are said to make good pets.


Check these out:

Ringtail skull

Ringtail tracks

Ringtail scat

Texas Birding Hotspots Map

I was reading a post on the TEXBIRDS listserv and came across a post by Gary Hodne who put together a series of maps using Google Maps showing birding hotspots in Texas. The maps, in 12 different regions, not only mark the hotspots but also allow you to get directions to them from where ever you are. He will soon be importing all of this data into Google Earth. If you're planning on doing any birding in Texas you need to check out the links below.

eBird Hotspots Upper TX Coast

eBird Hotspots Central TX Coast

eBird Hotspots Rio Grande Valley

eBird Hotspots South Texas

eBird Hotspots East TX / Pineywoods

eBird Hotspots South Central Texas

eBird Hotspots North Central Texas

eBird Hotspots Edwards Plateau

eBird Hotspots Travis Co.

eBird Hotspots Rolling Plains

eBird Hotspots Panhandle / Llano Estacado

eBird Hotspots West TX/ Trans-Pecos

Kopi Luwak Coffee

I thought all of you coffee lovers out there would be interested in this. Have you ever heard of Kopi Luwak coffee? Also known as civet coffee, it happens to be the most expensive coffee in the world selling anywhere from $100 to $600 a pound. The reason it is so expensive is because it lacks the bitterness that most coffees have. But that's not the kicker. On islands near the Philippines there is an animal known as an Asian Palm Civet, known by the locals as "luwaks". One of the things these cat-like animals eat is coffee berries. When the red coffee berries are digested in the animal's gut everything is broken down except the coffee seed or bean that's inside the berry. Also during the digestive process enzymes in the stomach of the civet help breakdown proteins that give coffee its bitter taste. Now here's the good part. When the civet defecates the undigested beans in the animal's scat are then collected by locals, washed and roasted and then ground into coffee. Yep- read it again...that's exactly what I said. Yum.....

Interesting Nature-Related Stories

Check out these interesting stories:

“Swallow Flies Through Two-Inch Gap at Thirty-Five Miles an Hour”

“Experts: Bat Fungus Causing Wildlife Threat”

“Bizarre Bald Bird Discovered in Asia”

“Bizarre Walking Bat Has Ancient Heritage”

“Water Snake Startles Fish So They Flee Into its Jaws”

“Squirrels Use Old Snake Skins to Mask Their Scent From Predators”

Lubber Grasshopper

Recently a friend of mine came across this beautiful eastern lubber grasshopper (Romalea microptera) measuring about 2 ½” in length. These robust, flightless grasshoppers are considered pests known to cause damage to citrus and vegetable crops and ornamental plants. Its bright colors warn predators that it is toxic and in fact they’re so toxic there have been reports of birds dying and opossums hurling chunks after eating one these things.

Shrikes though are a little smarter and have learned how to make these beefy food items palatable. Like with most food captured they impale it on an object such as a thorn, pointed branch or even a barb on a barbed wire fence. They then allow the lubber to “age”. This aging is believed to somehow lessen the potency of its toxicity allowing the shrike to eat it. And even then this smart bird only eats the head and tail leaving the thorax region where most of the toxicity is supposedly located.

Pythons On The Loose

In a recent USA Today I read an article entittled "Everglades May Host Python Hunts". This is a result of a recent event where a 2-year old girl in Florida was strangled to death by a 9 foot pet Burmese python that had escaped from its enclosure. It is also due to the fact that this exotic snake has been turning up in the Everglades and the Florida Keys. It is believed by some officials that as many as 150,000 of these monsters could be roaming in Southern Florida.

The Burmese python is not native to this country and its presence is believed to be the result of pet owners, who thought it was “cool” to own a python and then turned it loose once it became evident how large they become. Some also believe that it could be the result of these snakes escaping from pet stores that were damaged during Hurricane Andrew. You have to realize this- we’re talking about a python, not your typical pet garter snake. They are closely related to anacondas, and can grow to a length of 26 feet and can weigh as much as 200 pounds. They hide and ambush prey by grabbing it with its strong jaws and then entwining it with its body and killing by strangulation. Not a very pleasant way to go. A female can lay 25 or more eggs in a single clutch and has no natural predators in Florida. It can consume animals as large as deer and in fact one was photographed that had attempted to swallow a large alligator, but ended up bursting due to the alligator’s size. The fear is that these snakes will not only damage the ecosystem of Florida (and where ever else they decide to go) by preying on indigenous as well as rare species of birds and mammals, but also pose a threat to humans. There are only a few states that ban large constrictors and now Florida is considering passing a bill that would regulate ownership by requiring owners to: Pay $100 annual permits, implant a microchip in its skin if it is wider than 2 inches so it can be tracked and found if it escapes, and prove their snake handling skills. The hunting of these snakes, for now, will only involve qualified herpetologists who will euthanize and study (location found, size, gut contents) any pythons captured to help them better their understanding of this snakes survival requirements. Due to the fact that the female creates heat for her eggs via shivering, scientist believe they can use thermal imaging to locate nests to further help eradicate it.

Anyone considering any kind of snake as a pet should first do the research on its natural history beforehand.

A Shocking Mystery

A neighbor of mine lost power to his house and after talking with a fellow from Entergy I found out a possible explanation. The switch that sits between the transformer and the power line had been tripped. On the ground below the telephone pole were the remains of a red-headed woodpecker and a blue jay. Both birds appeared to have died a violent death. What happened? My thinking is this- most birds are very territorial about their space and will attack and drive off other birds (even those of the same species) when entering that territory. One of the birds entered where it shouldn't have and a tussle ensued. Both distracted by the fight were not paying attention to their surroundings and either ran into a hot wire while at the same time touching something that was grounded or two wires with differing potentials and then poof- crispy critters. This was something they never saw coming...

Notebook Jottings 2

May 21, 2009

I found this headless female swamp darner on the ground below my gourd racks today. One of the adult purple martins must've captured it for one of its young and dropped it. Adults remove the heads of dragonflies before they feed them to their young so they don't bite on the way down.

April 6, 2008

While walking towards the barn a yellow-bellied racer (aka blue racer) came “racing” from the tall hay nearby and headed straight for the barn. I ran after it and it left me in a wake of its dust. They don’t call them racers for nuttin’. I went into the barn and found its trail in the sand where it entered and followed it to where it escaped under the wall on the opposite side. Gone baby gone…


February 27, 2007

Found several strands of course dark hair that had been snagged by some barbed wire. More than likely it was from one of the many feral hogs that root up the woods. But hey you never know......could be from Bigfoot....


May 16, 2005

I pulled on side of HWY 73 in Sabine Pass to check out a small marsh area. As I stood at its edge little did I know that something lurked beneath the surface of the water. Slowly the reptilian began to rise scaring the literal hell out of me. Moments before I had thought of wading in to explore......


June 27, 2004

I've always been amazed at the arch formations in Arches National Park in Utah. Never did I expect to be standing below one of them (Delicate Arch) one day......

Dewlap

I've had several people ask me about the red flap of skin that flares out from the throat of the green anole lizard. This flap of red skin is called a "dewlap" and is found on males.

One reason for this behavior is territoriality. If a male spots another male in his territory he will show his dominance by flaring his delwap and bobbing up and down as if doing pushups. Sort of a way of telling the other male to leave its space or face the consequences.

It also serves another purpose- courting. During breeding season the male will flash his dewlap as a way of attracting females.

Purple Martins- Nest Replacement

Nest replacements are just another responsibility of a purple martin landlord and are done for several reasons:

1) The nest is wet from rain. Wet nests are not only detrimental to the health of nestlings, especially before they have developed their feathers (hypothermia), but also to eggs. Chilled eggs are subject to abandonment by the adults.

2) The nest is infested with ectoparasites such as mites, blowflies, fleas, etc. Extreme infestations can cause nestlings to jump from the housing (premature fledging) and worse can cause the parents to abandon the nestlings leaving them to starve. Seeing hundreds if not thousands of bird-nest mites can freak out the inexperienced landlord, but not to worry. All they'll do is crawl on you. They don't bite humans.


This was the reason I changed out this particular nest. The inside as well as the outside of the gourd was crawling with these tiny pests. I removed the nestlings from the gourd and placed them into a bucket for safe keeping until I finished. I removed the old nest and then with a hose washed out the inside as well as the outside of the gourd. I wiped it dry, placed fresh leaves and pine straw inside and then replaced the nestlings.

Notebook Jottings

June 7, 2009 Notebook Entry:

"When I first spotted the red-eared slider on its back I hoped it was still alive, because this position for most turtles is a literal sentence to a long and agonizing death. As I got closer I realized that it was way to late for saving. How it got into this position is any one's guess."



May 23, 2009 Notebook Entry:

"I checked my bluebird box and found another set of eggs a couple weeks ago. This is the first year I've had a second clutch in the same season. I've read that if you remove the nest used for the first successful clutch in a given season it somehow encourages them to lay a second clutch. I did this and the results speak for themselves."



April 22, 2009 Notebook Entry:

"Wow....when I spotted this DOR (dead on road) cottonmouth I was in awe. It was eight inches shy of being four feet in length and near three inches in width. What a specimen, but unfortunately no longer with us. I like all snakes even the poisonous ones and my friends call that crazy."



April 16, 2008 Notebook Entry:

"I'm thirsty as heck so I shotgun a beer, sit back on the porch and watch as a brown-headed nuthatch on the pine snag out front entertains me......life is good."


Quote:

"Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better" Albert Einstein

Yardwork

I was on vacation this week and spent most of it working in the yard. Digging in flower gardens, putting up a new fence gate, planting vegetables, cutting grass, etc., etc., etc. I love doing this. I love every minute I spend in my own yard and while I do all this work my eyes and ears are always open to what's going on around me. The wonderful chortle of chimney swifts flying overhead, my purple martins as they fly to and fro feeding their young, the toad that comes hopping from between the flowers, the red-shouldered hawks soaring high above......you get the picture. Nature is always on my mind.


While digging up a long dead plumbago shrub suddenly out of nowhere comes a DeKay's brown snake (Storeria dekayi) from the grassy edges. I wrote about this beautiful little snake once before. Now exposed it froze hoping that its natural colors would blend in with the dirt background........until I reached down for it. As soon as my hand got close, it began flattening its head and assuming the striking position. Mind you this was all just a bluff as it didn't try and bite at all. Actually it was extremely tame when handled. People worried about slugs and snails damaging their plants would benefit from having this snake in their garden, because these pests are in their diet.

I placed it into a flower pot until I was finished (plus I wanted to show it to my wife when she got home from work) and later released it in the thick grass below our jasmine vine hoping to one day come across it again.

Purple Martin Colony News

Since my last entry I have performed two additional nest checks and as of today my totals are as follows: 23 nesting pair, 105 eggs, and 6 nestlings.

In the photo below you'll note near a newly hatched nestling is a remaining portion of the egg it hatched from. Normally the adults will either eat it for its calcium content or dispose of it away from the nest. Dropping it near the colony would only attract predators. When performing nest checks its best to remove any egg shell remnants to prevent egg "capping". If you read my previous post on this subject you'll recall that capped eggs usually fail to hatch because the attached shell can prevent the nestling from hatching.

Now the real work begins for the adults as they begin the rearing process which means repeated sorties to collect food for all of the hungry mouths to feed.

First Nest Check of the Season

I lowered the gourd racks at my purple martin colony to see if egg laying has begun. They tend to bury their eggs deep in the confines of the leaves that make up most of their nest to hide them from predators. I gently poked my fingers into the nest “bowl” of each nest and counted by feel. I come up with a total of 58 eggs from 17 nests, but I expect the number to come close to doubling in the next week. There were several full blown nests in four other gourds that had no eggs in them, but very well could have some on my next check.

Many people that I have introduced to purple martins are awe struck at how the adults seem so at ease while I examine their nests. In one photo you’ll note how a few of the adults landed in the top of a nearby sweet gum tree waiting for me to finish. Most believe the old wives’ tale that if you touch a bird’s eggs, nest or nestlings the adults will abandon the nest. This is totally untrue. The parents have invested a lot of time and energy in this task and won’t just turn and waste it. Now there have been times when I’ve been strafed by adults while examining their nests, coming so close that I could feel the rush of air created by their wings as they grazed my face. I just ignore their advances and continue with my work. Actually purple martins are very tolerant of humans around their colony and in fact prefer nesting near us because it lessens the chance of a predation. More importantly they are completely dependent upon humans for nesting sites, especially since the introduction of two non-native species of birds in the 1800's, the English house sparrow and the European starling, which compete savagely for nesting sites. If not for myself and thousands of other landlords taking responsibility and managing their colonies the purple martin population would without doubt become decimated.

Porch Light Protector

Near the porch light tucked snuggly along the edge of the siding is a small grayish mass that sits motionless. Its beady eyes stare blankly at me as I reach for the gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor), a common find in this area. It is very difficult to hang onto due to mucous produced by glands found in its skin. This mucous keeps its skin moist and is also emitted from its knobby toe pads enabling it to adhere to just about any surface (via surface tension). Mostly mottled gray in color, they have chameleon-like abilities that enable it to change colors (green, brown, gray) to match that of their surroundings. Place this frog on the trunk of a tree and it literally disappears. Its inner thigh is washed in bright orange or yellow distinguishing them from other tree frogs.


They’re arboreal, meaning they spend ample time in association with trees or shrubs and are mostly active at night when males do all of their calling especially following a rain storm . Being active at night is done in order to lessen their chances of being eaten by predators such as birds, snakes, and raccoons but the larger bullfrog, another predator, is wise to this and will stalk the males as they call. Their diet consists of beetles, ants, mites, spiders, harvestman, snails, and caterpillars. They've also been known to be “opportunistic cannibals” meaning if the opportunity presents itself they will catch and consume smaller frogs of their own species. Their blood contains glycerol which acts as an “antifreeze” enabling them to survive cold winters. While hibernating in leaf litter and logs they literally enter into a sort of suspended animation in which all of their internal organs shut down including their lungs and heart. When spring arrives they “thaw” out and then go about their business of being frogs.

Pokeweed

The use of pokeweed dates back to pioneer times and was used as a folk remedy for various ailments- acne, tonsillitis, weight loss, and rheumatism. It was also popular among Native American Indians who used it to treat inflammation, rashes, as a laxative and to induce vomiting. Pokeweed goes by many names- ink berry, pigeon-berry, bears’ grape, crowberry, garget, nightshade, and red-ink plant.

