Tag Archives: chatham county

Cicada Post Addendum

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I’m like a fungus; you can’t get rid of me.

~Adam Baldwin

Yesterday’s blog on Brood XIX was a brief summary of what I have been doing the past several evenings as I marvel at this occurrence. There are two things I had hoped to find in this year’s emergence after reading more about these amazing insects – a blue-eyed adult (a rare genetic oddity) and one with a fungus-infected rear end. I still haven’t seen a baby blue-eyed bug, but I have found one with a white butt. Oddly, I carried something from the front porch inside and when I walked back into the foyer, there was a cicada crawling on the floor (a hitch hiker on that package I carried in I suppose). I picked it up and was going to release it outside when I saw its rear was white. The fungus!

Periodical cicada infected with the fungus, Massospora cicadina

A stage 1 infection of this fungus on a cicada shows up as a whitish coating on the lower third of its abdomen. This fungus has a bizarre life history, matching that of its “prey”, the periodical cicadas (the fungus is known to infect both 13-year and 17-year periodical cicadas). I found a transcript online of an interview with Dr. Matt Kasson, an associate professor of forest pathology and mycology at West Virginia University. He has been studying this unique fungus for a number of years and described some of its unusual characteristics. Unlike other types of so-called zombie fungi (they alter the behavior of their host to create conditions better for spore dispersal) in which the death of the host is the usual means of better spore dispersal, this fungus exhibits active-host transmission. It keeps the host alive in order to better spread the spores. It does this by altering the cicadas behavior. He called the behavior hypersexualization. Male cicadas with the fungus will try to mate with females but will also exhibit the female behavior of wing flicking which creates an audible snapping sound. Uninfected males do not wing flick. Females do this in response to the male calls. This causes other male cicadas to try to mate with the infected males, enhancing the chances for fungal dispersal. One paper suggested this is a type of STD for cicadas!

Later in the emergence, cicadas infected with the Stage 1 phase of the fungus begin producing resting spores as part of the Stage 2 phase of the infection. These resting spores spread onto to the ground and will infect the next generation of cicadas that will emerge from the soil 13 or 17 years later. Scientists aren’t sure whether the hatching larvae pick up the resting spores as they burrow into the soil to feed on tree roots or whether the next generation of nymphs picks them up when they tunnel to the surface to emerge (or whether both occur).

One result of the fungus is that portions of the abdomen fall off of infected individuals. I have noticed a few cicadas with half their abdomen missing and initially thought this was from predation. After learning more about the infection, I picked one up and looked closely and saw white coloration inside the remaining body cavity. Is this the fungus? This morning, I sent photos of both cicadas to Dr. Kasson for his assessment of whether these are infected individuals. He quickly responded and confirmed the one in the first photo at the top of this page is indeed an infected cicada and he would like the sample. The other one is too damaged to determine from the photos. If you have any Brood XIX cicadas you suspect of being infected, you can contact him at mtkasson@mail.wvu.edu.

Cicada with half of its abdomen missing
Is this the fungus inside the body cavity of that cicada?

The more I learn about fungi, the more I think that they truly are the life form in control of this planet. Or is it just that they want me to think that?

That Sound

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Nothing in the cry of cicadas suggests that they are about to die.

~Matsuo Basho

I imagine you are deluged with social media posts and news reports about the spectacle that those of us in this area are living with right now – the emergence of Brood XIX of periodical cicadas. I hesitated adding one more blog about this phenomenon, but, let’s face it, it is pretty astonishing. And, perhaps it will help one of the many people I read about on social media every day that are wondering what that strange whining sound is all about. So, let’s start with that sound (recorded yesterday in front of our house; yu will also hear one of the many Wood Thrush that sing in our woods)…(turn sound up)

–The sound of thousands of male periodical cicadas chorusing in the tree tops

I photographed members of this brood the last time they were above ground in this area back in 2011. My article in this months’ issue of Walter magazine is about the current emergence but has photos from 2011 (due to publication schedules, the current brood had not emerged by my deadline date). The dates of those 2011 photos correspond closely (within a week, with this year being a bit earlier) with this year’s emergence. That is pretty remarkable given the 13-year time difference. Note – we also have a few species of so-called annual cicadas in our area but they are generally larger, green in color, and emerge later in the summer.

