When I was a boy, I would occasionally find an interesting, little red-backed salamander that was under a rock, log or piece of bark I turned over in the woods. Some red-backs didn't move, instinctively relying on camouflage to conceal them. Others quickly scuttled under other shelter. But all were thin and lived in moist, dark places.
Red-backed salamanders are one species in about 215 kinds of Plethodont, or lungless, salamanders in the world, the largest family of salamanders on Earth, and the most diverse. Most of them live in eastern North America, and some species live in Central America and parts of northern South America.
Some scientists believe Plethodonts originated in the ancient Southern Appalachian Mountains, more specifically in the wooded Great Smoky Mountains. Today about 30 kinds of plethodont salamanders live in the Smokies, more species than any other single place on Earth. In fact, Weller's, pygmy and Appalachian woodland salamanders still live today exclusively in little pockets of spruce/fir forests on some peaks of the Smokies.
But in their travels, as species, over hundreds of millions of years, many types of lungless salamanders have spread themselves into many different niches over a broad landscape. With each species occupying a distinct niche, competition for space and food among these related Plethodont salamanders is reduced. Indeed, Plethodonts' spreading into different niches caused the many species of lungless salamanders we have today. Some species today are fully aquatic, others are partly aquatic like two-lined, dusky and red salamanders. But most Plethodonts, including red-backed and slimy salamanders, are completely terrestrial, another trait their family is noted for.
It is not known why Plethodonts became lungless, but that characteristic did the ancestral Plethodont no harm. Now all its descendants have no lungs, but "breathe" through their thin, moist mouth linings and skins. Lungless salamanders generally are about five inches long and have large, appealing eyes that allow them to see well in dark places. They are quiet, inoffensive, but always appear alert. And many species have lovely colors and color patterns. Females lay little clusters of eggs in moist, protective spots under objects on woodland floors. There the females wrap themselves around their eggs to protect them. Their young do not pass through the aquatic stage like most amphibians, but rather hatch on land as miniatures of their parents.
Land-based, lungless salamanders are highly successful in many woodlands across eastern North America. Because of their tremendous numbers, they are the dominant vertebrate biomass, by weight, in those woods.
There could be many more kinds of Plethodont salamanders in the future because of human activities and habitats. Because this large and already widespread family of salamanders is not tied to water to spawn, the many species inhabit woodlands across North America. But our activities have fragmented many forests into smaller woodlots, surrounded by cropland, malls and expressways, built habitats that small, slow, moist salamanders can't cross. Those human-made habitats cause geographic isolation to many little patches of woods and some of their inhabitants, including land-only, lungless salamanders, such as red-backed and slimy salamanders. Any favorable quirk in the gene pool of an isolated population of salamanders will stay in that gene pool. No salamanders of the same species can get into or out of that isolated gene pool. New species of lungless salamanders may be "born" in many woodlots surrounded by large, dry human-made habitats.
Land-based Plethodonts are preyed on by a host of small critters among the mosses, ferns, May apple and fungi-strewn forest floors. They are eaten by American toads, the small garter, brown and ring-necked snakes, shrews, skunks and other creatures.
Lungless salamanders are attractive, interesting little animals under logs and leaves on woodland floors. And some kinds today may be evolving into new species in isolated woodlots. Salamanders, like all amphibians, are relic animals from the distant past. They are a reminder of the first vertebrate critters on land and how many of those critters lived on land, but spawned in water.
Friday, April 28, 2017
Thursday, April 27, 2017
April's Golden Flowers
I am writing this in celebration of the lush greenness of plants and multitudes of beautiful, golden flowers I saw this warm, sunny morning, April 27, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania farmland when I was out on a few errands! Lesser celandines in bottomland woods along creeks, dandelions most everywhere in meadows, lawns and roadsides, field mustards in some fields and roadside ditches, celandine along roadsides and buttercups in pastures and along roadsides were cheering to see! And, although these plants are originally from Eurasia, their blooms lift many a human spirit weary of the trials and perils of winter. These plants, by the way, also provide nectar and pollen for a variety of pollinating insects and seeds for mice and small birds.
Yellow and green carpets of lesser celandine plants, hugging the moist ground of floodplains, have been in bloom since early April this year and are still blooming. Those rugs of lesser celandines are made the more lovely by the purple-blue of blue violet and grape hyacinth flowers poking up among them. And patches of lesser celandines help hold down the soil of bottomlands along waterways.
Dandelions have been in bloom most of this April and still are, though many of their older blossoms have been pollinated and are now seed heads. Seed heads appear to be fluffy, white globes on top of tall stems, which get the seeds above surrounding vegetation so the seeds can blow away in the wind and colonize other plots of ground. Each bit of fluff acts as a parachute, carrying its seed cargo away.
Many dandelion seeds, however, are eaten by mice and such pretty birds as northern cardinals, American goldfinches, house finches, indigo buntings, chipping sparrows, song sparrows and others. Those birds add their beauties to that of the dandelions.
Cottontail rabbits, wood chucks and white-tailed deer eat the leaves, stems and flowers of dandelions. I have seen many rabbits sucking up dandelion flower stems as they chew it, much like we suck up strands of spaghetti.
Patches of dandelion flowers and seed heads are the more lovely because of the pale-blue clumps of many Veronica blooms and the purple-blue blossoms of blue violets and grape hyacinths in them.
Field mustards stand up to three feet tall and appear bushy. Each plant has many small, light-yellow blooms, each with four petals, on several flower stems per plant. Field mice, horned larks and sparrows feed on the seeds of field mustards, where those plants don't get plowed under. Field mustard begins to bloom around the second week in April.
Celandine is another bushy plant, but only two feet high. This species has larger yellow blooms, of four petals each, than does the mustards and only begins to flower during the second half of April.
This is the earliest I ever saw buttercups blooming! I remember buttercups blossoming about the second week in May, but they are already blooming for this year. Every year, lesser celandines, dandelions and buttercups are, by far, the most abundant of yellow flowers in April and into May, but their abundant flowers have never been so bunched to bloom at the same time as this year, making them even more spectacular! And, happily, when dandelions and buttercups reach their peak of flowering, whole lawns and meadows, respectively, are golden with their multitudes of blooms! And those vast carpets of golden buttercup flowers, like those of dandelions, are made even prettier by the contrast of the Veronica, blue violet and grape hyacinth flowers in them.
Buttercup flowers are shaped like tiny, golden cups. And they are the color of butter, hence their name.
