In June, 2019, I was happy to see several intriguing kinds of birds, that I don't see every day, engaging in various nesting activities within a mile of home in New Holland, Pennsylvania. Each species has its own niche, which reduces competition with other kinds of birds for nesting space and food. All these birds are camouflaged, making them more difficult to spot in their habitats. And most of them are here only in summer to raise young.
I saw a female orchard oriole repeatedly carrying grass in her beak to a tree in a farmland meadow studded with trees. Although I didn't see her nursery, I knew she was building one twenty feet up in that tree for her future babies. Orchard orioles winter in Central and northern South America.
In another pasture, a male willow flycatcher sang his "fitz-bew" song from a rail fence along a hedgerow of thickets where he and his mate intended to rear offspring. Occasionally, between songs, he flew out after a flying insect in mid-air, which was entertaining to me. This species winters from southern Mexico to Argentina.
One evening, while parked in a parking lot near a row of young arborvitae trees in New Holland, I saw a pair of chipping sparrows copulating about six times in two minutes. They probably were going to rear a second brood in one of those cedar trees. They winter from the southern United States south to northern South America.
For a couple of hours one afternoon, I visited a three-acre, bottomland woodlot that straddles a stream and is surrounded by farmland. The riparian woods are dominated by ash-leafed maple trees, black walnuts and green ash. And the woodlot floor is covered by jewelweeds and skunk cabbage.
A pair of eastern phoebes were the first "summer-only" birds I saw in that woodlot. They were catching flying insects in mid-air and shuttling those victims under a small bridge over the woodland stream, which was entertaining to me. I didn't see their mud and moss cradle, but I knew it had to be filled with youngsters on a support beam under the bridge, which is where many pairs of phoebes nest. Other pairs raise young in traditional niches; on a rock ledge, under an overhanging boulder near a stream in woods. Phoebes winter in southern Mexico.
A little later, I spotted a petite veery, which is a kind of spot-breasted thrush, beautifully perched on a fallen log in that bottomland woodlot. Soon it hopped down from the log and ran and stopped, ran and stopped, over a bare patch of ground, as American robins do on lawns, to pick up invertebrates from the ground to feed its young. With its beak full of food, the veery darted in low flight to a patch of jewelweeds, where its nest was probably on the ground and hidden from my view. That bird, and its mate, repeated that activity time after time as I quietly watched.
Male veeries sing a delightful, flute-like song that seems to spiral eerily downward. Veeries winter in the Amazon rain forest.
And, in that same little woodlot, I spotted a Louisiana waterthrush bobbing and dancing along the stony, muddy shore of the stream in the woods. There it was picking up aquatic invertebrates from under the stones on the water's edge and flying away with them to feed its youngsters. Its cradle probably is dead-leaf-lined and in a crevice, behind tree roots, in a streambank.
The waterthrushes' bobbing and dancing are other forms of camouflage because they mimic small debris bouncing in the current of a stream or brook. Male waterthrushes have loud songs, which allows them to be heard above the music of running water. And this species winters in Mexico, the West Indies and northern South America.
These are some of the intriguing natural treasures I spotted close to home this summer. Such treasures help make life more interesting.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Carp and Snapping Turtles
Carp and snapping turtles are large, common creatures that are often visible in warm, built impoundments and sluggish, silted creeks in farmland in the Mid-Atlantic States. Some people don't care for these adaptable, aquatic critters, for a variety of reasons, but they are an integral part of their watery habitats.
Carp are fish and snappers are reptiles, and both these cold-blooded species are the color of the muddy bottoms of their shared environments. Camouflage helps young carp and snappers grow to maturity because they're not always easily seen by northern water snakes, mink, raccoons, herons, cormorants, kingfishers and other predators. And large carp are not always noticed by ospreys, bald eagles and great blue herons. Blending in to their background also helps snapping turtles ambush their prey.
Closely related to goldfish and koi, and like their domesticated, colorful cousins, carp are originally from Asia. They were introduced to many American lakes, creeks and rivers as a food fish that grows over two feet long and fights before being landed, giving anglers a thrill.