People have consumed the leaves, which according to recipes call for them to be boiled at least three times and drained to rid them of toxins. (Ever heard the song “Polk Salad Annie”?)

Some sites claim that the berries are also ok to eat if cooked, but I remain skeptical. It seems most information I’ve come across say not to consume any part of this plant due to those toxins contained in the roots, leaves, stems, and berries- specifically phytolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin which are toxic to mammals including humans.

Birds though are immune to the toxins and gorge themselves on the berries making them the main dispersers of the plant’s seeds.

Some other interesting facts about pokeweed:

~ The ink used to write the Declaration of Independence and letters home written during the Civil War was made from the fermented juice of pokeweed.

~ Native American Indians used its juices as a dye to decorate horses, dye cloth, and as a face paint.

A Bald Eagle Named Beauty

The bald eagle not only is the symbol of our nation, but is also one of the most awesome and majestic creatures that resides on this continent. I came across a heart breaking article in the March/April 2009 issue of Science Illustrated about a bald eagle named "Beauty" that had been found in terrible condition in Dutch Harbor Alaska in 2005. It's beak had been destroyed after being shot, which left her unable to feed herself. A raptor center took her in and....well watch the video and let it tell the rest of this amazing story.



Other links:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080611-AP-eagle-photo.html
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/05/05/eagle-beak-beauty.html

Bluebird and Purple Martin Updates

Bluebird Notes- This past Monday I discovered three bluebird eggs in the nestbox I set up near the camp house. This will be my third year to have this box up and so far nesting has been successful each year.

Purple Martin Colony Notes- Last week I had an disturbing observation and for the most part wished I hadn’t been paying attention. I was near my purple martin colony and begin hearing the vocalization that they emit when a predator is in their midst.

It’s funny how after so many years of having this colony that I have learned the various calls and what they mean. So when I heard this it got my immediate attention. At first I thought they were responding to the presence of our tom cat who was in the vicinity, but then I looked up to see what looked like a cooper's hawk gliding about ten foot off the ground very near the gourd racks. This is the first time I've witnessed a hawk in such close proximity to the housing. Hopefully this will not become a habit, especially during the time the adults are rearing their young. They exert an extreme amount of energy keeping the nestlings fed and cared for and the last thing they need is to be wasting most of that energy combating a predator. Immediately a conglomeration of purple martins, grackles, and blue jays began mobbing the hawk in order to get it to leave. This is one time that you’ll see all types of birds band together to attack and drive away a natural predator, whether it be a predatory bird (hawk, owl) or mammal (cat, fox, raccoon). As the hawk flew away I noticed a few martins continued to harass it even after it was well away from the colony. Suddenly the hawk plunged like a stone and when it ascended in its talons was a purple martin. Needless to say this hit me like a sucker punch. There was nothing I could do but watch and accept this very disturbing fact of nature with the thought that this bird did the honorable thing and put its life on the line and lost it to protect the rest of the colony.

Who Done It???

While walking out to check the mail I noticed a red spot on the sidewalk. I walked over to find it was a drop of blood, and not the only drop. Looking ahead I could see a trail leading underneath our house. I followed each drop in the opposite direction until I came upon the source.

There in the grass near a ditch was a pile of feathers that had been carefully plucked from a white-winged dove. Apparently one of the feral cats that roam this neighborhood pounced upon the unwary bird and it became dinner. I walked back towards the house and noticed an outside cat of ours lying on a wicker couch that resides on our front porch. We “acquired” this big tom when we returned from our evacuation stint during hurricane Ike’s rampage on the Gulf Coast. We had no idea where he came from and decided to give him something to eat. After all he survived a hurricane. And everyone knows what happens when you feed a stray cat……..it never leaves. We couldn’t help it though because he was extremely tame and very friendly, so we decided to take him in. And his name...you guessed it...Ike.

Anyway, he looked awfully pleased as he lay stretched out on the couch making me wonder if he were responsible for the pile of feathers that lay ten yards away. I checked him over looking for blood, but as most people know cats are extremely adept at keeping themselves clean, so if he was the assassin he had already gotten rid of the evidence. The only indication he presented was one of contentment.

An Afternoon In the Field

I spent the afternoon looking over a camera trap site I came across the last time I was up in the woods that’s walking distance from the house making it is easier to monitor. It consists of a narrow waterway only about two feet deep that snakes its way through this particular patch of woods. I found several game trails that ran to and from the waterway proving that something was going there to drink. A small tree that resides on the water’s edge will provide a nice spot to mount the camera. Across on the opposite bank there was an incline slope that appeared worn from use by wildlife to get at the water. Sometime in the future I plan on setting up a camera and hope to have some good results to share.

Afterward I roamed the area and came upon some woodpecker sign consisting of a large gaping maw of a hole about three foot up a rotted snag. The fissure measured approximately nine inches long, three inches wide, and close to four inches deep.
Surely, the work of the pileated woodpecker, which is prevalent in this area. Its large bill is capable of boring out holes such as this for nesting purposes or as they search for beetle grubs nestled within decomposed timber. Food acquisition is my belief since these woodpeckers normally do not bore out compartments this close to the ground. To see some nice photos from another blog of a pileated woodpecker's nest in the making go here. Not far ahead I came across the apparent bedding area of an animal. It consisted of an obvious round, flat area in soft pine straw. I assumed by the size of it that it probably belonged to a deer.
My suspicions were confirmed when I discovered a small mound of deer scat on the outer border of the area. When deer bed down the first thing they do when they rise (like most of us do) is relieve themselves.
Since this is the time of the year that deer begin dropping their antlers my eyes were constantly scanning the ground for sheds. Regretfully I didn’t come across any, but what I did find was a partial leg bone of a deer. The tiny hole at the center was where a blood vessel or nerve had entered the bone.
Note the fine etchings on the broken end. These were produced by the gnawing teeth of squirrels and/or mice who gnaw on bones and shed antlers for their mineral content. There were also coarser teeth markings more than likely made by a predator such as a coyote, bobcat, or fox.

Purple Martin Arrival 2009

I'ts that time of the season again.....for purple martins! They began arriving on February 21st at my colony site. This will be my 15th year as a purple martin landlord and I'm looking forward to another great year.

I'm sure there will be lots of interesting things for me to tell everyone about. Stay tuned!

Cynipid Wasp Galls

These pine cone looking galls remind me of the egg cases from the movie Alien. They’re actually the insect gall of the cynipid wasp. A bug guy identified these for me saying “there are several hundred kinds of cynipid wasps that each make their own kind of gall on a particular kind of oak.” So there’s no telling which cynipid wasp these galls belong to. I only wish I had done what he suggested and collected the leaf. I could’ve then held on to them until they hatched and possibly had them identified.

Floating Acorns

Not many people realize what may lurk inside a simple acorn. I can remember collecting acorns as a kid and stashing them away in a jar to later find a mass of tiny squirming larva. Do all acorns have residents? How could you tell which do and which don’t? I read an article about a study that used the “float method” to determine whether or not the acorns of the red oak were either diseased or infested with weevil larvae. They did this by dropping a handful of acorns into a bucket of water- the ones that sunk were viable, but the ones that floated were found to either have some form of disease or insect infestation. I decided to put the float method to the test.


I grabbed a handful of acorns from beneath a water oak that resides on our property and dropped them into a bucket of water. Most sunk, but there were those that floated, which I removed for dissection. The fact that the nut meat of an acorn is denser than water causes a healthy acorn to sink. Ones that float have had its weight or density reduced by way of the nut meat being eaten by insect larva (and replaced with air and frass), reduced by acorn rot caused by pathogenic fungi and bacteria or after being aborted before the acorn was fully developed (when oak trees are under periods of stress they’ll abort or drop the acorns before they’re fully developed in order to conserve nutrients and water).


I cut into the first acorn to find that the meat had dark areas possibly caused by some sort of disease agent, probably a fungus. The next several opened contained the larva of an acorn weevil (Curculio spp.). Female long-snouted weevils bore into the shells of developing acorns using their snout which have small saw-like teeth that work much like a hole saw. Eggs are then deposited via an ovipositor located on her abdomen, which soon develop into larva that feed on the nut’s meat inside. A few weeks later the larva chew their way out of the acorn (which has fallen to the ground)and burrow into the soil where they pupate emerging as adults the next year.




Sources:

http://www.insectimages.org/browse/subthumb.cfm?sub=440&start=1

http://www.cirrusimage.com/beetles_weevil.htm

http://www3.nsta.org/main/news/pdf/ss0210_14.pdf

Yaupon

Today was a work day at our camp where I cleared brush that had accumulated around the perimeter of the barn. It had gotten so thick I was unable to walk around it. I trimmed back a dense hedgerow of yaupons (Ilex vomitoria) that were covered in fruit and hated to see its tiny beautiful red berries go to waste so I culled them from all of the trimmings and put them into an olive jar to take home. I'll put them out for the local birds which I’m sure will be delighted.
Wildlife benefits in several ways from the presence of this evergreen holly. It grows really thick providing excellent cover for wildlife to hide and good concealment for bird's nests. In the spring they are covered with tiny white flowers followed by the production of beautiful red berries in the fall. These berries (on the female plant only) are present throughout winter providing food for all types of birds- bluebirds, waxwings, mockingbirds, cardinals, thrashers, robins to name a few. Mammals such as raccoons, opposums, foxes, and skunks also eat them and its foliage is an important browse for white-tailed deer. It belongs to the species vomitoria for good reason- Native Americans made a tea-like drink from its caffeine containing bark, leaves, and berries to induce vomiting and to act as a laxative. (It is suggested that no part of this plant be consumed by humans because of this). Its wood was also a good source for making arrows and ramrods for hunting for fishing.

Carolina Wren Nest

After trimming back some brush I carried the remnants over and tossed them upon a brush pile I created several years ago knowing that the local wrens would appreciate it. They love foraging among the intertwined branches for spiders and insects on top of the fact that it provides excellent cover and escape from predators.

Speaking of these tiny dynamos- I discovered two Carolina wren’s (Thryothorus ludovicianus) nests in our barn. One in a nook formed by two support 2x4’s in the loft and the other inside a large wash tub we had hanging on a wall.
Carolina wrens are known to build their nests in bizarre places- inside the pockets of hanging shirts, in old coffee pots, mailboxes, abandoned hornet’s nests and even paper sacks. A friend of mine once found one nesting inside a boot he had stored in his garage. Both nests consisted predominantly of pine straw with a few leaves, feathers, hay and tiny rootlets intertwined. The one inside the wash tub had small pieces of snakeskin and a few strands of dark course hair resembling those found on the many feral hogs that roam these woods.
Wrens are also known to build several nests, some being “dummy” nests in order to confuse predators. Could one of these nests be a “dummy”? Nests are reused by wrens each year so this spring I’ll be sure to keep an eye on both of them to find out.

Sources:

http://birdsbybent.com/ch81-90/carowren.html#

Bald Eagles

I received a email from an acquaintance containing a “bird alert” which spoke of bald eagle sightings in China, TX a small rice farming town with a population not much over 1100. When I arrived in China I took a left onto South Broadway Rd (which eventually turns into South China Rd) and as I approached the intersection at Lawhon Rd where the eagles had been sighted I spotted a large bird flying low over an open field to my right. I immediately stopped and glassed the bird seeing a pure white broad tail which got my instant attention. Its flight directed it towards a string of pine trees that lined one edge of Lawhon Rd where it swooped up and landed. I slowly crept up on the road’s edge, shut off my engine and glassed the spot seeing what I had hoped for- an adult bald eagle. Talk about being at the right place at the right time. Had I arrived 5 minutes later I probably would’ve missed it. Hastily I grabbed my camera and got a decent photo (click on photo and look right above the telephone pole) before it took flight. I watched as it climbed higher and higher taking full advantage of the thermals. A hawk spotted the eagle as it ascended and decided to mob it. What is this bird thinking? With a wingspan of close to nine feet, a large hooked bill and fierce talons the bald eagle is a force to be reckoned with. The eagle ignores the hawk's haphazard advances and continues soaring fully knowing, I’m sure, that if it so desired it could rip the impolite hawk to shreds. I turned around and then headed east on Lawhon Rd took a left onto Green Pond Gully Road and drove until I reached the flooded rice fields that reside on the left side of the road and stopped. Out in the field were 1000’s of geese and pintails along with small groups of northern shovelers preening and feeding on waste grain, weed seeds and aquatic insects. As I set up my spotting scope the geese began to honk loudly and rise into the air. Seeing this many geese react in such a way pointed to only one conclusion- a predator in their midst. I immediately grab my binoculars and search through the airborne flock until I find the source of the disruption- a juvenile bald eagle. Juveniles are mottled in brown and white with a dark beak and will not obtain the adult eagle plumage until they’re around five years old. Bald eagles mostly feed on fish, but will take ducks and geese if the opportunity arises, which of course, I hoped to witness. It was easy to pick out among the many geese due to its sheer size and darker color. It swooped above the geese and then landed on a small levee in the distance prompting the geese to settle back down onto the field. Seconds later another juvenile bald eagle comes into view and then a third. Two of the tree approached one another and began jumping up and down beating their wings against one another. Ever so often though one of them would fly over the geese and stir them up. I watched for another hour or so hoping to glimpse a kill but unfortunately never witnessed one.

New Beetle Discovered

I came across an interesting article about a newly discovered species of long-horned beetle (Onychocerus albitarsis) in Peru in the March 2008 issue of Natural History magazine. The interesting part is that it is the first and only beetle ever found that stings. While a collector was handling it, it delivered a sharp sting to his finger making him drop it, which caused only minor irritation and swelling. When later examined it was found that on the end of each of its antennae are stingers that when magnified look much like the bulbous stinger found on scorpions. To read a nice account of this find and to see a photo of it go here.

A Wad of Paper Wasps

This wad of paper wasps was photographed on the outside of our camp house. What's going on here? What you're seeing is what is known in entomological parlance as a "mating aggregation"- a mixture of males and females in the process of mating. The evolution of a paper wasp colony is quite interesting. The cycle will begin in the spring when one of the mated females in this aggregation creeps from her hibernation site and goes in search of a spot to build her nest. This could be on the branch of a shrub or tree, the eave of a building or even inside a styrofoam valve cover.