The flowers of these alien plants are attractive and cheering during April and into May. And, although some people don't like them because they spread and perhaps take growing space from native plants, they are all here in North America to stay. We might as well learn to enjoy their golden beauties. And they help control soil erosion, produce oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis, and provide food for certain kinds of wildlife. They are a major, beautiful part of North American landscapes because they adapted to human-made activities and habitats.
Yellow and green carpets of lesser celandine plants, hugging the moist ground of floodplains, have been in bloom since early April this year and are still blooming. Those rugs of lesser celandines are made the more lovely by the purple-blue of blue violet and grape hyacinth flowers poking up among them. And patches of lesser celandines help hold down the soil of bottomlands along waterways.
Dandelions have been in bloom most of this April and still are, though many of their older blossoms have been pollinated and are now seed heads. Seed heads appear to be fluffy, white globes on top of tall stems, which get the seeds above surrounding vegetation so the seeds can blow away in the wind and colonize other plots of ground. Each bit of fluff acts as a parachute, carrying its seed cargo away.
Many dandelion seeds, however, are eaten by mice and such pretty birds as northern cardinals, American goldfinches, house finches, indigo buntings, chipping sparrows, song sparrows and others. Those birds add their beauties to that of the dandelions.
Cottontail rabbits, wood chucks and white-tailed deer eat the leaves, stems and flowers of dandelions. I have seen many rabbits sucking up dandelion flower stems as they chew it, much like we suck up strands of spaghetti.
Patches of dandelion flowers and seed heads are the more lovely because of the pale-blue clumps of many Veronica blooms and the purple-blue blossoms of blue violets and grape hyacinths in them.
Field mustards stand up to three feet tall and appear bushy. Each plant has many small, light-yellow blooms, each with four petals, on several flower stems per plant. Field mice, horned larks and sparrows feed on the seeds of field mustards, where those plants don't get plowed under. Field mustard begins to bloom around the second week in April.
Celandine is another bushy plant, but only two feet high. This species has larger yellow blooms, of four petals each, than does the mustards and only begins to flower during the second half of April.
This is the earliest I ever saw buttercups blooming! I remember buttercups blossoming about the second week in May, but they are already blooming for this year. Every year, lesser celandines, dandelions and buttercups are, by far, the most abundant of yellow flowers in April and into May, but their abundant flowers have never been so bunched to bloom at the same time as this year, making them even more spectacular! And, happily, when dandelions and buttercups reach their peak of flowering, whole lawns and meadows, respectively, are golden with their multitudes of blooms! And those vast carpets of golden buttercup flowers, like those of dandelions, are made even prettier by the contrast of the Veronica, blue violet and grape hyacinth flowers in them.
Buttercup flowers are shaped like tiny, golden cups. And they are the color of butter, hence their name.
The flowers of these alien plants are attractive and cheering during April and into May. And, although some people don't like them because they spread and perhaps take growing space from native plants, they are all here in North America to stay. We might as well learn to enjoy their golden beauties. And they help control soil erosion, produce oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis, and provide food for certain kinds of wildlife. They are a major, beautiful part of North American landscapes because they adapted to human-made activities and habitats.
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Amphibians in April
Several kinds of amphibians live in southeastern Pennsylvania, including frogs, toads and salamanders. The word amphibian means "two lives", which many amphibians have, one life in water as youngsters and the other on land as adults. Most amphibians have smooth, moist skins which they keep that way by living in constantly damp habitats. Being small, camouflaged and hiding in moist, sheltered niches, amphibians are not at all obvious to us, though a few species with abundant numbers are noticeable by sound or sight at times.
Wood frogs and spotted salamanders spawn in temporary pools of rain water and snow melt on many dead-leaf carpeted woodland floors in this area early in March every year. And right after producing eggs in floating, gelatin masses of hundreds, males and females of both species leave those puddles and retreat back under the dead-leaf coverings on forest floors where they hunt invertebrates during the warmer months.
Meanwhile, the young of both species are left to raise themselves, often by the thousands in some temporary, woods puddles. They hatch sometime late in March, depending on the water temperature, and the dark tadpoles of wood frogs consume algae and decaying leaves in the pools and grow legs and lungs in preparation for life on land. Spotted salamander larvae, which hatch with four legs, consume aquatic invertebrates and grow lungs for life on the ground.
Both these species of young amphibians are unknowingly involved in a race against the ponds drying out anytime from April into summer. During dry years when there is inadequate rain, the puddles might dry out before the young frogs and salamanders are completely prepared for life on land. There may be few or no new wood frogs and spotted salamanders to replace the deaths of their relatives in the woods. But during years of adequate rain, hundreds, even thousands, of young wood frogs and spotted salamanders develop legs and lungs in those temporary pools and finally take their place under the moist, dead-leaf carpeting on forest floors, replacing those of their relatives that died.
By late March and through April, male spring peepers, American toads and pickerel frogs emerge from hibernation and begin calling at dusk for mates to join them in shallow water to spawn. In many different ponds and wetlands locally, hundreds of peepers peep shrilly, while scores of toads emit whirring trills that last about six seconds each, and scores of pickerels utter deep, one-second snores, all species pleasantly shattering the twilight and nights of April. It's a joy to many people, including this one, to hear the timeless, simple choruses of these tailless amphibians, especially the peepers and toads calling together, on April evenings. Listening to those amphibian concerts is like stepping back eons of time, particularly at night when little is seen and imaginations run wild.
Toward the end of April, green frogs, bull frogs and common toads emerge from their winter's sleep and begin feasting on invertebrates, the frogs along the edges of ponds and the toads in damp fields at night. But these tailless amphibians don't start calling for mates until early May and into June and July. Male green frogs belch and twang loudly from pond and wetland edges. Their simple calls can be imitated by the human voice well enough to get them to answer someone imitating those gulps and plunks.
Bull frog males sound like the lowing of cattle, hence their name. As with male green frogs, if one bull frog calls, others hear him and add their lowing to the ensuing bull frog chorus along the shores of many ponds.
Common toads have a call that sounds like a nasal "wwaaaaahh" and only lasts a couple of seconds. Like American toads, male common toads call while sitting in inch-deep water on the shore of a pond.
All these frogs and toads are heard far more often than they are seen. But their voices are a major part of spring and summer evenings, adding more charm and intrigue to the local landscape. Try to get out to hear some of these amphibians, from a discrete distance so as to not disturb them.