Carp grovel for plant and animal edibles in the mud of impoundments, creeks and rivers, stirring up the mud as they push along the bottoms. But they also consume organic material in mid-stream and from the surfaces of the waters. They even leap partly out of the water, with a startling splash, to snare flying insects just above the waters' surfaces.
Carp spawn late in spring in the Middle Atlantic States. Several of the larger individuals swim together in the shallows of a lake or creek, with much loud and noticeable thrashing and splashing. There they spawn thousands of eggs that are fertilized in the water.
Snappers are native to much of the Lower 48 States. I have seen several big snapping turtles on the surfaces of local creeks and ponds over the years. Usually, one can see only their noses and eyes periscoped above the surface. But sometimes, one sees snappers sunning themselves on logs or boards fallen into the water.
Once, I saw a half-grown snapper moving over mud on the bottom of a shallow, clear-water pond. I had to chuckle when I noticed six bluegill sunfish and a large-mouthed bass swimming close to the turtle in a semi-circle, apparently to study it from a safe distance. And when the fishes' curiosity was satisfied, with a powerful flick of their tails, they quickly swam out of sight.
Another time at a different creek, i saw a distressed female mallard quacking frantically. Then I saw a duckling repeatedly being pulled under water. And I noticed the bumpy upper shell of a large snapping turtle under the struggling duckling who was finally pulled under and consumed.
Snappers are carnivorous, ingesting insects, crayfish, little fish and other small critters when young. And when they are bigger, they eat fish, ducklings, goslings and any other critters they can handle.
Snapping turtles' shells can grow up to two feet long and a foot and a half across. Snappers are the largest turtle in the Mid-Atlantic States. Their top shells are bumpy and their bottom shells are small for the size of the animal. They also have big heads and long tails. And snappers have fierce dispositions and will snap, in self defense, at anything near them that moves.
Female snapping turtles lay eggs in June. Then one might see some of them traveling determinely over lawns, fields, roads and other ground to find sand or soft ground where they can dig holes in which to lay their two score or more eggs per female. Once in a while I see a monstrous female, that looks like a leftover from dinosaur days, on a busy highway where I'm pretty sure she will be killed. But the traffic is so heavy, that it is not safe to rescue her. I have, however, rescued several female snappers on lesser traveled roads over the years, but not without peril to my arms and legs from their sharp, powerful mouths.
Striped skunks and raccoons regularly dig up and consume turtle eggs, whenever they find them. Even these big, predatory turtles have mortality on their eggs and young.
Though not liked by some people, carp and snappers are intriguing creatures, too. These tough and adaptable critters help keep farmland waterways and impoundments alive and interesting.
Carp are fish and snappers are reptiles, and both these cold-blooded species are the color of the muddy bottoms of their shared environments. Camouflage helps young carp and snappers grow to maturity because they're not always easily seen by northern water snakes, mink, raccoons, herons, cormorants, kingfishers and other predators. And large carp are not always noticed by ospreys, bald eagles and great blue herons. Blending in to their background also helps snapping turtles ambush their prey.
Closely related to goldfish and koi, and like their domesticated, colorful cousins, carp are originally from Asia. They were introduced to many American lakes, creeks and rivers as a food fish that grows over two feet long and fights before being landed, giving anglers a thrill.
Carp grovel for plant and animal edibles in the mud of impoundments, creeks and rivers, stirring up the mud as they push along the bottoms. But they also consume organic material in mid-stream and from the surfaces of the waters. They even leap partly out of the water, with a startling splash, to snare flying insects just above the waters' surfaces.
Carp spawn late in spring in the Middle Atlantic States. Several of the larger individuals swim together in the shallows of a lake or creek, with much loud and noticeable thrashing and splashing. There they spawn thousands of eggs that are fertilized in the water.
Snappers are native to much of the Lower 48 States. I have seen several big snapping turtles on the surfaces of local creeks and ponds over the years. Usually, one can see only their noses and eyes periscoped above the surface. But sometimes, one sees snappers sunning themselves on logs or boards fallen into the water.