Here’s a quick summary of this marvelous event and the life cycle of these amazing creatures. Nymphs spend 13 years underground sucking on nutrients in tree roots. They may be able to tell the passage of time by the seasonality of the trees in terms of sap flow and nutrient differences between winter and summer tree seasons. When the time is right, they dig their way to the surface, often leaving a prepared exit hole and waiting until soil temperatures reach about 64 degrees. They tend to emerge at night and then crawl up a vertical surface to transform into the adult cicada. That process involves splitting the back of the nymphal skin, pulling out and then clinging to something (usually the excuviae they just shed) and pumping fluid into their wings to expand them. This process takes an hour or more. Adults begin to fly the next day (they aren’t great at it) and males start singing in a few days when enough have emerged to “chorus”. Chorusing is usually done high in the trees. This attracts females and mating takes place. She then uses her knife-like ovipositor to slice into twigs and lay her eggs. This causes flagging of the branches, often pruning the tips. Nymphs hatch in about 6 weeks, drop to the ground, dig a couple of feet into the soil and start the cycle all over again.

-Periodical cicada holes showing the high concentration. This photo is of the space between stepping stones in a walkway in downtown Pittsboro. I have seen estimates as high as one million cicadas per a acre during this emergence (click photos to enlarge)

There are seven species of periodical cicadas (all are found only in the Midwest or Eastern North America) – four have 13-year cycles and three have 17-year life cycles. We are pretty sure we have three species of the Brood XIX 13-year cicadas emerging on our property (a brood is an assemblage of periodical cicadas with synchronized emergence over a geographic area) . Our largest is Magicicada tredecim (with an orange abdomen). The two smaller species are similar in size to each other but differ in color – M. tredecassini (small and no orange) and M. tredecula (small with narrow orange stripes). The large species seemed to be the dominant one the first day or two of the emergence. The past couple of days has had a lot more of the two smaller species. Emergence seems to have occurred in patches on our property, with some high concentrations in select areas in the yard one evening and another location the next night. It looks as though they aren’t climbing much higher than 10 or 15 feet into the trees to transform with many at the tips of low branches.

Magicicada tredecim
Magicicada tredecassini
Magicicada tredecula

Birds are feasting on them and I have seen Carolina Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds, and Summer Tanagers all grabbing them. I imagine squirrels, mice, and maybe even deer are dining on these tiny “shellfish wannabes” as well. Nearby friends have posted photos of lizards and snakes with very full bellies so I think the cicadas are on the menu of many local species. I’m still trying to decide if I want to try one (the nymphs supposedly taste nutty when cooked). I’ll let you know if I do.

There are several excellent resources out there if you want to dive deeper into this subject. Cicada Mania and Cicada Safari are two excellent resources as is the University of Connecticut Periodical Cicada website.

Here are a few of the highlights from my cicada wanderings in our yard:

Periodical cicada nymph crawling along a twig
Nymph just starting to split out of its shell

Something you may notice on the exuviae (shed “skins”) of the nymphs are small white “strings”. These are the tracheal tubes, the “pipes” of the respiratory system of the insect. They run throughout the nymphs’ body and are connected to the outside via the spiracles (respiratory openings on the thorax and abdomen of insects). When the nymphs shed their exoskeleton, the tracheal linings are also shed.

Nymph as it emerges showing tracheal tube connections
A close up of the tracheal tubes in an emerging cicada.
A mass of periodical cicadas that emerged last weekend
Emerged cicadas in two stages of wing expansion

According to one resource I read, the two large black spots you see in freshly emerged periodical cicadas contain pigment that will gradually spread throughout the cicada’s body as it hardens, transforming it from this ghostly white color to the final black form. Some have also speculated that the large spots may deter predators since they resemble large eyes, giving the impression of a much larger creature.

Another grouping showing fully emerged cicadas

It takes an hour or so for the wings to fully expand. The cicadas will go through a color transformation as well.

Adult transforming to final color
Adult periodical cicadas that have fully transformed into their final darker color

Looking at the timing in my photos from 2011, mating should be occurring this week with egg-laying by the week after. They will start dying shortly after that and hatchlings should drop out of the trees by late June. We will then need to be patient, as we won’t see them again until 2037! Hope i’m still around to enjoy the spectacle.

Seldom Seen

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Coyotes have the gift of seldom being seen; they keep to the edge of vision and beyond…

~N. Scott Momaday

As you may have noticed in recent months, I have not written as many blogs as in the past. I will try to do better since there is a lot to share. I’m going to start with a quick recent event and then go back to follow up on some great experiences over the past few months including finishing up our trip to South Africa last November, a fantastic trip to Nebraska last month for birding adventures, a wonderful canoe camping trip on the Cashie River in eastern North Carolina, and some of the natural happenings here in our woods.

