Four kinds of cultivated, woody plants in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, burning bushes, barberry bushes, Japanese red maple trees and Bradford pear trees, have red foliage late in October and well into November. They are abundantly planted on lawns for their beauties, including their striking colored leaves that are quite attractive late in autumn. And all of them spread into the wild via their seeds.
Burning bushes have red leaves and red berries in fall. Being a shrub, they are often planted in decorative rows, that also shelter birds.
Barberry bushes are originally from Asia and have thorny twigs and small, red leaves in fall. They, too, have red berries. Birds, including northern mockingbirds, American robins, starlings, cedar waxwings and other species, eat the berries of this species, and those on burning bushes, digest the pulp of those fruits, but pass many of the seeds in their droppings, often far from the parent plants. That is how these kinds of alien shrubs escape domestication and sprout in woods, hedgerows and roadsides in this country.
Japanese red maples grow to be small trees and have red leaves and paired, winged seeds in autumn. The seeds break off their twigs and helicopter on the wind across the landscape. Some of the seeds sprout and seedlings grow on lawns, woodland edges and other places with good soil. But only those baby trees that aren't mowed off will develop into trees.
Bradford pears become small trees that have red and maroon leaves in November. Unfortunately, this species has weak wood and breaks off easily. It has many, small, white flowers in April from which grow tiny, gray pears that berry-eating birds eat. Again, birds pass the seeds which sprout abundantly most anyplace that doesn't get mowed. Pure stands of this type of tree can be seen here and there locally, and are most attractive in November.
Look for the striking foliage of these kinds of woody vegetation that are abundantly planted on lawns. They help make November more attractive.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Dark Ducks in Lancaster County in October
Deciduous leaves turn colors in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania during September and October, with a climax of color by the end of October. No place are those autumn leaves more beautiful than when reflected in ponds and streams bordered by deciduous trees. And two kinds of ducks with dark plumage, wood ducks and black ducks, add to the beauty of colored foliage and the bodies of water they shelter and rest on late in fall and into early winter. These two duck species are particularly hard to approach, adding some wildness to the waters of this overly civilized county.
Wood ducks nested in tree hollows and nesting boxes erected especially for them along those same waterways and impoundments in Lancaster County farmland. And by fall those woodies and their young of the year gather on those waters prior to their migrations south for the winter. Hen woodies are their usual gray selves for camouflage, but the drakes are colorful and striking, but dark in plumage, being particularly lovely on water under colored leaves. Drakes have green hoods on their heads, red on their beaks and white cheeks. But are also hard to see because of their almost black winter plumage they still have in the March breeding season.
In autumn, woodies feed on acorns, seeds and other vegetation, putting on weight for their trip south, usually in October or November. Most woodies migrate south in autumn, but a few winter here, as long as there is some open and sheltered water in woods, woodlots and hedgerows.
Black ducks start arriving here from breeding territories farther north toward the end of October, therefore overlapping a bit with the wood ducks on some of the same bodies of water here. Both of these dark species of ducks are interesting to see together. And they have dark plumages because their species developed in the shadows of woodlands.
Black ducks are dusky all over, with olive beaks on drakes and brown ones on females. From a distance, or in the air, or when perched on snow or ice, they really do look black.
At dusk in winter, black ducks join Canada geese and their close cousins, the mallard ducks, in harvested cornfields where they shovel up waste corn kernels from the ground. Flocks of those species of waterfowl leave their roosting waters and fly swiftly out to croplands, being silhouetted against sunsets, or cloudy skies, as they go. The continually honking geese are readily heard from a distance, and the rapid whistling of the ducks' wings are heard when closer to those birds. But all those species of waterfowl are exciting to experience every time they are encountered.
The hardy black ducks spend the winter here in Lancaster County and leave to migrate north sometime in March. And during that same month, wood ducks return to this area to rear ducklings, causing an overlap with the black ducks again.
One can spot these kinds of ducks in autumn and spring if one knows where to look. These ducks add another touch of wildness to this county.
Wood ducks nested in tree hollows and nesting boxes erected especially for them along those same waterways and impoundments in Lancaster County farmland. And by fall those woodies and their young of the year gather on those waters prior to their migrations south for the winter. Hen woodies are their usual gray selves for camouflage, but the drakes are colorful and striking, but dark in plumage, being particularly lovely on water under colored leaves. Drakes have green hoods on their heads, red on their beaks and white cheeks. But are also hard to see because of their almost black winter plumage they still have in the March breeding season.
In autumn, woodies feed on acorns, seeds and other vegetation, putting on weight for their trip south, usually in October or November. Most woodies migrate south in autumn, but a few winter here, as long as there is some open and sheltered water in woods, woodlots and hedgerows.
Black ducks start arriving here from breeding territories farther north toward the end of October, therefore overlapping a bit with the wood ducks on some of the same bodies of water here. Both of these dark species of ducks are interesting to see together. And they have dark plumages because their species developed in the shadows of woodlands.
Black ducks are dusky all over, with olive beaks on drakes and brown ones on females. From a distance, or in the air, or when perched on snow or ice, they really do look black.
At dusk in winter, black ducks join Canada geese and their close cousins, the mallard ducks, in harvested cornfields where they shovel up waste corn kernels from the ground. Flocks of those species of waterfowl leave their roosting waters and fly swiftly out to croplands, being silhouetted against sunsets, or cloudy skies, as they go. The continually honking geese are readily heard from a distance, and the rapid whistling of the ducks' wings are heard when closer to those birds. But all those species of waterfowl are exciting to experience every time they are encountered.
The hardy black ducks spend the winter here in Lancaster County and leave to migrate north sometime in March. And during that same month, wood ducks return to this area to rear ducklings, causing an overlap with the black ducks again.
One can spot these kinds of ducks in autumn and spring if one knows where to look. These ducks add another touch of wildness to this county.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Feathered Europeans
Though not liked by every American citizen, rock pigeons, house sparrows and starlings are feathered Europeans that have been introduced to the United States and became successful in this country, including here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They have adapted to and are abundant in human-made farmland, farm yards and cities in America, as in Europe. They prosper where most native bird species won't even venture, each species forming flocks after their breeding seasons. And whether we like them or not, these immigrants are here to stay.
Pigeons originally nested on rocky cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea and fed on weed seeds in open, sunny habitats. They were domesticated first as meat and egg birds in Europe, but soon became popular as racing and show birds.
Wild pigeons are pretty without genetic engineering by people. They are gray all over with red feet and a purple or green sheen on the feathers of their necks. And many of them have two dark, vertical bars on each wing. In the fields and barns through the warmer months, the handsome males dance and coo softly to their mates to get them in the mood for mating.
Some pigeons escaped from captivity in the United States, as they have all over the world. Here in Lancaster County they nest on support beams in barns and under bridges, raising several broods of two young each from March to September. Their favorite place to roost during the day, however, is on the tops of silos, the highest objects in local farmland. There little groups of them can watch for passing peregrine falcons, Cooper's hawks and other passing predatory birds.
Pigeons feed on weed seeds and grain missed by automatic harvesters in fields. They walk about, bobbing their heads with each step, and picking up grain here and there. They feed their young in the nest a porridge of a liquid manufactured in their throats called "pigeon's milk" and half-digested seeds and grain. The offspring put their beaks into the bill of their mother or father and the parent regurgitates that porridge by a pumping action in its throat.
House sparrows are pretty little birds in a plain way. Females are brown all over with darker streaking for camouflage. Males resemble females in winter, but have black bibs, chestnut wings and gray crowns during warmer months, their breeding season.
House sparrows are also seed eaters, mostly of grasses and a variety of "weeds" they find in fields and along roadsides. These adaptable birds also eat grain out of animal feed troughs, bird feeders and horse manure on the roads.
House sparrows nest in any crevice they find on buildings and in bird boxes. They often aggressively put native birds out of bird houses to use those shelters themselves. But these little birds are abundant where no other kinds of birds are, offering a bit of nature where otherwise they may be none.
Starlings are about the size of robins, but a bit chunkier. In spring they are attractive with iridescent purple feathering and yellow beaks. Males sing a variety of squeaky songs in conspicuous places while waving their wings. They raise babies anyplace they can usurp, including woodpecker holes and other hollows in trees and fence posts, bird houses big enough to accommodate them, and holes in buildings, street lights and other handy, human-made shelters. They, too, drive native birds out of their nesting places when they can.
Fledgling starlings are brown in summer, but turn dark with many light speckles by fall, which is also the appearance of the adults at that time. Large flocks of starlings roam the countryside looking for anything edible they can handle. They eat grain in fields, raid bird feeders and eat out of dumpsters and parking lots.
In summer, starlings catch insects from the air like flycatcher birds, poke their sharp, sturdy beaks in the grass and soil of lawns and fields after invertebrates like sandpipers probing in mud after the same foods, eat a variety of berries like robins and waxwings, and scavenge dead animals, as do vultures and crows. Sometimes I think the adaptable starlings could fill every niche that becomes available to them because of the extinction of other bird species. They could fill every role.
At dusk, in winter, great flocks of starlings swirl and circle in the air over the stands of coniferous trees they intend to roost in overnight. For several minutes each winter evening, the whirling gatherings of starlings make figures in the sky. One can hear the snap of thousands of beating wings when the birds abruptly change directions. Finally, bit by bit, as the congregation repeatedly passes over the conifers, the birds, several at a time, enter the trees' needled boughs where they will be sheltered from cold wind and predators during each night. And just before dark, all are snug among the needled limbs.
Try to enjoy the beauties and intrigues of these feathered Europeans. They occupy niches most native birds won't venture into.
Pigeons originally nested on rocky cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea and fed on weed seeds in open, sunny habitats. They were domesticated first as meat and egg birds in Europe, but soon became popular as racing and show birds.
Wild pigeons are pretty without genetic engineering by people. They are gray all over with red feet and a purple or green sheen on the feathers of their necks. And many of them have two dark, vertical bars on each wing. In the fields and barns through the warmer months, the handsome males dance and coo softly to their mates to get them in the mood for mating.
