Winter Adaptations of the Ruffed Grouse
Ruffed Grouse have both behavioral (diving into the snow on cold nights) and physical strategies for dealing with the cold, snow and ice of New England winters. Three of the physical changes that take place in the fall are evident by looking closely at a grouse’s legs, feet and beak. The feathers on its legs grow thicker and further down towards its feet, to provide better insulation. Small comb-like growths of skin, called pectinations, develop along either side of each toe. These increase the surface area of a grouse’s foot, and serve as snowshoes in deep snow. They also help the grouse cling to icy branches while it quickly snips off poplar and other buds at either end of the day. And on its beak, feathers expand downward to cover its nostrils, slowing the cold air and giving it a chance to warm up before it is inhaled by the grouse.
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Birds Keeping Warm
Birds utilize a number of behavioral adaptations that afford them some protection from frigid air such as we have been experiencing lately. They include sunning (turning their backs to the sun, exposing the largest surface of their bodies to the heat), shivering, tucking (placing one foot up inside feathers while standing on other leg, or squatting to cover both legs and feet with feathers; tucking their bill into their shoulder feathers and breathing air warmed by their body), roosting together in small groups (often in a small cavity, so as to conserve heat) and, most obvious of all, fluffing themselves up (creating air pockets that are warmed by body heat).
While feathers serve many purposes, from helping to attract a mate to providing camouflage, one of the most important jobs they have in winter is to keep a bird warm and dry. A bird’s body heat (the average bird’s body temperature is 105 degrees Fahrenheit), warms the air between its feathers. Birds fluff up in the cold to trap as much air in their feathers as possible, as the more trapped air, the warmer the bird. They can appear two or three times larger than they appear on a 32 degree day. This insulation is effective because it also is a barrier to water. The oil that birds apply to their feathers when they preen serves to waterproof the feathers. (Photo: Dark-eyed Junco)
Oak Leaf Shapes & Sizes
There are roughly 90 species of oak trees in North America, several of which can be found in New England. (Eastern White, Northern Red, Eastern Black, Burr, Common Chinkapin, Swamp White, Pin, Chestnut, Bear, Scarlet and Common Post). When identifying oaks, several characteristics, such as buds, bark, branching pattern and leaves, can be used. Most Northeastern species of oak have lobed leaves, with the lobes deep or shallow, pointed or rounded.
One thing all oak leaves have in common is their variability. Even on a single tree, you can find leaves of widely differing shapes. One reason for this is that the amount of sunlight that reaches them affects their shape. Leaves that are shaded are not only often larger than those that are bathed in sunshine, but their lobes are far more shallow. Both of these traits maximize the intake of sunlight. Canopies of oaks have a larger proportion of small, deeply-lobed leaves than lower down on the trees, where you can often find relatively large leaves that appear to lack lobes completely. The two pictured leaves come from the same Northern Red Oak. Can you tell where on the tree they probably grew? (Thanks to Penny March for post idea and leaves.)
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Watershield Flowering
Watershield is a perennial aquatic plant whose bright green, shield-shaped leaves float on the surface of shallow water in lakes and beaver ponds. Its small purple flowers bloom from June through September, with each individual flower only lasting two days. One the first day, the female flower parts (stigma, style, ovary) are mature. After receding into the water overnight, the flower re-emerges with mature male flower parts (stamens, filaments, anthers). The anthers burst open, releasing pollen to the wind, and the flower is then withdrawn below the water where the fruit develops.
The horizontal rhizomes, or stems, of Watershield, as well as the undersides of the leaves and developing buds, are covered with a thick, jelly-like slime. Botanists theorize that it may deter snails from grazing on these plants. Watershield secretes a number of chemicals that kill or inhibit growth of a wide range of bacteria, algae, and other plants.
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Water Scorpions
These stick-like insects can be found inhabiting most freshwater ponds in the Northeast. Although called water scorpions, these water bugs aren’t even closely related to scorpions. Their name comes from the fact that they superficially resemble scorpions, with their modified grasping front legs and “tails,” which act as snorkels or breathing tubes. The long,slender water scorpions in the genus Renata are also referred to as water stick insects or “needle bugs.”
Water scorpions are formidable predators, reaching up to five inches in length. The majority of their diet consists of other invertebrates, but they have been known to take tadpoles and minnows.
Water scorpions mate at this time of year — males produce chirping noises, much like a cricket, to attract females. After mating, the female lays several eggs and attaches them to aquatic vegetation.
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Dragonflies & Damselflies Spear Prey With Lower Lip
Dragonflies and damselflies are unique among aquatic insect larvae in that they have a greatly enlarged hinged lower lip, or labium, which they can rapidly extend outwards to capture prey. When retracted, the prehensile labium fits like a mask over the face or is folded flat beneath the insect’s head. When hunting for prey, the dragonfly larva uses its labium like a speargun. It shoots forward as far as half the larva’s body length away, and moveable hooks on the front edge grab the prey. There are no muscles at the hinge/joint, leading entomologists to believe that the labium is extended by increased blood pressure caused by abdominal muscle contraction. It unfolds at a right angle, and extends extremely rapidly, faster than most prey can react. (photo: cast skin of dragonfly larva from which adult dragonfly emerged)
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Spittlebugs Feeding
This strange-looking insect is none other than the nymphal stage of a true bug called a froghopper. During its immature stage, it is referred to as a spittle bug, due to the fact that while feeding on the sap of a plant it pumps excess water out of its abdomen (up to 150-300 times its body weight every 24 hours) and this water, combined with body secretions, turns into sticky bubbles which fall down over the nymph (it feeds upside down). The spittle provides thermal protection and prevents the nymph from drying out while it feeds for days in the sun. While seemingly drawing attention to the nymph’s presence, the spittle has a very bitter taste that would-be predators find unappealing. As an adult, the froghopper earns its name by being able to jump 100 times its length.