Wood frogs and spotted salamanders spawn in temporary pools of rain water and snow melt on many dead-leaf carpeted woodland floors in this area early in March every year. And right after producing eggs in floating, gelatin masses of hundreds, males and females of both species leave those puddles and retreat back under the dead-leaf coverings on forest floors where they hunt invertebrates during the warmer months.
Meanwhile, the young of both species are left to raise themselves, often by the thousands in some temporary, woods puddles. They hatch sometime late in March, depending on the water temperature, and the dark tadpoles of wood frogs consume algae and decaying leaves in the pools and grow legs and lungs in preparation for life on land. Spotted salamander larvae, which hatch with four legs, consume aquatic invertebrates and grow lungs for life on the ground.
Both these species of young amphibians are unknowingly involved in a race against the ponds drying out anytime from April into summer. During dry years when there is inadequate rain, the puddles might dry out before the young frogs and salamanders are completely prepared for life on land. There may be few or no new wood frogs and spotted salamanders to replace the deaths of their relatives in the woods. But during years of adequate rain, hundreds, even thousands, of young wood frogs and spotted salamanders develop legs and lungs in those temporary pools and finally take their place under the moist, dead-leaf carpeting on forest floors, replacing those of their relatives that died.
By late March and through April, male spring peepers, American toads and pickerel frogs emerge from hibernation and begin calling at dusk for mates to join them in shallow water to spawn. In many different ponds and wetlands locally, hundreds of peepers peep shrilly, while scores of toads emit whirring trills that last about six seconds each, and scores of pickerels utter deep, one-second snores, all species pleasantly shattering the twilight and nights of April. It's a joy to many people, including this one, to hear the timeless, simple choruses of these tailless amphibians, especially the peepers and toads calling together, on April evenings. Listening to those amphibian concerts is like stepping back eons of time, particularly at night when little is seen and imaginations run wild.
Toward the end of April, green frogs, bull frogs and common toads emerge from their winter's sleep and begin feasting on invertebrates, the frogs along the edges of ponds and the toads in damp fields at night. But these tailless amphibians don't start calling for mates until early May and into June and July. Male green frogs belch and twang loudly from pond and wetland edges. Their simple calls can be imitated by the human voice well enough to get them to answer someone imitating those gulps and plunks.
Bull frog males sound like the lowing of cattle, hence their name. As with male green frogs, if one bull frog calls, others hear him and add their lowing to the ensuing bull frog chorus along the shores of many ponds.
Common toads have a call that sounds like a nasal "wwaaaaahh" and only lasts a couple of seconds. Like American toads, male common toads call while sitting in inch-deep water on the shore of a pond.
All these frogs and toads are heard far more often than they are seen. But their voices are a major part of spring and summer evenings, adding more charm and intrigue to the local landscape. Try to get out to hear some of these amphibians, from a discrete distance so as to not disturb them.
Friday, April 21, 2017
Blue Violets, Goldfish and a Red Bud
In the sunny late afternoon and cloudy evening of yesterday, April 20th, I was relaxing by our 100 gallon, goldfish pond in our suburban lawn in southeastern Pennsylvania to enjoy the beauties and activities of our goldfish and koi. And while looking around our lawn and immediate neighborhood, I was reminded once again how lovely nature is in our neighborhood, as most everywhere on Earth. The short grass and newly-growing leaves on trees and shrubbery were beautifully green and lush while soaking up sunlight. Five varying-sized patches of bluish-purple blue violet flowers were lovely in the short grass and our red bud tree was in full bloom with many rose-pink blossoms. The clumps of violet blooms were made even more attractive by the several golden flowers of dandelions poking up among them. And carpenter bees swarmed among the multitudes of red bud blossoms to sip nectar from them.
I was so impressed with the beauties of the fish, violet flowers and red bud blooms on our lawn that I looked around our yard for more beauties of nature, as I often do. Several house sparrows and a few mourning doves were gathered at our bird feeder and bird bath to get grain and water, as they often are. Though plain in appearance, these birds are always around and interesting to observe going about their daily routine through the year. I also saw a striking male cardinal peering from a foliated bush, a pair of blue jays courting and a half dozen purple grackles walking on the short grass in search of invertebrates among grass blades and in the soil. One jay was feeding the other as part of their courtship ritual. I also saw a male, migrant yellow-rump warbler flitting in our leafed-out pussy willow bush. It probably was catching and eating small insects among the twigs and foliage.
There were a few gray squirrels at the sunflower feeder, and three cottontail rabbits, two adults and one youngster, nibbling the short grass. Gray squirrels are always interesting to watch because of their many vigorous antics. And that evening the adult rabbits put on quite a show of sniffing and jumping at each other as if in play, or maybe courtship.
In the evening, I heard the lovely songs of a few kinds of male birds in our neighborhood, adding more enjoyment and intrigue to that time and place. A few doves cooed while an American robin sang vigorously. I also heard the boisterous "cheer, cheer, cheer" song of a northern cardinal while a tufted titmouse cheerfully sang "Peter, Peter, Peter".
And, at dusk, while birds were going to roost, a few each of little brown bats and big brown bats dropped out of larger trees and erratically fluttered away. The trees were silhouetted against the overcast sky and so were the bats. The bats repeatedly swooped and dove among the trees as they pursued flying insects to catch in mid-air and eat. Insect-catching bats are always entertaining to watch at dusk and into the gathering darkness.
As I went into the house just before dark, I thanked God for all the natural beauties He created on Earth, including in my yard. His beauties inspire and lift spirits, whether we are at home or away.
I was so impressed with the beauties of the fish, violet flowers and red bud blooms on our lawn that I looked around our yard for more beauties of nature, as I often do. Several house sparrows and a few mourning doves were gathered at our bird feeder and bird bath to get grain and water, as they often are. Though plain in appearance, these birds are always around and interesting to observe going about their daily routine through the year. I also saw a striking male cardinal peering from a foliated bush, a pair of blue jays courting and a half dozen purple grackles walking on the short grass in search of invertebrates among grass blades and in the soil. One jay was feeding the other as part of their courtship ritual. I also saw a male, migrant yellow-rump warbler flitting in our leafed-out pussy willow bush. It probably was catching and eating small insects among the twigs and foliage.
There were a few gray squirrels at the sunflower feeder, and three cottontail rabbits, two adults and one youngster, nibbling the short grass. Gray squirrels are always interesting to watch because of their many vigorous antics. And that evening the adult rabbits put on quite a show of sniffing and jumping at each other as if in play, or maybe courtship.