Some pigeons escaped from captivity in the United States, as they have all over the world. Here in Lancaster County they nest on support beams in barns and under bridges, raising several broods of two young each from March to September. Their favorite place to roost during the day, however, is on the tops of silos, the highest objects in local farmland. There little groups of them can watch for passing peregrine falcons, Cooper's hawks and other passing predatory birds.
Pigeons feed on weed seeds and grain missed by automatic harvesters in fields. They walk about, bobbing their heads with each step, and picking up grain here and there. They feed their young in the nest a porridge of a liquid manufactured in their throats called "pigeon's milk" and half-digested seeds and grain. The offspring put their beaks into the bill of their mother or father and the parent regurgitates that porridge by a pumping action in its throat.
House sparrows are pretty little birds in a plain way. Females are brown all over with darker streaking for camouflage. Males resemble females in winter, but have black bibs, chestnut wings and gray crowns during warmer months, their breeding season.
House sparrows are also seed eaters, mostly of grasses and a variety of "weeds" they find in fields and along roadsides. These adaptable birds also eat grain out of animal feed troughs, bird feeders and horse manure on the roads.
House sparrows nest in any crevice they find on buildings and in bird boxes. They often aggressively put native birds out of bird houses to use those shelters themselves. But these little birds are abundant where no other kinds of birds are, offering a bit of nature where otherwise they may be none.
Starlings are about the size of robins, but a bit chunkier. In spring they are attractive with iridescent purple feathering and yellow beaks. Males sing a variety of squeaky songs in conspicuous places while waving their wings. They raise babies anyplace they can usurp, including woodpecker holes and other hollows in trees and fence posts, bird houses big enough to accommodate them, and holes in buildings, street lights and other handy, human-made shelters. They, too, drive native birds out of their nesting places when they can.
Fledgling starlings are brown in summer, but turn dark with many light speckles by fall, which is also the appearance of the adults at that time. Large flocks of starlings roam the countryside looking for anything edible they can handle. They eat grain in fields, raid bird feeders and eat out of dumpsters and parking lots.
In summer, starlings catch insects from the air like flycatcher birds, poke their sharp, sturdy beaks in the grass and soil of lawns and fields after invertebrates like sandpipers probing in mud after the same foods, eat a variety of berries like robins and waxwings, and scavenge dead animals, as do vultures and crows. Sometimes I think the adaptable starlings could fill every niche that becomes available to them because of the extinction of other bird species. They could fill every role.
At dusk, in winter, great flocks of starlings swirl and circle in the air over the stands of coniferous trees they intend to roost in overnight. For several minutes each winter evening, the whirling gatherings of starlings make figures in the sky. One can hear the snap of thousands of beating wings when the birds abruptly change directions. Finally, bit by bit, as the congregation repeatedly passes over the conifers, the birds, several at a time, enter the trees' needled boughs where they will be sheltered from cold wind and predators during each night. And just before dark, all are snug among the needled limbs.
Try to enjoy the beauties and intrigues of these feathered Europeans. They occupy niches most native birds won't venture into.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Birds With Striped Pants
Many of us have heard the expression "skinny as a rail". Six kinds of rails living in North America are sparrow-sized to chicken-sized birds that are laterally compressed to slip easily and quietly through dense vegetation in marshes and wet meadows of tall grass without alerting predators.
And rails have several other traits in common that demonstrate their mutual ancestry. All species are marsh birds that have short tails, short, rounded wings and "striped pants" of vertically streaked feathering on the back parts of their abdomens. All wade in shallow water in their search for food, are camouflaged, secretive, mostly nocturnal and seldom seen, and call largely at night. And all have black chicks that are downy and ready to run soon after hatching.
Of the six types of rails in North America, three have short beaks and three have long ones. The short-billed species, black, yellow and sora rails, are the smaller ones in this bird family. Black rails are hardly larger than sparrows and are black with white speckles. They live mostly in cordgrass salt marshes along the Atlantic Seaboard and eat insects and small crustaceans.
Yellow rails are about seven inches long and live in fresh marshes, meadows and grain fields in Central Canada. They are dull-yellow, and streaked on top for camouflage. They eat a lot of invertebrates, particularly snails.
Soras are about nine inches long and mostly gray. They are the most abundant rail in the northern United States and southern Canada where they summer in cattail marshes. They eat insects, mollusks, crustaceans and other small invertebrates during the warmer months and seeds in fall and winter. Their adapting to different food sources through the year made them common and widespread in North America.
Virginia, king and clapper rails belong to the long-billed branch of rails. These species are almost identical in appearance, brownish for camouflage, showing their recent common ancestry. Virginia rails are about nine inches in length and mostly nest in cattail marshes throughout much of the northern United States. They consume small animal life, seeds and berries.
The uncommon king rails are about 17 inches long and inhabit fresh water marshes in the United States. They ingest invertebrates and seeds and utter deep, measured calls "kick, kick, kick" on the same pitch.
Clapper rails are identical to king rails, except their feathering is paler than the kings'. Clappers live in tidal salt marshes along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. This rail is the one most often seen during the day. When the tide goes out twice a day, clappers roam over the resulting mud flats in quest of mollusks, crustaceans, worms and other aquatic invertebrates, until the water returns with the next high tide.
Rails are not often seen, but it's interesting to know they exist in marshes of inches-deep water and tall vegetation. And it is intriguing to note they are similar in appearance because of their mutual ancestry.
And rails have several other traits in common that demonstrate their mutual ancestry. All species are marsh birds that have short tails, short, rounded wings and "striped pants" of vertically streaked feathering on the back parts of their abdomens. All wade in shallow water in their search for food, are camouflaged, secretive, mostly nocturnal and seldom seen, and call largely at night. And all have black chicks that are downy and ready to run soon after hatching.
Of the six types of rails in North America, three have short beaks and three have long ones. The short-billed species, black, yellow and sora rails, are the smaller ones in this bird family. Black rails are hardly larger than sparrows and are black with white speckles. They live mostly in cordgrass salt marshes along the Atlantic Seaboard and eat insects and small crustaceans.
Yellow rails are about seven inches long and live in fresh marshes, meadows and grain fields in Central Canada. They are dull-yellow, and streaked on top for camouflage. They eat a lot of invertebrates, particularly snails.
Soras are about nine inches long and mostly gray. They are the most abundant rail in the northern United States and southern Canada where they summer in cattail marshes. They eat insects, mollusks, crustaceans and other small invertebrates during the warmer months and seeds in fall and winter. Their adapting to different food sources through the year made them common and widespread in North America.
Virginia, king and clapper rails belong to the long-billed branch of rails. These species are almost identical in appearance, brownish for camouflage, showing their recent common ancestry. Virginia rails are about nine inches in length and mostly nest in cattail marshes throughout much of the northern United States. They consume small animal life, seeds and berries.
The uncommon king rails are about 17 inches long and inhabit fresh water marshes in the United States. They ingest invertebrates and seeds and utter deep, measured calls "kick, kick, kick" on the same pitch.
Clapper rails are identical to king rails, except their feathering is paler than the kings'. Clappers live in tidal salt marshes along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. This rail is the one most often seen during the day. When the tide goes out twice a day, clappers roam over the resulting mud flats in quest of mollusks, crustaceans, worms and other aquatic invertebrates, until the water returns with the next high tide.
Rails are not often seen, but it's interesting to know they exist in marshes of inches-deep water and tall vegetation. And it is intriguing to note they are similar in appearance because of their mutual ancestry.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Diverging and Converging Merganser Ducks
Three kinds of merganser ducks in North America are examples of related species of life diverging into different niches from a common ancestor, which reduces competition for space and food with their relatives. Mergansers radiated from other species of ducks to exploit a food source (small fish) different from that of other duck species. They don't have the broad, shoveling beaks of other duck species, but developed thin, serrated bills, adapted for seizing fish and other aquatic creatures. And, at the same time, mergansers developed like, and converged with, unrelated, fish-catching species (loons and grebes) because the water habitat they share shaped all of them alike. Mergansers, loons and grebes all have boat-like bodies, webbed feet and beaks shaped for catching small fish.
The three kinds of mergansers in North America diverged from a shared merganser ancestor to catch fish in different water niches in winter, thus reducing competition with each other for that food. Common mergansers generally get their finny prey in the deeper parts of large bodies of fresh water, such as rivers and larger, human-made impoundments. Hooded mergansers usually snare their food from fresh-water creeks and ponds. And red-breasted mergansers catch fish mostly from brackish or salt water in estuaries and back waters off the oceans.
In winter, scores and hundreds of common mergansers raft on the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers and human-made, fresh-water lakes in southeastern Pennsylvania where I live, as throughout much of the United States. There they are associates of American goldeneyes, buffleheads, scaups and other kinds of ducks, none of which catch fish.
Drake common mergansers have dark backs, green heads, white flanks and red bills. Hens of this species are camouflaged, with gray body feathering and brown heads with ragged crests.
Hooded mergansers generally gather in little groups on the edges of smaller bodies of water and swamps, often in or bordering woodlands. They usually hide under tree branches hanging over the shallows, as do wood ducks.
Male hooded mergansers are handsome with black backs and heads, white chests, chestnut flanks and with a horizontal, white bar on each side of their hoods on their heads and a vertical, white stripe in front of each wing. The white on their hoods gets larger when they raise those hoods in excitement.
Female hooded mergansers are attractive, too, in a plain, camouflaged way. Their plumages are light, tawny-gray with a darker, disheveled crest.
Red-breasted mergansers winter mostly along the seacoast that they share with a variety of sea ducks, including scoters and other species. They uncommonly migrate north through southeastern Pennsylvania in March. A few land on larger bodies of water in this area to catch fish before moving on. Red breast males have green heads, each with a crest, dark backs and light-gray flanks. Females have gray bodies and brown heads with ragged crests.
