Fear Not, Northerners!

Although the calendar indicates that winter has officially ended, the weather in northern Indiana during the past few days hasn't felt very spring-like... and it doesn't appear that the temperature will increase much in the next week or so. Believe it or not, though, the spring wildflowers are preparing to do their thing. There has been an increase in wildflower posts on the blogs that I follow from southern Indiana, southern Ohio, and Missouri in the past couple of weeks, indicating that the spring flora is maturing in those areas. Unable to wait, I headed out in the field both of the past two weekends to see what I could find. On March 13 in Culver, Indiana, Lee Casebere, Scott Holaday, and I saw the spathe and spadix inflorescences of Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus, below), our earliest flowering native plant in this part of the state.


There wasn't anything else in bloom in these northern Indiana woods, so the next weekend (March 19) Lee and I drove to southeastern Indiana, primarily in search of Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale), by far our smallest, cutest, and earliest flowering trillium.


We weren't disappointed! After just 30 minutes or so of taking photographs of Snow Trillium, I told Lee that it was already worth the 4 hour drive to the site from my house.


A few of the plants, like the one below, had lightly pink-tinged petals.


Snow Trillium wasn't the only plant in flower in these woods. The diminutive and inconspicuous Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa, below) was also in bloom.


Another early season bloomer, Sharplobe Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, below) was also in flower. However, we had to wait until later in the day to see the inside of the flowers, as they close up at night.


Finding these species in flower was not unexpected in southern Indiana in mid-March, but the next few surprised me. A few plants of Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis, below) had started to open.


Another plant that I hadn't expected to see in flower so early in the year was Virginia Springbeauty (Claytonia virginica, below). I can't find much information about the pubescence of the species, but one source that I found said that the stem and leaves are supposed to be glabrous. The plant in the photograph below is distinctly pubescent.


Although not yet in flower, Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica, below) already had visible flower buds.


Finally, although it won't be in flower until much later in the year, we saw several plants of Crippled Cranefly (Tipularia discolor, below), an orchid that is found more easily in winter (when the leaves are present) than when the nearly invisible flowers are present (and leaves are absent) later in the year.


Note the green, wrinkled top surface of the leaf (above) and the strongly purlish undersurface (below). This orchid is much more common in the southern half of Indiana than it is in the northern part of the state, so I never tire of seeing it.


So, for those of you north of here that still have snow on the ground, and for those at this latitude who are itching to get out and see plants blooming, hopefully this gives you some hope that shortly after we get past this cold stretch, the forests will be exploding with color.

You "Mink" my day!

I always knew when I entered my marriage that there would be times that I would have to "compromise" and do things that I was less than eager to do. This week I was pushed to the limit but in return made a young environmentalist's dreams come true. The day started as any other day until I received the following phone call.

Scott: Hey Lindsay, I need a favor... There is a dead animal next to your parents house that I think is a mink. I need you to go and take pictures of it so I know for sure what it is.
Lindsay: You want me to take pictures of a dead animal?
Scott: Well yeah!

Fast forward to a short time later. I have taken a few photos and called Scott with a description of our fallen friend. He confirms it is a mink. Hooray, mission accomplished.


Ring, Ring.. it's Scott again.
Scott: Hey Lindsay, I need a favor. I talked to Jeremy (Scott's co-worker who is a bat and other mammal biologist) and he wants the mink. Can you go and get it and put it in a Kroger bag?
Lindsay: You must be (enter explicit word) kidding me. You want me to go and get a dead animal from the side of the road?
Scott: Well yeah!
Lindsay: You are pushing it! How am I going to pick it up because I surely am not touching a dead animal?
Scott: Put on gloves!
Lindsay: You're crazy, it's gonna be all squishy.
Scott: Don't be a baby, just go get it.
Lindsay: I'll try to pick it up with a shovel but you owe me sooooo big!

When Scott returned home that day I had just gotten over my dry-heaving episode that went along with shoveling the mink into a large plastic storage bin. We put our friend in the car and headed out to meet up with Jeremy and his wife at a beer tasting. Upon arrival, we gave Jeremy the mink. I have never witnessed such enthusiasm (well not since Scott got his vasculum for Christmas). He immediately pulled the mink out of the bag and began checking it out. The mink appeared to have died from "natural causes" so it was in really good shape. Jeremy continued to smile from ear to ear and just kept repeating how much we made his day.