In all my years here in Chatham County, I have only seen one coyote on this property and that was many years ago, But our trail cameras pick them up frequently, though their appearances often come in spurts with a spate of regular captures and then nothing for weeks at a time. Information presented here on the biology of coyotes is from a summary of coyote management in our state from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Coyotes typically mate for life and breed from January to early March. Litters of 4 to 6 are born from March through May. Coyotes tend to be more active in these months.

I have shared several video clips of coyotes in past blogs. Most often, they are seen trotting along with a seeming purpose or destination in mind. Occasionally, we have seen one carrying something, but could not discern what it was, though we assume it was a food item or prey of some sort. Coyotes are omnivores, adapting their diets to local food availability. Diet studies show a range of food choices from deer (mostly fawns or scavenged carcasses), small rodents, rabbits and other mammals, birds, insects and vegetation. The will also take advantage of human-related food sources like pet food left outside, garbage, etc.

Though most video clips captured by the trail cameras show only a few seconds of a coyote(s) trotting through the scene, we occasionally get one that lingers. This recent coyote checks out something in the leaf litter, I can’t tell whether it got a small snack or just a sniff.

–A beautiful coyote pauses near the large white oak on our south slope

Most of the time, we see a single coyote or a pair. A few times we have seen three coyotes on a video clip. The clips are either 30 seconds for daytime videos or 20 seconds for nighttime (that is the maximum length for night recordings with these cameras). So, give the tendency of coyotes to trot through a scene and for them to be strung out in a line, we may miss some if they are traveling together. Coyotes will form packs, but they are usually made up of related individuals. A breeding pair of adults plus one or more juveniles from the previous year that have not dispersed. This past week, one camera caught 4 coyotes walking by, the first time that has been recorded here. Look closely at the first coyote, especially the first few frames of the clip. It is a lactating female…she has pups!

–The first video clip in three years that has shown 4 coyotes together. The first coyote is a lactating female indicating she has pups back at a den.

As I was looking closely at this clip to confirm she was a mother coyote, I noticed she has a deformed or mangled left ear. I have seen that same coyote on several other clips. It is clear to see her distinctive ear in this clip from last month.

–Two coyotes in a rainstorm, one with a deformed left ear.

I remembered seeing this coyote on a clip from May of last year and when I looked closely at that clip, she was lactating back then as well. It is much tougher to see in this clip, but a close examination shows she has teats distending from her belly.

–A clip from May 2023, showing the same coyote (with deformed left ear) was a mother last year as well

Though I see frequent posts on local neighborhood list serves expressing fear and concern over the presence of coyotes, I am happy to have them as neighbors. I only hope they can help control the population of deer that have changed the forest structure here and in so many other locations. Plus, I hope it gives cat owners another reason to keep their cats indoors since outdoor cats are a major threat to bird populations (as well as all sorts of other living creatures). I wish ol’ one ear another successful breeding season.

Predator Potpourri

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You can’t imagine anything like nature as we know it without predators.

~Dale Jamieson

I’ve been out in the yard a lot these past couple of weeks doing the spring chores of removing the dead stalks from last year’s wildflowers, adding some mulch to walkways, etc. The spring wildflowers are showing themselves as are the usual array of winter and year-round yard birds, the first frogs of the season, and the first notable insects (this month has seen the first Bumblebee and Carpenter Bee, and the first Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Zebra Swallowtail, Spring Azure, and Falcate Orange-tip). Spring wildflowers bring out the pollinators and the abundance of animal life brings out the predators.

This week I was cleaning out some debris next to the house and uncovered a pair of Brown Snakes (Storeria dekayi). The common name is descriptive (they are indeed, brown) but this is the reason I try to capitalize common names so there is less confusion about just a description of an animal versus its name.

-A pair of Brown Snakes along a runoff area near the house (click photos to enlarge)

-Close up view of a Brown Snake

Brown Snakes are very common here and throughout most of North Carolina. They are certainly one of the most frequently encountered snakes in our area and are often found in mulch beds and under leaves and logs where they search for earthworms, slugs, snails, and other invertebrates that make up most of their diet. These cute little snakes (10 – 20 inches in length) are harmless and are one of the first snakes I see every spring.

Another predator that frequents our yard is one whose presence is usually announced by motionless birds at our feeders. If I glance at the feeders and see a bird sitting perfectly still (often in odd-looking poses), I start looking in the nearby trees for the cause, and this winter it almost always has been a Cooper’s Hawk. In our area, we have two of the “bird hawks”, the Accipiters – the Cooper’s Hawk and the Sharp-shinned Hawk (“Sharpie”). They can be difficult to tell apart because the adults look almost identical save for a couple of diagnostic features that are not always easy to discern in the field. Cooper’s Hawks are the larger of the two, looking about the size of a crow. Sharp-shinned Hawks are smaller, more like the size of a Blue Jay. Of course, like most raptors, there is a size difference between males and females, with females generally being larger. This creates a close overlap sometimes between a large female Sharpie and a small male Cooper’s. Another feature that can help is shape of the base of the tail – Cooper’s tend to have a more rounded tail tip whereas Sharpies have a squared off tail. This can be a tricky one though. In this case, I think this is a male Cooper’s Hawk as it is smaller than one I have occasionally seen, but look at that tail!.