Mergansers demonstrate how life radiates from common ancestors to take advantage of different niches to have space and food with limited competition with their relatives. And each habitat makes the unrelated species living in it similar, adapted to survive in it.
The three kinds of mergansers in North America diverged from a shared merganser ancestor to catch fish in different water niches in winter, thus reducing competition with each other for that food. Common mergansers generally get their finny prey in the deeper parts of large bodies of fresh water, such as rivers and larger, human-made impoundments. Hooded mergansers usually snare their food from fresh-water creeks and ponds. And red-breasted mergansers catch fish mostly from brackish or salt water in estuaries and back waters off the oceans.
In winter, scores and hundreds of common mergansers raft on the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers and human-made, fresh-water lakes in southeastern Pennsylvania where I live, as throughout much of the United States. There they are associates of American goldeneyes, buffleheads, scaups and other kinds of ducks, none of which catch fish.
Drake common mergansers have dark backs, green heads, white flanks and red bills. Hens of this species are camouflaged, with gray body feathering and brown heads with ragged crests.
Hooded mergansers generally gather in little groups on the edges of smaller bodies of water and swamps, often in or bordering woodlands. They usually hide under tree branches hanging over the shallows, as do wood ducks.
Male hooded mergansers are handsome with black backs and heads, white chests, chestnut flanks and with a horizontal, white bar on each side of their hoods on their heads and a vertical, white stripe in front of each wing. The white on their hoods gets larger when they raise those hoods in excitement.
Female hooded mergansers are attractive, too, in a plain, camouflaged way. Their plumages are light, tawny-gray with a darker, disheveled crest.
Red-breasted mergansers winter mostly along the seacoast that they share with a variety of sea ducks, including scoters and other species. They uncommonly migrate north through southeastern Pennsylvania in March. A few land on larger bodies of water in this area to catch fish before moving on. Red breast males have green heads, each with a crest, dark backs and light-gray flanks. Females have gray bodies and brown heads with ragged crests.
Mergansers demonstrate how life radiates from common ancestors to take advantage of different niches to have space and food with limited competition with their relatives. And each habitat makes the unrelated species living in it similar, adapted to survive in it.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
October's Roadside Flowers
Several kinds of plants along rural roadsides in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania still bloom toward the end of October, adding to the beauties of that month, and autumn. However, all these plants are still flowering from summer. They are reminiscent of that warm season "..... when the living is easy". And they make attractive roadside bouquets of at least a few colors that are free for the looking as one walks or drives by them.
No one color dominates those blossoms in October, but yellow is the brightest and often noticed first. Evening primrose, Canada goldenrod and dandelions have yellow blooms on tall stalks, if they weren't mowed, while butter-and-eggs have golden flowers on naturally short stems. Goldenrod is one of the last sources of nectar for small butterflies and other kinds of insects in October. Dandelion flowers still produce seeds with parachutes during that fall month. And the last species has blossoms that look like those on snapdragons because those species are related.
White flowers are also readily noticeable along country roads. Queen-Anne's-lace, evening lynchis and a kind of aster have white blossoms still in bloom through October. Queen-Anne's-lace has tiny blooms in umbels that do look like lovely, lacy doilies. By winter, however, those flower heads curl up and resemble small birds' nests. The asters only begin to bloom in September, and dominate meadows and a few roadsides in October. They also are a last source of nectar for a variety of insects in October.
A few kinds of plants have pink blossoms, adding to the diversity of lovely flowers along rural roads in October. They include red clover, which is still common, bouncing bet, and lady's thumb, which is an abundant type of smartweed. Insects visit the clover flowers to get nectar and pollen. Lady's thumb started blooming in September, but is most noticeable in October. Lady's thumb is a short plant that doesn't get cut by mowers and has a dark pattern on each leaf- a lady's thumb print.
The blue flowers of chicory, and alfalfa, which is a kind of hay, are lovely on tall stems, or short ones if the roadside shoulder vegetation was mowed. Chicory stalks are spindly, but their sky-blue blooms are spectacularly beautiful.
Most of these plants produce seeds by winter that field mice and a variety of small, seed-eating birds, including horned larks, snow buntings, Lapland longspurs and savannah sparrows ingest through winter. Some of those mice and small birds get caught and eaten by American kestrels, merlins, red-tailed hawks and rough-legged hawks, the latter species wintering here from the high Arctic tundra.
This October, or succeeding ones, look for these roadside flowers. They make a ride in the countryside more enjoyable.
No one color dominates those blossoms in October, but yellow is the brightest and often noticed first. Evening primrose, Canada goldenrod and dandelions have yellow blooms on tall stalks, if they weren't mowed, while butter-and-eggs have golden flowers on naturally short stems. Goldenrod is one of the last sources of nectar for small butterflies and other kinds of insects in October. Dandelion flowers still produce seeds with parachutes during that fall month. And the last species has blossoms that look like those on snapdragons because those species are related.
White flowers are also readily noticeable along country roads. Queen-Anne's-lace, evening lynchis and a kind of aster have white blossoms still in bloom through October. Queen-Anne's-lace has tiny blooms in umbels that do look like lovely, lacy doilies. By winter, however, those flower heads curl up and resemble small birds' nests. The asters only begin to bloom in September, and dominate meadows and a few roadsides in October. They also are a last source of nectar for a variety of insects in October.
A few kinds of plants have pink blossoms, adding to the diversity of lovely flowers along rural roads in October. They include red clover, which is still common, bouncing bet, and lady's thumb, which is an abundant type of smartweed. Insects visit the clover flowers to get nectar and pollen. Lady's thumb started blooming in September, but is most noticeable in October. Lady's thumb is a short plant that doesn't get cut by mowers and has a dark pattern on each leaf- a lady's thumb print.
The blue flowers of chicory, and alfalfa, which is a kind of hay, are lovely on tall stems, or short ones if the roadside shoulder vegetation was mowed. Chicory stalks are spindly, but their sky-blue blooms are spectacularly beautiful.
Most of these plants produce seeds by winter that field mice and a variety of small, seed-eating birds, including horned larks, snow buntings, Lapland longspurs and savannah sparrows ingest through winter. Some of those mice and small birds get caught and eaten by American kestrels, merlins, red-tailed hawks and rough-legged hawks, the latter species wintering here from the high Arctic tundra.
This October, or succeeding ones, look for these roadside flowers. They make a ride in the countryside more enjoyable.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Superb Soaring
When I was a boy living outside Rohrerstown, Pennsylvania, I saw turkey vultures sailing high across the sky almost every day I looked for them. I thought how graceful they were on the wing, soaring across the sky and tilting from side to side slightly on their wing tips with scarcely a wing beat. I always enjoy seeing turkey vultures in the sky to this very day!
A pleasure to see through each year, turkey vultures are the most superb of soaring birds in the Americas, including in Pennsylvania. Their effortless, graceful soaring on high, with barely a wing beat, hour after hour, is inspiring to watch. They create majestic circles in the sky, or pass directly across it from horizon to horizon, often without beating their wings a single time. And they are always in control of their floating on the wind, tilting their slightly uplifted wing tips from side to side to maintain their steadiness on the wind and where they want to go. Sometimes they skim just over trees or buildings with a rush, causing a thrill in some of us humans, but never a collision with objects or each other.
Turkey vultures soar across the sky every storm-free day through the year to detect dead animals below, their only food. They have good senses of smell and acknowledge the presence of a dead animal on the ground by its odor alone. They also seem to remember where dead animals are. And these vultures watch each other in the sky. If one suddenly descends, that descent is a signal to other vultures in the sky that food has been discovered. Several of them circle down magnificently in the wind, lower and lower without a wing beat, to the carcass below.
Turkey vultures often pass across the sky in loose groups, with each bird sniffing for its next meal. Seeing a group of turkey vultures is even more inspiring and enjoyable.
Turkey vultures are large and have brown feathers. Adults have red, naked heads, while youngsters have gray ones. These birds are not dirty or offensive in any way. In fact, they are fine birds that have an unpleasant food source, but one they are well adapted to. Their heads don't have feathers because they reach their beaks and heads into carcasses to get to the edible insides. Feathers in a carcass would get messy and be a breeding ground for bacteria and other problems that would compromise the health of these birds.
These vultures nest in rock crevices, hollow trees, tree stumps and other sheltered places on forest floors. Each pair raises one chick per year, but they don't have many natural enemies so one is enough to maintain their population.
Groups of turkey vultures winter in stands of coniferous trees in certain wooded valleys in Pennsylvania. There they are relatively safe from cold wind.
Watch for turkey vultures soaring in the sky most any storm-free day of the year. Their floating on the wind is beautiful and inspiring.
A pleasure to see through each year, turkey vultures are the most superb of soaring birds in the Americas, including in Pennsylvania. Their effortless, graceful soaring on high, with barely a wing beat, hour after hour, is inspiring to watch. They create majestic circles in the sky, or pass directly across it from horizon to horizon, often without beating their wings a single time. And they are always in control of their floating on the wind, tilting their slightly uplifted wing tips from side to side to maintain their steadiness on the wind and where they want to go. Sometimes they skim just over trees or buildings with a rush, causing a thrill in some of us humans, but never a collision with objects or each other.
Turkey vultures soar across the sky every storm-free day through the year to detect dead animals below, their only food. They have good senses of smell and acknowledge the presence of a dead animal on the ground by its odor alone. They also seem to remember where dead animals are. And these vultures watch each other in the sky. If one suddenly descends, that descent is a signal to other vultures in the sky that food has been discovered. Several of them circle down magnificently in the wind, lower and lower without a wing beat, to the carcass below.
Turkey vultures often pass across the sky in loose groups, with each bird sniffing for its next meal. Seeing a group of turkey vultures is even more inspiring and enjoyable.
Turkey vultures are large and have brown feathers. Adults have red, naked heads, while youngsters have gray ones. These birds are not dirty or offensive in any way. In fact, they are fine birds that have an unpleasant food source, but one they are well adapted to. Their heads don't have feathers because they reach their beaks and heads into carcasses to get to the edible insides. Feathers in a carcass would get messy and be a breeding ground for bacteria and other problems that would compromise the health of these birds.