In order to capture the pure joy of the occasion we have attached a picture of Jeremy with the actual mink.

This photo totally made all of my efforts worthwhile! But Scott still owes me big time!

To See The Forest And The Trees

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Michigan to do a forest and Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) habitat assessment. Below are some photos of trees that are potential summer roost trees for this Federally Endangered species.


With a high percentage of exfoliating bark, Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) is the poster child for Indiana Bat roost trees.


Live or dead/dying trees with peeling bark are considered potential habitat for Indiana Bat. In addition to Shagbark Hickory and other hickories (Carya spp.), oaks (Quercus spp.), maples (Acer spp.), Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides), and ashes (Fraxinus spp.) are the most common Indiana Bat summer roost trees. The White Oak (Quercus alba) shown above was greater than 3 feet in diameter at breast height (DBH), had peeling bark and hollow branches, and was located in a landscape position that would allow for roosting bats to access a clutter-free creek corridor. Aside from the fairly dense subcanopy in the immediate vicinity, this tree would make a good bat roost.


The White Oaks shown above and below are also potential Indiana Bat roost trees. All three of these were enormous, old, open-grown trees.


Overall at this site, we saw more than 40 trees greater than 25 inches DBH that were potential Indiana Bat roost trees. In addition, bat foraging habitat and connectivity were present, so it is likely that the next step will be for our bat biologist to set up mist nets and try to capture bats to see exactly what species are present.

Birding Life List

Recently Scott downloaded a birding life list in Microsoft Excel format for us to keep track of and record all of the birds that we have seen on our various trips. Over the past several weeks we have been entering in the name of the birds we've seen, where we saw them, and the dates they were seen. We finally finished the list and were surprised to know we have a life list of 509 different bird species. That's not too bad but we were even more suprised when we realized that half of the birds on our life list were obtained during the 12 day trip we took to Costa Rica in 2007 for our 5 year anniversary. Going through the list has really made me excited for the fact that we will be returning to Costa Rica in June for a family vacation. I thought I would share a few of my favorite bird photos from the trip we took.

Montezuma Oropendolas feeding at Volcano Arenal. Arenal had a large feeding station and we could sit on our balcony or sit in the restaurant and see multiple different types of birds.

It was amazing luck to have spotted this White-whiskered Puffbird. It was very well hidden sitting not too far from it's mate at Carara National Forest.

One of my favorite birds was this Boat-billed Heron. We spotted him while taking a boat tour from Mawamba Lodge in Tortuguero.

Also on the boat tour we saw this Northern Jacana. If you look really close in the upper left of this photo you can also see a Bare-fronted Tiger Heron.

Great Curassow roaming the grounds of La Selva Organization for Tropical Studies.

The hummingbird on the left is a Green-crowned Brilliant and the hummingbird on the right is a Green Violet-ear. We saw multiple different species of hummingbirds feeding here at the park in Monteverde Cloud Forest.

A close up of the Bare-fronted Tiger Heron.

Hopefully our upcoming trip will provide us with even more birds to add to the life list and of course share with everyone on the blog.

Looking for a Good Home

Last weekend while taking a break from the Great Backyard Bird Count, I was in our living room when I heard the familiar low warbling song of an Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis). Soon enough, a male was perched on a wire outside our window. The best that I could tell, he was scolding (and a few times attacking) his reflection in our window, thinking that it was another male Eastern Bluebird on his territory.


You may recall my post from last year about Eastern Bluebirds showing up on our platform feeder and near our windows. I can't help but to wonder if this may be one of the same birds.


A few minutes later, a female Eastern Bluebird showed up as well, and it appeared that the two were paired up and ready to find a home for the spring. I quickly went outside and cleaned out our bluebird boxes, just in case.


I haven't seen this pair since last weekend, so they've either left or taken up residence in one of our boxes. I'm hoping for the latter.

2010-2011 Winter Feeder Count Results

As we have during the past few years, Lindsay and I participated in the Indiana Audubon Society Winter Bird Feeder Count again this year. For information on this count or to see our results from last year, see our post from about a year ago on the 2009-2010 count results.