Once, I saw a half-grown snapper moving over mud on the bottom of a shallow, clear-water pond. I had to chuckle when I noticed six bluegill sunfish and a large-mouthed bass swimming close to the turtle in a semi-circle, apparently to study it from a safe distance. And when the fishes' curiosity was satisfied, with a powerful flick of their tails, they quickly swam out of sight.
Another time at a different creek, i saw a distressed female mallard quacking frantically. Then I saw a duckling repeatedly being pulled under water. And I noticed the bumpy upper shell of a large snapping turtle under the struggling duckling who was finally pulled under and consumed.
Snappers are carnivorous, ingesting insects, crayfish, little fish and other small critters when young. And when they are bigger, they eat fish, ducklings, goslings and any other critters they can handle.
Snapping turtles' shells can grow up to two feet long and a foot and a half across. Snappers are the largest turtle in the Mid-Atlantic States. Their top shells are bumpy and their bottom shells are small for the size of the animal. They also have big heads and long tails. And snappers have fierce dispositions and will snap, in self defense, at anything near them that moves.
Female snapping turtles lay eggs in June. Then one might see some of them traveling determinely over lawns, fields, roads and other ground to find sand or soft ground where they can dig holes in which to lay their two score or more eggs per female. Once in a while I see a monstrous female, that looks like a leftover from dinosaur days, on a busy highway where I'm pretty sure she will be killed. But the traffic is so heavy, that it is not safe to rescue her. I have, however, rescued several female snappers on lesser traveled roads over the years, but not without peril to my arms and legs from their sharp, powerful mouths.
Striped skunks and raccoons regularly dig up and consume turtle eggs, whenever they find them. Even these big, predatory turtles have mortality on their eggs and young.
Though not liked by some people, carp and snappers are intriguing creatures, too. These tough and adaptable critters help keep farmland waterways and impoundments alive and interesting.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Nesting Comeback Raptors
As most of us know, bald eagles, peregrine falcons and ospreys were endangered several years ago. But the numbers of each of these species have greatly increased in North America, including here in the Mid-Atlantic States, in recent years because of a ban on using DDT in the United States, laws protecting raptors, education about these three kinds of magnificent birds of prey and the interest many Americans have shown toward these stately birds. All these diurnal raptors made a remarkable comeback and now regularly and commonly nest in much of North America, including the Middle Atlantic States.
It's amazing and exciting where pairs of these feathered, majestic bits of wilderness nest, often in the midst of human-made habitats and activities. Bald eagles today raise young in trees and on power towers, sometimes near roads and houses, and in fields, as well as along the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers, and large, built impoundments. There they catch fish, muskrats, ducks and other kinds of wildlife, plus scavenge dead animals and steal prey from hawks, particularly fish from ospreys.
Peregrines hatch offspring on ledges of tall buildings in big cities and under large bridges over rivers. These falcons nest in Wilmington, Delaware, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Allentown and Reading, Pennsylvania and Baltimore Maryland, to name a few cities in the Mid-Atlantic States. They also rear chicks under bridges, including the pair under the Route 462 Bridge over the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and the falcon pairs that raise babies under Philadelphia bridges.
Rock pigeons, mourning doves and starlings, favorite prey of peregrines, also live and nest in cities and under bridges. Peregrines are power flyers, diving on and knocking flying prey from the air, which they catch in mid-air before the stunned or dead prey hits the ground.
Ospreys rear youngsters on buoys, docks, and platforms especially made and erected in the water of estuaries, salt channels and large bodies of fresh water for them to nest on. But some ospreys still hatch babies in their traditional treetop sites. Ospreys plunge into larger bodies of water feet first and use their long, curved talons to catch fish that are about a foot long. Sometimes, bald eagles steal fish from ospreys.
More pairs of ospreys hatch youngsters along the Chesapeake Bay then anywhere else in North America. They are one of the bay's icons, including and especially at St. Michael's, Maryland, and easily seen by anyone who looks for them.