In the evening, I heard the lovely songs of a few kinds of male birds in our neighborhood, adding more enjoyment and intrigue to that time and place. A few doves cooed while an American robin sang vigorously. I also heard the boisterous "cheer, cheer, cheer" song of a northern cardinal while a tufted titmouse cheerfully sang "Peter, Peter, Peter".
And, at dusk, while birds were going to roost, a few each of little brown bats and big brown bats dropped out of larger trees and erratically fluttered away. The trees were silhouetted against the overcast sky and so were the bats. The bats repeatedly swooped and dove among the trees as they pursued flying insects to catch in mid-air and eat. Insect-catching bats are always entertaining to watch at dusk and into the gathering darkness.
As I went into the house just before dark, I thanked God for all the natural beauties He created on Earth, including in my yard. His beauties inspire and lift spirits, whether we are at home or away.
Monday, April 17, 2017
Dandelion, Lesser Celandine and Coltsfoot
Dandelions, lesser celandine and coltsfoot have much in common. They are perennials originally from Eurasia, abundant in the eastern United States where they were introduced hundreds of years ago, bloom in patches in April and have cheering, yellow flowers, each species brightening its habitat. The golden blooms of these plants face upward making them more visible and attractive to us, and more accessible to pollinating insects. And each of these striking and interesting plants has colonized a human-made habitat that is different than the ones the other two kinds inhabit.
Dandelions are familiar to most people and certainly the most recognizable of these April-blooming types of flowering plants. They inhabit lawns, fields, pastures and roadsides throughout much of North America. Several "toothed", basal leaves sprout late in March and their attractive flowers bloom in abundance by mid-April.
Dandelions grow long flower stems and short ones, one of the reasons for their great success in life. Long stalks reach above much green vegetation to be found and fertilized by insects. However, blooms on lengthy stems are cut off during mowing and can't produce seeds. But pollinated blooms on short flower stalks do produce seeds because they grow safely below the blades of mowers and are not destroyed by mowing. Eventually, dandelions subjected to regular cutting, or grazing, grow only short flower stems as did their parents before them. Having both long and short flower stalks is beneficial to dandelions.
Each brown dandelion seed grows a white "parachute" that carries its seed cargo away on the wind, spreading the dandelion population across the landscape. Many of those seeds are eaten by mice and a variety of striking, seed-eating birds, including northern cardinals, American goldfinches, house finches, indigo buntings and a variety of sparrows. But those seeds that escape being eaten and land in a good patch of soil will sprout and grow more pretty blossoms, and seeds.
Wood chucks, muskrats, cottontail rabbits and white-tailed deer consume the leaves and flowers of dandelions. It's amusing to see a rabbit drawing a dandelion flower into its mouth as it chews that vegetation, much like we suck up strands of spaghetti.
Lesser celandines are members of the buttercup family and grow up to six inches tall. Each celandine plant has a few long-stemmed, heart-shaped leaves. And each striking celandine flower has eight glossy, golden petals. Tens of thousands of these handsome, yellow flowers together in large patches on the shaded floors of riparian woods on floodplains along streams and creeks are lovely and cheering to see.
The lovely bluish-purple flowers of native blue violets and/or feral grape hyacinths poke through some extensive carpets of blooming lesser celandines. All those blossoms together create beautiful, wildflower gardens on some wooded bottomlands.
Coltsfoot grows along some rural roads in upland woods. This plant is so-named because its leaves are rounded like a colt's foot. The beautiful yellow blooms, which are similar to those of dandelions, sprout and grow alone before the foliage develops beneath them. Each flower stalk grows up to eighteen inches high and has reddish scales. Leaves grow as the flowers fade and seeds begin to develop where the blooms were.
Coltsfoot, like dandelion, grows seeds on each fertilized flower head. Each seed has a white parachute that carries it away on the wind. Some seeds are eaten by mice and small, seed-eating birds, but many others sprout along roads in woodlands, carrying on the beauties of the species year after year.
Many people are happy to see these lovely and common, flowering plants blooming in April, though those cheering blossoms are not native to North America. All these alien plants are readily seen if one makes an effort to find them in their respective habitats. And at least two species feed seed-eating wildlife in April and May when few other seeds are available.
Dandelions are familiar to most people and certainly the most recognizable of these April-blooming types of flowering plants. They inhabit lawns, fields, pastures and roadsides throughout much of North America. Several "toothed", basal leaves sprout late in March and their attractive flowers bloom in abundance by mid-April.
Dandelions grow long flower stems and short ones, one of the reasons for their great success in life. Long stalks reach above much green vegetation to be found and fertilized by insects. However, blooms on lengthy stems are cut off during mowing and can't produce seeds. But pollinated blooms on short flower stalks do produce seeds because they grow safely below the blades of mowers and are not destroyed by mowing. Eventually, dandelions subjected to regular cutting, or grazing, grow only short flower stems as did their parents before them. Having both long and short flower stalks is beneficial to dandelions.
Each brown dandelion seed grows a white "parachute" that carries its seed cargo away on the wind, spreading the dandelion population across the landscape. Many of those seeds are eaten by mice and a variety of striking, seed-eating birds, including northern cardinals, American goldfinches, house finches, indigo buntings and a variety of sparrows. But those seeds that escape being eaten and land in a good patch of soil will sprout and grow more pretty blossoms, and seeds.
Wood chucks, muskrats, cottontail rabbits and white-tailed deer consume the leaves and flowers of dandelions. It's amusing to see a rabbit drawing a dandelion flower into its mouth as it chews that vegetation, much like we suck up strands of spaghetti.
Lesser celandines are members of the buttercup family and grow up to six inches tall. Each celandine plant has a few long-stemmed, heart-shaped leaves. And each striking celandine flower has eight glossy, golden petals. Tens of thousands of these handsome, yellow flowers together in large patches on the shaded floors of riparian woods on floodplains along streams and creeks are lovely and cheering to see.
The lovely bluish-purple flowers of native blue violets and/or feral grape hyacinths poke through some extensive carpets of blooming lesser celandines. All those blossoms together create beautiful, wildflower gardens on some wooded bottomlands.
Coltsfoot grows along some rural roads in upland woods. This plant is so-named because its leaves are rounded like a colt's foot. The beautiful yellow blooms, which are similar to those of dandelions, sprout and grow alone before the foliage develops beneath them. Each flower stalk grows up to eighteen inches high and has reddish scales. Leaves grow as the flowers fade and seeds begin to develop where the blooms were.
