19 February 2013

I've once again procrastinated on making an entry on here. Not much went on last week. However, on Saturday Jenna, Mom, Dad, and I made the three hour trip from Macon to Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Holt County, MO. This is the time of year that many of the waterfowl are moving from their wintering grounds in the South to their nesting grounds on the tundra and Squaw Creek NWR is a favorite stopping place for many of them. We made a quick stop by Fountain Grove Conservation Area. Here is the eBird checklist of the 41 species from Fountain Grove CA.

We arrived at Squaw Creek at little after noon. While taking a quick restroom break at the headquarters, I entered this checklist. We then drove onto the refuge and ate lunch. It's not everyday that you eat lunch in from of one million Snow Geese! The world population of Snow Geese is estimated at just over 6 million, so we were viewing one sixth of all of them on Earth. The sight and sound of this many geese in one area is something that really must be experienced to be understood. I have always struggled and still struggle to try and show the awesomeness of the geese through photography. It is almost impossible to show a wide enough angle to see all of the geese and still tell that the geese are even there. Here is one attempt showing about one third of the flock.

Another spectacle were the swans. We counted 271 swans. After looking through them all, we finally picked a couple of Tundra Swans out of the flock of Trumpeter Swans. Here is a picture of a Trumpeter Swan preening.

There were also several ducks, geese and small passerine birds around, but the clouds rolled in and the temperature started dropping. This caused us to see fewer birds at Squaw Creek (which is usually an astounding place to bird) than at Fountain Grove earlier in the morning. Here is the eBird Checklist, and here is one more picture of the Snow Geese in the evening.

On Sunday, Jenna and I decided to hike the Karst Trail at Rockbridge State Park. The temperature was in the middle 50's and people were all over Rockbridge. The topography on Karst Trail is littered with very large sinkholes. It's really a pretty cool trail that winds around for a couple of miles through both grass and woods. Here is the eBird Checklist.

On to yesterday, Monday the 18th. The temperature was once again pushing into the 50s, so I took a couple mile walk at lunch. Grindstone nature area was pretty birdy with 28 species in 45 minutes. Here is the checklist. Then last night the cats were acting strange around the patio door. When I looked out, I saw this:

White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus)

It was packing off some sunflower seeds I had dropped when filling the bird feeders. It would pack a few seeds into it's mouth and hurry off through the grass. About five minutes later it would be back for the next mouthful. I spent a couple hours watching the mouse and trying to get a picture through the glass.

Finally to today. A front came through yesterday afternoon. The temperature dropped from the mid 50s to the mid 30s in about an hour. Although today was sunny, the temperature struggled to reach the upper 20s and it was windy. I thought the 30 mph winds were going to cause frostbite on my 2 mile walk at lunch. The winds also kept the bird life down. Thirteen species in 36 minutes. Here is the link to the ever present eBird checklist. I probably won't have much for the next couple weeks expect for eBird checklist. That pesky Pennsylvania Marmota monax lied to us and winter is hitting again. They are calling for up to six inches of snow with a quarter inch of ice here by Thursday evening. Squaw Creek NWR is supposed to get 16 inches! Maybe I'll be surprised and have something to post.

10 February 2013

After yesterday's hike we were tired. I woke up about 5am and saw it was raining and went back to bed. The temperature was in the 30s and I had no motivation. We finally rolled out of bed about 8:15. Today we were heading to the northern Ozark boarder, just north of the Missouri River. Since Andy was going with us, I called him to make sure he was up; he was. We got to our location about 10:20am. Using Google maps on my phone, I pulled up a satellite image and we quickly found our way to a small, woodland pond. The rain was just ending as we arrived with a nightly total of .36 inches. I had high hopes and we got out and started flipping everything in site. We made it to the pond rather quickly where we found quite a few salamander larvae. In this part of country, the only larvae in the pond before the spring breeders get there should be the Marbled Salamander and the Ringed Salamander. Using a dichotomous key, I think we determined these larvae are that of the Ringed Salamander.

Jenna  holding a salamander larvae

Ringed Salamander larve (Ambystoma annulatum)

We spent the next couple of hours flipping logs and rocks as we moved down the hill from the pond. Much looking and the only herp we found was this little guy I flipped under a rock.

Little Brown Skink (Scincella lateralis)

We then moved to a new pond where Jenna had a blast catching salamander larvae and tadpoles. Here is a tadpole she caught that I have not even attempted to identify.

We looked at a few more ponds and came up with nothing. Even the birds were being quiet. Perhaps that was due to the 20 mph winds we dealt with all day. We did have a few species of woodpecker and a couple flyover Bald Eagles. As temperatures reached 60 degrees we began to hear a few Spring Peepers calling. These are always a pleasure to hear for someone that spends the winter longing for spring for the simple reason that the amphibians will soon be coming out of their hiding spots. At the last pond we checked, Andy spotted this camoflauged critter under a log.