I've seen all these elegant birds of prey in the flesh, whether they are soaring, perched or catching prey. But it's also thrilling to see them at home in their nurseries, via 24/7 live cameras and our home computer screen. Seeing these spectacular birds on their cradles is like being there, except the birds don't see the human audience and go about their business of incubating and feeding their offspring as if people were not there.
In the past few years, I've been privileged to watch a pair of bald eagles raising young on their nest near Lake Marburg in southern York County, Pennsylvania, a pair of peregrines incubating and feeding babies on a ledge on a building in Baltimore and a pair of ospreys rearing offspring on a platform in a backwater off Chesapeake Bay near Kent Island, Maryland. The eagles begin courting in January, the peregrines in February, and the ospreys by the end of March, after their migration north from farther south in winter. Young eagles and peregrines fledge their cradles by June and the juvenile ospreys do so in July. All those young have time to develop their hunting skills to be able to survive coming migrations and winter. But some individuals of each kind fail to do so.
Bald eagles, peregrine falcons and ospreys are large, diurnal raptors that bring wildness to human-made habitats in the Middle Atlantic States, as elsewhere in North America. These days they are readily seen around civilization in ever-increasing numbers, if one knows when and where to look. And people can see their daily nesting activities up-close by viewing computer screens. Never before have people been able to view these majestic birds, their life cycles and daily habits so well.
It's amazing and exciting where pairs of these feathered, majestic bits of wilderness nest, often in the midst of human-made habitats and activities. Bald eagles today raise young in trees and on power towers, sometimes near roads and houses, and in fields, as well as along the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers, and large, built impoundments. There they catch fish, muskrats, ducks and other kinds of wildlife, plus scavenge dead animals and steal prey from hawks, particularly fish from ospreys.
Peregrines hatch offspring on ledges of tall buildings in big cities and under large bridges over rivers. These falcons nest in Wilmington, Delaware, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Allentown and Reading, Pennsylvania and Baltimore Maryland, to name a few cities in the Mid-Atlantic States. They also rear chicks under bridges, including the pair under the Route 462 Bridge over the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and the falcon pairs that raise babies under Philadelphia bridges.
Rock pigeons, mourning doves and starlings, favorite prey of peregrines, also live and nest in cities and under bridges. Peregrines are power flyers, diving on and knocking flying prey from the air, which they catch in mid-air before the stunned or dead prey hits the ground.
Ospreys rear youngsters on buoys, docks, and platforms especially made and erected in the water of estuaries, salt channels and large bodies of fresh water for them to nest on. But some ospreys still hatch babies in their traditional treetop sites. Ospreys plunge into larger bodies of water feet first and use their long, curved talons to catch fish that are about a foot long. Sometimes, bald eagles steal fish from ospreys.
More pairs of ospreys hatch youngsters along the Chesapeake Bay then anywhere else in North America. They are one of the bay's icons, including and especially at St. Michael's, Maryland, and easily seen by anyone who looks for them.
I've seen all these elegant birds of prey in the flesh, whether they are soaring, perched or catching prey. But it's also thrilling to see them at home in their nurseries, via 24/7 live cameras and our home computer screen. Seeing these spectacular birds on their cradles is like being there, except the birds don't see the human audience and go about their business of incubating and feeding their offspring as if people were not there.
In the past few years, I've been privileged to watch a pair of bald eagles raising young on their nest near Lake Marburg in southern York County, Pennsylvania, a pair of peregrines incubating and feeding babies on a ledge on a building in Baltimore and a pair of ospreys rearing offspring on a platform in a backwater off Chesapeake Bay near Kent Island, Maryland. The eagles begin courting in January, the peregrines in February, and the ospreys by the end of March, after their migration north from farther south in winter. Young eagles and peregrines fledge their cradles by June and the juvenile ospreys do so in July. All those young have time to develop their hunting skills to be able to survive coming migrations and winter. But some individuals of each kind fail to do so.