-A male Cooper’s Hawk Sitting above one of our feeder stations. Down below are a couple of small birds frozen in place at the feeders

-I watched this guy for about 20 minutes as he surveyed the scene. The bird frequently pulled its left foot up under it breast feathers and posed

Cooper’s Hawks make frequent trips to our feeders and cause quite a stir every time. The female caught a dove a few weeks ago and plucked and ate it against our deer fence out back. I often see some small birds perched near the hawk in the cover of a holly tree. It seems the hawk is wary of attempting to catch them and the prey seem to know they are safer surrounded by all those spiky leaves.

Earlier this week, while sitting on the screen porch, I heard the swoosh of wings as the hawk dive-bombed the area. I caught a glimpse of it as it streaked across the back fence and then made a right angle turn and flew off into the woods. I thought whatever it had chased had made its escape. But, when I walked out back, I found this pile of dove feathers so it seems dove was on its menu again.

-A pile of Mourning Dove feathers indicates the Cooper’s may have made another kill

I think it must be tough to be one of the larger birds at the feeders, especially a dove. They tend to be slower at taking flight when the hawk streaks onto the scene. Two days ago, a Red-bellied Woodpecker hit the back window very hard in an attempt to escape (it unfortunately died). I decided to not feed in that area any more this season as it is too close to the house to allow consistent escape routes from the aerial terror. I also caught the Cooper’s Hawk on one of the trail cameras this month, perched on a log frequented by squirrels. Now, if only they would start dining on that menu item (I have only seen it once, when a female Cooper’s caught a young squirrel out back).

Another raptor species has also been making itself known these past few weeks. It is breeding season for Red-shouldered Hawks and they often soar above our ridge (hence our apt road name, Buteo Ridge). One day last week, I heard some screaming and saw one land in a tree out back. Meanwhile, another smaller one (male?) soared nearby, also calling. Then, a third one appeared and there was some slight interactions and the larger one kept changing position in different trees while the two smaller ones continued to soar overhead. This went on for about 15 minutes. Have a listen (sound up)…

–The sounds of Red-shouldered Hawks in their spring aerial rituals

Our largest predators, the Coyotes, continue to baffle me in their activity patterns. Last month, I rarely saw them on the trail cameras. Then, for a span of a couple of weeks, they were seen day and night for many days in a row. This past week, nothing.

–A pair of Coyotes on the move in daylight

The cameras usually capture at least two Coyotes on the move, one trailing the other by a few seconds.

–There have been a few captures of three Coyotes traveling together on the trail cameras

Two times this month, a camera caught a Coyote carrying something – the first time a small dark object, and this time…? Any guesses? I can’t tell.

–Another predator mystery…what is this Coyote carrying?

Finally, something that most of us don’t usually think of as a predator. The wildlife ponds have attracted a lot of action this spring. They are full of Spotted Salamander eggs (another predator) and lately, they are the source of the sounds of spring. First there were a few Upland Chorus Frogs calling. Now, it is the Spring Peepers. And they can be deafening! But what a treat (unless you are a small insect). And to quote a famous “philosopher”, Here it is, your moment of Zen…(sound up)

-The sound of several tiny predators, Spring Peepers, in one of our wildlife pools

Celebration of Life

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The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

~Dolly Parton

Melissa and I traveled to Damascus, VA, yesterday for a funeral service for one of my aunts. It was a lovely tribute to a wonderful woman. Even though it is about a 4-hour drive, we decided to head back home after the funeral because it is a busy week ahead for us both. The weather was less than ideal for a long drive with heavy rains for much of the return trip. When I looked at the forecast earlier in the week and saw the prediction for warm temperatures and over an inch of rain at night, I knew we would probably have our first big salamander run of the season (a couple of weeks ago I found a few salamander spermatphores on the bottom of our wildlife pools after a good night-time rain).