These vultures nest in rock crevices, hollow trees, tree stumps and other sheltered places on forest floors. Each pair raises one chick per year, but they don't have many natural enemies so one is enough to maintain their population.
Groups of turkey vultures winter in stands of coniferous trees in certain wooded valleys in Pennsylvania. There they are relatively safe from cold wind.
Watch for turkey vultures soaring in the sky most any storm-free day of the year. Their floating on the wind is beautiful and inspiring.
Beauties of Red Root and Lamb's Quarters
Red root and lamb's quarters are abundant "weeds" in certain fields and roadsides in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and throughout most of North America. Having adapted long ago to farmland in Europe, these common, annual plants, and their associate, foxtail grass, create patches and strips of themselves on soil that had been disturbed then abandoned. Those pioneer plants hold down bare soil and provide food and cover for certain types of wildlife until other vegetation becomes established.
These weeds also grow commonly in pumpkin, gourd, cantaloupe and other, similar kinds of crops. There they can't be removed by farmers because the crops in those fields grow tangles of vines: Removing the weeds would ruin the vines.
Red root and lamb's quarters grow from seed early in May and attain a height of up to five feet by autumn. During summer, their green leaves and stems are eaten by a small variety of grasshoppers, that are, in turn consumed by some species of birds, plus striped skunks, American and common toads, praying mantises and other kinds of adaptable farmland creatures. Big, black and yellow garden spiders catch them in their large webs.
But the most spectacular beauties of these two types of tall plants is their colored leaves, stems and seeds in autumn, especially when seen with the sun shining behind them. Together they add much beauty to fields and roadsides in fall. Many leaves, stems and seed clusters of red root become red. And the leaves of lamb's quarters are yellow or red.
These weeds have an added beauty in winter; seed-eating birds that feast on their numerous, tiny seeds. Savannah and tree sparrows and horned larks are the birds most likely to feed on the seeds of these plants in fields and along roadsides, particularly after a deep snow fall when these plants still
protrude above the snow cover, making the seeds still available to the birds.
Though considered to be weeds by most people, red root and lamb's quarters have many values to the environment and wildlife. And they have autumn beauties that we can enjoy.
These weeds also grow commonly in pumpkin, gourd, cantaloupe and other, similar kinds of crops. There they can't be removed by farmers because the crops in those fields grow tangles of vines: Removing the weeds would ruin the vines.
Red root and lamb's quarters grow from seed early in May and attain a height of up to five feet by autumn. During summer, their green leaves and stems are eaten by a small variety of grasshoppers, that are, in turn consumed by some species of birds, plus striped skunks, American and common toads, praying mantises and other kinds of adaptable farmland creatures. Big, black and yellow garden spiders catch them in their large webs.
But the most spectacular beauties of these two types of tall plants is their colored leaves, stems and seeds in autumn, especially when seen with the sun shining behind them. Together they add much beauty to fields and roadsides in fall. Many leaves, stems and seed clusters of red root become red. And the leaves of lamb's quarters are yellow or red.
These weeds have an added beauty in winter; seed-eating birds that feast on their numerous, tiny seeds. Savannah and tree sparrows and horned larks are the birds most likely to feed on the seeds of these plants in fields and along roadsides, particularly after a deep snow fall when these plants still
protrude above the snow cover, making the seeds still available to the birds.
Though considered to be weeds by most people, red root and lamb's quarters have many values to the environment and wildlife. And they have autumn beauties that we can enjoy.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Local Highlights of the Seasons
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania has four distinct seasons. And each season has a wild plant and animal that I think are the most conspicuous forms of life through that season.
Coniferous trees and Canada geese are the most distinctive living beings through winter. The conifers are most visible in winter when deciduous trees are devoid of leaves. Lancaster County has a few native, wild conifers, including red junipers, eastern hemlocks and white pines, but most evergreens in this county have been planted in the suburbs, towns and farm yards. Conifers are commonly planted on lawns because of their handsome shapes and their being forever green, providing that color of life through winter. They stand out as an icon of winter in this area.
Conifers also have other beauties. They have decorative cones that have a seed under each scale that is food for squirrels, mice and wintering birds, including chickadees, pine siskins and crossbills.
Evergreens also provide windbreaks in winter for owls, hawks, crows, doves and several kinds of smaller birds. And at least a few species of birds, such as great horned owls, red-tailed and Cooper's hawks, American crows, blue jays, mourning doves and others, nest in the sheltering embraces of coniferous trees' needled boughs.
The abundant Canada geese are big, noisy and gather into large flocks during winter, making them the most conspicuous of wildlife in this county. They are noticeable in the air, on rye and harvested corn fields where they feed, and on waterways and impoundments where they rest between feeding forays. Their flocks in the air, with each goose honking boisterously, is exciting and inspiring to experience. And those gatherings are enjoyable to see feeding in the fields or loafing on water.
Fields of rye and the great, north-bound migrations of snow geese and tundra swans that land on those fields to feed are icons of spring in Lancaster County. Smaller numbers of snow geese and tundra swans might winter here, but many thousands more of each species enter this county some time during the latter part of February. Both these species of migrant waterfowl rest on the Susquehanna River and the larger impoundments locally, particularly the lake at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, and consume blades of rye and waste corn in harvested corn fields. The snow geese fly out to the feeding fields in great, noisy flocks, but the swans do so in much smaller lines and V's. Each species swirls over a field to check for danger, then drift down into the wind like thousands of white parachutes, covering the field as if snow fell only on that one.
Sometime in March, depending on the weather, the snow geese and tundra swans continue north to their breeding territories in the Arctic tundra. And all the excitement they generated here goes with them.
White clover and fireflies take the stage on lawns and in pastures and fields during summer in Lancaster County. The adaptable clover plants begin to bloom toward the end of May and continue flowering in abundance through summer and into autumn. Whole lawns appear white with multitudes of white clover flowers. Clover is resilient, producing more white blossoms after each mowing, which provides fresh nectar for bees and other kinds of insects through summer.
White clover is originally from Europe, as are honey bees that frequent clover flowers to sip their sugary nectar. Enzymes in the bees' stomachs change flower nectar to honey, which is stored in waxy cells for winter use by the bees. But a lot of clover honey is extracted from bee hives to be consumed by us humans.
The flashing of male fireflies is noticed in abundance in lawns, fields and woods from mid-June through much of July, with a peak of abundance early in July. Those flashing insects of the beetle family create intriguing, beautiful spectacles of themselves in the grass and on shrubs and trees on summer nights as if they are great gatherings of tiny fairies with lanterns.
Soon after sunset, male fireflies crawl up grass stems, launch into the air and fly slowly. Every few seconds they flash their cold, abdominal lights while abruptly flying upward to stretch out the light into a J shape to allow the flightless females of their kind to see it better and glow back so the males can find them for mating.
In autumn, the greatest shows are those of colored leaves and migrating birds of many species. When deciduous plants sense the shortening of daylight and dropping average temperatures each succeeding day in fall, they shut off the water supply to their leaves, causing them to die. As the foliage dies, their green chlorophyll fades and the other colors in the leaves become visible to us. And what a show those colored leaves produce! Red is in the leaves of black gums, sumacs, red maples, Virginia creepers, pokeweeds and other plants. Sugar maple foliage turns orange. And the leaves of poison ivy land sassafras trees turn to orange, red and yellow on the same plants.
Colored leaves reach their peak of color around October 20 in Lancaster County. Then most of them fall from their twig moorings and cover the ground with their crunchy beauties. And those carpets of leaves shelter ground-hugging plants and small creatures from the cold winds of winter.
Eventually those leaves decay, enriching the soil for the growth of future vegetation.
Many species of birds migrate through Lancaster County on their way south for the winter, including swallows, hawks, several types of small, woodland birds, Canada geese and others. Tree swallows from farther north and local barn swallows gather into large flocks to drift south as they catch and eat flying insects on the way. Often they line up on roadside wires where they rest between feeding forays where they are more noticeable to us.
Many kinds of raptors soar south over this county in fall, including bald eagles, groups of broad-winged hawks, ospreys, peregrine falcons and golden eagles, in that order of migration time from mid-August to late November. Most of them are generally visible in the middle of the morning each rain-free day.
The numerous species of woodland birds migrate mostly at night. But they can be heard calling from above on quiet nights and they can be spotted flying before the full moon with the aid of a scope or powerful pair of binoculars. Any small bird with ears, that is spotted before the moon, is a bat.
Flocks of Canada geese that nested in Canada come through here in October on their way to the Chesapeake Bay region where they will spend the winter. It's exciting to hear, then see their V-shaped formations speeding south high in a clear, October sky.
Get out each season to experience these icons. They are all readily available to enjoy.
Coniferous trees and Canada geese are the most distinctive living beings through winter. The conifers are most visible in winter when deciduous trees are devoid of leaves. Lancaster County has a few native, wild conifers, including red junipers, eastern hemlocks and white pines, but most evergreens in this county have been planted in the suburbs, towns and farm yards. Conifers are commonly planted on lawns because of their handsome shapes and their being forever green, providing that color of life through winter. They stand out as an icon of winter in this area.
Conifers also have other beauties. They have decorative cones that have a seed under each scale that is food for squirrels, mice and wintering birds, including chickadees, pine siskins and crossbills.
Evergreens also provide windbreaks in winter for owls, hawks, crows, doves and several kinds of smaller birds. And at least a few species of birds, such as great horned owls, red-tailed and Cooper's hawks, American crows, blue jays, mourning doves and others, nest in the sheltering embraces of coniferous trees' needled boughs.
The abundant Canada geese are big, noisy and gather into large flocks during winter, making them the most conspicuous of wildlife in this county. They are noticeable in the air, on rye and harvested corn fields where they feed, and on waterways and impoundments where they rest between feeding forays. Their flocks in the air, with each goose honking boisterously, is exciting and inspiring to experience. And those gatherings are enjoyable to see feeding in the fields or loafing on water.