Once a proper site is found she forms a stem or "pedicel" out of oral secretions that will be the support from which to build the nest. She will then go about gathering weathered wood from sources such as old snags, telephone poles, or maybe even that aged two by four on your front porch. She then takes this collected wood fiber, mixes it with saliva and forms a paper mache' type substance for the nest. Once complete she then lays one egg in each cell which then develops and emerges in early summer.

This, her first offspring, will consist of all neuter or "sterile" females (aka workers) whose job will be to take over nest building, nest defense, and the care of the next brood, while she becomes queen with the sole responsibility of laying eggs. During late summer or early fall the next brood that develops will consist of both males and sterile females. The males which by the way are stinger-less (only females have stingers) will be responsible for mating with the sterile females in aggregations as mentioned above. Once this is done and winter approaches the males, workers and queen die whereas the mated females huddle up in secluded spots to hibernate. When spring arrives they disperse and the entire cycle begins again.

Harvestmen

Seeing a mass of harvestmen (aka “daddy longlegs”) would probably cause panic for anyone suffering from arachnophobia. I was removing a bbq pit from an old shed and upon opening it found a throng of harvestmen that was so massive it covered the entire inner surface of the pit’s lid. Realizing they were exposed they all began bobbing up and down giving them an even more creepy appearance. A little known fact though is that harvestmen are actually not true spiders. They fall in the order Opiliones, whereas spiders are in the order Araneae. They have eight legs, but are different from spiders in other ways.


~ The bodies of spiders have two sections- the abdomen and cephalothorax. Harvestmen have an oval-shaped body much like mites and ticks. There are two parts fused together giving the appearance of a single segment with no "waist".

~ Spiders have venom with which they inject their prey to immobilize them, but harvestmen do not. They do have fang-like mouthparts (chelicerae) and feed on insect eggs, decaying plant matter, aphids, caterpillars, flies, mites, earthworms, snails, and any decaying animal matter they come across.

~ Spiders have silk producing glands; Harvestmen do not produce silk and in turn no webs.

Harvestmen do perform one feat not done by true spiders- if attacked by a predator they can detach a wriggling leg much like geckos and lizards do with their tail in order to distract it while the harvestman escapes (Note the missing leg in the photo above). This can be a blessing and a curse though. The ejected leg does not regenerate like the afformentioned tails meaning each time it loses a leg in order to escape being eaten it becomes progressively handicapped.

So all of you arachophobes remember these guys are harmless, not really spiders and are pretty much nothing but legs. There's an old French peasant legend that states "the sighting of a harvestman in the evening hours is a good omen, a portent of good luck, and a symbol of hope."

Sources:

Harvestmen: The Biology of Opiliones. Glauco Machado & Gouzalo Giribet. Harvard University Press (c) 2007.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvestman

Snake Skin

Finding a snake skin is almost as exciting as finding the actual snake. To me anyway. I've found them in open fields, along fence rows, around the bases of trees and many other places. Similar to animal tracks and other sign, finding a snake skin in the field can help you determine the types of snakes in your area. The one in the photo was found in October on the sandy floor of our barn. The crinkly, cellophane-like remnant lay stretched out next to an old gate I had stored there. The snake probably used the rough surface of the fencing on the gate to help in the process of shedding this perfectly sloughed skin. I looked it over carefully and could not find a tear or defect anywhere. It was entirely intact, an exact representation or replica of its owner. There are several factors that affect the frequency of shedding or “ecdysis”, but basically younger snakes shed more often (as much as 3-5 times a year) due to growth and adults shed less often (1-2 times a year) due to a slowing growth rate. During the process the scales of the snake become dull and the eyes become opaque to the point that the snake’s vision is impaired. This makes the snake skittish and extremely defensive because it can’t see as well. I experienced this behavior with a shedding diamond-backed water snake I came across while hiking with my brother and his son. You may have read about this in a prior blog entry. This particular snake already has a nasty disposition so you can imagine how aggressive its behavior is when it can’t see. Once the snake is ready to detach itself from the old skin it finds a rough surface and begins to rub the area around its nose and mouth until the skin comes loose and begins to peel back. It will then crawl through or up against a rough surface enabling it to slide right out of it like a glove. It’s a slow and deliberate process that sometimes takes several hours. Now the question that beckoned was- what type of snake left this behind? I took it back to the house and began to examine it closer in order to help me determine this. Since coloration and markings are lacking on the shed skin I had to rely on other aspects.

The first thing I noticed was the fact that the scales were smooth and not keeled. Smooth scales reflect light which makes snakes with these types of scales very glossy in appearance. Keeled scales on the other hand have a ridge running down their center and reflect less light giving snakes with this type a dull, rough appearance (a plus because it provides more effective camouflage). Next, I checked out the condition of the anal plate. Snakes have an anal plate that is either undivided (single) or divided (double) and I found that this one was divided. I then counted the dorsal scale rows at mid-body and found it to be 17 scales.

Finally, and the most important feature I examined, were the head scale or plate characteristics (type, number, shape, and arrangement) of the dorsal (top), lateral (side), and ventral (chin area) plates.

By comparing these plates with sketches (along with the other criteria mentioned above) I found the owner of the skin to be an eastern coachwhip (Masticophus flagellum flagellum). This was really not surprising to me since they’re prevalent in this area and also due to the fact that I've caught several.

As with most things in nature nothing goes to waste- not even a snake's shed skin. Great-crested flycatchers, Carolina wrens, and the tufted titmouse all collect discovered snake skins and incorporate them into their nests. It's not really understood why they do this, but there is a theory that the presence of a snake skin in the nest will ward off predators. Recently I came across an article on the Science Daily website that explained how California ground squirrels and rock squirrels will take snake skins, chew them up, and then rub them onto their fur in order to hide their scent from predators.

One caveat must be mentioned about the handling of snake skins. The fact that they can harbor Salmonella. "Researchers in one university laboratory found viable Salmonella organisms on skin sheds that had been hanging in their lab for years." Be sure and wash your hands thoroughly after handling them.

Sources:

University of California - Davis (2007, December 25). Squirrels Use Old Snake Skins To Mask Their Scent From Predators. ScienceDaily.

http://www.anapsid.org/shedding.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071219130305.htm

http://newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/100-199/nb179.htm

Snow!!!

I'm sure you folks up north and anywhere else where it snows on a regular basis may think this is not a big deal, well let me tell you down here when it snows it's a real big deal. Such a big deal that many local schools postponed the starting of school for an hour so the kids could get out and see this rare sight before heading to class.


We are very lucky if we see a single snowflake each winter so when it does come down like it did around 2 am this morning people come out of the woodwork. It's as if something alien has landed in our yards. Snowmen begin coming to life everywhere you look while kids are out having that rare snowball fight. I just wish I had been up in the woods when this occured. I'm sure it was a spectacular sight.

Nature-Related Articles

I came across some really good nature-related articles on Science Daily that I thought I would share:

When Good Maples Go Red: Why Leaves Change Color In The Fall

ScienceDaily (2008-11-26) -- On a hushed autumn morning, when leaves have ripened to the fall, who hasn't stood under a flaming maple and wondered why it goes red? ... > read full article

Bee Swarms Follow High-speed 'Streaker' Bees To Find A New Nest

ScienceDaily (2008-11-24) -- How does a swarm of bees find its way to a new nest site when less then 5 percent of the community knows the way? Filming bee swarms as they relocated to new nest site and analyzing the insects' apparently chaotic course, scientists have found that "streaker" bees fly through the swarm at high speed to guide it. ... > read full article

How Cockroaches Keep Their Predators 'Guessing'

ScienceDaily (2008-11-19) -- When cockroaches flee their predators, they choose, seemingly at random, amongst one of a handful of preferred escape routes, according to a new report. ... > read full article

Python Snakes, An Invasive Species In Florida, Could Spread To One Third Of US

ScienceDaily (2008-02-24) -- Burmese pythons -- an invasive species in south Florida -- could find comfortable climatic conditions in roughly a third of the United States according to new "climate maps" developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. Although other factors such as type of food available and suitable shelter also play a role, Burmese pythons and other giant constrictor snakes have shown themselves to be highly adaptable to new environments. Non-native giant constrictor snakes, such as the Burmese python are now spreading from Everglades National Park in Florida. New "climate match" maps show where climate in the U.S. is similar to places in which Burmese pythons live naturally (from Pakistan to Indonesia). A look at the map shows why biologists are concerned. ... > read full article

Snakes Locate Prey Through Vibration Waves

ScienceDaily (2008-02-25) -- It is often believed that snakes cannot hear. This presumption is fed by the fact that snakes lack an outer ear and that scientific evidence of snakes responding to sound is scarce. Snakes do, however, possess an inner ear with a functional cochlea. Scientists now present evidence that snakes use this structure to detect minute vibrations of the sand surface that are caused by prey moving. Their ears are sensitive enough to not only "hear" the prey approaching, but also to allow the brain, i.e., the auditory system, to localize the direction it is coming from. ... > read full article

Bats Pick Up Rustling Sounds Against Highway Background Noise

ScienceDaily (2008-09-26) -- When bats go hunting by listening for faint rustling sounds made by their quarry on a quiet night they don't have any problems. But what happens when a bat goes foraging next to a noisy highway? Can they still hear the faint sounds? ... > read full article

American Beautyberry

Scattered throughout the confines of the Big Thicket is a deciduous perennial shrub that produces clusters of magenta colored berries. The American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), also known as the American mulberry, wild goose berry, beautybush and French mulberry, produces pinkish white flowers in June and July and berries from August to January. When I first stumbled across and this plant I immediately had the urge to grab a handful of the pea-sized berries to eat. They are that enticing. Actually this is why plants bear colorful fruit so that they will attract animals in order to disperse their seed. Many animals feed off of the berries of the beautyberry- birds such as towhees, mockingbirds, catbirds, cardinals, robins, thrashers, and finches. White-tailed deer, raccoons, opossums and armadillos also eat them. I’ve read that the fleshy berries make a really good jelly and are also good right off of the plant. Their taste to me is sort of bland with a slight hint of sweetness. Native American Indians produced extracts and teas from the plant’s roots, leaves, berries and branches that was used to treat rheumatism, malarial fevers, dizziness, colic and fluid retention. The rough leaves are slightly aromatic when crushed and when rubbed on your skin is said to repel mosquitoes, ticks, and flies. Since Southeast Texas is mosquito heaven, I’ll have to give this a try next spring.

CAVEAT: Always be sure of a plant's identification before consuming.

Collecting Toadstools

A week ago I took part in a field trip in the Lance Rosier Unit of the Big Thicket Preserve conducted by the Big Thicket Association (BTA) of which I’m a member. This field trip is part of an ongoing project known as the “All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory” or ATBI. “The end goal of the project is to identify all the living organism within the park, map their distribution throughout the park, and get a general idea of how each species interacts with other species.” This is done by using a taxonomic working group or TWiG “that takes a certain set of organisms and attempts to build on previous survey work to accomplish the objectives mentioned above.” These types of projects have already yielded results. In November of 2006 while on a mushroom walk Dave P. Lewis and R.H. Petersen (both involved in the biodiversity inventory) discovered a new species of mushroom (Megacollybis texensis), that is, one that was previously unknown to science.

Many species of mushrooms were collected, but the one that got the most attention was the Hericium erinaceus. It has several common names- Lion’s Mane, Monkey Head, Pom-Pom, Bear’s Head Tooth, Old Man’s Beard, and Bearded Tooth. This football-sized edible "toothed" mushroom is found in late summer and fall growing on dead or living hardwoods, especially beech and oak.

By the looks of it most wouldn’t even consider this to be a mushroom, much less eat it yet people were lined up to taste pieces of this odd looking fungus. Some said that it had a buttery taste to it. I myself not being a fungus eater obligingly declined.


NOTE: BEFORE CONSUMING ANY HARVESTED MUSHROOMS BE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING. MISIDENTIFIED MUSHROOMS CAN LEAD TO SEVERE POISONING AND EVEN DEATH.

Sources:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hericium_erinaceus

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/hericium_erinaceus.html

http://www.btatx.org/

Polecat

Normally I’m one to watch where I step, but on this day my eyes were to the trees searching for a bird and came close to being hosed by a striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). There it was six feet from me slowly rooting for insects in the field that borders our house. The word "skunk" comes from the Algonquian Indian name "seganku" meaning, appropriately, "one who squirts". They are omnivorous meaning they eat both plant and animal matter (insects, earthworms, grubs, fruit, lichens, mice, eggs, crayfish, frogs, salamanders, etc.) I heard from a local that several neighbors had been having their pet’s food bowls raided by skunks so dog and cat food can also be placed on their menu. They have poor vision but a keen sense of smell and hearing, so I tried to be as quiet as possible as I worked my way closer. I was so caught up in the excitement of my discovery that I wasn’t watching where I stepped (again) and snapped a twig on the ground.


Immediately it spun around and went on the defensive with its tail shooting straight up aiming its “glands” in my direction naturally causing me to freeze. These glands reside beneath its tail and can disperse a noxious oily spray upwards of fifteen feet and has been described as smelling like “rotten eggs, garlic, and burnt rubber”. Charles Darwin even wrote about the skunks “fetid oil” saying that “Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless”. I think about this and realize I’m only about eight feet away- clearly within range of being “skunked”. Skunk smell is one of those odors that once it lays claim to the inner linings of your sinuses it leaves an idelible mark. In other words once you're introduced to this aroma you'll never forget it. Nevertheless I continued taking pictures until my nose started to pick up hints of its funk so much so that my nose began running. At that point I decide to back off and get back to looking for that bird and allow my gamy friend to get back to his rooting.


References:

Darwin, Charles. The Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle- The Journal of Charles Darwin. New York: The Heritage Press, 1957.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk

http://fohn.net/skunk-pictures-facts/

http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/mephmeph.htm

River Otter II

I stop on the bridge that crosses Turkey Creek each time I head up to our camp. I glass the creek and its banks for wildlife while also checking beneath it for bat colonies and barn swallows during the spring when they're nesting. Recently I pulled over and spotted something swimming in the creek about fifty yards from the bridge and headed in my direction. I realized soon I was observing a river otter. At times it appeared to "roll" as it swam, breaking the surface just enough to reveal its head followed by its stout tail as it would dive. Once underwater I was able to track its movement by watching individual air bubbles as they rose to the surface. I followed the bubbles beneath the bridge and immediately ran to the opposite side and was able to obtain a short video as it surfaced before disappearing once again.