The number of species observed during the count period this season was pretty similar to what we saw last season; we had 15 species in November, 19 species in December, 16 species in January, and 18 species in February, for a total of 22 species during the count (our complete species list from the 2010-2011 count is shown at the end of this post).

Species observed most frequently (those present during all four count periods) in 2010-2011 were Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus), Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea), Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus), American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), and House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). Species observed in greatest abundance (with the greatest number observed at one time in parentheses) were American Goldfinch (55 in February), Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus) (33 in November), House Sparrow (30 in December), American Tree Sparrow (23 in February), and Mourning Dove (18 in November).



The range in temperature during the 2010-2011 count was pretty comparable to that in 2009-2010, as we saw a minimum of -9 degrees Fahrenheit and a maximum of 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

2010-2011 Winter Bird Feeder Count Species List
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Blue Jay
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leocophrys)
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

How Do They Do It?

The shores of Lake Michigan... certainly not the rich, fertile soils that characterize much of the rest of the cornbelt. In fact, this is one of the harshest and most inhospitable habitats in the Midwest. The coarse-textured sand does not hold much moisture, the sun beats down relentlessly and reflects off of the quartz-based substrate, and winds whip wildly off of the big pond. Yet, somehow, a specific suite of vascular plants are able to thrive in this desert-like community.


The dominant plant in the photograph above is Marram Grass (Ammophila breviligulata), a colonizing species that is thought by many to be almost entirely responsible for the presence of vegetation just off the coasts of the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. Marram Grass is at its best in dry, windy areas with shifting sands. As it becomes established, its root system stabilizes the sand and its leaves and stems capture moving sand, eventually leading to the formation of foredunes. Marram Grass has adapted to be able to tolerate the dry, windy conditions common where it grows by developing long, narrow leaves that are often rolled or folded to keep the stomata cool and shaded.


Another of those hardy colonizers is Seaside Spurge (Chamaesyce polygonifolia), shown above. This prostrate-growing, sand-loving species is regularly buried by blowing sand, yet it is able to persist in small patches scattered along the beach. To tolerate the windy conditions present along the lake, Seaside Spurge has adapted to grow only a few centimeters tall, keeping the plant from drying out by keeping it mostly out of the elements. It also has somewhat fleshy leaves with milky sap to help keep the plant from drying out.


Farther from the lake but in equally dessicated situations grows one of our most interesting milkweeds, Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis). Although it often grows in areas with a higher density of vegetation, as seen in the photograph above, it can persist in the driest and finest of sands, and it often grows in disturbed areas. The leaves of this species are often somewhat appressed to the stem, exposing less surface are to the rays of the sun. Like Seaside Spurge, Clasping Milkweed has somewhat fleshy leaves and a milky sap to help resist dessication.


One of the characteristic plants of sand blowouts within the dunes is Beach Heather (Hudsonia tomentosa). Like the other species featured in this post, Beach Heather is able to withstand the arid, brutal environment in which it grows through a series of morphological adaptations: it is a low-growing, mat forming plant; the leaves are small and scale-like to reduce its surface area exposed to the sun and to reduce the amount of water that is loses through evapotranspiration; and as sand is blown over the plant and covers lower parts of the plant, Beach Heather is able to produce roots from the lower stem nodes so that it continually "moves" to ground level.


Finally, the poster child for the deserts of the Great Lakes, Eastern Prickly Pear (Opuntia humifusa). This cactus has many of the same adaptations as the plants above (low-growing, fleshy, etc.) that allow it to survive in the harshest of conditions.

History Repeats Itself

Scott: "Wasn't it two years ago at Notre Dame that we saw a Merlin?"
Lindsay: "Yeah... I was at work, so I didn't get to see it."
Scott: "It was just as we pulled into the parking lot."

(Pulling into parking lot...)
Scott: "The Merlin was on that small tree."

(Passing the small tree...)
Scott: "Look! There's the Merlin!"


When Lindsay and I headed to University of Notre Dame this morning to join South Bend-Elkhart Audubon Society on a field trip to look at waterfowl, seeing a Merlin (Falco columbarius) never even crossed my mind. I was pretty sure that the one we saw in the parking lot off of Dorr Road (Scott: "You make a better Dorr than a Road!) two years ago was a freak occurrence. I guess not. Now, I wonder if this bird winters here every year. What a great first bird for a field trip!

