A Lesson in Evolution

Perhaps the least appreciated "end" of a Great egret

I just had occasion to be in my six-year-olds' kindergarten class for a morning of volunteering. Among other things in a bustling classroom never short on activity, they are in the midst of an extended session learning about birds. The day's specific topic was migration, but as we left, it was clear that birds were on the brain.

In the truck, I asked if they knew where birds came from. (This was not intended to be a precursor to "Where do babies come from?" but I realized as soon as I had asked the question that the conversation could get interesting.)

The brief silence after my question gave me enough time to sneak a peak in the rear view. From what I could tell, the twins were comparing notes with their glances before they offered a response. Soon enough though, one of them piped up, "Lizards, right? Or dinosaurs or something." Even though the topic hadn't been covered with me in the room, their teachers had connected some dots.

When we got home, I showed them the photo above, just recently taken at the marsh. Pretty hard to deny the link. Makes you want to go invest in some better binoculars, doesn't it?

Tails & Scales

What I believe to be a Butler's gartersnake

Yet another sign of spring . . . At about 15" long and perfectly camouflaged to blend with the newly exposed ground in our "Tower Woods," this little relative of Ohio's most common snake (the Eastern gartersnake) was taking advantage of plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the low 80s, earlier this week.

Now that the dead canopy is totally removed (see April 10th post), we were literally on our hands and knees trying to identify the first starts of new, green growth when this bugger slithered into view. Roy had to point him out, and he was literally right under my nose! It's the first snake I've seen at (very) close range this spring, but there is no doubt that these legless reptiles have been waking up more and more over the last several weeks.

Watersnakes are becoming a common sight, particularly on sun-heated rocks along shorelines or in low-hanging limbs over or near water. It's not unusual this time of year to see literally dozens of the Common watersnake sharing a sun-bleached willow. They are often Medusa-like in their propensity to get intertwined. I need to do some homework, but I speculate that this behavior is tied not only to elevating body temperature, but also to breeding.

Midland painted turtle

Painted turtles are also getting to be a common sight on downed logs and on small, remnant wooden duck hunting paraphernalia from years gone by. Unfortunately, I'm also seeing fair numbers on roadways that surround the marsh. I actually plucked the young adult to the right from the center line of SR 269 while driving in our UTV. I'm always struck with their beauty -- particularly at close range -- and by the fact that because they are likely the most common turtle in the state, they are so often under-appreciated. While we certainly will be on the lookout for some of their less common relatives, a paint's colors and patterns really are striking.

Mystery serpent

Keeping on the topic of reptiles, I really liked the almost abstract still-life that Roy captured on a wave-weathered piece of driftwood. Can you identify him (or her) without seeing a head or a tail? I'll let this image serve as a teaser to another snake post I plan to include very soon. For now, I'll just say we have gotten a positive ID on a species we've been keeping a keen eye out for . . .

The Warblers Are Coming! (and so are some other cool birds)

Yellow-rumped or Myrtle Warbler in dogwoods -- April 21, 2017

As anticipated, lots has changed since I left northwest Ohio just over a week ago. Native trees and shrubs are starting to leaf out in earnest and especially for those who fertilize, the lawn mowers have been asked to come out of hibernation, too. I've yet to make my first cut, but there is no question that spring has sprung in northern Ohio!

From what I hear, last week's weather along the Lake was a classic seesaw: one day of bright sunshine reminded untested skin that it's getting to be sunscreen season, and then the next day it was time to scramble for a winter hat. But there has been enough sustained wind from the south to start ushering in the often colorful and always inspiring neotropical migrants. Warblers are the stars of the show, but dozens and dozens of bird species make their way from southern reaches often amazingly far afield (think Central and even South America). Individuals may only rest over for hours or days as they push on into Canada, but the bi-annual (spring and fall) phenomenon is just getting going and collectively should last for weeks.

I would anticipate I'll be writing plenty more on guests such as the Yellow-rumped Warbler in the lead-up to and even following The Biggest Week in American Birding. For those unfamiliar, this is no publicity stunt. This is another example of a Northwest Ohio treasure that often goes unnoticed or at the very least wildly underappreciated locally while it has become must-see entertainment for a regional, national, and even international audience. (The Oak Openings region and Lake Erie in general could be put into a similar category.)

At any rate for now, here are a few other cool images Roy collected while I was away. I'll be playing catch up with some others over the coming days.

Tree Swallow (with an itch)

Great Egret (apparently in the midst of a staring contest)

Wood Ducks in millet (hen in front, drake in rear)

Dunlin (non-breeding)