 Central Newt eft (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis)

Quentin and Andy joined Jenna and I for a delicious supper while we waited for dark. After dark we headed to a spot in southern Boone County to a place where we knew there were a couple fishless ponds. Andy found an American Bullfrog and we saw quite a few more Central Newts. Apparently I have just never looked for newts before, because they are not hard to find. It was quickly cooling off into the 30s so we called it a night.

We've come to the conclusion that we are still a little too early in the year to be finding many adult salamanders. But we promised ourselves that we weren't going to miss the big migrations this year. To keep our promise to ourselves, it is better to be early than late.

09 February 2013

Jenna and I decided to visit an area we had never been to today. We decided that since we usually go east or west, we'd mix it up a little and go south. Since it was cool out, we weren't in a hurry to leave. It was about 8:30 am when we left the house. We drove for about an hour before reaching our destination in Miller County. Immediately on getting there we found 7 Trumpeter Swans. Here's are a couple pictures I took of of them.

 

We then moved to a different parking lot and headed toward the woods. Here are pictures of Jenna and I as we are putting on our backpacks and heading out.

We had to wade across a swift moving stream and eventually found a spot shallow enough to cross without getting water in our boots. Immediately after crossing the stream, we came to a steep hill with a vertical cliff at the top. We followed along the bottom of the cliff until we came to a spot that allowed us to go up and over. That put us exactly in the type of habitat I had been looking for; a glade. We then spent the next four and a half hours hiking up and down steep hills flipping every rock and log that wasn't to big for our combined strength to move. We found some worms and ants but that's about it. Five hours of hiking and not a single herp and only 18 species of birds.

When flipping rocks and logs it is important to try your hardest to place them back exactly as you found them. Each piece of cover is a micro niche providing housing to different organisms than the next piece of cover. You do have to be careful when you replace a rock or log that you don't squish what is under the cover. You either have to make sure it is in an area the rock or log won't reach or else remove the organism, replace the cover, and release the organism next to the cover. Then replace the leaves and dirt around the rock or log.

Jenna replacing a rock she had moved

Jenna and I are both quick to call days like to day marginal at best, but I think we are starting to realize that we are too quick to judge. Not only do we get to spend time together, but we're outside and that makes everything better. Not only that but now we know that there is no herptofauna at this place during daylight hours when the high temperatures are in the 40s in February. We also discovered some good areas to look in the future once it warms up.

When we came back to the creek we just played for a while. It didn't take long for us to find some fish. Jenna said, "Look at this one! It's weird." One glance and I instantly knew we had a new life fish species. I knew from Ichthyology class that it was a Sculpin. We saw several of them and they kept swimming right up to us and going under our boots. I made a couple quick grabs at them but only got COLD water in my boots. Jenna on the other hand didn't have much trouble nabbing one. Here are some pictures. The first is one Jenna took of a Sculpin I spotted sitting on the bottom of the stream.

 Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii)

  Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii)

 Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdi)

07 February 2013

 

We made plans last night to go out herping again tonight, so we stopped by to see if our friends Andy and Quentin wanted to join. It rained about two tenth of an inch today, but it was pretty well done by noon. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we headed out to meet Quentin and Andy. We got to our first stop of the night with high hopes of some diversity, even though the temperatures were quickly falling through the 40s. We searched around a couple of small ponds before Andy finally found a Smallmouth Salamander under a log in the water-. Here's a picture of Andy holding his catch.

 

 While Andy was standing holding the salamander for me, he started sinking in the soft mud. I tried to provide stability while he tried to pull himself out of the mud, but it didn't work. Next I tried providing stability while Quentin pulled on the top of his boots, but that didn't work either. Soon, both of his boots were totally submerged. Here is a picture Jenna took of Quentin and I trying to help Andy get out.

Since the Smallmouth Salamander was the only thing found, we decided to move to a new area. On the walk to the water, we spotted a spike buck laying beside the trail. Quentin took of walking toward it stating that, "Andy caught a salamander but he was going to catch a deer." I'm not so sure he couldn't have. He was closing in on 12 yards when Jenna yelled at him to leave it be. The deer was still laying there watching as we left.

It didn't take long to find 21 adult Central Newts, a couple more Smallmouth Salamanders, and some Grassland Crayfish. I love finding these animals, but I'm ready for it to warm up a little so we can find some different species. But I guess tonight wasn't too bad since the temperature had fallen into the mid 30s by that point. Here are some pictures of the critters we saw tonight. 