Coltsfoot, like dandelion, grows seeds on each fertilized flower head. Each seed has a white parachute that carries it away on the wind. Some seeds are eaten by mice and small, seed-eating birds, but many others sprout along roads in woodlands, carrying on the beauties of the species year after year.
Many people are happy to see these lovely and common, flowering plants blooming in April, though those cheering blossoms are not native to North America. All these alien plants are readily seen if one makes an effort to find them in their respective habitats. And at least two species feed seed-eating wildlife in April and May when few other seeds are available.
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Red Buds and Flowering Dogwoods
Two kinds of small, attractive trees bloom in mid to late April in the Middle Atlantic States, beautifying many landscapes at that time. The lovely red buds have multitudes of pretty, lavender-pink blooms and flowering dogwoods have many large, white "flowers". A domestic form of dogwoods has pink blossoms.
Both species of trees are conspicuous when blooming, standing out against backgrounds of gray tree trunks and the light-green of newly growing, deciduous leaves. One can readily see both types of flowering trees, even when riding in a vehicle.
Red buds and flowering dogwoods have much in common, besides blooming at the same time and being attractive when in flower. Both species are native to the mixed, oak forests of the eastern half of the United States. Both kinds, being short, are understory trees in those woodlands. They must be able to tolerate partial shade to thrive in the understory. Both grow best in moist, rich, bottomland soil in the woods and along their edges. Both also pioneer abandoned fields and pastures, and roadsides. Red buds actually form thickets of themselves in some deserted meadows, beautifying those pastures with their many pink flowers. And many individuals of both kinds are planted ornamentally on lawns, often in clumps for added beauty.
Red buds grow up to thirty feet tall. Their lovely blossoms grow in clusters at intervals along the twigs before the foliage develops. Without their heart-shaped leaves, we can see the beautiful blooms of red buds quite well. And so can bees and other species of early insects that pollinate the many blossoms while sipping nectar from them.
Each fertilized bloom grows a light-brown, three-inch seed pod that contains about six flattened, brown seeds. Squirrels and other kinds of rodents, and certain kinds of birds, consume many of those seeds during fall and winter. But many seeds develop into new trees.
Using their sharp mouth parts, female leaf-cutting bees scissor round chunks from the smooth, thin leaves of red buds and fly away with those fragments to their nests in hollow twigs. The bees make compartments in those twigs with the leaf bits, put a small ball of nectar and pollen in each room and lay an egg on it. The larva that hatches in each enclosure ingests the nectar and pollen, pupates and emerges from its nursery chamber as a full-grown bee. One can see the round, quarter-inch-across holes in several red bud leaves.
Flowering dogwoods grow up to twenty feet high. Their "flowers" open a bit earlier than their leaf buds, making those blooms more obvious to view. The real blossoms, however, are very small, greenish-yellow and clustered in the center of each flower of four brackets, not petals. Those brackets were small and folded through winter, sheltering the flower buds. Again, those tiny blooms are pollinated by small insects and groups of green berries grow where the flowers were. Each green berry has a hard seed inside it that will grow into a new tree, if given a chance.
Those green berries ripen and are red by September. It works out right for them to be red because they are obvious to berry-eating birds who eat them, digest their pulp, but pass their seeds in droppings all over the countryside as those small fowl fly from place to place. Squirrels and other types of rodents eat the hard seed inside each berry.
Red buds and flowering dogwoods have one more beauty each- their colored leaves in fall, which add more beauty to the landscape. Red buds have yellow ones while dogwoods' foliage turns red. Eventually, the leaves of both trees drop from the trees, leaving the trees bare through winter.
Look for the beautiful flowers of red buds and flowering dogwoods from the middle to the end of April in the Middle Atlantic Sates. Those lovely blooms cheer many a human soul, and feed wildlife.
Both species of trees are conspicuous when blooming, standing out against backgrounds of gray tree trunks and the light-green of newly growing, deciduous leaves. One can readily see both types of flowering trees, even when riding in a vehicle.
Red buds and flowering dogwoods have much in common, besides blooming at the same time and being attractive when in flower. Both species are native to the mixed, oak forests of the eastern half of the United States. Both kinds, being short, are understory trees in those woodlands. They must be able to tolerate partial shade to thrive in the understory. Both grow best in moist, rich, bottomland soil in the woods and along their edges. Both also pioneer abandoned fields and pastures, and roadsides. Red buds actually form thickets of themselves in some deserted meadows, beautifying those pastures with their many pink flowers. And many individuals of both kinds are planted ornamentally on lawns, often in clumps for added beauty.
Red buds grow up to thirty feet tall. Their lovely blossoms grow in clusters at intervals along the twigs before the foliage develops. Without their heart-shaped leaves, we can see the beautiful blooms of red buds quite well. And so can bees and other species of early insects that pollinate the many blossoms while sipping nectar from them.
Each fertilized bloom grows a light-brown, three-inch seed pod that contains about six flattened, brown seeds. Squirrels and other kinds of rodents, and certain kinds of birds, consume many of those seeds during fall and winter. But many seeds develop into new trees.
Using their sharp mouth parts, female leaf-cutting bees scissor round chunks from the smooth, thin leaves of red buds and fly away with those fragments to their nests in hollow twigs. The bees make compartments in those twigs with the leaf bits, put a small ball of nectar and pollen in each room and lay an egg on it. The larva that hatches in each enclosure ingests the nectar and pollen, pupates and emerges from its nursery chamber as a full-grown bee. One can see the round, quarter-inch-across holes in several red bud leaves.
Flowering dogwoods grow up to twenty feet high. Their "flowers" open a bit earlier than their leaf buds, making those blooms more obvious to view. The real blossoms, however, are very small, greenish-yellow and clustered in the center of each flower of four brackets, not petals. Those brackets were small and folded through winter, sheltering the flower buds. Again, those tiny blooms are pollinated by small insects and groups of green berries grow where the flowers were. Each green berry has a hard seed inside it that will grow into a new tree, if given a chance.
Those green berries ripen and are red by September. It works out right for them to be red because they are obvious to berry-eating birds who eat them, digest their pulp, but pass their seeds in droppings all over the countryside as those small fowl fly from place to place. Squirrels and other types of rodents eat the hard seed inside each berry.
Red buds and flowering dogwoods have one more beauty each- their colored leaves in fall, which add more beauty to the landscape. Red buds have yellow ones while dogwoods' foliage turns red. Eventually, the leaves of both trees drop from the trees, leaving the trees bare through winter.