Fields of rye and the great, north-bound migrations of snow geese and tundra swans that land on those fields to feed are icons of spring in Lancaster County. Smaller numbers of snow geese and tundra swans might winter here, but many thousands more of each species enter this county some time during the latter part of February. Both these species of migrant waterfowl rest on the Susquehanna River and the larger impoundments locally, particularly the lake at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, and consume blades of rye and waste corn in harvested corn fields. The snow geese fly out to the feeding fields in great, noisy flocks, but the swans do so in much smaller lines and V's. Each species swirls over a field to check for danger, then drift down into the wind like thousands of white parachutes, covering the field as if snow fell only on that one.
Sometime in March, depending on the weather, the snow geese and tundra swans continue north to their breeding territories in the Arctic tundra. And all the excitement they generated here goes with them.
White clover and fireflies take the stage on lawns and in pastures and fields during summer in Lancaster County. The adaptable clover plants begin to bloom toward the end of May and continue flowering in abundance through summer and into autumn. Whole lawns appear white with multitudes of white clover flowers. Clover is resilient, producing more white blossoms after each mowing, which provides fresh nectar for bees and other kinds of insects through summer.
White clover is originally from Europe, as are honey bees that frequent clover flowers to sip their sugary nectar. Enzymes in the bees' stomachs change flower nectar to honey, which is stored in waxy cells for winter use by the bees. But a lot of clover honey is extracted from bee hives to be consumed by us humans.
The flashing of male fireflies is noticed in abundance in lawns, fields and woods from mid-June through much of July, with a peak of abundance early in July. Those flashing insects of the beetle family create intriguing, beautiful spectacles of themselves in the grass and on shrubs and trees on summer nights as if they are great gatherings of tiny fairies with lanterns.
Soon after sunset, male fireflies crawl up grass stems, launch into the air and fly slowly. Every few seconds they flash their cold, abdominal lights while abruptly flying upward to stretch out the light into a J shape to allow the flightless females of their kind to see it better and glow back so the males can find them for mating.
In autumn, the greatest shows are those of colored leaves and migrating birds of many species. When deciduous plants sense the shortening of daylight and dropping average temperatures each succeeding day in fall, they shut off the water supply to their leaves, causing them to die. As the foliage dies, their green chlorophyll fades and the other colors in the leaves become visible to us. And what a show those colored leaves produce! Red is in the leaves of black gums, sumacs, red maples, Virginia creepers, pokeweeds and other plants. Sugar maple foliage turns orange. And the leaves of poison ivy land sassafras trees turn to orange, red and yellow on the same plants.
Colored leaves reach their peak of color around October 20 in Lancaster County. Then most of them fall from their twig moorings and cover the ground with their crunchy beauties. And those carpets of leaves shelter ground-hugging plants and small creatures from the cold winds of winter.
Eventually those leaves decay, enriching the soil for the growth of future vegetation.
Many species of birds migrate through Lancaster County on their way south for the winter, including swallows, hawks, several types of small, woodland birds, Canada geese and others. Tree swallows from farther north and local barn swallows gather into large flocks to drift south as they catch and eat flying insects on the way. Often they line up on roadside wires where they rest between feeding forays where they are more noticeable to us.
Many kinds of raptors soar south over this county in fall, including bald eagles, groups of broad-winged hawks, ospreys, peregrine falcons and golden eagles, in that order of migration time from mid-August to late November. Most of them are generally visible in the middle of the morning each rain-free day.
The numerous species of woodland birds migrate mostly at night. But they can be heard calling from above on quiet nights and they can be spotted flying before the full moon with the aid of a scope or powerful pair of binoculars. Any small bird with ears, that is spotted before the moon, is a bat.
Flocks of Canada geese that nested in Canada come through here in October on their way to the Chesapeake Bay region where they will spend the winter. It's exciting to hear, then see their V-shaped formations speeding south high in a clear, October sky.
Get out each season to experience these icons. They are all readily available to enjoy.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Feathered Elegance
Great egrets are white-plumaged elegance, whether in the air, in shallow water or on the ground. They are members of the world-wide and large heron family of birds. They mostly breed in wetlands in the Mississippi River States, the Atlantic and Gulf States of the United States, and on islands in the Caribbean. They winter in marshes in the southern states and through Central America and much of South America.
Great egrets are about three and a half feet long, have long, black legs, black feet and lengthy, yellow beaks. During the breeding season, the bare skin of their faces is green and they have long, fancy feathers growing from their backs to signal their readiness for raising young.
Great egrets and other kinds of large, wading birds were once killed by the thousands during the annual breeding season in the southern United States to get nuptial feathers to decorate ladies' hats. However, the National Audubon Society ended that hunting in the early 1900's. And because of that protection from shooting, great egrets and other species of big, beautiful birds have made a comeback in numbers in America.
Several great egrets make their way into southeastern Pennsylvania from spring into fall every year. There is a small nesting colony of them on a wooded island in the Susquehanna River, but most great egrets here are post-breeders and their young looking for new fishing territories. And most of them are here from late July until the end of October when they drift south again to find bodies of water that won't freeze in winter so they can catch aquatic prey.
When flying, great egrets have a slow, powerful wing beat, with their legs extending behind them for balance and their necks curled into a tight S shape. When approaching their destination, they glide and circle gracefully down on large wings and brake their descent by "back-paddling" their wings and extending their legs to the water.
They are in a pond, marsh or slow-moving waterway to catch tadpoles, frogs, small fish, insects and other water creatures. Several of them in a pond together are a beautiful, intriguing sight, one we don't see everyday here in Pennsylvania. Each egret stands majestically erect in the water with its neck in an S shape or extended close to the water to watch for victims. Or the bird stalks slowly, elegantly, through the water, step by careful step, all the while looking for unsuspecting prey. Then, with lightning speed, it thrusts out its neck, head and bill together to seize a hapless critter, and, if successful, gulps it down whole and head-first and watches for another victim.
The graceful great egrets also stalk prey in marshes and wet meadows near bodies of water. There they catch mostly mice and larger insects. The egrets step slowly, magnificently through the grass and inch-deep water as they do in ponds. When a mouse is caught, the egret dunks it in water to slick its fur so the large bird can more easily swallow its food. An egret swallowing a mouse is an amusing sight.
Great egrets often roost in groups in trees where they are safer from land predators. There they perch, hunched up, through each night. Egrets in the north abandon their roosts sometime in autumn for those in the South.
Look for great egrets. They are the height of elegance.
Great egrets are about three and a half feet long, have long, black legs, black feet and lengthy, yellow beaks. During the breeding season, the bare skin of their faces is green and they have long, fancy feathers growing from their backs to signal their readiness for raising young.
Great egrets and other kinds of large, wading birds were once killed by the thousands during the annual breeding season in the southern United States to get nuptial feathers to decorate ladies' hats. However, the National Audubon Society ended that hunting in the early 1900's. And because of that protection from shooting, great egrets and other species of big, beautiful birds have made a comeback in numbers in America.
Several great egrets make their way into southeastern Pennsylvania from spring into fall every year. There is a small nesting colony of them on a wooded island in the Susquehanna River, but most great egrets here are post-breeders and their young looking for new fishing territories. And most of them are here from late July until the end of October when they drift south again to find bodies of water that won't freeze in winter so they can catch aquatic prey.
When flying, great egrets have a slow, powerful wing beat, with their legs extending behind them for balance and their necks curled into a tight S shape. When approaching their destination, they glide and circle gracefully down on large wings and brake their descent by "back-paddling" their wings and extending their legs to the water.
They are in a pond, marsh or slow-moving waterway to catch tadpoles, frogs, small fish, insects and other water creatures. Several of them in a pond together are a beautiful, intriguing sight, one we don't see everyday here in Pennsylvania. Each egret stands majestically erect in the water with its neck in an S shape or extended close to the water to watch for victims. Or the bird stalks slowly, elegantly, through the water, step by careful step, all the while looking for unsuspecting prey. Then, with lightning speed, it thrusts out its neck, head and bill together to seize a hapless critter, and, if successful, gulps it down whole and head-first and watches for another victim.
The graceful great egrets also stalk prey in marshes and wet meadows near bodies of water. There they catch mostly mice and larger insects. The egrets step slowly, magnificently through the grass and inch-deep water as they do in ponds. When a mouse is caught, the egret dunks it in water to slick its fur so the large bird can more easily swallow its food. An egret swallowing a mouse is an amusing sight.
Great egrets often roost in groups in trees where they are safer from land predators. There they perch, hunched up, through each night. Egrets in the north abandon their roosts sometime in autumn for those in the South.
Look for great egrets. They are the height of elegance.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Autumn Meadowhawks
Autumn meadowhawks are not hawks at all. They are predators, however, actually skimmers in the dragonfly family of insects. Also called yellow-legged meadowhawks, they are about two inches long and have two-inch wingspans. Males have red abdomens and reddish-brown thoraxes, that are most apparent in sunlight. When at rest on a water-side twig or stone, they hold their four wings down and forward.
We visited the swimming lake at Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania on October 12th and saw striking red leaves on red maples and black gum trees that were reflected in the water, several Canada geese and mallard ducks, a couple migrant pied-billed grebes and a belted kingfisher. The grebes and kingfisher were there to catch small fish, each kind in a different way; the grebes diving from the water's surface and the kingfisher dropping beak-first from the air.
And we saw several pairs of autumn meadowhawks swiftly flying in tandem, back and forth, low over the water. Claspers on the ends of the males' abdomens gripped the females just behind their heads. Females of each attached and hovering pair lowered their abdomens into that impoundment to lay eggs, one at a time, into the water. Taking the limelight over that lake that day, they were the most individuals of their species I had ever seen anywhere.