 

 Grassland Crayfish (P. gracilis) with babies

 

 Grassland Crayfish (P. gracilis)

 

 Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis)

 Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis)

Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis)

06 February 2013

Today was pretty nice in Columbia. Since the temperatures were in the upper 50s I took a walk on the Hinkson Creek Trail during lunch. The birds were pretty active even though there wasn't a wide variety of species. I only saw 13 species during the 23 minutes I was out. Here is the eBird checklist.

I leave work at about five minutes to five to try to avoid the worst of the traffic. That doesn't mean I don't get stuck in traffic anyway. While sitting at the stoplight just east of the football stadium, I looked to the South and saw a large kettle of Turkey Vultures. I've been seeing a couple for most of the winter, but there were more than a couple here. I did two quick counts and came up with a total of 138 birds. It seems a little early for a kettle that large, but it's obviously not.

This evening Jenna and I decided to see if we could find any herps. It hasn't rained 29 January, so I wasn't expecting to find much. I was hoping to at least find a couple of frogs. I also wanted to try out the new light apparatus I made for my camera. I've been practicing in the closet at home and thought I had my settings down pretty good. Here is a picture of the setup.

 

We got to the area and looked around. For the first few minutes I thought we were going to be skunked. Except for a flock of snow geese flying high overhead, we were seeing nothing. All of a sudden I saw a couple squirming shapes on the edge of my light's reach. Newts! I had never before seen an adult Central Newt. I have seen young newts, which are called efts, many times. Before the night was over, we had found 32 Central Newts. Adult newts tend to be primarily aquatic while the efts spend a lot of time on land. However, contrary to many people's beliefs, adult newts can and do leave the water if it becomes too low or to warm. They may also leave the water to help rid their skin of parasites (Petranka 1998). 

A little while later Jenna found a spot where there were several Smallmouth Salamanders. We ended up with 6 Smallmouths for the night. One of then was almost entirely brown. It escaped into a crayfish hole. I reached for it but only pulled our the crayfish, so I wasn't able to get a picture. I didn't take the time to look at the crayfish, but there were at least two different species observed tonight. There were also quite a few leaches in the water as well as five or six deer that kept crashing in the woods. As I discovered, taking pictures in a room with white walls reflecting the light around is totally different than taking them outside where the darkness of night absorbs every bit of spare light. I still need to practice. Here are a couple of pictures from tonight. Not too great for practically laying in 8 inches of mud! Oh well, they were old clothes.

 

Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis)

 

Smallmouth Salamander (Ambystoma texanum)

03 February 2013

Jenna and I got back to Columbia this morning. It sure has been cold the past few days. When I woke up on Friday morning, it was 8 degrees. But today the temperature got into the upper 30s and when in the sun it didn't feel too bad. Jenna and I decided to go to on a walk in a local park today. The bird activity was very lackluster. We had 8 species in over 2 hours and it was all common things. We were walking around a pond and looking through the ice when Jenna saw something move. Under the 2 inches of ice was a Painted Turtle. It was pretty small with a carapace length of about 6 inches. Right next to it was a Smallmouth Salamander! I kicked through the ice a few inches to the side. The turtle instantly swam to the deep, but I was able to reach under the ice and grab the salamander. We took some pictures of it and put it back on the edge of the pond. It immediately crawled to the hole I had knocked in the ice, went into the water, and swam to the bottom. Jenna also spotted an Eastern Newt under the ice, but it swam before we could even make an attempt to grab it. I really wonder how the salamander and especially the turtle are being active under the ice with not being able to come up for air and surviving. Here is a picture of the Smallmouth Salamander (A. texanum).

01 February 2013

We're in Washington, MO this weekend for Jenna's Grandma's funeral, so there won't be much about Nature. She was the one of the sweetest ladies I've ever known in my life. Even though I never really know her before she had Alzheimer's, I knew her when she was a lot better than she was towards the end. I've never seen anyone smile so much in my life. She continually made jokes and toward the end often asked me a question only to smile and say, "You'll have to tell me again in about five minutes." She will be missed by many and as the visitation tonight showed, she will be missed by many more than I think anyone could imagine.

On the nature side I got two new birds for Franklin County and a new species for the year. Trumpeter Swans have been pretty rare in the past but have been making a strong comeback. In fact, last week they saw 364 Trumpeter Swans at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in extreme northwest Missouri. Well, even though it's not as uncommon to see Trumpeter Swans anymore, I was ecstatic to see one land on the lake at Jenna's mom's house. Although I have had them in Missouri already this year, it is a new Franklin County bird. There have also been 12 Canvasback on the lake. This made species number 77 for January. Last year I had 100 species by the end of the month. I guess that's what higher gas prices and having to work on Fridays will do. :)

Here's yesterday's eBird Checklist from the lake at Jenna's mom's house. Not too shabby for an urban impoundment. I've included a picture of the Trumpeter Swan on the checklist. It's not very good, but I did take it with my phone through a pair of binoculars.