Look for the beautiful flowers of red buds and flowering dogwoods from the middle to the end of April in the Middle Atlantic Sates. Those lovely blooms cheer many a human soul, and feed wildlife.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
April Woodland Courting
Male ruffed grouse, wild turkeys and American woodcocks court in woodlands in the Mid-Atlantic States by early April, each species creating a unique and intriguing show. Though we may not always see these handsome, upland game birds courting, we can hear them in the woods.
Because they share a habitat, these birds have characteristics in common, including being camouflaged on forest floors where they live, feed and nest. Grouse and turkeys are related in the galliforme (chicken) family. Woodcocks, however, are inland sandpipers, but they are similar to grouse and turkeys because of the environment they share. Each habitat shapes the creatures living in it into similar beings to be able to use the resources of that habitat.
Males of each of these species present courtship displays so females of each kind can find them for mating. Females of each species lay eggs in leafy depressions on forest floors. The chicks of each type of bird hatch with eyes open, fully fuzzed and camouflaged and ready to feed themselves within 24 hours of hatching. They must be all that to survive on the floors of woodlands where they can be easy pickings for a variety of predators. The single mothers of each species brood their young, warn them of danger and show them what to eat. Surviving youngsters grow quickly and are independent by late summer.
Before dawn every morning in April, each male grouse stands upright on a favorite fallen log. He fans his tail and beats his wings slowly in front of himself, "boom, boom, boom...........". He quickly accelerates the tempo of wing beating until it sounds like a muffled drum roll for a second or two. After about a minute's rest the grouse produces another drum roll and another until hunger, or a receptive female or two interrupt him to mate with him.
Each female grouse lays about one egg a day in her leafy cradle until she has up to 14 of them. The chicks hatch about three weeks later.
A small group of Tom turkeys stand together in April woods, fluff out their body feathers, fan their tails upright, drag their wings on the ground and gobble loudly to announce their presence to hen turkeys, encouraging those hens to mate with one or more of the Toms. Like grouse, each hen turkey lays one egg a day in a depression in the dead-leaf carpet on a woodland floor until she has about 12 of them. The poults hatch about four weeks later.
Male American woodcocks have elaborate courtship displays in three parts each evening soon after sunset during March and April. Each of these long-nosed woodsmen stands upright on a bare spot of soil in an open area near bottomland woods where they hunt earthworms and other invertebrates. There the crepuscular performer rests his long bill on his chest and vocally "beeps" several times for about a minute. Then he spirals upward, his wings whistling rhythmically because of a special feather on each wing, until he is almost out of sight in the darkening sky. At the zenith of his corkscrew climb, he sings a few series of bubbling notes that tumble to the ground, quickly followed by the plunging singer to the same bare spot, or another, to start his display over again, and again. Each male woodcock continues his courtship display time after time, evening after evening, being interrupted only by hunger or receptive females.
Each female woodcock lays four eggs in a clutch on a bottomland woods floor. And being a sandpiper, she would lay ONLY four eggs per clutch.
This April, and succeeding ones, listen for the displays of these species. They are intriguing, and bring the genders of each kind of bird together for mating.
Because they share a habitat, these birds have characteristics in common, including being camouflaged on forest floors where they live, feed and nest. Grouse and turkeys are related in the galliforme (chicken) family. Woodcocks, however, are inland sandpipers, but they are similar to grouse and turkeys because of the environment they share. Each habitat shapes the creatures living in it into similar beings to be able to use the resources of that habitat.
Males of each of these species present courtship displays so females of each kind can find them for mating. Females of each species lay eggs in leafy depressions on forest floors. The chicks of each type of bird hatch with eyes open, fully fuzzed and camouflaged and ready to feed themselves within 24 hours of hatching. They must be all that to survive on the floors of woodlands where they can be easy pickings for a variety of predators. The single mothers of each species brood their young, warn them of danger and show them what to eat. Surviving youngsters grow quickly and are independent by late summer.
Before dawn every morning in April, each male grouse stands upright on a favorite fallen log. He fans his tail and beats his wings slowly in front of himself, "boom, boom, boom...........". He quickly accelerates the tempo of wing beating until it sounds like a muffled drum roll for a second or two. After about a minute's rest the grouse produces another drum roll and another until hunger, or a receptive female or two interrupt him to mate with him.
Each female grouse lays about one egg a day in her leafy cradle until she has up to 14 of them. The chicks hatch about three weeks later.
A small group of Tom turkeys stand together in April woods, fluff out their body feathers, fan their tails upright, drag their wings on the ground and gobble loudly to announce their presence to hen turkeys, encouraging those hens to mate with one or more of the Toms. Like grouse, each hen turkey lays one egg a day in a depression in the dead-leaf carpet on a woodland floor until she has about 12 of them. The poults hatch about four weeks later.
Male American woodcocks have elaborate courtship displays in three parts each evening soon after sunset during March and April. Each of these long-nosed woodsmen stands upright on a bare spot of soil in an open area near bottomland woods where they hunt earthworms and other invertebrates. There the crepuscular performer rests his long bill on his chest and vocally "beeps" several times for about a minute. Then he spirals upward, his wings whistling rhythmically because of a special feather on each wing, until he is almost out of sight in the darkening sky. At the zenith of his corkscrew climb, he sings a few series of bubbling notes that tumble to the ground, quickly followed by the plunging singer to the same bare spot, or another, to start his display over again, and again. Each male woodcock continues his courtship display time after time, evening after evening, being interrupted only by hunger or receptive females.
Each female woodcock lays four eggs in a clutch on a bottomland woods floor. And being a sandpiper, she would lay ONLY four eggs per clutch.
This April, and succeeding ones, listen for the displays of these species. They are intriguing, and bring the genders of each kind of bird together for mating.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Spring Beauties and Bloodroots
Spring beauties and bloodroots are native, woodland wildflowers in southeastern Pennsylvania and in woods across much of the eastern United States. And these perennial plants have much in common. They are small, simple plants that hug the ground to avoid cold wind, yet can still absorb heat from the sun and the sun-warmed dead-leaf carpets on forest floors. They grow and bloom early in April when they get much sunlight on forest floors because the trees haven't developed foliage yet. The pretty flowers of spring beauties and bloodroots are pollinated by bee flies and other kinds of early insects. And both species were used by Native Americans that lived in this area, but now all native, woodland wildflowers are protected by law.