Jays and Acorns

The blue jays were quite active and loud today. They were spending most of their time in the water oaks feasting on the new crop of acorns. I watched as they would snatch an acorn, hold it in their claws, and then hammer it repeatedly with their thick bill to get at the pumpkin-colored meat within. One particular jay was plucking acorns and then swallowing them one after another until its expandable throat had its fill before heading off into the thicket. The swallowed acorns weren’t actually eaten, but carried to an area of the jay’s choice, regurgitated into a pile, and then each buried or “cached” under leaf litter until later. Squirrels and mice also exhibit this behavior. This caching not only acts as food storage, but also inadvertently aids in acorn dispersal. Acorns in forgotten caches may ultimately survive, germinate, and produce new generations of oaks. A perfect example of symbiosis at work.

Sori

Several years ago my wife harvested some ferns near the camp, brought them home and transplanted them into one of her flower gardens. Ferns add a nice touch, but we had no idea that they would literally overtake everything.
I often wondered how ferns multiplied and recently found out while relaxing on our front porch one afternoon. I noticed that one of the ferns had hundreds of tiny rusty brown spots on the underside of each frond (leaf). At first I thought I was seeing the eggs of some sort of insect, but later found out that they were actually “sori”.
Sori hold the spores or seeds of the fern and will eventually fall to the ground where it will disperse these spores to allow the plant to propagate.

Carpenter Bee

As I explore the nooks and crannies of the barn for reptiles a high-pitched hum resonates behind me. Slowly turning I find a male carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) hovering inches from my nose. Most people would react by swatting at it or running, but I stand my ground and observe because after all I’m just as curious as he. I know it’s a male due to the white facial spot normally not found on females. (“Face black-stay back”) I also know that his show of force is all bluster because I’m privy to certain information about him. The fact that he’s not “weaponized”. Only the female carpenter bee packs a stinger and usually doesn’t deploy it unless provoked. I’ve been stung by wasps and honeybees but never by a female carpenter bee so I can’t attest to how potent it is, nor do I care to find out.
Looking straight up I realize why I’ve become the center of its attention. About four foot above me in one of the barn’s well-weathered cypress beams is a ½” ragged hole and at my feet directly below this hole the ground is peppered with sawdust. Ignoring the inquisitive male I step up on a ladder to get a closer look at the entrance hole and see sawdust being kicked out meaning that the female, who bores the tunnel, is busy at work. After a few minutes she begins backing out to take a breather. She buzzes me and I give her ample room and respect. When a proper area is selected for her nesting chamber she will gnaw with her powerful jaws straight into the wood an inch or so and then make a 90 degree turn until a long horizontal tunnel following the wood grain is cut. These tunnels can reach lengths up to four inches, but can be extended upwards of 10 feet.


Once the tunnel is complete the female will collect pollen and mix it with nectar forming small balls known as “bee bread”. She will deposit this bee bread into the end of the tunnel, lay an egg on it, move backwards an inch or so and then seal it off with a partition (wall) made of saliva and chewed up wood. She will then repeat this process until the tunnel is filled with these sealed chambers, finishing off by sealing the tunnel's entrance with a final spit of masticated wood chips.
Fully grown the new adults then chew through the partitions emerging late summer. They then collect pollen to be stored in the tunnel from which they developed and return to them to hibernate during the winter. When spring arrives they emerge and mate. These bees only produce one generation each year so the previous year’s adults are history.

Luna Moth

This lime green beauty was found by my brother up at his place in the woods. Actually he found the cocoon first and then kept an eye on it until it hatched. Luna moths (Actias luna)are mostly nocturnal (mostly active at night) and are among some of the largest moths found in the U.S. with wingspans of 3-4 inches. The female lays anywhere from 100-300 very tiny eggs on the underside of leaves and they take anywhere from 10-14 days to hatch. Once the caterpillar hatches it begins its constant feeding on the leaves of hickory, walnut, persimmon, and sweet gum trees for about 3-4 weeks. Once the caterpillar is fully grown it starts looking for a proper place to cocoon. The cocoon is formed from silk that is produced from a hole near its mouth and once done it pulls a leaf around the cocoon and then metamorphosis begins.
About a week later the pupa is formed that contains the developing moth and three weeks later to begins erupting from its incubation chamber. Once it has fully exited the pupa shell it allows its wings to dry and then flies into the night to mate. Get this….adult luna moths have no mouthparts- they do not eat, and unfortunately they only live for about a week meaning their one and only purpose in life is to mate.

Home

Well we made it home to find that everything was ok. We're very fortunate (again). Lots of people I work with are not. We spent the last two days cleaning up around the house- lots of debris. Monday I will head up to our camp and make sure it's ok. I appreciate all of the nice emails I have received because of our predicament and hope my readership will please be patient as I will be back with more interesting stories about my experiences with nature.

Monster In Our Midst Part II

Saturday September 13, 2008

Well hurricane Ike made its way into Galveston, which is about 1.5 hours southwest from where we live. I brought my laptop with me to Grand Prairie, TX where we evacuated and was able to monitor a local weather station using WeatherBug software that’s located at an airport about 1 mile from our home and saw wind gusts upwards of 90 mph. Sustained winds were hovering around 60-70 mph. I received some vague info about our neighborhood, but will not be comfortable until that info is verified. I was told that our homes appeared to be ok, but I left a voice mail on a neighbor’s cell phone that stayed during the storm asking if he would walk around the house to make sure. Other cities around us didn’t fair as well though. Lots of trees and power lines down, also tornadoes that decided to visit. We were under a flood watch due to the storm surge that was expected to be at 20 feet. The elevation of our small town is only 16 feet, so this had us all worried. We later found out that water had not reached us, but did inundate two nearby towns- Bridge City, and Orange Texas. Some areas have six feet of water in homes. Galveston was hit very hard. We’re not sure how much longer we will be here in Grand Prairie. It depends on when the community leaders decide on when it is safe for our return. An interview with our city mayor will be posted soon on a local news website that hopefully will shed some light on the condition of our small town. I’m sure that we will be without power for up to two week, possibly three. Just so our homes are ok…that’s all that matters. I have two generators and 25 gallons of gas stored. We will use a small air conditioner to cool one room of our house at night for sleeping. Once we get home and get settled in I’ll try and post the conditions. I look forward to everything getting back to normal. It may be awhile before I can post any nature-related blog entries so please bear with me.

A Monster in Our Midst

Well folks it looks like us Texans are looking down the barrel of a gun again. We recently dodged a bullet by the name of Gustav and now Ike is a knockin’. In the past we never worried much about hurricanes. It seemed each time one entered the Gulf of Mexico a cool front would come to the rescue from the northwest and push it away from us. This went on for years and we became complacent. Hurricane season was not taken seriously until Rita bit us in 2005. Since then every time the word “hurricane” comes up you get everybody’s attention. We’ve been lucky since then and now we’re facing another monster and once again our behinds are puckering. It will be making landfall sometime this weekend, but even the professionals do not know exactly where. We fully expect to be evacuated before then hoping to return to find our homes still intact. It’s not that I wish this thing on someone else, but I hope once again we dodge another bullet. Hope to be posting good news on our return.

Eastern Fence Lizard

While mowing grass along the edges of the barn my eyes caught movement along one of the aged planks of cypress that make up its walls. Blending in quite well against the woodwork was an eastern fence lizard. Ten minutes of haphazard grabbing finally paid off. In other words he made me work for it. If anyone driving by had seen this they would've thought I had lost my mind as I chased this speedy reptile up and down that wall. He wriggled and squirmed trying to release himself from my grip, but quickly became calm once I began scratching the top of his head.Belonging to a group of lizards from the genus Sceloporus, which means “spiny lizard”, they're not quite as fast as the racerunners around here, but they can be tricky to catch. Finding them on trees makes for a more difficult capture, because as you approach them they dart to the other side of the tree and continue this round and round escape tactic until finally scurrying higher and out of reach. I try to make sure when I do grab one (as I do with all lizards, geckos, etc.) I get it by its upper body and not by its tail, which would break off rather easily. Known as autotomy, lizards will relinquish part of their tails in order to escape and distract a predator. Not to worry it will grow back to be used again.
Their skin has a very rough texture due to its scales being keeled and pointed. Blue markings are found under the chins and on the sides of the belly on males during breeding season (April-August). They flash these patches to attract females by bobbing up and down as if performing pushups. Normally these patches are bright in color, but this particular male’s chin patches are lighter than usual. Also no patches were found on its underside. Not sure why. Could it be that this one is a juvenile? Do the patches fade following breeding season? If anyone knows the answer to this please share. These lizards are diurnal and when not hunting for prey (beetles, ants, weevils, spiders, and centipedes) they spend much of their time basking in the sunlight, waiting for fools like me to try and catch 'em. To check out more photos of this dude go to my Flickr page.

Siamese Swallows

In Arkansas in July there were reports of the discovery of “siamese” or conjoined barn swallows that were thought to be attached at the hip. They were found by an Arkansas resident after they had fallen from their nest onto his driveway. This find caused quite the stir since finding conjoined birds is very rare. One of the birds died and the other was later euthanized by a veterinarian. They were sent to the Smithsonian Institute to be examined where a curator found them not actually “conjoined”. X-rays showed there was no sharing of bones or internal organs which pretty much ruled out the “siamsese” theory. In the beginning only three legs were found, but upon closer examination a fourth one was found “tucked under the skin connecting them”. A curator for the Smithsonian believes the foot of the fourth leg may possibly had gotten wedged into a wound on the other bird where it had healed encompassing the foot.

The photo is courtesy of Mr. Samuel Peebles who works for the Daily Citizen newspaper.

Sources:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080723-twin-swallows.html

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/07/24/siamese-swallows-in-arkansas-not-so-fast-expert-says/

Bigfoot Corpse a Fake

Well it's official just like I expected.....the Bigfoot corpse is a fake. The frozen "carcass" when examined was found to be nothing more than a Bigfoot costume. What were these fools thinking when they decided to perpetrate this hoax? Were they ignorant enough not to realize that once the "body" was examined the cat would be out of the bag? Not only do they look like a couple of idiots, but they are also expected to be charged with fraud. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Read the full story here.

Bigfoot Corpse Found???

I’m sure most of you heard of the acclaimed discovery of a supposed Bigfoot corpse in northern Georgia. I was very excited when I first heard of this because it has always been said that the only true surefire way to prove the hairy guy’s existence would be from the finding of a corpse. If this were true it would be one of the most extraordinary discoveries of the century. I watched the interview of the individuals who were responsible for the find and they did seem to be convincing. But then again I was very skeptical. After all, the photo provided by the two showed what appeared to be a gorilla costume in an ice chest. They also claim to have video of several other Bigfeet or Bigfoots watching them from a distance as they loaded up their deceased compadre. Tissue samples were sent in for DNA analysis and results were reported to be from two sources. One was found to be human and the other that of an opossum. Naturally someone stated that the DNA samples may have been improperly collected. An autopsy is to follow, but even then I have a good feeling that this is all, disappointingly, going to turn out to be just another hoax. Hopefully I’m wrong.

To see the interview go to this website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7564635.stm

To read about the DNA results go here:

http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/n15448807-bigfoot/

Great Crested Flycatcher Nest

There’s a great-crested flycatcher that has been hanging around our neighborhood for several years. Its “wheeeeep” call can be heard constantly throughout the summer.
I had been out working in the yard and began hearing it so I grabbed my binoculars to search for it. Its call was coming from a tallow tree in my son’s backyard, and about 10 foot up the trunk of the tree I spotted an old bird box that had been mounted years ago. On a nearby limb, perched, was the flycatcher. The entrance hole of the box appeared to have been enlarged by the gnawing of a squirrel. Could the flycatcher be nesting there? They’re secondary cavity nesters, meaning they prefer natural cavities or those made by others birds such as woodpeckers. They are also known to use bird boxes.


I raised my extension ladder and poked a mirror into the entrance hole of the cavernous box and discovered a nest consisting of grasses, a few brown leaves, a feather, what looked like to be hair of some sort, and a single piece of cellophane. All of the contents fell right into the description of a nest produced by this bird. It must be noted that this particular flycatcher has been known to include snakeskin in its nests’ contents, as do wrens, indigo buntings, titmice, blue grosbeaks and even roadrunners. Though questioned, it has been suggested that the reason for this behavior is that it may help prevent predation of the nest by invaders such as squirrels, mice, etc. Kinda like a scarecrow, due to possible “snake odors” given off by the skin or just by sight which would offend predators keeping them away from the nest.

Could the introduction of the single piece of cellophane be due to the fact that it was unable to find a snakeskin so instead it used something that closely resembled it? One theory, as noted by John S. Strecker in his article “On the Use by Birds, of Snakes’ Sloughs as Nesting Material” in a 1926 issue of AUK, is that it may be due to birds being attracted to shiny objects. Snakeskin as well as cellophane being somewhat reflective, may be the cause of its fascination. Or maybe they use it just like any other conspicuous object, such as twigs, grasses, hair, and feathers. I guess we’ll never know for sure. A week later I revisited the nest box and discovered 3 cream-colored eggs streaked and scrawled with brown and red markings. Eventually the clutch was completed and placed in orderly fashion for incubation to begin.

Sources:

http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v043n04/p0501-p0507.pdf

http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v044n02/p0263-p0264.pdf

Artificial Cover Setup

“The urge to hunt and collect is strong in most of us, but never stronger in any one group of people than in naturalists....”

Carl Kauffeld

Hunting snakes, to me and many others, is absolute fun. Most of my friends and a few relatives think I’ve lost my mind. Why would I want to do such a thing? I hear… “Snakes bite!!” or “Snakes are evil!” Snakes are also interesting and very essential to our ecosystem. The woods near our camp are teeming with snakes and in order to increase my chances of finding them I decided to set up an area using artificial cover (AC). The use of AC is employed by serious snake hunters because it’s an effective way of finding snakes. During the summer months they like to crawl up under pieces of bark, pine straw, scrap metal and wood to remove themselves from the blazing heat. There are lots of AC sites out there in the form of trash and brush piles, but doing it yourself allows you to experiment with different types of medium (tin, plywood, vinyl, wood, etc.), and different areas (sunny, shady, tall and short grasses, sandy areas, etc.) to see what works best for your particular spot. I fully expect to see coachwhips and racers due to past experiences, but chances are I could attract copperheads and possibly a coral or rattlesnake. I will more than likely allow it to set for a couple weeks undisturbed before I check under it. Hopefully I'll have lots of great photos and stories for all of my fellow snake-lovers. Stay tuned...