So, as we approached our community, we slowed down to look for salamanders crossing the road. There is a small pool in the woods a couple of miles from our house that has always been a favored breeding spot for Marbled and Spotted Salamanders. Indeed, we saw several out in the road (that we stopped and helped cross safely), along with some dead ones that had been hit by cars

-A dead Spotted Salamander on the road near a breeding pond (click photos to enlarge)

We stopped a few times on the way in to get some more out of the road and finally got to our house. After getting some stuff out of the car, I went back out to one of our wildlife pools to see what might be happening here. It was a major breeding congress (I still chuckle every time I say that) in action!

–Spotted Salamander breeding frenzy (aka breeding congress)

I ran back in and got Melissa and we watched in awe for a few minutes and then decided to contact some friends that might want to come over to witness this spectacle. After texting several fellow nature nerds, we had one local teacher take us up on the offer.

We were going to meet her out at the spot a couple of miles from our house where we had seen the salamanders crossing the paved road in order to try to help more of the love-struck amphibians get safely across. The heavy rain had stopped, and that usually means the salamanders slow down their movements. But, on the way out the door we did find a large female on our moss/stone walkway, slowly headed to one of our pools.

-A Spotted Salamander on our walkway headed to a breeding pool in our yard

When we met up with our friend, we checked the large roadside pool and were surprised to not see any adults, though there were lots of Marbled Salamander larvae (that species breeds earlier in the Fall and these larvae will feast on the newly hatched Spotted Salamander larvae later this spring). Unfortunately we did find several more dead Spotted Salamanders in the road. There is a another pool across the road, but the water was so cloudy we couldn’t see anything. I did spot an Upland Chorus Frog headed to the pool to join the gang that was already filling the night air with their loud calls (their call sounds like the sound made by running your thumbnail across the teeth of a comb).

-An Upland Chorus Frog about the join a roadside pool that was full of calling frogs

Back at home, we all oohed and aahed at the salamander extravaganza. But, without the rain, the activity had slowed considerably. Interestingly, the ones in our pool with a waterfall were doing more of the swimming up and down to the water surface than those in the other pool. I wonder if the water droplets flung into the pool from the small waterfall may mimic rainfall enough to stimulate this behavior?

–View of salamanders in the other pool that is a little deeper and clearer. You can see some spermatophores (whitish blobs) scattered on the pool’s bottom, along with some duckeed

The next thing to watch for will be the females laying egg masses the next night or two (I will be out of town in two nights and may miss the bulk of this behavior). We really aren’t sure how many Spotted Salamanders are in our two small pools, but a fair guess is at least 25-30 in each. This amazing migration and congregation of these beautiful amphibians occurs on rainy nights from January through early March in fish-less pools throughout much of our state. It is always exciting to witness this abundance of wildness, especially when it is so close to home. As our friend Andy put it after Melissa sent him the text about the circumstance surrounding this particular event…”Nice to go from a celebration of life to another celebration of life”. I don’t think my aunt would have minded what some might think is an unusual comparison. She knew about our nature nerdiness, and she loved life and wanted others to enjoy it in all its glory.

Trying to Understand Our Wild Neighbors

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We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts.

~William Hazlitt

And in some cases, we see nature with our trail cameras…

This season seems to have fewer large buck deer than I have seen the past few years, but recently, a beautiful 8-pointer kindly walked in front of one of our cameras. A week before, the same buck was caught on camera (those videos are not included here) trailing a doe that had been filmed running on the same route two minutes before the buck appeared. And just yesterday, while I was changing out the camera cards, this same buck was closely following a doe through the forest. The rut continues and some of the ladies just don’t seem all that interested

–A nice buck strolls through the field of view of one of our trail cameras

The other hot spot for activity in recent weeks has been the ‘possum hole at the base of a fallen tree. I’ve had a camera on this spot for a year now and have seen all sorts of animals coming and going including several different opossums, raccoons, deer, gray and flying squirrels, chipmunks, and a few species of birds. Once again, an opossum has been gathering leaves in its tail and carrying them into the hole. The camera recorded this activity 4 times in the past month. Below is one of those scenes…

–The opossum is getting ready for the cold weather by gathering leaves and carrying them into the hole using its tail as a tote bag

A few days later, the camera recorded a raccoon stopping by the hole and peeking inside. Two hours after that, the camera saw a coyote at the entrance to the opossum den. When the coyote walks away, you can see that the hole entrance has been dug out a bit. I’m assuming this coyote did that, but it had to have been a very quick dig to not capture it on the video (there is a slight delay of just a second or two between the time the camera is triggered by motion and when it starts recording).

–I assume this coyote did a quick dig at the entrance to the opossum den

Five days later, a coyote visits the area 4 more times over a span of several minutes (here is the longest visit). The opossum has not been seen at the hole since the first coyote visit.