Spring beauties produce a few small, pink flowers at a time and continue to grow pretty, new blooms into early May. Each plant is six to ten inches tall and has a pair of grass-like leaves. Each blossom is one-half to three-quarters of an inch across and has five, pale-pink petals, each one veined deep-pink and five stamens with pink anthers. Many of those lovely flowers together form beautiful, pink carpets of beauty.
The adaptable spring beauties have also colonized some bottomland meadows that were carved from woods to graze livestock. Parts of those cow pastures are pink with the multitudes of spring beauty blooms, which are another food for our souls in spring. And small capsules filled with tiny seeds grow where the blooms were.
American Indians dug up, boiled and ate spring beauty bulbs as we do small potatoes. Sometimes called "fairy spuds" spring beauty bulbs resemble little potatoes.
Small, but beautiful, patches of bloodroots are common here and there on forest floors. Each bloodroot plant has one deeply-scalloped leaf that loosely surrounds the plant's single flower stem like a collar around a skinny neck. That stalk bears one lovely, white bloom that resembles a small tulip until it opens fully, when it looks like a daisy.
Each bloodroot plant grows up to ten inches high and its one blossom is one-and-a-half inches across and has eight to ten petals. The lovely flowers open in sunlight when insects are most active to pollinate them, but are closed overnight. A single, green seed pod, which is pointed at both ends, forms upright where the bloom was.
The adaptable bloodroot also flourishes along roadsides in woodlands. Probably bulldozers pushed ground in woods to the side to create roads in those woodlands. Bloodroot roots got pushed along with the soil and piled on the sides of the road. There the hardy roots sprouted and sent leaves and blossoms skyward every spring since.
Bloodroot is called that because the sap in its root is orange or red. Indians in the northeastern part of North America used that sap to dye pottery, basketry and themselves.
Early this April, or succeeding ones, look for the lovely spring beauty and bloodroot flowers in woods in southeastern Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. They brighten many human souls weary of winter.
Spring beauties produce a few small, pink flowers at a time and continue to grow pretty, new blooms into early May. Each plant is six to ten inches tall and has a pair of grass-like leaves. Each blossom is one-half to three-quarters of an inch across and has five, pale-pink petals, each one veined deep-pink and five stamens with pink anthers. Many of those lovely flowers together form beautiful, pink carpets of beauty.
The adaptable spring beauties have also colonized some bottomland meadows that were carved from woods to graze livestock. Parts of those cow pastures are pink with the multitudes of spring beauty blooms, which are another food for our souls in spring. And small capsules filled with tiny seeds grow where the blooms were.
American Indians dug up, boiled and ate spring beauty bulbs as we do small potatoes. Sometimes called "fairy spuds" spring beauty bulbs resemble little potatoes.
Small, but beautiful, patches of bloodroots are common here and there on forest floors. Each bloodroot plant has one deeply-scalloped leaf that loosely surrounds the plant's single flower stem like a collar around a skinny neck. That stalk bears one lovely, white bloom that resembles a small tulip until it opens fully, when it looks like a daisy.
Each bloodroot plant grows up to ten inches high and its one blossom is one-and-a-half inches across and has eight to ten petals. The lovely flowers open in sunlight when insects are most active to pollinate them, but are closed overnight. A single, green seed pod, which is pointed at both ends, forms upright where the bloom was.
The adaptable bloodroot also flourishes along roadsides in woodlands. Probably bulldozers pushed ground in woods to the side to create roads in those woodlands. Bloodroot roots got pushed along with the soil and piled on the sides of the road. There the hardy roots sprouted and sent leaves and blossoms skyward every spring since.
Bloodroot is called that because the sap in its root is orange or red. Indians in the northeastern part of North America used that sap to dye pottery, basketry and themselves.
Early this April, or succeeding ones, look for the lovely spring beauty and bloodroot flowers in woods in southeastern Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. They brighten many human souls weary of winter.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Painted Fields and Lawns
Large parts of many fields, pastures, lawns and roadsides in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania appear to have been painted pink and/or light-blue by early April. The pink is from the multitudes of small flowers in dense mats of purple dead nettles and the pale-blue is from the many thick carpets of Veronica's little blooms. These adaptable and hardy species of prostrate plants create pure rugs of themselves in those open, human-made habitats, or mixed clumps. And some of those pink, blue or mixed patches of little flowers are sprinkled with cheering, yellow dandelion blooms and the tiny, white blossoms of common chickweeds and hairy bittercress, making lovely bouquets in fields, lawns, roadsides and so on.
Loose groups of American robins, purple grackles and starlings, moving through those patches of lovely flowers to find and eat invertebrates and seeds, add their feathered beauties to those open habitats early in April. And field mice and wood chucks dig burrow homes among those same kinds of small, but beautiful, blossoms on roadside banks.
All these prostrate plants are aliens from Eurasia where they long ago adapted to agriculture. Growing low to the ground is why they flourish on regularly mowed lawns. They are ground cover on recently disturbed soil and add much beauty to it in late March into much of April. And they are prolific, spreading rapidly from seed.
Some dandelion flower stems grow over a foot tall. But when mowed regularly, only the inch-long stems of those same dandelion plants are able to produce seeds. Therefore, eventually, only dandelions with short flower stems are able to produce seeds.
Members of the mint family of plants, purple dead nettles stand about three inches tall and each plant has a few small, pink flowers above its leaves. Each plant's several small, heart-shaped leaves overlap each other like shingles or scales near the the top of its stem.
Most kinds of Veronicas, also known as speedwells, are flat, creeping plants in fields and, more commonly, on lawns. Each little bloom of this species has four petals, three of them light-blue, but the bottom one is white.
Little needs to be mentioned about the abundant and well-known dandelions, except they are cheery to see and their leaves and yellow flowers are food for cottontail rabbits, wood chucks and white-tailed deer. Several kinds of small, seed-eating birds, including northern cardinals, indigo buntings, American goldfinches, house finches and a few kinds of sparrows ingest their seeds late in April and through much of May.
The tiny, white blossoms of common chickweeds and hairy bittercress add a bit more variety to the attractive wildflower patches of dead nettles and Veronicas, whether pure one species or the other, or mixed. And it's gratifying to know they are a couple more species of plants adapted to cultivated fields.
