Eastern Kingbirds Building Nests

Female Eastern Kingbirds are busy building nests and in about a week they will be laying clutches of three or four eggs.  It is unusual for these birds to have a second brood.  A small clutch and a single nesting period translate into fairly low productivity for this species. 

Ornithologists suggest that the Eastern Kingbird’s low reproductive rate is related to the fact that they rely heavily on flying insects for food, the supply of which can be limited if cool, wet weather occurs.  In addition, Eastern Kingbirds care for their young for three to five weeks after the young fledge, longer than many species of birds.  This also limits the time available for a second brood.

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Bullfrogs Establishing Territories

The low humming sound of hundreds of male Bullfrogs “jug-o-rumming” on their breeding grounds fills the air this time of year.  So energized are these frogs that singing occurs during the day time as well as at night. 

While attracting a mate is one reason for this serenade, establishing a territory is the initial objective. According to Tom Tyning (Stokes Guide To Amphibians and Reptiles) a male Bullfrog’s territory is a circular area that may be anywhere from six to twenty feet in diameter.  Males who are singing have established territories and tend to be the largest and oldest individuals.  Should another male challenge a resident Bullfrog,  there can be physical altercations in the form of wrestling matches in which males hold each other and attempt to gouge each other with their thumbs.

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Albino Porcupine

Albinism is a rare genetic condition caused by mutations of certain genes that affect the amount of melanin a body produces. Melanin controls the pigmentation of an animal’s skin, eyes and hair.  There are other conditions that cause a partial lack of pigmentation, such as leucism, but true albinism can be detected from the color of an animal’s eyes:  blood vessels normally masked by pigment show through in albino creatures, making their eyes pinkish in color.

The rate of albinism in wildlife is estimated from 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 1 million. (Purdue Forestry & Natural Resources) Albino wildlife, such as the pictured Porcupine, often have poor eyesight, which puts them at a disadvantage when hunting for food and avoiding danger. In some cases they have trouble finding a mate, and their inability to camouflage themselves makes them vulnerable to predators. (Photo by Owen Cushman)

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A Female Opossum’s Pouch

The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is found further north than any other marsupial in the world, and is North America’s only marsupial. Like the kangaroo and koala, the female Opossum possesses a pouch which acts as a nursery for her young.  After a very brief gestation period of 11-13 days, up to 20 embryonic (each the size of a honeybee) young climb (witnesses say it’s more like “swim”) from the birth canal into the pouch, where 13 teats are waiting for the first 13 babies that attach themselves. The mother helps by licking the hair leading into the pouch, providing a moist path for the young to follow on this first long and arduous journey they undertake. 

Once a young Opossum latches onto a teat, the teat swells in the Opossum’s mouth, helping it to remain attached for a little over two months during which time it receives nourishment and continues its development.  At the point when they are too large to be contained in the pouch, the young leave and are often seen hitching a ride on their mother’s back. (Photo: the interior of a female Opossum’s pouch, showing some of the 13 cream-colored teats)

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Fringed Polygala Flowering

Fringed Polygala (Polygala paucifolia), also called Gaywings, is a diminutive flower (1 ½” long), a member of the Milkwort family, and produces compounds reputed to increase milk production in nursing mammals. The flaring wings and propeller-like fringe on the flower’s tip give it the appearance of a small magenta airplane. When pollinators (mostly bumble bees) land on the fringe-tipped petal, the reproductive structures are exposed.

In addition to the showy flowers that are insect-pollinated, there are also inconspicuous flowers that are borne underground and which self-fertilize without opening.

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Eastern Whip-poor-wills Incubating Eggs

It is so easy to be unaware of the mysteries and the magic of the natural world.  Who would have guessed that Eastern Whip-poor-wills (Antrostomus vociferus) time their egg-laying with the phases of the moon, but research confirms that they do, and for a very good reason.