Adult yellow-legged meadowhawks fly from late July into early November, the latest kind of dragonflies I ever saw flying. Up to late July, they were larvae on the mud on the bottom of the impoundment where they caught and consumed invertebrates and small tadpoles and fish. But then those young dragonflies crawled out of the water, shed their larval exoskeletons, pumped out their newly-developed wings and flew off to catch and eat flying insects, and look for a mate.
Autumn meadowhawks live from the southern part of eastern Canada through the eastern United States to Florida and Texas. They generally aren't seen until fall, when they are the dominant species of their family around ponds, marshes and slow sections of creeks.
If around a pond or marsh in fall, look for these reddish dragonflies. They are pretty, interesting and surprising late in the year when we aren't thinking about insects.
We visited the swimming lake at Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania on October 12th and saw striking red leaves on red maples and black gum trees that were reflected in the water, several Canada geese and mallard ducks, a couple migrant pied-billed grebes and a belted kingfisher. The grebes and kingfisher were there to catch small fish, each kind in a different way; the grebes diving from the water's surface and the kingfisher dropping beak-first from the air.
And we saw several pairs of autumn meadowhawks swiftly flying in tandem, back and forth, low over the water. Claspers on the ends of the males' abdomens gripped the females just behind their heads. Females of each attached and hovering pair lowered their abdomens into that impoundment to lay eggs, one at a time, into the water. Taking the limelight over that lake that day, they were the most individuals of their species I had ever seen anywhere.
Adult yellow-legged meadowhawks fly from late July into early November, the latest kind of dragonflies I ever saw flying. Up to late July, they were larvae on the mud on the bottom of the impoundment where they caught and consumed invertebrates and small tadpoles and fish. But then those young dragonflies crawled out of the water, shed their larval exoskeletons, pumped out their newly-developed wings and flew off to catch and eat flying insects, and look for a mate.
Autumn meadowhawks live from the southern part of eastern Canada through the eastern United States to Florida and Texas. They generally aren't seen until fall, when they are the dominant species of their family around ponds, marshes and slow sections of creeks.
If around a pond or marsh in fall, look for these reddish dragonflies. They are pretty, interesting and surprising late in the year when we aren't thinking about insects.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
A Favorite Backyard Bird
Blue jays are my favorite backyard birds. They have beautiful blue plumages, trimmed in black and white, are of a size that one can readily see them, and bold. And I like to hear them call "jay, jay" anytime of year, but particularly in the crisp, wild weather of fall.
Blue jays have livened our yard in New Holland continually for the 27 years I have lived there. Not the same birds, but a family and their descendants through all those years.
The blue of jays' feathering is most striking in autumn when those birds flash here and there among red and warm-brown pin oak leaves to pick acorns, one at a time, and fly away with them in their beaks to poke them in crevices in bark or push them into the ground. Back and forth, back and forth, and in and out of the trees every day for several days the jays work at storing those nuts for winter use, competing with squirrels for that food all the while.
One or two pairs of blue jays have nested in our neighborhood all the years I lived there. A couple of times in as many years I noticed parent jays feeding their young that just fledged their nests somewhere nearby. One morning I saw a parent jay feeding its chick in a large pussy willow bush right outside our bedroom window. That was a thrill to me.
I have never seen one of their well-hidden nests in our neighborhood until the early summer of 2014. But I don't look for them either, so as to not disturb the parent birds. But one afternoon that summer, I unsuspectingly walked by an eight foot tall red juniper tree that sprouted in our yard from a seed in a bird dropping. Suddenly, a jay shouted at me. I looked up and saw the jay on the edge of its nursery. I quickly got away from the tree so as to not disturb the jay further. And sure enough, they raised a few chicks in that little cradle in the juniper.
I remembered earlier that spring, a pair of blue jays courting and calling to each other for some time one sunny afternoon in our yard. And one of the jays was feeding the other one. All those actions were those of courting blue jays.
Blue jays are related to other types of jays, and crows and ravens in the corvidae family. All those related birds can be loud and bold in their searches for food and guarding their territories from others of their respective kinds, one of the reasons they are so noticeable and interesting.
Blue jays that nest in Canada, New England and other northern states migrate south in October. But I believe "our" jays are permanent residents in our part of town. Those residents are here in winter when they are lovely in the snow. They also come to bird feeders where their beauties and actions are admired by those interested in seeing birds.
Blue jays will eat most anything from invertebrates in the warmer months to seeds, nuts and berries in winter. They also consume the eggs and nestlings of smaller birds whenever they find them, scavenge dead creatures, and will kill house sparrows with repeated blows to the sparrows' heads with their strong beaks. Jays, like their crow relatives, can be predatory at times.
But blue jays are attractive to see, interesting around our homes and eat lots of insects. They are worth watching in suburban areas and woods where they live the year around in this area.
Blue jays have livened our yard in New Holland continually for the 27 years I have lived there. Not the same birds, but a family and their descendants through all those years.
The blue of jays' feathering is most striking in autumn when those birds flash here and there among red and warm-brown pin oak leaves to pick acorns, one at a time, and fly away with them in their beaks to poke them in crevices in bark or push them into the ground. Back and forth, back and forth, and in and out of the trees every day for several days the jays work at storing those nuts for winter use, competing with squirrels for that food all the while.
One or two pairs of blue jays have nested in our neighborhood all the years I lived there. A couple of times in as many years I noticed parent jays feeding their young that just fledged their nests somewhere nearby. One morning I saw a parent jay feeding its chick in a large pussy willow bush right outside our bedroom window. That was a thrill to me.
I have never seen one of their well-hidden nests in our neighborhood until the early summer of 2014. But I don't look for them either, so as to not disturb the parent birds. But one afternoon that summer, I unsuspectingly walked by an eight foot tall red juniper tree that sprouted in our yard from a seed in a bird dropping. Suddenly, a jay shouted at me. I looked up and saw the jay on the edge of its nursery. I quickly got away from the tree so as to not disturb the jay further. And sure enough, they raised a few chicks in that little cradle in the juniper.
I remembered earlier that spring, a pair of blue jays courting and calling to each other for some time one sunny afternoon in our yard. And one of the jays was feeding the other one. All those actions were those of courting blue jays.
Blue jays are related to other types of jays, and crows and ravens in the corvidae family. All those related birds can be loud and bold in their searches for food and guarding their territories from others of their respective kinds, one of the reasons they are so noticeable and interesting.
Blue jays that nest in Canada, New England and other northern states migrate south in October. But I believe "our" jays are permanent residents in our part of town. Those residents are here in winter when they are lovely in the snow. They also come to bird feeders where their beauties and actions are admired by those interested in seeing birds.
Blue jays will eat most anything from invertebrates in the warmer months to seeds, nuts and berries in winter. They also consume the eggs and nestlings of smaller birds whenever they find them, scavenge dead creatures, and will kill house sparrows with repeated blows to the sparrows' heads with their strong beaks. Jays, like their crow relatives, can be predatory at times.
But blue jays are attractive to see, interesting around our homes and eat lots of insects. They are worth watching in suburban areas and woods where they live the year around in this area.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
November Courting
White-tailed deer and great horned owls are common in many Lancaster County, Pennsylvania woods, wood lots and woodland edges. The owls are also present in older suburban areas with their many tall trees that were planted, especially coniferous ones the owls favor for shelter. The deer and owls are most active from dusk and through the night until dawn. And both these species court in November, though the deer start in October and the owls continue well into December. The deer are mostly visible to us, but the owls are mostly audible.
We set clocks to standard time early in November, so about 5:00 in the evening, bare deciduous trees and pyramid-shaped coniferous ones are silhouetted black against the sky. Local deer and owls begin to be active for the evening about that same time, making autumn evenings and striking sunsets more inspiring and enjoyable, and adding to their beauties. Little groups of doe deer and their practically grown fawns slip quietly out of the woods and onto corn, rye or alfalfa fields, or extensive, short-grass lawns to nibble vegetation. The heavy-bodied, thick-necked bucks that are filled with testosterone and sporting big antlers generally come out more aggressively and, sometimes, one can see two bucks pushing each other in the fading light, antlers to antlers, to see who is stronger to have breeding rights. If close enough, one can hear their antlers rattling against each other. And, at times, if one stays in their vehicle, deer will browse and court close to the road and your car, allowing great looks at them. I have had close views of deer at dusk several times over the years, including those engaged in courting, just by sitting quietly in my car.
White-tails are often active during overcast days, including during their rut or breeding season.
I have seen deer grazing and bucks fighting several times in the open during cloudy afternoons in October and November. Those times are always exciting and enjoyable to me, as they would be for most anybody. Sometimes one doesn't know deer are in an area until their mating season.
Meanwhile, right around sunset, or just after, the partners of each pair of great horned owls begin hooting an eerie "ho,ho,ho-hoooooo, hoooooo" to each other. That distinctive rythym of hooting, their courtship song, floating mysteriously out of a woods, or stand of planted and tall coniferous trees in farm country or older suburbs on a quiet evening, could only be made by horned owls. It is a true call of the wild that sets some peoples' hair on end and gives them chills of fright. But those calls are also thrilling and inspiring to those people who know horned owls are harmless, getting ready to raise young, and a welcome part of a neighborhood at night. Those owls bring a bit of the wild to any neighborhood.
Great horned owls usually are heard more often than seen, but occasionally one or both of those big owls of a pair, with the two feathered ear tufts, will be spotted perched as silhouettes on the tops of tall trees before a brilliant sunset. And one of those owls might be seen leaning forward to hoot. And if one waits and watches, the owls may be noticed flying swiftly and quietly from their perches in trees to fields where they catch mice, rats and other nocturnal creatures.
Watch for white-tailed deer and great horned owls in Lancaster County farmlands and suburbs this autumn, or succeeding ones. They are exciting and inspiring to see and hear on crisp, quiet evenings in October, November and into December.