Bald eagles, peregrine falcons and ospreys are large, diurnal raptors that bring wildness to human-made habitats in the Middle Atlantic States, as elsewhere in North America. These days they are readily seen around civilization in ever-increasing numbers, if one knows when and where to look. And people can see their daily nesting activities up-close by viewing computer screens. Never before have people been able to view these majestic birds, their life cycles and daily habits so well.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Nature on our Lawn
Our suburban lawn in New Holland, Pennsylvania is typical of those in the Middle Atlantic States, with short grass and planted trees and shrubbery. Lawns are not wildlife refuges, but they harbor many wild plants and animals, making those human-made habitats interesting. It's amazing to me the diversity and abundance of life on a typical suburban lawn.
I sat in our yard for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, June 8, to experience what was happening there. The grass was lush and the foliage on planted trees and bushes was dripping with sunlight. And I went out again in the evening until almost dark. There was a lot going on!
I noticed several kinds of naturally short, or mowed-off, plants growing among the regularly cut grass leaves in our back yard. I saw the abundant white flowers and green leaves of white clovers, the lovely yellow blooms of yellow wood sorrel and Indian strawberry plants, plus the pretty red berries of the latter species. And I noticed the leaves of dandelions, blue violets and common plantain poking out of the grass.
I heard young, but fledged, purple grackles and American robins begging their parents for food in the trees. And I saw a couple of young grackles following their iridescently-hued parent around the yard and pestering it relentlessly for food.
While sitting quietly on our lawn, I saw a young cottontail rabbit slip out from under a bush in a flower garden. The youngster nibbled grass and other lawn plants for a while, then hopped casually across the yard and under a utility shed to rest and digest in seclusion. There it would not be seen by local house cats and Cooper's and red-tailed hawks that regularly patrol our neighborhood for gray squirrels and other prey.
I could see a couple of house wren nesting boxes from where I was sitting in the cooling shade and breezes. I looked at those boxes occasionally to see if any small birds were using one, or both, of them. Suddenly, a Carolina chickadee squeezed out of one bird house and flew off to eat and drink. I moved away from that house so as to not frighten the bird away from its nest of eggs in the box.
A few kinds of birds were singing off and on in our neighborhood while I was out on the lawn that afternoon, and at dusk. Two or three male mourning doves were the most persistent singers. But I also heard snatches of song from a northern cardinal, Carolina wren and gray catbird. These, and other kinds of birds, are nesting species in our neighborhood.
I find it interesting that a few types of birds regularly perch on the railings of our back deck, giving us good views of them from inside our house. That afternoon, and evening, I saw a pair of mourning doves, a robin, a pair of house finches, a chickadee, a Carolina wren and a catbird on one or another railing. I know the robins were raising young in a pussy willow bush just off the deck, the house finch pair were checking out the awning over the door to the deck for a nesting spot and the wrens have reared offspring under the deck and might be looking to do so again.
During that warm afternoon I saw a few kinds of insects on our lawn. A few honey bees were visiting the white clover flowers to sip nectar. When their stomachs are full of nectar, the bees go home. On the way, the bees' stomachs change that nectar to honey which the bees regurgitate into waxy cells to feed to the queen, drones and larvae, or store for winter food. I also saw a couple of eastern tailed blue butterflies flitting from clover blossom to clover blossom to sip their nectar. This kind of butterfly has a one-inch wing-span and appears to be light gray.
I also saw a pile of dog droppings that was covered by green bottle flies. Those flies are iridescent-green and get some of their food from manure. And those same flies are caught and eaten by a variety of creatures, including swallows, chimney swifts, frogs and dragonflies.
Dusk presented a few more natural delights that evening, as every summer evening at home. A half-dozen house finches perched a bit on the very top of a Norway spruce tree in our yard, as they do during most summer evenings. Robins and grackles were still feeding their recently fledged youngsters. Meanwhile, I saw four or five chimney swifts sweeping back and forth across the sky on swept-back wings as they caught flying insects to ingest. And as dusk deepened, at least one of those swifts dove down a neighbor's chimney where it roosted for the night. It might, also, have a mate on three or four eggs in a twig nest glued to the inside wall of the chimney. Swifts use their saliva as the glue to fasten their twig cradles to brick or concrete block chimneys.