In the photograph below, note two of the identifying characteristics on this otherwise somewhat nondescript raptor: the weak mustache and the white eyebrow.


But we weren't done. Brian Miller and I later joked that had the weather been like it was the past couple of days, we would probably have been the only two to show up for the field trip, and we probably would have left after seeing the Merlin. The mid-30 degree Farenheit temperatures on this sunny February day were perfect for a two-hour walk around St. Joseph's Lake.


Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos, in the background of the photograph above) were by far the most abundant species on the lake, but one of our highlight birds was the migrant in the foreground above, Redhead (Aythya americana). Interestingly, female Redheads lay their eggs in the nests of other Redheads or other ducks, supposedly often in the nests of the somewhat similar looking and related Canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria).


The number of Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser, in the photograph above) on the lake was quite impressive. I counted 81, but I am sure that I missed some. We often see Common Mergansers on St. Joseph's Lake in the winter, but not in these numbers. When Brian, Lindsay, and I did the Indiana Mid-winter Waterfowl Count at Notre Dame earlier this year, we didn't see any Common Mergansers.


One of the most handsome ducks, in my opinion, is the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus, above). It must be the afro, as Lindsay calls it. This species is somewhat of a staple at St. Joseph's Lake.


The most common gull that we saw on the lake today was Herring Gull (Larus argentatus, or L. smithsonianus, if you choose to split the European Herring Gull from the American Herring Gull). The immature Herring Gull in the photograph above has the characteristic pink legs and thick bill. Adult Herring Gulls have a white body with a gray back and wings, black and white wingtips, and a yellow bill with a red spot on the lower mandible.


We only saw one Mute Swan (Cygnus olor, above) on the lake. Visiting St. Joseph's Lake, you can usually count on seeing at least one of this attractive Eurasian species.

Our complete list of species observed during the field trip follows:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Domestic Duck
American Black Duck
Mallard
Redhead
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Cooper's Hawk
Merlin
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
House Finch

A Welcomed Visitor

In the days leading up to and following the (in my opinion much overhyped) recent "Snowmageddon," we noticed an increase in the number of birds at our feeders, and in the amount of bird food that was consumed.


In the photograph above, House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus), American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis), a Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), and an American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) enjoy a meal on our platform feeder.


Above, House Finches and an American Goldfinch are joined by a Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor).


Like Tufted Titmice, the White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) shown above doesn't stick around on the feeder for long. It grabs some food and quickly flies off to cache a morsel in the bark of a nearby tree for a later snack.


Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), like the one on the platform above, have been especially plentiful as of late, with our high count being around 15 individuals. But who is that on the suet feeder?


The snow and cold weather seemed to have brought a female Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) to our feeders. Our suet feeders are frequented by Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens), Hairy Woodpeckers (Picoides villosus), and Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) in the winter, but we rarely see Northern Flickers eating at our feeders. When we do encounter this species in our yard, it is often on the ground or at the base of a tree feeding on ants (their primary food source) or beetles. The subspecies that we see in the eastern United States is called the Yellow-shafted Flicker (C. auratus auratus); Red-shafted Flickers (C. auratus cafer) reside in the western United States. The common names of these subspecies come from the color under the tail, on the underwings, and on the shafts of the primary feathers. You can easily see the characteristic yellow or red, as well as the characteristic white rump, when the bird is in flight. At one time, Yellow-shafted Flickers and Red-shafted Flickers were considered two distinct species. However, hybrids which look intermediate between the two are common where the ranges overlap, and thus the two have been taxonomically lumped into one species with two subspecies.

For more information on Northern Flickers, including some amazing information on their tongues (that's right, their tongues), be sure to check out this post by Janet Creamer and this post by Jim McCormac.

The Booty and the Blizzard!

Many of you are probably on the computer right now as a means to rest your aching backs and re-warm those fingers and toes after hours of shoveling out from yesterday's blizzard. After 3 hours of shoveling (yes shoveling, because even the tractor with the plow couldn't get through the snow drifts.) Scott and I returned to the following scene.

Those Australian's sure do know how to party. At least someone is enjoying the winter weather!