We set clocks to standard time early in November, so about 5:00 in the evening, bare deciduous trees and pyramid-shaped coniferous ones are silhouetted black against the sky. Local deer and owls begin to be active for the evening about that same time, making autumn evenings and striking sunsets more inspiring and enjoyable, and adding to their beauties. Little groups of doe deer and their practically grown fawns slip quietly out of the woods and onto corn, rye or alfalfa fields, or extensive, short-grass lawns to nibble vegetation. The heavy-bodied, thick-necked bucks that are filled with testosterone and sporting big antlers generally come out more aggressively and, sometimes, one can see two bucks pushing each other in the fading light, antlers to antlers, to see who is stronger to have breeding rights. If close enough, one can hear their antlers rattling against each other. And, at times, if one stays in their vehicle, deer will browse and court close to the road and your car, allowing great looks at them. I have had close views of deer at dusk several times over the years, including those engaged in courting, just by sitting quietly in my car.
White-tails are often active during overcast days, including during their rut or breeding season.
I have seen deer grazing and bucks fighting several times in the open during cloudy afternoons in October and November. Those times are always exciting and enjoyable to me, as they would be for most anybody. Sometimes one doesn't know deer are in an area until their mating season.
Meanwhile, right around sunset, or just after, the partners of each pair of great horned owls begin hooting an eerie "ho,ho,ho-hoooooo, hoooooo" to each other. That distinctive rythym of hooting, their courtship song, floating mysteriously out of a woods, or stand of planted and tall coniferous trees in farm country or older suburbs on a quiet evening, could only be made by horned owls. It is a true call of the wild that sets some peoples' hair on end and gives them chills of fright. But those calls are also thrilling and inspiring to those people who know horned owls are harmless, getting ready to raise young, and a welcome part of a neighborhood at night. Those owls bring a bit of the wild to any neighborhood.
Great horned owls usually are heard more often than seen, but occasionally one or both of those big owls of a pair, with the two feathered ear tufts, will be spotted perched as silhouettes on the tops of tall trees before a brilliant sunset. And one of those owls might be seen leaning forward to hoot. And if one waits and watches, the owls may be noticed flying swiftly and quietly from their perches in trees to fields where they catch mice, rats and other nocturnal creatures.
Watch for white-tailed deer and great horned owls in Lancaster County farmlands and suburbs this autumn, or succeeding ones. They are exciting and inspiring to see and hear on crisp, quiet evenings in October, November and into December.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Berry Beauties
During autumn and into winter, several kinds of berries on abundant vines, shrubs and trees beautify many impenetrable thickets in woodland edges, hedgerows and roadsides. The vines drape over trees and bushes, which exposes their lovely berries to view.
Tear-thumb vines have light-blue berries, triangular-shaped leaves and small, sharp thorns on their stems. This species is from Asia, but is invasive, and abundant, in much of North America.
Oriental bittersweet, as its name implies, is also of Asian origin, and invasive. But it has bright-orange, decorative berries that erupt from yellow husks sometime in October. Those berries are most noticeable early in November after most deciduous leaves have fallen. Some people use them in dried arrangements.
Virginia creeper and poison ivy vines are both native species, and have berries in fall, and beautifully colored leaves. Creepers have deep-purple berries on short, red stems and red foliage, while poison ivy has dull-white berries and red, yellow or orange leaves.
Honeysuckle has black berries in autumn, and some leaves that remain green on the vines through winter, providing cover for wildlife. This species is originally from Asia as its name implies.
Deadly nightshade is a vine originally from Europe that has red berries in fall. This species
prefers damp soil and has several colors in summer when it grows. Its flowers have purple petals and yellow anthers and its berries start out green, but turn yellow, orange and red as they ripen.
Wild grape, which is a native of North America, is a vine that has deep-purple, berry-like fruits in abundance. Grape vines hang in exceptional profusion from trees and shrubbery.
Multiflora rose, tartarian honeysuckle and Japanese barberry shrubbery bear red berries that are also decorative in thickets through fall and winter. These bushes, too, are from Asia. The rose was planted purposefully to provide living fences, which was a mistake because this plant is invasive.
Pokeweed is bush-like, but is really a perennial that has deep-purple, juicy fruits and red leaves and stems in autumn. Each May this plant sends up new shoots from its roots and grows rapidly up to eight feet tall by late summer.
Sassafras, staghorn sumac and Bradford pear trees bear berries, and berry-like fruit in the case of the pears, in autumn. And those kinds of smaller trees have strikingly colored foliage in fall as well. Sassafras have yellow, orange and red leaves while those on sumacs and the pears are red.
Attractive berries or small fruits on this thicket vegetation are food for a variety of birds and rodents through fall and winter. And the plants they grow on provide shelter for many of those same species of creatures during that harshest of seasons. Those creatures are hard to spot in the thickets. American robins, eastern bluebirds, cedar waxwings, northern mockingbirds, ruffed grouse, starlings and other berry-eating, bird species ingest those fruits, digest the pulp, but pass many of the seeds in their droppings, often far from the parent plants, thus spreading those plants across the landscape.
This autumn, or succeeding ones, look for colorful berries in thickets, and the critters that eat them. Those plants and animals make fall the more interesting.
Tear-thumb vines have light-blue berries, triangular-shaped leaves and small, sharp thorns on their stems. This species is from Asia, but is invasive, and abundant, in much of North America.
Oriental bittersweet, as its name implies, is also of Asian origin, and invasive. But it has bright-orange, decorative berries that erupt from yellow husks sometime in October. Those berries are most noticeable early in November after most deciduous leaves have fallen. Some people use them in dried arrangements.
Virginia creeper and poison ivy vines are both native species, and have berries in fall, and beautifully colored leaves. Creepers have deep-purple berries on short, red stems and red foliage, while poison ivy has dull-white berries and red, yellow or orange leaves.
Honeysuckle has black berries in autumn, and some leaves that remain green on the vines through winter, providing cover for wildlife. This species is originally from Asia as its name implies.
Deadly nightshade is a vine originally from Europe that has red berries in fall. This species
prefers damp soil and has several colors in summer when it grows. Its flowers have purple petals and yellow anthers and its berries start out green, but turn yellow, orange and red as they ripen.
Wild grape, which is a native of North America, is a vine that has deep-purple, berry-like fruits in abundance. Grape vines hang in exceptional profusion from trees and shrubbery.
Multiflora rose, tartarian honeysuckle and Japanese barberry shrubbery bear red berries that are also decorative in thickets through fall and winter. These bushes, too, are from Asia. The rose was planted purposefully to provide living fences, which was a mistake because this plant is invasive.
Pokeweed is bush-like, but is really a perennial that has deep-purple, juicy fruits and red leaves and stems in autumn. Each May this plant sends up new shoots from its roots and grows rapidly up to eight feet tall by late summer.
Sassafras, staghorn sumac and Bradford pear trees bear berries, and berry-like fruit in the case of the pears, in autumn. And those kinds of smaller trees have strikingly colored foliage in fall as well. Sassafras have yellow, orange and red leaves while those on sumacs and the pears are red.
Attractive berries or small fruits on this thicket vegetation are food for a variety of birds and rodents through fall and winter. And the plants they grow on provide shelter for many of those same species of creatures during that harshest of seasons. Those creatures are hard to spot in the thickets. American robins, eastern bluebirds, cedar waxwings, northern mockingbirds, ruffed grouse, starlings and other berry-eating, bird species ingest those fruits, digest the pulp, but pass many of the seeds in their droppings, often far from the parent plants, thus spreading those plants across the landscape.
This autumn, or succeeding ones, look for colorful berries in thickets, and the critters that eat them. Those plants and animals make fall the more interesting.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Lady's Thumbs
When driving through farmland in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in October, one will see scattered, little patches of hot-pink in the green vegetation along the country roads. That pink is the many small flowers of lady's thumb, a kind of smartweed plant. Lady's thumb grows on rural roadsides and the edges of fields in much of the eastern United States. This annual species of smartweed is originally from Europe where it adapted to disturbed areas, habitats it also grows in here in America. Its habitats are sunny or partly so, wet or drier, with fertile soil, all of which are in Lancaster County. And the mowing of roadside vegetation makes the flowers of this plant more visible against green grasses and other shortened plants. This type of smartweed is called lady's thumb because each elongated leaf has a dull-purple smudge on it, like a finger print.
Lady's thumbs bloom from June to well into October, but it's during the latter month they are most abundant, and visible. This plant species grows to be 6 to 24 inches tall, but may be shorter because of mowing vegetation along the roadsides.
Lady's thumbs produce elongated clusters of pink, tight blossoms on the tops of flower stems. Those flowers are also ovate, grain-like and one-eighth of an inch long, Only small bees, flies and wasps force their ways into the blooms to sip nectar, pollinating those blooms in the process.
After being fertilized by those small insects, each flower head grows a tiny, shiny-black seed that is ovoid and flat. Those seeds are eaten by field mice, ducks, geese and a variety of small seed-eating birds during the succeeding winter.
The larvae of certain moths and butterflies and Japanese beetles and other beetles eat the foliage of this type of smartweed.
Lady's thumbs form attractive colonies of pink flowers that are most noticeable along rural roadsides in October, particularly where the vegetation has been mowed, exposing the pink blossoms to view. One can easily see those patches of lovely, pink flowers when driving along country roads. Get out this October, or succeeding ones, to experience Lady's thumb blooms.
Lady's thumbs bloom from June to well into October, but it's during the latter month they are most abundant, and visible. This plant species grows to be 6 to 24 inches tall, but may be shorter because of mowing vegetation along the roadsides.
Lady's thumbs produce elongated clusters of pink, tight blossoms on the tops of flower stems. Those flowers are also ovate, grain-like and one-eighth of an inch long, Only small bees, flies and wasps force their ways into the blooms to sip nectar, pollinating those blooms in the process.
After being fertilized by those small insects, each flower head grows a tiny, shiny-black seed that is ovoid and flat. Those seeds are eaten by field mice, ducks, geese and a variety of small seed-eating birds during the succeeding winter.
The larvae of certain moths and butterflies and Japanese beetles and other beetles eat the foliage of this type of smartweed.