Right after sunset, I saw a dozen or more male fireflies rise from the short grass, take flight and flash their cold abdominal lights as they hovered in the air like tiny helicopters. Those fireflies, which are beetles, were the vanguard of the millions to come by early July, creating the small, natural fireworks that make summer evenings enchanting.
The male fireflies' flashes signal female fireflies to glow so the males can find them for mating. But children and adults alike get pleasure in seeing the flashes of these soft-bodied, charming beetles. Meanwhile, soon after sunset, close to a dozen little brown bats drop from local trees and flutter erratically over our neighborhood to catch flying insects to consume. These tiny, airborne mammals are even more entertaining than the fireflies as they swoop and dive after their flying insect prey.
Some people say bats sweep down too close for the peoples' comfort and they are afraid of those flying mammals. But I think insects sense the perfume or shampoo on a person, and, mistaking it for the scent of flowers, come close to the smell to ingest their nectar. Bats, sensing the insects, sweep close to people to snare the insects.
Readers probably have nearby, built habitats where they, too, can experience lots of wild plants and animals. Get out to quietly enjoy some of the beauties and intrigues of nature.
I sat in our yard for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, June 8, to experience what was happening there. The grass was lush and the foliage on planted trees and bushes was dripping with sunlight. And I went out again in the evening until almost dark. There was a lot going on!
I noticed several kinds of naturally short, or mowed-off, plants growing among the regularly cut grass leaves in our back yard. I saw the abundant white flowers and green leaves of white clovers, the lovely yellow blooms of yellow wood sorrel and Indian strawberry plants, plus the pretty red berries of the latter species. And I noticed the leaves of dandelions, blue violets and common plantain poking out of the grass.
I heard young, but fledged, purple grackles and American robins begging their parents for food in the trees. And I saw a couple of young grackles following their iridescently-hued parent around the yard and pestering it relentlessly for food.
While sitting quietly on our lawn, I saw a young cottontail rabbit slip out from under a bush in a flower garden. The youngster nibbled grass and other lawn plants for a while, then hopped casually across the yard and under a utility shed to rest and digest in seclusion. There it would not be seen by local house cats and Cooper's and red-tailed hawks that regularly patrol our neighborhood for gray squirrels and other prey.
I could see a couple of house wren nesting boxes from where I was sitting in the cooling shade and breezes. I looked at those boxes occasionally to see if any small birds were using one, or both, of them. Suddenly, a Carolina chickadee squeezed out of one bird house and flew off to eat and drink. I moved away from that house so as to not frighten the bird away from its nest of eggs in the box.
A few kinds of birds were singing off and on in our neighborhood while I was out on the lawn that afternoon, and at dusk. Two or three male mourning doves were the most persistent singers. But I also heard snatches of song from a northern cardinal, Carolina wren and gray catbird. These, and other kinds of birds, are nesting species in our neighborhood.
I find it interesting that a few types of birds regularly perch on the railings of our back deck, giving us good views of them from inside our house. That afternoon, and evening, I saw a pair of mourning doves, a robin, a pair of house finches, a chickadee, a Carolina wren and a catbird on one or another railing. I know the robins were raising young in a pussy willow bush just off the deck, the house finch pair were checking out the awning over the door to the deck for a nesting spot and the wrens have reared offspring under the deck and might be looking to do so again.
During that warm afternoon I saw a few kinds of insects on our lawn. A few honey bees were visiting the white clover flowers to sip nectar. When their stomachs are full of nectar, the bees go home. On the way, the bees' stomachs change that nectar to honey which the bees regurgitate into waxy cells to feed to the queen, drones and larvae, or store for winter food. I also saw a couple of eastern tailed blue butterflies flitting from clover blossom to clover blossom to sip their nectar. This kind of butterfly has a one-inch wing-span and appears to be light gray.