–A coyote checks out the opossum den again a few days after the entrance was dug

Cameras caught coyotes several more times in the past week (on one recording, two different coyotes pass by the camera in quick succession). Two nights ago, as we were lying in bed, we heard a cacophony of coyote yips very close to the back fence. So, yesterday, I changed out the camera cards again and was rewarded with three separate coyote videos, all at the same camera. The first was just of one trotting away from the camera at 7:11 a.m. At 7:45 a.m, the coyote below comes toward the camera carrying something.

–A coyote carrying a mystery object as it trots by the camera

We can’t quite tell what it has in its mouth even after cropping and slowing it down in the next video. Could it be part of a deer carcass? Let me know if you have any thoughts.

–A slow motion clip showing the mystery object…still tough to tell

Unfortunately, the time of day that this occurred is the toughest time for the camera’s resolution. Near dawn and sunset, the cameras I have tend to struggle a bit with clarity compared to scenes in full daylight or darkness.

Nine minutes after the coyote trots by carrying what presumably is a hefty chunk of food, a second coyote wanders by the same camera, stops, and whimpers. Not sure what to make of that unless it is just feeling left out of a meal. I guess we can all relate when someone else at the table gets the last cookie.

–This coyote seems a bit bummed it may miss out on dessert

Looking forward to seeing what the cameras capture in the coming days.

Gold in the Yard

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The responsibilities of life seem to rest lightly on the Goldfinch’s sunny shoulders.

~Roger Tory Peterson

It’s been a very good year for the American Goldfinches in our yard. I haven’t put out thistle seeds this year but the goldfinches seem quite content with the sunflower seeds in the other feeders and, more recently, with the seed heads of various wildflowers scattered around our yard. In late July, they made regular visits to the few Blazing Star (Liatris sp.) plants near the front of the house. Those are planted near one of our water gardens and I have left a screen off of one window so I can open that window to photograph birds coming to the area. Here are a few images from their feeding forays.

-A female American Goldfinch plucks a seed from a Liatris flower stalk while a male does the same in the background. Liatris spikes mature from the top to the bottom, unlike many other species of flower stalks which usually mature from the bottom up (click photos to enlarge)

–A pair of goldfinches feasting on Liatris seeds (the clicking noises you might hear are from the camera’s autofocus)

– American Goldfinches are almost exclusively seed eaters. They are one of our latest nesting songbirds with nesting activity usually starting as late as July or even August in our area

–A female goldfinch pulling seeds from a Liatris flower

-Male American Goldfinches are brilliant yellow and black in their breeding plumage in spring and summer. Winter birds of both sexes are similar, being a drab olive brown with blackish wings and pale wingbars.

-The jet black wings, cap, and tail of a summer American Goldfinch helps make the bright yellow of its back and belly even more brilliant as it flies across the landscape

–Goldfinches are well`adapted for their seed-eating lifestyle. They have strong, conical beaks for cracking seeds and their legs and feet are extremely strong and agile to aid in climbing on and clinging to plant stems as they forage.

-Plus, they have attitude and great balance!

–Another favorite seed type in our yard are those of the Purple Coneflowers

-As the Purple Coneflowers matured, the birds switched their attention to these large seed heads. Almost every afternoon, around 5 o’clock, they descend on that section of the yard and start pulling at the seeds.

-The birds now have a cornucopia of seed types to choose – Purple and Green-headed Coneflowers, Starry Rosinweed, New York Ironweed, and New York Aster, just to name a few.

American Goldfinches are definitely one of the highlights of the bird life outside our windows. Their bright colors, cheery songs, and undulating flight are all another great reason to surround yourself with native wildflowers.

Perfectly Paired

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I have learned from nature that all is equal… all is equal and in balance. I see everything as fitting together.

~Joseph Raffael

Here in our home in the woods, I can look out our windows and see all sorts of interconnections – butterflies on Ironweed and Joe-Pye-Weed, American Goldfinches eating coneflower seeds, and birds searching for insects in the trees. There is another connection that seems to be one of the purest- like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together. That is the link between one of my favorite native wildflowers and one of my favorite summer birds – Cardinal Flowers and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. If you look at their range maps, they overlap to a great degree, owing, no doubt, to the dependence of the flower on the pollination compatibility of these hummingbirds.