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle

While relaxing at the beach on Bolivar Peninsula I ran into a friend of mine who came across a dead Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), which by the way, is the most endangered sea turtle in the world. Back in 1985 it was near extinction. These turtles are the smallest of marine turtles and are frequently caught in shrimp nets which led to the use of Turtle Exclusion Devices (TED). They have been showing up on the shores of Bolivar Peninsula this summer where six nests were found. This is an increase from the prior years of 2004 (2 nests) and 2007 (1 nest). Beachgoers have been asked via signage to notify the Texas Sea Turtle Hotline (1-866-TURTLE-5) to report any sea turtle activity on any Texas beaches. If nests and eggs are found they are collected and transported to a hatchery on South Padre Island, TX to incubate. Once they hatch and become active they are released into the ocean. If you would like to witness the release of new hatchlings on South Padre Island go here to see dates and times.

I found these “rules” of what to do if you find a sea turtle:

1. Stay away from the turtle.
2. Do not touch it or let children play with it.
3. Do not let the turtle see you until she is laying eggs.
4. Call the Sea Turtle Hotline (24-7) at 1-866-887-8535 (1-866-TURTLE-5).
5. Write down your exact location.
6. Take note of your position and landmarks around you.
7. Take pictures or video if you have a camera.
8. Place a stake in the sand about one foot to the side of the nest.
9. If there are any tags on the turtle do not remove them.
10. Write down the numbers on the tag.

Also, you check out the movements of several Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles that are being tracked by satellite here. I notified the Texas Sea Turtle Hotline of the location of the dead one and was told that someone would come to collect it. Photo of the Kemp Ridley’s Turtle was provided thanks to Keith Rogers.

Sources:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/kempsridley.htm

http://www.seaturtleblog.com/kemps_ridleys/index.html

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4600066

Reptilian Speed Bump

Cruising down a winding country road I detect a small protuberance up ahead on the center stripe and immediately know what I’m seeing- a turtle about to become “street pizza”. Now if you’re like me you’re not going to just pass it by and wish it luck. I’ve saved many a turtle over the years (as well as snakes and frogs) and I wasn’t about to ignore this one. So I pulled over to the shoulder and watched horrified in my rear-view mirror as one-two-three cars sped directly over it. I put on my emergency flashers, checked both ways like my mom taught me, and hurried over to it while getting odd looks from passersby as they blast past me in the opposite lane. Most times it’s a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) , mud (Kinosternon subrubrum), or snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), but this time it was a beautiful box turtle. Due to habitat loss and fragmentation these turtles (like most other animals) are slowly but surely being squeezed out and put into harm’s way. As I reached down to pick it up, legs and head disappear as it withdraws into the confines of its protective shell. This bony armor works well against predators, but it’s no match against a ton of speeding metal. With its hinged plastron (lower shell) shut as tight as a tick I walk over with it to the edge of the road so I could examine it closer. It might be good to mention here that if you come across one in this same situation always place it on the side of the road that it was headed for. If not, it will turn around and head right back into a death trap.

Noting the “keel” that ran down the center of its carapace (upper shell) and the fact that its shell was “flared” along its edges told me it was an Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina). This one, along with the Ornate (Terrapene ornate) box turtle, are the two native species of box turtle in Texas. The Ornate doesn’t have a keel or the flaring on its shell’s edges. Males of both species have red eyes, a long tail with a thick base, and a plastron that’s somewhat concave. Females have yellow or golden colored eyes, a shorter, thinner tail, and a flat plastron. Unable to see its eyes or tail with its shell slammed shut I had to go by the flat plastron indicating it was a female. She was probably in the process of finding a suitable area to lay her eggs since this is about that time of the year. Zoom in on the photos of both the plastron and the carapace and you’ll notice thin faded rings present on the scutes. These are “growth rings” that can be counted to approximate a turtle’s age. This one is somewhere between 12 and 14 years of old. The life span of a box turtle can reach upwards of 100 years. The hinged area near its head was damaged which could’ve resulted from being gnawed upon by some type of predator such as a coyote, fox, raccoon, skunk or even a feral dog. Still though, whatever it was, it didn’t reach the living organism inside. It is said that their shell has regenerative properties and can repair itself when damaged.

There are many people who rescue turtles, in fact there’s a website appropriately tagged “Turtle Crossings” where you can document reports, photographs and even longitude and latitude coordinates (via gps) of where the turtle crossed. Rescuing turtles requires diligence on your part, as your safety trumps that of the turtle. Not paying attention and becoming mesmerized about reaching it in time could result in you getting splattered. There’s another precaution that should be duly noted when rescuing turtles- when you pick them up be sure to direct their hind end away from yourself otherwise you’ll be surprised when you get christened by a thick jet stream of turtle urine. I’ve found this especially true with red-eared sliders. Just there way of saying “thanks”.

Sources:

http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=AR0144
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Box_Turtle
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/reptile/teca/all.html

Rose, Francis L. 1986. Carapace regeneration in Terrapene (Chelonia: Testudinidae). The Southwestern Naturalist. 31(1): 131-134. [62090]

Smith, Hobert M. 1958. Total regeneration of the carapace in a box turtle. Turtox News. 36: 234-236. [62091]

River Otter

As I was returning from a day of birding I spotted something large on side of highway 87 about 3 miles north of Sabine Pass, TX. On the edge of this road that borders Sabine Lake was a dead river otter (Lontra canadensis).
A member of the weasel family this aquatic mammal scours the depths for mollusks, crayfish, crabs, frogs, snakes, water insects, turtles, eggs, birds (young waterfowl) and of course fish. I’ve heard some fisherman talk negatively towards otters saying that they decimate “their” fish, when in fact the fish they primarily feed on are rough or “trash” fish, that is those not normally eaten by people. Its webbed feet and long tapered tail allow it to swim as well as any fish, and also has the ability to hold its breath for several minutes due to its nose and ears being “valved” which prevent water from entering. Check out this cool video of river otters I found on YouTube:

I’ve only encountered this animal a couple of times in the wild. Once I spotted an adult with a young pup crossing a road that bordered a marsh. Naturally I stopped to observe them. Upon seeing me they rushed into a patch of reeds at the edge of the road. The adult then slowly began to go back to the opposite side as if to distract me from the pup. Due to this being a busy thoroughfare it doesn’t surprise me that this happened. Hopefully it’s only an isolated incident.

Speaking of Snakes............

I’ve read several really good books that deal with snakes for those that are interested:

The Snake Charmer by Jamie James

“In the fall of 2001, deep in the jungle of Burma, a team of scientists is searching for rare snakes. They are led by Dr. Joe Slowinski, at forty already one of the most brilliant biologists of our time. It is the most ambitious scientific expedition ever mounted into this remote region, venturing into the foothills of the Himalayas. The bold undertaking is brought to a dramatic halt by the bite of the many-banded krait, the deadliest serpent in Asia. In the moment he pulled his hand from the specimen bag and saw the krait, Joe knew that his life was in grave and imminent peril. Thus began one of the most remarkable wilderness rescue attempts of modern times, as Joe's teammates kept him alive for thirty hours by mouth-to-mouth respiration, waiting for a rescue that never came.”

A Snake Hunting Guide- Methods, Tools, and Techniques for Finding Snakes

by Will Burd and Phil Peak

“A Snake Hunting Guide provides the reader with detailed information on how, when, and where to find snakes. Some of the topics covered include methods for finding snakes, tools used in snake hunting, and how to develop snake hunting sites.”

Texas Snakes- Identification, Distribution, and Natural History

by John E. Werler and James R. Dixon

“From the legendary, fear-inspiring Western Diamondback rattlesnake to the tiny, harmless Plains blind snake, Texas has a greater diversity of snake species than any other state in the country. Recognizing the public's need for a complete guide to identifying and understanding Texas' snakes, two of the state's most respected herpetologists have joined forces to create this definitive reference to all 109 species and sub-species of Texas snakes.”

Snakes-A Natural History

edited by Roland Bauchot

“The 15 authors who contributed to this handsome, four color volume discuss the biology, ecology, and geographic extent of serpents, including their physiology, evolutionary trends, reproduction, unique mode of locomotion, habitat, and lifestyle. The usefulness of serpents is highlighted; for example, their venom is often used medicinally. Unwarranted fear of snakes is allayed, snake legends are explained, and human relations with snakes down through the ages are critically reviewed.”

DeKay's Brown Snake

This morning around 10 am my cell phone rang and I saw that it was Mom. When I answered she asked “Are you busy?” I said no and she then said “Can you come over I have something I want you to look at”. “I was putting out my garbage and found a snake stretched out on the patio”. Those of you that keep up with my blog know by now that hearing the word “snake” gets my immediate attention. When I arrived, there basking in the sunlight was a DeKay’s brown snake (Storeria dekayi) named after the American naturalist James Edward DeKay. It had the girth of a #2 pencil and was approaching a foot in length.
As I reached down for it, it flattened itself out, which is a defensive tactic performed in order to cause its body to appear larger. It remained in place not trying to bite at all, but it did, of course, musk me. These along with the rough earth snake are common around here mostly found in flower gardens where they feed on snails, slugs, and earthworms. My wife would love having this little fellow in her garden since lately she’s been fighting a running battle with slugs that have been decimating her flowers.

The Six-Lined Racerunner

While relaxing on the front porch of our camp house my ears pick up on a rustling sound. I walk over to one end of the porch and see a six-lined racerunner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus) foraging in some leaves for spiders.
Some people confuse these with skinks, but skinks give off a glossy, shiny appearance whereas racerunners do not. Skinks are smooth to the touch and racerunners have more of a rough texture to them. These lizards can reach lengths of up to 10 inches, most of this being tail. This sandy area provides the necessary substrate for burrows that females dig to lay their thin shelled eggs for which there is no brooding, meaning the eggs are covered with sand and left to be incubated by the warmth of the sun. I back up and then get down on my hands and knees and slowly creep back in its direction. As I approach it again our eyes lock. Its forked tongue flicks as it samples the air for my scent. I know from experience that these little dudes are lightning fast almost to the point that they seem to know what you’re going to do even before you do it. If I’m going to catch it I need to be really quick about it. It continued to stare me down as if to say “it’s your move”. So I do and even before I reach out…..it’s escapes under the house. Cursing I get up and return to the confines of my chair and before I sit down I hear the rustling again. Arrogant little fellow isn't he.
Crouching down again I go for a second chance only to find that it’s expecting me as I see its beady little eyes again gazing at me. It then begins to jump from side to side as if to say “catch me if you can!”. I try several more times and each time it dodges my attempts skillfully racing underneath the house and then back out as if to mock me. In Roger Conant’s book “A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians” he says “Racerunners are well named, usually winning the race with the would-be collector”. Truer words have never been spoken, but don’t worry I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve the next time we encounter one another.

2008 Purple Martin Colony Update Part 2

The season is going along quite well except for a few lost nestlings. So far my records indicate that I have 8 nestlings that are missing. This could be the result of several different factors.

Infanticide- It is believed that unmated SY (second year) male martins perform this act because of limited nesting sites, mates, and food which then is intensified by the urge to mate. By removing and/or killing purple martin young or destroying eggs it causes the mated martin pair to "divorce" so to speak due to supposed reproductive failure. This gives the SY male a chance to take advantage of the situation and possibly mate with the now "free" female.

Fallouts- caused by overcrowding leading to a nestling being pushed from the housing by one of its siblings during the rush to the entrance to be fed. The SuperGourds I use are really roomy so I don't think this was the cause, but then again it could still happen.

Ectoparasites- massive infestations of nest mites could cause nestlings to jump from the housing. Don't think this was the cause either due to the fact that I watch for this when I perform nest checks. If I find a large amount of mites I remove the nestlings, wash out and dry the gourd and then add fresh nest material in the form of pine straw and leaves.

Predators- crows, hawks, owls, snakes, etc. To my knowledge I've never had a problem with predators, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Nest site competitors- such as the larger European starling or English sparrow could be responsible for their removal.

Since I didn't find any bodies on the ground below the colony it's difficult to say exactly what happened. This is just one of those things martin landlords go through each season.

Note in the photo below the “formation” that the 2-day old nestlings are in. When temperatures are cool outside nestlings will huddle up together to share each others body heat, but when it is hot out they will get into this type of spread out formation in order to stay cool. The two eggs that are remaining are past the hatching date and assumed infertile.

These three older nestlings below are due to fledge any day now. I’m betting that when I check again in 5 days they’ll be gone. Fledged nestlings usually remain with the parents for several weeks after fledging. I’ve seen fledglings being fed by adults while on the wing and when perched in treetops. In the evenings the fledglings return to the gourd they were born in to roost for the night and will continue to do this until they’re independent which usually happens before they migrate with the adults back to South America.
As you can see here this gourd is being used by a persistent pair of English sparrows. The more I tear out the more they build- as if by some act of defiance they continue their quest to procreate, to advance their species no matter how long it takes. That my friends is the way of the English sparrow. As much as I despise them I must give credit for their unbridled determination. I've been too busy to insert a trapping device. When one is installed you must under no circumstances leave it unattended. A martin or other bird could enter, become trapped and possibly die.

A Gecko Lives Another Day

On the ground before me is a snippet of a Mediterranean gecko. A part that served its purpose as a life-saving tool. No worries……it’ll grow back, and even though it may not resemble the original, the owner lives another day. When this 2 inch piece of tissue was released it wriggled incessantly to distract whatever the predator happened to be in order for the gecko to escape sure death. I came across a video on YouTube that shows a gecko tail in action:


Further investigation revealed the possible culprit. In the sand not a foot away from the tail was the track of one of the local carnivorous feral felines, which run rampant in this area. And believe me if one of them came upon a juicy little gecko it definitely would partake.