I also saw a pile of dog droppings that was covered by green bottle flies. Those flies are iridescent-green and get some of their food from manure. And those same flies are caught and eaten by a variety of creatures, including swallows, chimney swifts, frogs and dragonflies.
Dusk presented a few more natural delights that evening, as every summer evening at home. A half-dozen house finches perched a bit on the very top of a Norway spruce tree in our yard, as they do during most summer evenings. Robins and grackles were still feeding their recently fledged youngsters. Meanwhile, I saw four or five chimney swifts sweeping back and forth across the sky on swept-back wings as they caught flying insects to ingest. And as dusk deepened, at least one of those swifts dove down a neighbor's chimney where it roosted for the night. It might, also, have a mate on three or four eggs in a twig nest glued to the inside wall of the chimney. Swifts use their saliva as the glue to fasten their twig cradles to brick or concrete block chimneys.
Right after sunset, I saw a dozen or more male fireflies rise from the short grass, take flight and flash their cold abdominal lights as they hovered in the air like tiny helicopters. Those fireflies, which are beetles, were the vanguard of the millions to come by early July, creating the small, natural fireworks that make summer evenings enchanting.
The male fireflies' flashes signal female fireflies to glow so the males can find them for mating. But children and adults alike get pleasure in seeing the flashes of these soft-bodied, charming beetles. Meanwhile, soon after sunset, close to a dozen little brown bats drop from local trees and flutter erratically over our neighborhood to catch flying insects to consume. These tiny, airborne mammals are even more entertaining than the fireflies as they swoop and dive after their flying insect prey.
Some people say bats sweep down too close for the peoples' comfort and they are afraid of those flying mammals. But I think insects sense the perfume or shampoo on a person, and, mistaking it for the scent of flowers, come close to the smell to ingest their nectar. Bats, sensing the insects, sweep close to people to snare the insects.
Readers probably have nearby, built habitats where they, too, can experience lots of wild plants and animals. Get out to quietly enjoy some of the beauties and intrigues of nature.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Pavilion Wildlife
I attended many picnics and other summer gatherings in park pavilions in southeastern Pennsylvania over the years. And in that time I've seen many species of wildlife in those pavilions. Which is odd because many pavilion floors are made of cement. The pavilions are built in manicured habitats of short grass and tall trees and are often filled with people and their activities. Most of the wildlife seen in southeastern Pennsylvania pavilions are adaptable birds, mammals and insects of various kinds; a kind of creature clean-up crew.
Bold and boisterous house sparrows, starlings and common grackles regularly take advantage of many human-made sources of food. And that includes entering pavilions to eat crumbs left lying on tables, benches and floors after the people leave.
And, surprising to me at first, gray catbirds and chipping sparrows, which are retiring kinds of birds, also flutter into pavilions to help with the clean-up of edibles. The cute, little sparrows with rufous crowns are often difficult to identify as they hop about quietly on the cement floors, picking up tidbits with their bills.
Gray squirrels and eastern chipmunks often visit pavilions to get food, sometimes even when people are still in them. Some people feed those rodents from their fingertips, which is not a good practice because of the possibility of rabies and other diseases.
Sometimes a skunk, opossum or raccoon will shuffle into a pavilion at night, even when outdoor, safety lights are on, to look for edibles. Raccoons will even raid trash barrels for tidbits. Again, it's better to leave those fur-bearers alone at all times.
Pairs of American robins and/or eastern phoebes build nurseries on top of support beams and some light structures. Those birds start their cradles in spring before the pavilions are heavily used, often raising young to flight before people throng the pavilions. And some pairs of each species raise a second brood, the parents sticking it out to continue shuttling food to their young in their nests.
What's a picnic without pesky flies and ants? Both these families of familiar insects are sure to be present at every summer picnic to ingest whatever tidbits they can. But they are interesting, living beings seen in pavilions.
Two kinds of wasps and one type of bee create nurseries for their young in pavilions. Female carpenter bees chew holes in the undersides of support beams to hatch young. When their cavities are ready, each female bee puts a ball of nectar and pollen in the back of each hollow, lays an egg on it and partitions it off. She continues this process until each hole in the beam is filled. Each larva hatches, eats its store of nectar and pollen, pupates and emerges as an adult bee.