Whip-poor-wills are insectivores, favoring large moths in particular, and feed on them at dusk and at dawn when there’s light enough to see them.  A full moon extends the amount of hours that are light enough for foraging to take place.  Whip-poor-will chicks that are born ten days before a full moon will be at their hungriest at a time when the moon is full and moonlight provides the maximum number of hours for foraging.  Ten days plus roughly 20 days of egg incubation means that Whip-poor-wills are most likely sitting on eggs that will hatch next week, a little over a week before the next full moon (June 3rd).

Unfortunately, Eastern Whip-poor-wills are in decline. The North American Breeding Bird Survey estimates that there has been a 69% drop in populations between 1966 and 2010. The exact reasons for this drop are still being determined, but it appears that the decline of moths is partially responsible. If interested in contributing to research on this subject, you can join the citizen-science project (United States Nightjar Survey Network) based at the college of William & Mary. (Print by John James Audubon)

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Red Fox Kits Leading Worry-free Life

Red fox kits are roughly a month to two months old now.  In another month or two they will be weaned and on solid food that they will have to learn how to capture, but for now their parents are caring for all their needs, serving as a milk bar, groomer and protector.  Days are spent near the den, tumbling and mock fighting with their siblings, chewing on practically anything from sticks to feathers (and each other), and napping in the sun while they wait for parental food delivery.  Life will never be this carefree again!

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Miterwort Flowering

Miterwort (Mitella diphylla), also known as Bishop’s Cap, is named for the resemblance of its two-peaked fruits to the hats (known as miters) worn by Catholic bishops.  This relatively small plant is easy to overlook, but those who are naturally curious have a treat in store. The tiny, five-pointed-snowflake flowers that extend up a slender stalk captivate anyone who takes the time to examine them with a hand lens. Each plant bears between five and 20 of these delicate blossoms.  The flowers have a ring of nectaries located just below the pollen-bearing stamens which increases the likelihood of visiting bees and syrphid flies inadvertently collecting pollen and dispersing it onto the next Miterwort they visit.

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Black-capped Chickadees Nest-building

Spring is here and nest building has begun for many of our cavity nesters. Protected from the wind and low temperatures that can occur this time of year, birds that nest in cavities get a jump start on starting a family.  Black-capped Chickadees typically seek out trees with punky wood that is soft enough for their small beaks to excavate.  Birch, aspen and sugar maple are chosen with regularity.

While the nest site is often chosen by the female, both male and female chickadees participate in the excavation of the cavity.  They take turns disappearing inside the hole (that they have created or one that a previous nesting woodpecker made or a natural cavity) and chipping away at its interior and then exit with a beak full of wood chips. Unlike many cavity nesters that just drop the chips to the ground from the hole, chickadees usually fly a short distance away before dropping them. 

The female alone builds the nest inside the cavity.   She usually uses coarse material such as moss for the foundation, and lines the nest with finer material such as rabbit fur and deer hair. Within one to two days of finishing the nest, she lays anywhere from one to thirteen eggs.

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Wild Ginger Reproduction

The flowers of Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) often escape detection from humans, as they are borne at ground level, beneath the plant’s paired leaves. For years it was assumed that the dark maroon (flesh-like) color of the flower and its accessibility to insects promoted pollination by carrion-seeking flies.  It turns out, however, that most fly-pollinated flowers have a rather putrid aroma, which Wild Ginger lacks, so it may not be the lure of decomposing flesh that attracts flies. They have been observed visiting the flowers, collecting pollen and escaping the cold winds of April and early May inside the flowers, but they have not been confirmed as actually pollinating the flowers.

Wild Ginger has two back-up strategies if cross-pollination by insects doesn’t occur. One is self-pollination, when the flower’s pollen-bearing stamens mature and move into a position adjacent to the stigma of the flower (see white anthers pressing against central pistil in photo). The other, and most common, reproductive strategy is through vegetative reproduction – spreading rhizomes just beneath the leaf litter.

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