2008 Purple Martin Colony Update

On April 19th I lowered my gourd racks to find my first clutch of 5 eggs for the season, and then on May 1st I had 18 nests containing a total of 88 eggs. Also on this day I found an 8-egg clutch in one of my gourds which is very rare. Over the years I have had several 7-egg clutches, but the only other time I had 8 was in 1996 in a wooden house I built which turned out to be a renest attempt. Purple martins sometimes will attempt another clutch of eggs if the first fails to hatch or is lost due to predators.
Normally with clutches of 7 or 8 not all of them are destined to hatch. I had an exception back in 2002 when a clutch of 7 all hatched, but only 5 of those fledged. At my particular site in the beginning (1995-which consisted of houses only) the average clutch size ranged from 4-5 eggs with an occasional clutch of 6. Ever since I went to an all gourd colony in 2001 I’ve noted an increase in 6-egg clutches, which is one of the main reasons why I converted. Gourds, due to their roominess and other attributes, have shown to increase clutch size and produce greater reproductive success. Hopefully I will luck out this time and have all 8 hatch and fledge. I’ll keep everyone up to date on this particular clutch as the season progresses. As of May 13th I have 96 eggs and 12 nestlings, which tallies up to a total of 108 eggs laid thus far.
The nestlings in this photo are approximately 7 days old, determined by using a set of laminated life-size photos of a developing nestling that can be purchased from the PMCA. You take the nestling from the nest and lay it on top of the photo that most closely matches its size and voila you have its age. Note the large uneaten green darner dragonfly amongst the nestlings. Surprisingly it still has it head- usually the adults will remove it so the dragonfly doesn’t bite on the way down. Also this is a rather large dragonfly for these young nestlings. I found a dead one back in 2002 after it had choked on one this large.
In another nest I found what is known as a “capped” egg. If one or more eggshell hemispheres remain in the nest after a nestling hatches chances are a half could end up attached to the end of any remaining unhatched eggs as seen in the photo. If this happens the nestling inside the egg may have difficulty hatching. I gently picked up the egg, removed the cap and placed it back in the nest. Most times the adults will eat the remaining egg shell (for its calcium content) and other times fly away from the colony to drop them off just like they do with the nestling’s fecal sacs, because dropping either of these on the ground below the colony could possibly attract predators.
Just one more reason why it is so important for martin landlords to perform regular nest checks on their colony. Another update will appear at a later date.

Mockingbird Nest

While relaxing in our yard my wife noticed an adult mockingbird enter the thickness of a jasmine vine we have growing on our fence. I walked over and peered into the mass and found a small nest containing 3 blue eggs with brown spots. The nest was concealed pretty well and we would’ve never known it was there had she not been paying attention.

A few days later I returned to find that two of the three eggs had hatched revealing two fuzzy nestlings. As with most nestlings as soon as they became aware of my presence their mouths opened. The adults are naturally very attentive making sure that nothing, including other mockingbirds, get anywhere near their nest. I was fortunate to be able to get these photos while they were out gathering food and avoided being attacked by them.

The picture below that was taken 10 days later- note how fast they’ve developed. Their body is now covered with down and their wing feathers have begun growing from their translucent sheaths. I had to get this picture rather quickly due to the fact that both parents were perched in a tree right above me and about to introduce me to there pointy beaks.

Bluebirds- Season Two- Part Two

Went up to camp and spent some time with my bluebirds and found 5 fuzzy nestlings all huddled up in the center of the hay nest. The slightest of noises or movement of the box triggered them to gape their maws expecting to be fed as seen in the short video as I whistled.


I set up a blind near the box so I would be able to get some closer photos of the adults as they returned repeatedly with their beaks full of insects. Feeding behavior changed after I set up the blind- before they would land on top of the box, sit for a bit, then perch at the entrance, pause, and then enter. Now they’re flying straight into the hole. What accuracy! Once they became accustomed to the camo monstrosity where I sat hidden they reverted back to the slower method of feeding.
The open hayfield I have nearby supplies plenty of bugs to keep them all well fed. Normally they’ll fly to one of the nearby oaks, watch the ground for movement, and then dive upon any insect that gives its self away. Other times I’ve seen them hovering low over the ground before dropping to get their quarry.
In the next video watch closely as the adult springs from the box. Notice the white object in its beak- that is a fecal sac. This is the feces of the nestlings which the adults remove as needed. Instead of dropping them on the ground below the box, which would attract predators, they will fly a distance away from the nest site and drop them. Purple martins also do this.

A Lucky Find- The Scarlet Snake

My brother was up in his patch of the woods and came across one of the most beautiful snakes that we possess in this country- the Northern scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea copei).

It closely mimics the poisonous coral snake the difference being that the red and lighter bands do not touch (remember- “Red and Yellow Kill a Fellow” and “Red and Black Friend of Jack”). It rarely bites when encountered but instead will bury its vital head beneath its coils allowing its less vital tail to be exposed in hopes of distracting a predator. It is mainly nocturnal and has been discovered behind the bark of dead or dying pine trees, under leaf litter and has the habit of burrowing into sandy ground, which is exactly where he found it- under a tarp burrowing in sand on his property. The tip of its nose is pointed (fossorial) which helps with this habit of burrowing into penetrable soils. Its diet consists of earthworms, skinks, lizards, and your occasional insect. It is also sometimes confused with another non-poisonous Texas snake- the Louisiana milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum amaura) whose brightly colored ventral rings extend onto its belly whereas the scarlet snake presents a plain belly that can range from white to pink or gray. In the state of Texas both species- Northern and Texas scarlet snakes are listed as threatened.

Bluebirds- Season Two

"The bluebird carries the sky on his back" - Henry David Thoreau

My sentiments exactly as I watch a pair of bluebirds zip past me. The pair I just observed are the parents of the 5 powder blue eggs in my nestbox. Last season (my first) I had 5 eggs in this box,but only two hatched and fledged. Not sure exactly when these were laid, but soon I will hopefully have 5 brand new fuzzy nestlings to add to the bluebird population.

The parents stayed close by feeding on captured insects, each one taking turns returning to the box to check on the eggs. Their nests are made up entirely of the hay that grows in the nearby hayfields and is shaped so that a cup is formed to cradle the eggs.
The box I set up over on my neighbor’s property contained 4 nestlings , so it looks like his bluebirds got a jump on mine. Last season there were 5 eggs laid here and three hatched and fledged. Each time I made the slightest noise their mouths went agape thinking the parents had returned with food.

A Death In The Colony

The season hasn’t even gotten off to a good start and I’ve already got a death on my hands. Today I found a dead ASY (adult second year) female purple martin in one of my gourds. This has happened before in the past, each time due to what I expect to be intra-specific fighting among females in the colony.

I wrote an article for the PMCA’s quarterly journal Purple Martin Update on this behavior in which I photographed two females in the act. (this article was also published in this blog- go here to read). In the article I stated:

“Most times I’ve seen fighting among martins it had been between males, usually territorial battles. I have read though that females also get involved in these types of altercations or “Intra-specific fighting". Once the male selects the territory with which to nest he then goes about the intricate ritual of attracting a female. Once that is accomplished and the female bonds with him and selects a nest site in his established territory, she will then, along with the male, defend this territory.” That is defend against other female martins.
Both times the same type of injury occurred- a bloodied, featherless area to the back of the head. Due to the fact that this particular gourd had a crescent entrance rules out the possibility that a European starling was responsible and bolsters the theory of intra-specific fighting. Finding this was unsettling but at the same time interesting.

Nest Site Competition

The season begins as always with the competition for nest sites. Both European starlings and English sparrows (both non-native species) try and take over martin nest sites for themselves before and after the purple martins arrive. Not much so with starlings at my colony as I’ve noticed over the last five years. Whether it’s because of the use of gourds as housing or because of martin numbers, I just don’t have as much problem with them anymore. Thank goodness. But with the English sparrow it’s a different story.
Their nests were found in four of my gourds that have a crescent entrance, which primary purpose is to prevent the European starling from having access to them, but not the sparrow. Since I began using the crescent-holed gourds the English sparrows have gravitated to them mainly due to the presence of a porch which is needed by the martins in order to give them leverage to enter. As a matter of fact there’s no way to keep these sparrows out of your martin housing because they’re smaller than martins and a reduced entrance does no good.
Knowlegable and experienced landlords are aware of the devastation the English sparrow can have on a martin colony and will go to any lengths, including trapping and shooting to prevent them from taking over. If this isn’t done you and your martins will regret it. They will pip martin eggs allowing bacteria to enter killing the embryos and have been known to peck martin nestlings to death.

There is a trapping device that can be obtained from the PMCA which attaches itself inside the gourd. A small wire inside on the device acts as a perch and triggering mechanism that shuts the metal door trapping the sparrow inside which can then be disposed of.
Unmanaged housing does more harm than good to the purple martin, so if you can’t be responsible and keep your housing clean of this pest then you have no business putting up martin housing in the first place.

To read more on this aggressive pest check out these sites:

http://www.whazsup.com/sscontrol.shtml
http://www.abirdshome.com/pm/pests.htm http://purplemartin.org/forumarchives/archive/Supercompet.htm http://purplemartin.org/forumarchives/archive/HSrevenge.htm http://www.wtc.ab.ca/northernskys/sparrow.htm

If you think the English sparrow is bad, the European starling is ten times worse. More on this bird in a future post.

Nestbox Beehive

Honeybees will construct a hive in just about anything that has a cavity and a way of getting into it. Back in March of 2005 I photographed a bird nest box that had been mounted on a tree in a local bird sanctuary that had honeybees inside. I recently photographed this same nest box and as you can see the hive is considerably larger and has expanded to the outside. The front part of the comb was engulfed with a mass of bees.


They become dormant during the winter feeding on stored honey in what is called a “winter cluster”. Bees tightly pack themselves into these clusters and heat is produced from the center bees by shivering whereas the outer bees act to insulate and hold in the heat. Rotation occurs between the inner and outer bees to assure survival of all. I’ve read that temperatures in the 90 degree range can be produced within these clusters no matter how cold it gets outside.

Casualty of War

"Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it. "
~Henry David Thoreau

A casualty of war between the animals and our encroaching behaviours that continue to consume the forested land like a cancerous disease. The very animal that I've longed to photograph alive in the woods I'm photographing dead in the middle of the road. It pains my heart to think that people drive by not even noticing a dead animal much less that it's a beautiful fox. This is the second road-killed gray fox that I've come across on this stretch of asphalt in the span of a month. As we humans continue our rampage across every speck of land we will continue to see more and more of this. We must continue to fight for the preservation of wooded areas where animals can live out their lives in peace.

"For if we fail to act as proper stewards toward our animals, we are broken, we are not whole with our covenant with the earth."
~Rev. Len DeRoche

Stalked

Willow Pond Nature Trail (aka “The Willows”) is a small patch of woods that reside just past Sea Rim State Park in Sabine Pass, TX. A nice boardwalk traverses through salt cedars (tamarisk), large clusters of reed, willow and mulberry trees that grow there. I stop here each time I’m up this way especially during spring and fall migration since it is an effective migrant trap. On this day I had stopped off to acquire a photograph of a “toothache tree” (Hercules Club) for a future blog post. As I arrived at the area on the boardwalk near the toothache tree I stopped to set my camera for the photo when my peripheral vision picked up on some movement. As I slowly looked up I could see something walking leisurely on the opposite side of the tree. Moments later coming into view was a bobcat.
I was aware of a bobcat lurking in this area as describe in a prior blog entry (December 2005- A Cat in the Reeds) so each time I visit here I’m on the lookout. Other evidence includes large latrine areas I’ve come across on the boardwalk consisting of fur laden scat. At first it acted as if it had no idea I was there. Having the wind blowing at its back and into my face kept my scent from its keen nose. I could feel my heart in my throat as I fumbled with my camera only thinking of getting “the shot”. Slowly I began to kneel down for a photo when it detected my movement and froze. Its eyes were locked on mine as it tried to figure out what I was as we both stood still as statues waiting for the other to make the next move. Gradually it began to lower itself to the ground slowly taking one step at a time in my direction, and then I realized…….I was being stalked.
I took a photo through the limbs of the tree as it continued towards me getting closer and closer. Off in the distance I could here an approaching vehicle and as it passed us it spooked the cat and it fled towards the boardwalk and dove beneath it about five yards in front of me. It sat quietly watching for it to reappear, but just like in the past it simply vanished without a sound. I stayed in the area for another hour without seeing it again. My theory is that it uses the boardwalk area for shelter and hunts for rabbits, rodents and whatever else in the surrounding open fields. I came across several areas where the reeds had fallen up against the boardwalk creating a “walled” area beneath that would be perfect for holing up in. I will be looking closely at this area to find a suitable spot for a camera trap in which I’ll bait with sardines, lures (bobcat urine, catnip) and utilize the FurFindr. I’ve got a good feeling that this area will indeed get results. One final note- look closely at its left ear and you’ll notice that it is notched which will aid in my identifying it in the future. Anyone have any ideas for a name??

Black Bear Sense of Smell- Earthwatch Trip Notes Part 1

The following is the first part of a random series taken from my notebooks kept during an Earthwatch expedition that took place in 2001 & 2002 in the Appalachian forests of North Carolina.


Our group found out from one of the game wardens that a black bear had been breaking into cars that belonged to campers at a local campground. Signs were palstered everywhere alerting those that camped there not to leave food out near the campsite, which also meant not in your car. You wouldn't think that a bear could pick up the scent of food through a sealed up auto, but think again. It is said that the keen sense of smell in black bears is "seven times greater than that of a bloodhound" and they can detect odors over a mile away.
The bear in question had acquired the scent of a box of pancake mix in one car and shattered the driver's side window by prying its long, thick claws beneath the gasket and the glass. After snacking on the mix it left evidence behind in the form of pancake mix tracks as seen in the photo.
A bear trap on wheels known as a culvert trap was put in place in the parking area that was baited with a bag of food inside to encourage the bear to enter. Once it pulls on the bag it trips the door, safely containing the bear. We found out later that it succeeded in capturing it, which was then transported to an undisclosed area and released.

Camera Trap Setup Part 3

I hiked out to check my camera trap once again and found that raccoons are not only attracted to cans of sardines, but also to the squeal of a rabbit. In fact so interested that the camera captured one climbing the tree up to where I had mounted the FurFindr. Good thing I chained it down or else it probably would've hauled it off. I had planned on to taking the camera down, but then at the last minute decided to try this spot one more time before relocating it. So I reapplied my lures and then set the FurFindr to the fox setting and walked away. I must have patience...