-A Ruby-throated Hummingbird at a Cardinal Flower (click photos to enlarge)

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is a brilliant red flower named after the red robes worn by Roman Catholic cardinals. It grows naturally in damp soil, often along stream banks throughout much of our state. It is adaptable and grows well in any area with good soil, sun or part shade. The impressive flower stalk can bloom from July into September, with flowers opening from the bottom up. The plants are protandrous, meaning the male parts (stamens and anthers) mature before the female flower parts (style and stigma). The stamens form a tube around the immature female style. When the flower first opensi, the style expands and pushes the anthers with the pollen out the top of the tube like a plunger. Thus, when a flower first opens, it has pollen dangling from the tip of that tube, ready to be deposited on the head of a visiting hummingbird. As the flower matures, the style continues to grow, and extends beyond the flower tube, the anthers wither, and the stigma becomes receptive to pollen. On any one flower stalk, you will likely have flowers near the top still releasing pollen while those below have receptive stigmas ready to receive pollen. As a hummingbird visits various flowers, it will pick up pollen on top of its head from some and deposit pollen grains on the receptive stigmas of others.

-Five stamens are joined to form a tube around the style and are topped with a mustache-looking brush when the flower is releasing pollen. The brush-like “hairs” may help disperse the pollen more effectively.

-As the flower matures, the style pushes the now receptive stigma out the top of the tube. When a hummingbird sticks its beak into the flower to get the nectar, pollen grains on its head can be transferred to the stigma.

Due to the shape of the flower, the nectar is too deep for most pollinators to reach. Some bees will cut holes in the flower to “rob” nectar. Several large specie of butterflies can reach it with their long proboscis, but they rarely make contact with the reproductive parts of the flower and therefore don’t transfer pollen. But hummingbirds are a prefect fit. As they push their bill into the flower for nectar, the fused tube with either pollen or a receptive stigma, bends down to make contact with their head. Two slow motion video clips below show a hummingbird visiting a cardinal flower outside our window,

–Hummingbird feeding at a Cardinal Flower (slow motion)

–Another slow motion clip showing how the flower’s reproductive parts tap the head of the hummingbird and seem to latch onto it while the bird is feeding. This helps ensure the transfer and/or receipt of pollen.

Cardinal flowers apparently produce copious amounts of nectar as hummingbirds make regular visits to each flower stalk in between bouts at the various feeders and other nectar-producing wildflowers (they also really like the Jewelweed blooming right now) scattered around the yard.

As much as the hummingbirds and I love these plants, it seems a couple of other denizens of our wildlife-friendly yard do as well, and that creates some conflicts (at least in my mind). Whenever a rabbit sets up territory within our deer fence, it never fails to seek out and cut down any cardinal flower it comes across. I have helped that situation by placing some green wire cages around certain vulnerable plants.

The other critter is more problematic. A few years ago, I started seeing heavy chewing on the leaves of my cardinal flowers. I finally found the culprit after some careful searching – a small green caterpillar the blends perfectly with the stem and leaf petioles as it voraciously consumes all parts of the plant.

-When we go away for a few days, this is often what many of our Cardinal Flowers look like when we return – everything chewed to the nub, including the flowers and seed capsules

The defoliator is a sort of plain green caterpillar, one of these that can be tough to identify because of all the look-alikes. After a lot of searching, I think I finally know what is eating all my Cardinal Flowers…

-The culprit – I believe it is the caterpillar of the Pink-washed Looper Moth, Enigmogramma basigera

If you know anything about me, you know I am very fond of caterpillars. But this one is testing my limits of tolerance. I am amazed that there will often be several different sizes of this caterpillar on one plant, as if a moth is laying an egg every day or two. They are quite difficult to see, especially the smaller ones, as they blend in very well and often hide underneath the leaves. I have also found several of the pupae under the few remaining leaf pieces on a particularly hard hit plant. I have started hand-picking them and tossing them, hopefully to end up as a tasty snack for the many species of birds that scour our yard jungle for food.

-A hummingbird enjoying nectar from one of the remaining Cardinal Flowers in our yard

These moths must have a spotty distribution as I have local friends with plenty of Cardinal Flowers in their gardens that have no issues. But, someone in a local native plant group recently posted a photo of their defoliated plants (both Cardinal Flower and Great Blue Lobelia – these larvae are apparently Lobelia specialists) asking people to help figure out what was happening. They had a rabbit fence around their garden but still suspected some sort of mammal. Various comments suggested deer or a rabbit somehow evading the fence. I commented on their post and suggested they look closely for these little green caterpillars. They quickly responded that my theory was “spot on” and their plants had several of the voracious little larvae.

Ah, the trials and tribulations of “gardening for wildlife”. Guess I’ll just need to keep buying Cardinal Flower plants so that there hopefully will be enough for both birds and bugs.

Opossum “Tales”

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Making your bed is a simple way to start your day off on the right foot.