About a dozen female paper wasps, one of which becomes a queen, gather together under a pavilion roof to build a small nest of several cells made of "paper". These wasps chew dead wood, mixed with their saliva, to make a pliable pulp to create the adjoining, six-sided cells and attach them to the roof by a sturdy paper stem. The queen lays an egg in each cell and all the female workers feed paralyzed insects to the young until they pupate and emerge as adult wasps.
Female mud-dauber wasps carry loads of mud in their mouths to make long, thin and hollow tubes they plaster on the vertical support beams and walls of pavilions. They lay eggs in those mud tubes and feed the larvae paralyzed insects.
Spiders of a few kinds spin webs in the corners of pavilions. Those webs, of course, catch flying insects. When the spiders feel the insects struggling in their webs, they run across their webs and wrap the victims in silk. Later, each spider sucks the juices from each of its paralyzed prey.
There are whole communities of critters in pavilions in summer. All those creatures are there to get food and/or shelter from predators and the weather. The next time the reader is in a pavilion, look for these species of wildlife, and you might see some not mentioned here.
Bold and boisterous house sparrows, starlings and common grackles regularly take advantage of many human-made sources of food. And that includes entering pavilions to eat crumbs left lying on tables, benches and floors after the people leave.
And, surprising to me at first, gray catbirds and chipping sparrows, which are retiring kinds of birds, also flutter into pavilions to help with the clean-up of edibles. The cute, little sparrows with rufous crowns are often difficult to identify as they hop about quietly on the cement floors, picking up tidbits with their bills.
Gray squirrels and eastern chipmunks often visit pavilions to get food, sometimes even when people are still in them. Some people feed those rodents from their fingertips, which is not a good practice because of the possibility of rabies and other diseases.
Sometimes a skunk, opossum or raccoon will shuffle into a pavilion at night, even when outdoor, safety lights are on, to look for edibles. Raccoons will even raid trash barrels for tidbits. Again, it's better to leave those fur-bearers alone at all times.
Pairs of American robins and/or eastern phoebes build nurseries on top of support beams and some light structures. Those birds start their cradles in spring before the pavilions are heavily used, often raising young to flight before people throng the pavilions. And some pairs of each species raise a second brood, the parents sticking it out to continue shuttling food to their young in their nests.
What's a picnic without pesky flies and ants? Both these families of familiar insects are sure to be present at every summer picnic to ingest whatever tidbits they can. But they are interesting, living beings seen in pavilions.
Two kinds of wasps and one type of bee create nurseries for their young in pavilions. Female carpenter bees chew holes in the undersides of support beams to hatch young. When their cavities are ready, each female bee puts a ball of nectar and pollen in the back of each hollow, lays an egg on it and partitions it off. She continues this process until each hole in the beam is filled. Each larva hatches, eats its store of nectar and pollen, pupates and emerges as an adult bee.
About a dozen female paper wasps, one of which becomes a queen, gather together under a pavilion roof to build a small nest of several cells made of "paper". These wasps chew dead wood, mixed with their saliva, to make a pliable pulp to create the adjoining, six-sided cells and attach them to the roof by a sturdy paper stem. The queen lays an egg in each cell and all the female workers feed paralyzed insects to the young until they pupate and emerge as adult wasps.
Female mud-dauber wasps carry loads of mud in their mouths to make long, thin and hollow tubes they plaster on the vertical support beams and walls of pavilions. They lay eggs in those mud tubes and feed the larvae paralyzed insects.
Spiders of a few kinds spin webs in the corners of pavilions. Those webs, of course, catch flying insects. When the spiders feel the insects struggling in their webs, they run across their webs and wrap the victims in silk. Later, each spider sucks the juices from each of its paralyzed prey.
There are whole communities of critters in pavilions in summer. All those creatures are there to get food and/or shelter from predators and the weather. The next time the reader is in a pavilion, look for these species of wildlife, and you might see some not mentioned here.
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