Maple Eyespot Gall

Back in 2001 while attending an Earthwatch expedition I came across a maple leaf that was obviously different from a normal maple leaf, having small bull's eyes covering a good portion of it. It was very pleasing to the eye. At the time I had no idea that I had come across an insect gall- Eyespot maple gall to be exact. A gall is actually the result of a reaction by a plant to irritaion caused by an egg-laying parasite in the form of an insect (e.g. flies, wasps, aphids, mites, and midges). Other types of galls can also be caused by nematodes, bacteria, viruses, and fungi. This reaction actually plays in favor of the parasite causing the plant's tissues to grow around it forming a "shelter" for its development. Harm to the plant is usually minor, though there are some that do cause severe damage. The parasite responsible for this particular gall is the maggot larvae of the ocellate (or maple eyespot) gall midge. The bull's eye is formed by substances secreted by these maggots. Once they mature they'll drop to the ground below and burrow into the soil where they'll eventually rise as adults. Galls can be fuzzy, smooth, spiny and can come in a variety of shapes and sizes as seen by another example in the photo below.

Camera Trap Setup Part 2

Well no luck.....the only thing I had was the rear end of a deer. But I'm not giving up so I setup my FurFindr and rebaited the site with another good dose of fox urine and beaver castoreum. The FurFindr is a really cool tool which produces short sound bites of four different animals: a bird, fox, rabbit, and a rodent. Each bite plays for 5 seconds and then repeats every 30 seconds. An electronic light sensitive eye located on the outside of the unit allows it to play only at night when predators are most active. They say a human can hear it 300 yards away, so a fox with its superior hearing should be able to hear it even further. The FurFindr should pull them in and then the lures should hold them there in front of the camera long enough to get some photos. I set it this time to the rabbit squeal to see what happens.
Afterwards I went exploring and came across what would be a perfect denning area. The entrance hole was underneath an old root and appeared to have been dug towards and underneath the stump from which it had originated. I wanted to set up a camera nearby, but it is right on the edge of a trail and would leave it exposed to anyone who walked past it. I've already had one camera pilfered so I'm at odds at what to do with such a perfect opportunity. I'm thinking about spreading out a smooth area of sand near the entrance to act as a "track trap" to see if anything is using it as a den.

Another Purple Martin Season Nears

It's almost that time again.....Purple martin season! In about 3 weeks I should begin seeing them in the area. They've arrived at my colony during the second week of February every year for the past 10 years. This will be my 14th year as a martin landlord and hopefully it will be a productive season and provide lots of stuff to write about. I finally cleaned all of my SuperGourds, which I should've done months ago. One of them had its entrance hole enlarged by the maw of a gray squirrel. That's what I get for not taking them down soon after the season ended last year.


I ordered a replacement gourd and also some black cap liners for the access caps which will help make the interior of each gourd darker like a natural cavity. I also have a few minor repairs to perform on the gourd racks and should be ready just in time for their arrival. They've been spotted already in parts of Texas- Port O'Connor and Hempstead as of today and the reports should steadily begin to increase in the upcoming weeks. If you are a purple martin enthusiast (or thinking of starting a colony) and not a member of the PMCA I highly recommmend that you become a member. As stated on their website they are the "only organization devoted exclusively to the scientific study of Purple Martins (Progne subis), their biology and habitat requirements".

Camera Trap Setup Part 1

The deed is done….I’ve finally got around to setting up a camera trap….let the games begin! The main reason for setting up this camera is to capture images of a gray fox. The gray fox, to me, is one of the most beautiful and fascinating animals I’ve ever come to know. My first encounter happened while hiking back in August 2006 in Roosevelt, TX. I had been hiking when all of a sudden I had that feeling that something was watching me. As I turned around there it was sitting in the middle of the road. What a sight! There’s no doubt they’re in this area due to all of the tracks and scat that I’ve come across.
In fact, not far from the area where I setup the camera trap I found muddied tracks of one that had crossed a wooden bridge that goes over a thin watercourse that originates from the creek. And unfortunately on my way up here I found one that was road-killed about five miles away. The spot I chose for the camera was about 60 yards off of the trail. I could see the paths of animals that had been traveling through this location from different angles. Also nearby was a log that had been used by a bobcat as a scratching post.
I did what Camera Trap Codger did and mounted two 2”x2” carpet squares to a log that was directly in front of the camera. I then saturated them with fox urine and beaver castoreum. The fox urine lure was so pungent it made my nose run, and the beaver castoreum lure, well to quote the Codger “So fine a scent! I jest not. Castoreum has a sweet tarry essence.” Not a bad smell considering it came from a beaver gland. I didn’t set up my FurFindr this time, but if nothing turns up when I come back in a week or so I’ll then add it to the mix. Wish me luck!

The Spiny Chestnut

Unbeknownst to myself until recently I had no idea that when chestnuts fall to the ground they are intensely armored by a needle-like spiked hull. At first glance it gives off the appearance of a giant cocklbur. I picked one up with the utmost care and still its keen points stuck into my flesh. If it wasn't for the fact that the nuts literally burst from this spiny armor I doubt anything would even attempt at getting at it. Not even the clever and persistent squirrel. The use of chestnuts as a food source dates way back including its use by American Indians as a dietary staple. Not only is its fruit useful but also its wood for houses, barns, railroad ties. Tannin from the nuts was used to tan leather. Unfortunately the American chestnut was pretty much wiped out by a fungal disease known as chestnut blight destroying billions of trees. The Chinese chestnut which is resistant to blight, was introduced in order to try and take the place of this once magnificent tree. There’s also work being done to cross breed the American and Chinese trees to produce one that has the stature of the American and the blight resistance of the Chinese.

sources:

http://www.chestnutranch.com/history.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Chestnut

Trip to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

On my way to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) I spotted a large flock of geese whose numbers had to be well into the 1000’s. The flock consisted mostly of snow geese- white adults with a small mixture of dark morphs, and juveniles. Also in the crowd were some greater white-fronted geese. It was a spectacular sight watching them coming in from the sky and funneling down onto the field as seen in the short video below.

My day at ANWR turned out pretty good. This refuge consists of 34,000 acres containing bayous, floodplains, coastal marshes and prairies. If you love waterfowl this is the place to go, especially during this time of the year. I drove the 2 ½ mile loop that goes around Shoveler Pond and observed a large mixture of ducks- blue and green-winged teal, canvasbacks, shovellers, gadwalls, ring-necked, widgeons, and mallards. Also present were many American coots, moorhens, and pied-billed grebes. Normally you see tons of alligators, but I only came across one today and it was a biggin’. It was laying right off the edge of the bank stretched out in the sun, gazing intently at me as I photographed it.

The highlight of the day though was when I took the road towards East Bay and spotted a crested caracara preening atop a pile of brush that sat at the back of a tilled field. Also known as a Mexican eagle and the national bird of that country, it is truly a spectacular, but yet odd looking raptor with its long legs and dark feathering on top of its head that reminds me of a bald guy wearing an over-sized toupee. It’s not like your typical raptor as far as hunting goes. Instead of flying overhead and diving upon prey like say a harrier, it is an opportunistic feeder in that it more or less walks open fields looking for whatever to eat such as mice, lizards, insects, worms. It has also been known to feed on roadkill and has been observed committing the act of piracy- that is harassing other birds in order to steal the prey they’ve captured. I was able to observe it for a few moments before a black vulture came along and drove it off of its perch. Then about a hundred yards away I spotted a dark area high up on a snag. I spun my scope in that direction to find a peregrine falcon. In my opinion this is the king of all raptors. Reaching speeds of 200 miles per hour or faster in a stoop it slams into its prey on the wing killing it on impact. Also known as a “duck hawk” it would find much to eat in this area. The pesticide DDT (link) almost wiped out this bird until it was banned back in the 1970’s and through a process known as “hacking”, these falcons were reintroduced and their populations fortunately came bouncing back. A truly beautiful bird.

I also kept my eye out for bobcats which have been seen here numerous times. This area has high grassy sites perfect for a bobcat to blend in and aid in its stealthy way of hunting. There’s plenty to eat here- rabbits, ducks, other small mammals, and even a stray coot as seen in the photo above provided by Mr. William S. Hitchcock who photographed it here at the refuge back in 2005.

Yellow-bellied Racer

I was out walking the field behind our camp that had just been freshly mowed by a friend of mine when I came across a decapitated eastern yellow-bellied racer. Some may be reading this thinking "snakes in the middle of December?" Well you've got to understand the weather in Southeast Texas. For instance, during the winter it can be in the upper 70's one day, and then down in the 30's a few days later. Needless to say our winters here are never really harsh, which I have no problem with.
I've come across these snakes several times in the past and never have been able to grab one. Coachwhips, one of its close relatives, which I've captured, are fast but racers are extremely fast. They flee in an almost jerky, eclectic fashion and can cut on a dime. They can also move fluid-like through shrubbery which I’ve experienced first hand. I had been hiking along a fence row that was overgrown with thick shrubs when I spotted one draped across the thin limbs. It saw me at the same time and weeded its way through the thickness with unbelievable speed and fluidity. Once it hit the ground it literally vanished. Unfortunately this particular one wasn’t fast enough to escape the whining blades of the bush-hog.
It measured a tad over four foot and was in overall good shape except for where its head had once resided. Coloration in this snake is pretty bland except when they're juveniles, in which they present a more colorful, patterned appearance. Mainly a diurnal snake it has been known to feed on insects, small mammals, lizards, skinks, other snakes, nestlings taken from nests, and frogs. This area has a large supply of voles which not only acts as a food source, but also a supplier of underground burrows which this snake at times utilizes for egg laying.
It does all of the usual snake stuff when cornered- first vibrating its tail to make you think its got a rattle and is poisonous, and if that doesn’t work it will then strike with a vengeance. If you go a step further and decide to grab it you may regret it. In their book “Texas Snakes- Identification, Distribution, and Natural History” Werler and Dixon state: “If facing an agitated racer on the ground is an unpleasant experience, picking one up can be unnerving.” Also, the famous American naturalist, Raymond Ditmars said in his book "Reptiles of the World" that "as a rule, they are viscous and untamable". Its biting style is said to be "insidious" in that when it bites it immediately jerks its head back causing a tearing action by its backward curving sharp teeth. Past the teeth comes another line of defense, which I’ve spoken about before and have experienced numerous times, in that it will express its displeasure by the expelling of waste and musk from its cloaca, which has a horrible, if not reeking odor that would turn the most toughest of stomachs. On top of all this they will thrash about wildly even to the point of allowing the end of their tail to brake off if that’s where you’ve latched on to them. All in all you must be a lover of snakes if you want to handle this particular reptile, and to tell you the truth I’d rather go through all of the above aforementioned chaos than to be holding a dead one.

References:

Ditmars, Raymond L. Reptiles of the World © 1944. The Macmillan Company, New York.

Werler, John E. & Dixon, James R. Texas Snakes- Identification, Distribution, and Natural History © 2002. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.

Quote

"A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his children."

Audubon

A Bluebird Box Surprise

With a new bluebird season approaching I decided to inspect each of my houses to see if they were in need of cleaning and/or repairs. While doing so I came across the tubes of an organ-pipe mud-dauber that had been built inside one of the boxes. Its grip on the inside wall had apparently weakened causing it to fall upon the aged bluebird nest that had been there since the previous season. This steely-blue solitary wasp is docile and doesn’t sting unless you decide to grab one and aren’t aggressive as the social paper wasps which will attack and sting with even the slightest provocation. The female wasp will build its nest anywhere that’s out of the weather- on the eaves of houses, under awnings, inside garages, and even, as in this case, in bird housing. She finds a damp area of soil and digs into it with her jaws rolling it into a tiny ball about the size of a BB. She then takes this ball and with the skill of a trained mason painstakingly forms each cylindrical tube row by tedious row until the tube is complete. The differences in color in areas of the tubes show that mud was collected from different sites. Below is a photo of a female that was building a tube on my front porch several years ago.

Once a tube is complete she then begins capturing unwary spiders and stings them injecting her paralyzing venom which keeps them alive, but immobilized. She lays a single fertilized egg in the cell with the paralyzed spiders, seals it up with mud and then goes about the same task of provisioning the other cells. (Go here to check out a prior post that shows photos of spiders removed from a mud-dauber tube. Note the larva in one of the photos feeding on one of the spiders.)The male’s role is to stand guard at the nest preventing the theft of the stored prey by intruders including other mud daubers. Days later the eggs hatch and the developing larvae feed on the collected spiders. Once fully grown the larva then spins a cocoon about itself, which is white in color and then turns dark and rigid as seen in the photos.

Here they’ll remain until fully developed when they then emerge as wasps, eating their way out of the cocoon and the tube. Note the exit holes where two developed wasps escaped. This was a cluster of 5 connected tubes revealing a total of 16 cells, some containing what appeared to be 5 viable cocoons that have yet to hatch. There were some empty cells, which exhibited no exit holes. As noted before the tubes had fallen off of the inside wall of the box which exposed the cells and allowed entry to them. Bluebirds, or any other bird for that matter, entering the house would’ve feasted on any wasp larvae and/or provisioned spiders in them.

Road-Killed Barred Owl

While traveling Highway 69 that takes me to my getaway in the woods I keep my eyes along its edges for roadkill, as I've spoke of before in prior entries (1) (2) (3) .
During my travels to and from I've found a number of roadkilled owls, mostly barred owls (Strix varia). Also known by other names such as Swamp Owl, Wood Owl, and Striped Owl, it is a large bird with a wingspan of 3-4 foot. Its name is derived from the white horizontal barring on the chest. This along with the dark vertical striping on its belly affords it excellent camoflauge when perched in the thick areas of trees. The barred owl, an opportunistic hunter, feeds on mammals (rodents, squirrels, opposums, voles, etc.), snakes, frogs, and at times other birds. It's only natural enemy is the great-horned owl (and also man when he is ignorant enough to kill one of these). Their call is an eerie one, especially when heard deep in the night. At times they happen to hunt in the wrong place, such as the edges of roadways. What could possibly be happening is that small mammals such as mice, squirrels, or voles are attracted to the sides of the highway to possibly feed on any food trash that has been littered by humans which in turn attracts the owls to them. Owls will drop from the branch they are perched on and swoop low to the ground, pouncing on its prey. At times this low swooping arc brings them across a busy thoroughfare, smack in front of a moving vehicle, and unfortunately this is the end result.