Lady's thumbs form attractive colonies of pink flowers that are most noticeable along rural roadsides in October, particularly where the vegetation has been mowed, exposing the pink blossoms to view. One can easily see those patches of lovely, pink flowers when driving along country roads. Get out this October, or succeeding ones, to experience Lady's thumb blooms.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
White Pines and Sugar Maples in October
White pine and sugar maple trees are planted abundantly on lawns in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as elsewhere, for their stately beauties through the year. These native trees are
attractive all year, including in early October.
Each evergreen white pine grows an upright, terminal twig each year that becomes the main trunk, and whorls of twigs around that terminal one, which become the limbs. We can closely estimate the age of a white pine by counting the whorls of limbs, each one representing a year's growth, up the tree from its base.
And to make identification of white pines easy, count the number of needles in a bundle of them. Only this pine species grows needles in bundles of five.
White pines are handsomely shaped and have long, curved cones, many of which are covered with sap. And its a pleasure to hear the wind sighing through their long, soft needles and to smell their sticky sap.
White pines look like they are dyeing early in October. They are not, but the needles they grew in May the year before are. Each white pine needle has a life expectancy of a year and a half. For example, white pine needles that grew in May of 2013 will die, turn yellow and fall off their twig moorings in October of 2014. They pile up under the pine trees they fell from, making soft, fragrant carpets that are a joy to lie on, but eventually decay into the soil. But needles that developed during May of 2014 stay green until October of 2015. Thus white pine trees stay forever green.
White pines, and other kinds of coniferous trees, are havens for birds in winter and summer because of their many sheltering needles. Hawks, owls, mourning doves and other species roost in taller ones through winter. Great horned owls, red-tailed and Cooper's hawks, doves, crows and other kinds of birds raise young in nests in the larger ones.
Sugar maple trees are magnificent with their bright-orange foliage early in October. All deciduous plants, including sugar maples, sense the approach of winter and prepare for it by shutting off water to their leaves, all of which they can't use in the cold of winter. As the leaves die, their green chlorophyll fades, allowing the other colors, that were in the foliage all along, to be obvious to our sight. And what a majestic sight autumn leaves are, including those on sugar maples.
Sugar maple trees have other qualities that make them valuable to people and wildlife. In February and March, people tap larger sugar maples to collect their sap in containers. Sugar maple sap has two percent sugar in it and 98 percent water. It takes up to 40 gallons of maple sap to be boiled down to one gallon of delicious, unique pure maple syrup.
Many large sugar maple trees are riddled with holes where wind ripped limbs off the trees. When the branches are torn away, it takes bark off the trunk, which exposes the wood to agents of decay. The cavities formed in the wood are homes to a variety of creatures, including squirrels, owls, honey bees, black snakes, chickadees and other small, woodland birds, and other species.
This October, or succeeding ones, look for white pines and sugar maples on peoples' lawns. They are beautiful and interesting to experience at that time, and throughout the year.
attractive all year, including in early October.
Each evergreen white pine grows an upright, terminal twig each year that becomes the main trunk, and whorls of twigs around that terminal one, which become the limbs. We can closely estimate the age of a white pine by counting the whorls of limbs, each one representing a year's growth, up the tree from its base.
And to make identification of white pines easy, count the number of needles in a bundle of them. Only this pine species grows needles in bundles of five.
White pines are handsomely shaped and have long, curved cones, many of which are covered with sap. And its a pleasure to hear the wind sighing through their long, soft needles and to smell their sticky sap.
White pines look like they are dyeing early in October. They are not, but the needles they grew in May the year before are. Each white pine needle has a life expectancy of a year and a half. For example, white pine needles that grew in May of 2013 will die, turn yellow and fall off their twig moorings in October of 2014. They pile up under the pine trees they fell from, making soft, fragrant carpets that are a joy to lie on, but eventually decay into the soil. But needles that developed during May of 2014 stay green until October of 2015. Thus white pine trees stay forever green.
White pines, and other kinds of coniferous trees, are havens for birds in winter and summer because of their many sheltering needles. Hawks, owls, mourning doves and other species roost in taller ones through winter. Great horned owls, red-tailed and Cooper's hawks, doves, crows and other kinds of birds raise young in nests in the larger ones.
Sugar maple trees are magnificent with their bright-orange foliage early in October. All deciduous plants, including sugar maples, sense the approach of winter and prepare for it by shutting off water to their leaves, all of which they can't use in the cold of winter. As the leaves die, their green chlorophyll fades, allowing the other colors, that were in the foliage all along, to be obvious to our sight. And what a majestic sight autumn leaves are, including those on sugar maples.
Sugar maple trees have other qualities that make them valuable to people and wildlife. In February and March, people tap larger sugar maples to collect their sap in containers. Sugar maple sap has two percent sugar in it and 98 percent water. It takes up to 40 gallons of maple sap to be boiled down to one gallon of delicious, unique pure maple syrup.
Many large sugar maple trees are riddled with holes where wind ripped limbs off the trees. When the branches are torn away, it takes bark off the trunk, which exposes the wood to agents of decay. The cavities formed in the wood are homes to a variety of creatures, including squirrels, owls, honey bees, black snakes, chickadees and other small, woodland birds, and other species.
This October, or succeeding ones, look for white pines and sugar maples on peoples' lawns. They are beautiful and interesting to experience at that time, and throughout the year.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Special Woodpecker Adaptations
All birds have feathers and lay eggs. And each family of birds has unique traits that demonstrate species in that family evolved from a common ancestor and share characteristics. Woodpeckers are an example of this, including those here in the Middle Atlantic States. Woodpeckers have several special adaptations that help them gain a living.
Woodpeckers get food from the dead wood of trees in a way no other family of birds does, which is their special niche. And everything about woodpeckers' bodies is built to achieve that end. They cling to the upright trunks and limbs of trees while chipping into the dead wood after a variety of invertebrates living in the wood. But they can do that only by having special bodily adaptations.
Most birds have three toes in front and one toe in back of each foot so they can walk and perch. Each toe has a sharp nail for scratching and clinging. The back toe also keeps the birds from falling backward. But woodpeckers have two toes in front and two in back like an X. The two toes in back help brace them upright to tree trunks and branches. And, of course, the two toes in front help them cling to the dead wood.
Woodpeckers also have particularly stiff tail feathers, especially the two in the middle, that help hold the birds upright on the trees while pecking away dead wood to get little critters underneath. Their tail feathers and toes work together to hold those birds to the trees while chipping away.
Woodpeckers have particularly reinforced skulls to protect their brains as they hammer into the dead wood. Probably, only those birds with harder skulls survived long enough to reproduce, passing along their genes for reinforced skulls. Woodpeckers that didn't develop harder skulls died before they reproduced themselves.
Woodpeckers have long, sticky tongues they push into invertebrate tunnels, after they chipped away the wood, to snare those edibles. When the tongues are covered with victims, the woodpeckers draw them in and swallow that food.
The base of woodpecker tongues are rooted to birds' foreheads at their nostrils. The tongues, at rest, wrap over the skull, under the skin, and lie in the birds' beaks. Only woodpeckers have such a tongue arrangement.
Most woodpecker species are black and white, which camouflages them among the gray bark and shadows of trees. Flickers, which also are a kind of woodpecker, are mostly brown, which camouflages them on the ground.
Flickers get most of their food (mainly ants) from the soil. They poke their bills into the soil after ant colonies and run their long, sticky tongues into ant tunnels to snare those little insects, and their eggs, larvae and pupae. This kind of woodpecker, this pioneer, found a different way to get food, reducing competition with its relatives for it. And the color of its feathering is better suited for life on the ground.
These are the adaptations woodpeckers developed to get food in a niche not used by other birds. And so it is with all families of birds. They each have special characteristics that enable them to get food from specific niches with reduced competition with other bird families. This is how the many species of life developed.
Woodpeckers get food from the dead wood of trees in a way no other family of birds does, which is their special niche. And everything about woodpeckers' bodies is built to achieve that end. They cling to the upright trunks and limbs of trees while chipping into the dead wood after a variety of invertebrates living in the wood. But they can do that only by having special bodily adaptations.
Most birds have three toes in front and one toe in back of each foot so they can walk and perch. Each toe has a sharp nail for scratching and clinging. The back toe also keeps the birds from falling backward. But woodpeckers have two toes in front and two in back like an X. The two toes in back help brace them upright to tree trunks and branches. And, of course, the two toes in front help them cling to the dead wood.
Woodpeckers also have particularly stiff tail feathers, especially the two in the middle, that help hold the birds upright on the trees while pecking away dead wood to get little critters underneath. Their tail feathers and toes work together to hold those birds to the trees while chipping away.
Woodpeckers have particularly reinforced skulls to protect their brains as they hammer into the dead wood. Probably, only those birds with harder skulls survived long enough to reproduce, passing along their genes for reinforced skulls. Woodpeckers that didn't develop harder skulls died before they reproduced themselves.
Woodpeckers have long, sticky tongues they push into invertebrate tunnels, after they chipped away the wood, to snare those edibles. When the tongues are covered with victims, the woodpeckers draw them in and swallow that food.
The base of woodpecker tongues are rooted to birds' foreheads at their nostrils. The tongues, at rest, wrap over the skull, under the skin, and lie in the birds' beaks. Only woodpeckers have such a tongue arrangement.
Most woodpecker species are black and white, which camouflages them among the gray bark and shadows of trees. Flickers, which also are a kind of woodpecker, are mostly brown, which camouflages them on the ground.
Flickers get most of their food (mainly ants) from the soil. They poke their bills into the soil after ant colonies and run their long, sticky tongues into ant tunnels to snare those little insects, and their eggs, larvae and pupae. This kind of woodpecker, this pioneer, found a different way to get food, reducing competition with its relatives for it. And the color of its feathering is better suited for life on the ground.
These are the adaptations woodpeckers developed to get food in a niche not used by other birds. And so it is with all families of birds. They each have special characteristics that enable them to get food from specific niches with reduced competition with other bird families. This is how the many species of life developed.
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