Look for these small, pretty flowers in cultivated fields late in March and into April. They are all adaptable and hardy species that have adapted to human-made habitats and have made those built habitats more lovely to the eye during spring. And they help hold down the soil against erosion and add nutrients to the soil when plowed underground in preparation for planting crops. These poor plants do get turned under, but they were attractive in habitats with little enough beauties, at least for a little while.
Loose groups of American robins, purple grackles and starlings, moving through those patches of lovely flowers to find and eat invertebrates and seeds, add their feathered beauties to those open habitats early in April. And field mice and wood chucks dig burrow homes among those same kinds of small, but beautiful, blossoms on roadside banks.
All these prostrate plants are aliens from Eurasia where they long ago adapted to agriculture. Growing low to the ground is why they flourish on regularly mowed lawns. They are ground cover on recently disturbed soil and add much beauty to it in late March into much of April. And they are prolific, spreading rapidly from seed.
Some dandelion flower stems grow over a foot tall. But when mowed regularly, only the inch-long stems of those same dandelion plants are able to produce seeds. Therefore, eventually, only dandelions with short flower stems are able to produce seeds.
Members of the mint family of plants, purple dead nettles stand about three inches tall and each plant has a few small, pink flowers above its leaves. Each plant's several small, heart-shaped leaves overlap each other like shingles or scales near the the top of its stem.
Most kinds of Veronicas, also known as speedwells, are flat, creeping plants in fields and, more commonly, on lawns. Each little bloom of this species has four petals, three of them light-blue, but the bottom one is white.
Little needs to be mentioned about the abundant and well-known dandelions, except they are cheery to see and their leaves and yellow flowers are food for cottontail rabbits, wood chucks and white-tailed deer. Several kinds of small, seed-eating birds, including northern cardinals, indigo buntings, American goldfinches, house finches and a few kinds of sparrows ingest their seeds late in April and through much of May.
The tiny, white blossoms of common chickweeds and hairy bittercress add a bit more variety to the attractive wildflower patches of dead nettles and Veronicas, whether pure one species or the other, or mixed. And it's gratifying to know they are a couple more species of plants adapted to cultivated fields.
Look for these small, pretty flowers in cultivated fields late in March and into April. They are all adaptable and hardy species that have adapted to human-made habitats and have made those built habitats more lovely to the eye during spring. And they help hold down the soil against erosion and add nutrients to the soil when plowed underground in preparation for planting crops. These poor plants do get turned under, but they were attractive in habitats with little enough beauties, at least for a little while.
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Bonaparte's Gulls in Southeastern Pennsylvania
Bonaparte's gulls are special birds along the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers, and other rivers in North America, during March and April when they migrate northwest by the hundreds, flock after flock, to their nesting territories by lakes in the forests of interior Canada and Alaska. They are not seen much in southeastern Pennsylvania the rest of the year. Anyone who wants to see these petite and beautiful gulls must be along rivers early in spring.
The majority of Bonaparte's gulls winter along seacoasts, estuaries and the mouths of large rivers. There they flutter over the surfaces of large bodies of water to pick up tiny fish and other edible tidbits near the surface of the water.
Bonaparte's are pretty, little gulls. They are dainty, almost tern-like with swept-back wings. Early in spring when we see them migrating through the Middle Atlantic States and heading northwest, they are crisp-white below, with white tails and heads, and gray above with red legs, dark beaks and a black patch behind each eye. The most diagnostic feature on them, however, is the long, white stripe on each wing. Many of those white stripes together on flying Bonaparte's appear to be white flags flapping in the wind. Those striking, white streaks are evident from a distance and aid in identifying the gulls. Bonaparte's are the only gulls that have those waving white banners on their wings to be regularly seen on American rivers.
Bonaparte's gulls sit in little groups on the water or the gravel bars of mid-river islands to rest between feeding forays. Even there they are recognizable by the black spot behind each eye and appear dainty. And in the air, low over the water, they fly back and forth among their fellow gulls, gracefully and buoyantly with powerful wing strokes, with their bills held downward, and watch for small fish and other edibles near the surface. Many Bonaparte's are so low to the water that they seem to be walking on it. Interestingly, a distant feeding flock of scores of this species appears like a loose gathering of white butterflies fluttering into the wind. When potential food is spotted, each gull quickly drops to the surface with a little splash and snares the food with its beak.
Bonaparte's nest up to fifteen feet high in spruce and fir trees along lakes and rivers in Canadian and Alaskan forests. Each female lays two to four eggs in the cradle she made of twigs, grass and, finally, moss. The parents feed the young in those nurseries.
Be along the Susquehanna, Delaware and other rivers in March and April to see the beautiful, petite and migrating Bonaparte's gulls. They are a lovely, entertaining addition to the water birds along those rivers during spring.
The majority of Bonaparte's gulls winter along seacoasts, estuaries and the mouths of large rivers. There they flutter over the surfaces of large bodies of water to pick up tiny fish and other edible tidbits near the surface of the water.
Bonaparte's are pretty, little gulls. They are dainty, almost tern-like with swept-back wings. Early in spring when we see them migrating through the Middle Atlantic States and heading northwest, they are crisp-white below, with white tails and heads, and gray above with red legs, dark beaks and a black patch behind each eye. The most diagnostic feature on them, however, is the long, white stripe on each wing. Many of those white stripes together on flying Bonaparte's appear to be white flags flapping in the wind. Those striking, white streaks are evident from a distance and aid in identifying the gulls. Bonaparte's are the only gulls that have those waving white banners on their wings to be regularly seen on American rivers.
Bonaparte's gulls sit in little groups on the water or the gravel bars of mid-river islands to rest between feeding forays. Even there they are recognizable by the black spot behind each eye and appear dainty. And in the air, low over the water, they fly back and forth among their fellow gulls, gracefully and buoyantly with powerful wing strokes, with their bills held downward, and watch for small fish and other edibles near the surface. Many Bonaparte's are so low to the water that they seem to be walking on it. Interestingly, a distant feeding flock of scores of this species appears like a loose gathering of white butterflies fluttering into the wind. When potential food is spotted, each gull quickly drops to the surface with a little splash and snares the food with its beak.
Bonaparte's nest up to fifteen feet high in spruce and fir trees along lakes and rivers in Canadian and Alaskan forests. Each female lays two to four eggs in the cradle she made of twigs, grass and, finally, moss. The parents feed the young in those nurseries.
Be along the Susquehanna, Delaware and other rivers in March and April to see the beautiful, petite and migrating Bonaparte's gulls. They are a lovely, entertaining addition to the water birds along those rivers during spring.
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