~Martha Stewart

Ever since my friend Jerry posted some videos about the ‘possums in his back woods, I have been fascinated by the goings-on of our local marsupials. Because of Jerry’s fascinating footage of his critters, I bought a trail camera, then another, and…I now have seven of them scattered about in the woods hoping to capture anything interesting that my wild neighbors might be doing. But, I must admit, the neighborhood opossums are high on my list of subjects to spy on. We seem to have quite a good population, in spite of the coyotes and bobcats that occasionally show up on cameras. When I discovered a well-worn trail last year at the root ball of a large hickory that had blown over in a storm, I set up cameras to see who was passing by. It turned out to be a lot of critters use the trail, from raccoons to squirrels, but the resident mammals were a group of Virginia Opossums. And I finally got some brief footage of a momma ‘possum with a joey on her back and some young opossums near the den back in May.

I had hoped to get a lot more footage of the young opossums around the den, but they disappeared after only a few days and the adults seemed to have left the den about that same time, although one did occasionally walk by or stop to sniff the area. I decided to leave one of the cameras focused on the den (which is in a hole in the root ball of the downed tree). And it has paid off as the den seems to be active again. A little over a week ago, an adult opossum started some home renovations by gathering leaves to make up a new bed. The process seems a lot less complicated than our recent home remodel efforts – just grab a mouthful of leaves and pass them under your belly to your tail, then repeat. Finally, when you have enough, carry them into the house and make your bed! No plans, no budgets, no contractors, no inspections.

Here are a few clips of the Virginia Opossum gathering leaves for a sprucing up of the old homestead.

–An opossum gathers leaves near the den by grabbing them in its mouth and passing them under its belly to its prehensile tail.

–In slow motion you can see how the opossum uses its feet to pass the leaves to its tail

–When the tail has enough leaves, you just waddle into the den and arrange your new bedroom

The camera captured the opossum repeating this procedure four times. Apparently, that’s enough for a nice new Possumpedic mattress.

One thing that troubled me back in May was the sudden disappearance of the young joeys. I figured they had fallen prey to one of the many predators that roam our woods. But this last week, the cameras caught a young opossum going into that same den twice, both very quick clips. It seems more than one opossum can use the same hole, or at least visit for a spell. I also documented a couple of young opossums crossing a log a few hundred feet from the old den site. Below is a clip showing two Virginia Opossums crossing the same log – note the size comparison between a young opossum and an adult.

–A young opossum crossing (moving right to left) compared to an adult (moving left to right) on the same log. I don’t know for sure if this is one of the joeys from the May den footage, but the size is about right for that time frame.

Looking forward to seeing what the Chatham ‘Possum Network has to offer in the future. Thanks, Jerry, for the inspiration.

The Youth of Summer

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And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.

~F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Things have been relatively quiet on the trail cameras the past month. No coyote sightings in several weeks, and even the squirrels seem to be taking a vacation in our woods (though not the ones learning to get to our hanging bird feeder). But one thing has been showing up – young animals. June and July are the months when many young critters start to get out and follow their moms around to learn the ways of the woods. At our place that means White-tailed Deer fawns and Raccoon kits.

Here are a few clips of forest cuteness from our property…

–This mama Raccoon and her two young kits appeared on several cameras recently, but this one has the best audio (turn sound up).

The most common baby animal footage was of deer fawns. The well-known spots on baby deer help them blend into the sun-dappled forest floor. This is especially important when their mom leaves them in one place as she goes off to feed. Lying on the ground motionless, and virtually scentless, they are difficult for predators to find. Fawns typically lose their spots after 3 to 4 months. One online resource said the average number of spots on a fawn’s coat ranges from 272-342. And each spot is between about 1/4 to 1/2 inches in diameter…now you know.

–A fawn hanging out near the Raccoon den tree while mom browses in the distance

–The fawn tries to nurse but mom seems like she has things to do or places to go

–Some clips showed a doe with one fawn, typical of young mothers. Others had a doe with twins which is not unusual for older deer.

–A couple of clips showed two adult deer waking together, one with twins and one with one fawn. Then this clip had one doe with three fawns. At first, I assumed the other doe was somewhere near and these three fawns were just hanging out together. But I have seen two other clips with a single doe and three fawns. Research shows that somewhere around 10% of female deer will have triplets under favorable environmental conditions. And last year was a mast year for the oaks in our woods, so maybe these are indeed triplets.

In addition to the mammal babies, there are lots of insect and spider youngsters in our wildflower beds and the bluebirds have just laid another set of eggs. You gotta love the abundance of summer!

-This is the third bluebird nest this season in the box in our yard