One Big Wolf Spider

As I leisurely urge the lawnmower across the rough hay something scurries ahead. My first impression was that I had distressed a small rodent, but upon closer inspection I find that it is one of the largest wolf spiders I’ve ever encountered. My first inclination is to grab it before it gets away, but remembered immediately that even though these spiders are not poisonous they can still bite. I hurriedly ran to the house, grabbed a peanut butter jar and luckly when I returned it was still there. I then placed it into a plastic bin that I had in order to photograph it.
As I nervously brought the lens of my Lumix as close as possible I couldn’t help but think it would at any moment pounce on my shaky hand. I know of many folk that would’ve stomped it into oblivion- just because. Little do they know that these wolf-like predators are not only harmless, but play an important role in keeping insect pests in check.
In order to get a sense of its enormity I placed my hand beneath it…..under the container of course :-)

Scorpionfly

I happened upon an interesting insect that I hadn’t seen before- a scorpionfly (Panorpa nuptialis). These actually are not true flies because of their two pair of wings (flies have only one pair). There are 350 species worldwide, 66 of those are found in North America and they feed on pollen, nectar and also on any dead insects it may come upon. Its flight was very slow and of short duration, which made for an easy capture. This particular scorpionfly is a female, whereas the male is different in that its tail resembles that of a scorpion, hence the name. Though it looks like it has the weaponry of a scorpion it is harmless.One other identifying characteristic is its long snout giving it a sort of comical look. When a male begins courting a female he does so by vibrating his wings and then offers up a gift……one that consists of a wad of spit. Yep that’s right…spit, which she then eats (ugh!). A very interesting bug to say the least.

Barn Owl Search

As always when I arrive at Sabine Woods in Sabine Pass, TX the first thing I do is check the clipboard at the kiosk to see what everyone else had observed here. There were your usual migrants noted- summer tanagers, catbirds, and several species of warbler, but what caught my eye was that someone had seen a barn owl. I then decided that I was going to spend my morning in search of Tyto alba. This patch of woods is littered with small oak mottes with thick upperstories perfect for a daytime roost. Searching for an owl during the day can be tricky and at most times difficult. You would think that something as large as a barn owl would be easily spotted, but think again. Owls don't make it a habit of sitting in the wide open. It can be compared to finding Waldo. With being well camoflauged they find the thickest areas in trees or sometimes perch on a limb up against the tree itself blending in. There are some signs though that can help in your search.

1) Look for the accumulation of whitewash (owl excrement), which is chalky white in color and will be scattered below the owl's roosting area on the tree's trunk and on ground litter. To differentiate owl excrement from other birds look for any black steaking. If this is found it doesn't belong to an owl.
2) Look for pellets in the leaf litter beneath trees- another sign of an owl roost.
3) Listen for the mobbing calls of other birds- jays, crows, etc. Being on the top of the food chain has its disadvantages- owls and other birds are natural enemies so when a crow, blue jay, cardinal, or other bird finds a roosting owl it will emit loud vocal calls to alert others of its presence. I spent several hours in the area and found several areas of whitewash, but unfortunately didn't find the owl. What I did find though was one of its feathers proving it had been here.

Good books:

"Bird Tracks & Sign" Mark Elbroch

"How To Spot An Owl" Patricia & Clay Sutton

Six-legged Spider

One of the differences between spiders and insects is that insects have six legs and spiders have eight. They belong to the class arachnida which includes mites, scorpions, and ticks. While hiking along a trail I came face to face with an unusual golden silk spider- one with only six legs. It more than likely lost two of its legs to a predator such as a bird. This handicap didn't seem at all to hinder its web building capabilities or its ability to go after prey as noted when I strummed its web. It moved just as creepy fast as an eight-legger. Just proves how insects as well as other animals adapt when faced with situations such as this. Rather than wither and die they learn to adjust.

Interesting Nature Notes Part I

From time to time while "mining" the internet or reading one of the many magazines I subscribe to I come across some interesting stuff and as I come across this information I'll share it with everyone.


~ Where does the fox snake get its name? From the "fox urine" smelling musk it douses you with if you pick it up. That doesn't mean if you get musked by a corn snake it will smell like corn....one couldn't be so lucky.(1)

~ In order for the Jack pine to propogate, the resin coated cones must be melted by wildfire in order for the inner seeds to be released. (2)

~ For anyone that provides seed for birds- a word of caution: be sure and store your seed in a container in a cool dry area. If not moisture will cause the growth of mold which in turn forms (something) known as aflotoxin which can sicken or even kill the birds you feed. (1)

~ The Blind Cave Millipede (Chaetaspis aleyorum)- found in caves is a tiny arthropod that feeds on the guano of bats. (3)


References:
(1) Audubon magazine- July-August 2007
(2) Nature Conservancy magazine- Autumn 2007
(3) OnEarth magazine- Summer 2007

Intraspecific Fighting Among Female Purple Martins

In 2006 I had an article published in the 15(4) issue of the Purple Martin Update- (the quarterly publication of the Purple Martin Conservation Association) that detailed an experience I had while performing a nest check. Thought some of you might like to read it so I've posted it below along with photos. Hope you enjoy......


Sometimes I will sit and observe my colony for hours on end and not see anything out of the ordinary. Other days when I’m not particularly watching for anything something falls right in my lap. This happened back in 2003 when I observed a SY male committing infanticide (see my article- 13(3) p. 27 PM Update). Had I blinked I would’ve missed the entire event.
Recently I had dropped my gourd racks to see if nest building had been initiated, when again, something fell in my lap. As I lowered one of the racks I began hearing muffled chatter coming from one of the gourds. I looked up and could see feathers protruding from an entrance hole, so I rapped on the pole hoping to get the martin’s attention but it would not leave the gourd. I then began to hear a rustling noise and then determined that there was more than one martin inside. I began lowering the rack thinking that would cause them to fly, but still they remained inside the gourd. No loud squawking, just a low chortle while they “wrestled”. As I slowly removed the access cap there inside was an ASY female atop another ASY female. Most times I’ve seen fighting among martins it had been between males, usually territorial battles. I have read though that females also get involved in these types of altercations or “Intra-specific fighting”. Once the male selects the territory with which to nest he then goes about the intricate ritual of attracting a female. Once that is accomplished and the female bonds with him and selects a nest site in his established territory, she will then, along with the male, defend this territory. What I was witnessing was the female defending her selected gourd or nesting area from another intruding female. The dominant female peered at me intensely as if in a trance, while the submissive one assumed a posture with its head tucked and wings folded. Neither seemed afraid of my presence or the noise I was making. I was able to take photo after photo, fully expecting them to bolt from the access hole any second. The dominant female had her wings slightly apart and had small feathers in her beak that had apparently come from the ruffled area at the base of the submissive ones neck. Minutes later the submissive female freed herself and escaped out of the entrance hole leaving the dominant one behind, standing her ground, and panting obviously tired from the scuffle. Observations such as this are what make managing a colony so worthwhile, as it allows you to delve into their lives and see nature in action. Do a little observing yourself…..you never know what might land in your lap.

Wasp Deformity

What is wrong in these pictures? Look closely (click on pictures to enlarge) and you'll see that this paper wasp has little or no wings. An emtomologist friend of mine said that paper wasps develop fully in their cell and when they emerge they do so with a full set of wings. So what happened?


He said it could've been some sort of genetic defect or possibly due to the effects of some sort of wasp parasite that may have invaded the wasp during its development. Whatever the cause it's an interesting find. If anyone out there has any ideas or a similar experience drop me a line.

Hunting Shark's Teeth

The salty air envelops me as I carefully walk the sandy beach. My eyes scan the ground for something elusive. A fossilized treasure that many overlook as they meander along this barrier island. An elderly gentleman approaches me and asks “You lookin’ for them shark’s teeth?” I look up surprised at his question. Many who see me assume I’m hunting for the perfect seashell or for the frosted sea glass that litters the coast. “Yes I am” I reply. “Found any?” he then says. Reaching into the pocket of my swimsuit I retrieve a small glass vial containing eight perfectly shaped teeth and hand it to him. With an amazed look on his face he says “How in the hell do you see these things?”

Every summer for years my family gathered with friends and relatives and spent a week at a rented beach cabin along the shores of Bolivar peninsula. While most of them lie around and soak up the rays I walk slowly scanning the sand. Ever since I found my first shark’s tooth I’ve been hooked. So hooked I’ve spent entire afternoons walking up and down the coast most times returning with a handful.
Sharks lose and replace teeth throughout their lives. In fact they can lose 1000’s of teeth during their lifetime. Seeing them among the many tiny shells along the water’s edge can be a challenge, but I have found that my proficiency at finding these gems has come from just that….finding them. After collecting close to several hundred I feel that my eyes and brain have been trained to pick up on the anything near the triangular shape and black or gray hue of these fossilized teeth.
The best time I’ve found is during a low tide along the “seashell line”, an area where tiny seashells amass during the constant ebb and flow of the ocean. Waves wash the teeth ashore where they settle and are left trapped amongst these areas. They can be found year round and with a little patience and practice you too will see that they’re not as hard as you think to find.

Puma Field Guide

If you're a big cat fan like I am the Cougar Network, a nonprofit research organization "dedicated to studying cougar-habitat relationships and the role of cougars in ecosystems" offers a free Puma Field Guide that "covers the Biological Considerations, General Life History, Identification, Assessment, and Management of Puma concolor." Go here to download it. They also offer a membership that includes a subscription to their tri-annual publication Wild Cat News, a CD containing the proceedings of all eight Mountain Lion Workshops, frequent "Breaking News" e-mail alerts to keep you in the loop on exciting developments as they occur, invitations to The Cougar Network speaking events in your area, and discounts on merchandise sold in their online store. Check it out!

Red Velvet Ant

One of the most striking insects I've ever laid eyes on is the velvet ant. It's actually not an ant but in fact a solitary wasp. The males have black transparent wings and do not sting, whereas the female pictured here is wingless and does sting. The combination of its bold colors allows it to stand out brilliantly on the pine straw laden forest floor. It is so beautiful that your tempted to reach down and pick it up…….but beware. The sting of the “cow killer” is said to be excruciating. So much so folklore has it that it’s so powerful it could kill a cow- hence the name. They’re parasitic in nature in which the female scours the terrain in search of nests of ground nesting bees and wasps. When one is discovered she will dig into the nest chamber and deposit an egg onto the host larva which will ultimately be the food of its progeny. I tried repeatedly to photograph it, but there was no pause in its hasty stride eventually causing me to capture it in a vial.

Wolf Spider

They're called "wolf" spiders for good reason. They are ground dwelling spiders that do not rely on a web for capturing food, but instead use their hunting skills to find and run down their prey like, well.....a wolf. This particular female looks as if she’s dragging a rock behind her, but is in fact an egg sac. After mating with a male the female lays her eggs, fertilizes them with the male’s sperm that has been stored in her body, and then builds a silken sac around them. She is very maternal and will protect the egg laden sac with her life. It will be carried from her spinneret for a week or two as they develop and then she’ll pierce the egg sac with her fangs allowing the young to escape. The spiderlings will then climb upon her back for a short period of time before dispersing to begin a life of their own.

Love Hurts

Plecia nearctica is their scientific name but we all know them as "love bugs". Also called honeymoon bugs and double-headed bugs these insects are the bane of traveling motorists in the southern states. Every May and September they emerge as adults from the ground and then form large "aerial orgies" only to end up as a pile of guts on someone's windshield. If not removed their adhesive insides can end up ruining the paint on your vehicle and in great numbers they've been known to plug the fins on radiators causing engines to overheat. On my way home today the windshield on my truck became covered so badly with their smeared inerds it was difficult to see. I guess there's no better way to go ;-)

Spiders and Snakes

Spent a morning exploring a portion of Turkey Creek Trail with my brother and his son. As we hiked we found the trail to be shrouded with webs of golden silk and garden spiders. A person afflicted with arachnophobia would've gone off the deep end had they seen what we saw. They were everywhere, most smack in the middle of the trail and with me leading the way I ended up covered in spider's silk.
These large spiders can have an ominous appearance due to their size and they do have fangs, but they're basically harmless and are not poisonous. I lightly tapped an area of one of the webs and the spider raced to the very spot. Creepy.........

My brother was the snake magnet for the day spotting two. The first one moved away so quickly I was unable to catch or identify it. Its backside was mostly a brownish color with no discernible markings. We searched for several minutes around the brush it escaped into with no luck. The other was a nice diamond-backed water snake that was as thick as my forearm. If you've ever encountered one of these chunky snakes you know that they can be pretty aggressive when accosted. This particular one, often mistaken for a cottonmouth, has a habit of flaring its head out giving it a triangular or "poisonous snake" appearance.
It was lying motionless on the edge of some brush and was in the process of shedding its skin (ecdysis). I knew this due to its dull appearance and the fact that its eyes were opaque. During this time snakes are more vulnerable and aggressive due to their vision being impaired. Sensing our scent or vibration it began to retreat into the brush so I grabbed its tail and pulled into the open. As I did this I got "musked" which is a normal occurrence when handling most non-venomous snakes and is used as their first line of defense. Musk glands are located near the cloaca that spew the funk all over you when handling them and believe me it's not a very pleasant odor. I tried cleaning it off with anti-bacterial wipes, but the odor prevailed. As soon as it was entirely exposed it went on the defense rearing up to strike.......and strike it did hitting me twice in the leg. The speed of its strike was scary fast and solid. The first attempt just grazed me but the second time its teeth became hung up in the nylon fabric of my pants leg. Pulling back violently it released itself and prepared for another strike if needed. I checked my leg and found that it didn't connect. What a rush......to me anyway, but my brother almost had a stroke. He just knew it was poisonous.

NOTE: The focus of this hike was to get my nephew Garet "outside" to experience what is out there. To peak his interest in the wild things that make up the beauty of this planet. Kids his age nowadays are unfortunately more interested in other things such as video games, etc. and really have no idea what surrounds them. It is our duty as adults to get our children and grandchildren back to nature for they are the future protectors of what, unfortunately, is headed for a collision course with disaster. They are our only hope.

Quote

"If you talk to the animals, they will talk to you,
and you will know each other.
If you do not talk to them, you will not know them,
and what you do not not know you will fear.
What one fears, one destroys."

Chief Dan George

Famished Larvae

As I walked past my truck I heard what I thought was the tapping of raindrops. It was rain alright......frass rain. What is frass you ask? Well to put it lightly it's caterpillar/larva crap. So in essence I was literally being crapped upon ;-) I looked up into the ash tree that my truck was parked under and could see something on its leaves. I grabbed one of the low hanging limbs and that's when I found the producer of the "rain". On just about every leaf on the limb were the larva of the blackheaded ash sawfly eating away as if there were no tomorrow. If you put them close to your ear you can almost hear the crunching of plant material in their famished jaws. I look at other leaves and I find more- the tree is inundated with them. Lined up in rows....feeding side by side......it was a scene of mass consumption.