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Tree Swallow Nestlings Well Fed
Tree Swallow parents begin feeding their four to seven nestlings as soon as they hatch, and they continue doing so until their young depart the nest and sometimes for several days afterwards. The adult carries food in its bill and places it directly into the open mouth of a begging nestling. The small insects gathered by the parent may be formed into a rounded ball, or bolus, which they hold in their mouth or throat (often not visible to an observer). Both parents feed the nestlings, together averaging about ten to twenty deliveries per hour. During periods of peak nestling demand, parents may feed as many as 6,000 to 7,000 insects in a single day. (Thanks to Jeannie Killam and Terry Ross for photo op.)
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Juvenile Bald Eagles Fledging
For several weeks before leaving their nest, young bald eagles constantly flap their wings, occasionally lifting themselves off the nest several inches in mid-air. Eventually they succeed in making short “flights” to nearby branches and then back to their nest. The young eagles are strengthening their wing muscles, practicing landing, and beginning to master flight.
Sometime between 8 and 14 weeks juvenile bald eagles leave their nest. Many fledge successfully, but up to half of the nest departures are unsuccessful, with the young ending up on the ground where they may stay for weeks before flight is achieved. During this time the parents usually continue to feed their young, but the juvenile eagles are far more vulnerable to predators. If the flightless, grounded juveniles are approached or threatened, or if they simply want to move from one spot to another, they walk or run on the ground (see photo).
The young bald eagle pictured was blown out of its nest prematurely and landed on the ground. Eventually it managed to fly back up onto a branch in the nest tree. The parents continued to feed the eagle while it was on the ground, as well as after it was back up in the tree. (Thanks to Linda and Roger Whitcomb for photo op.)
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One-flowered Wintergreen Blossoming
A walk in cool, moist woodlands this time of year may reward you with the sight (and smell) of One-flowered Wintergreen in bloom. The three- to six-inch-tall nodding flower has five waxy petals with rounded tips and wavy edges. Its true beauty can only be appreciated if you get down on your hands and knees and look underneath these petals. At this angle and close range, you not only can see the ten stamens and five-lobed stigma, but you can detect the flower’s delightful fragrance, which is very similar to that of Lily-of-the-Valley.
One-flowered Wintergreen’s blossom remains viable, without withering, for up to six weeks. After the flower is pollinated, the developing capsule becomes erect. Along with orchids, wintergreen seeds are the smallest in the plant kingdom – a single seed weighs around two-millionths of a gram. One-flowered Wintergreen is in the Heath family, which also includes rhododendrons, mountain laurel, azaleas, blueberries and cranberries.
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Sac Spider Shelter Serves as Nursery & Coffin
It is not unusual to come across a rolled-up leaf – the larvae of many moths create shelters in this fashion, using silk as their thread. Less common, and more intricate, are the leaf “tents” of sac spiders. With great attention paid to the most minute details, a female sac spider bends a leaf (often a monocot, with parallel veins, as in photo) in two places and seals the edges (that come together perfectly) with silk. She then spins a silk lining for this tent, inside of which she lays her eggs. There she spends the rest of her life, guarding the eggs. She will die before the eggs hatch and her body will serve as her offspring’s first meal. (Thanks to Ginny Barlow for photo op.)
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Life & Death in a Milkweed Patch
Monarch Butterflies are not the only insects whose lives are dramatically affected by the current precarious health of the Common Milkweed population. Clockwise, starting middle, top: Yellowjacket worker chewing insect to feed to larvae; White Admiral drinking nectar; Jumping Spider drinking fly innards; deceased butterfly trapped by getting proboscis caught in stigmatic slit ; Small Milkweed Bugs mating; Assassin Bug feeding on ant; Red Milkweed Beetle; Virginia Ctenucha Moth drinking nectar.
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Recently-hatched Common Loon Chicks Stay Close to Parents
The first few days of life for Common Loon chicks can be quite precarious. As soon as their down dries, the chicks are quick to leave their nest and enter the water, where they are not as vulnerable as far as land predators are concerned. However, there are dangers there, as well. Young chicks are exceptionally buoyant, and have difficulty maneuvering in the water. Parents must keep a close eye on them, so as to protect them from predators both above and below the water, such as Bald Eagles and Largemouth Bass. For the first two weeks or so parents provide protection for their young by ferrying them around on their backs much of the time. (Note egg tooth still remains on this two-day-old chick.)
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Calopogon Flowering
A visit to a bog or marshy area at this time of year may well reward you with the sight of a striking orchid known as Calopogon or Grass-Pink (Calopogon tuberosus). Immediately noticeable are the fine, white “hairs” on the upper lip of the flower, which are thought to act as a “pseudopollen” lure, attracting native, recently-emerged bumblebees. The bees, expecting a reward of nectar and/or pollen, land on the hairs. At this point, the hinged labellum (part of flower that attracts insects and acts as a landing platform) swings down under the weight of the bee and positions the bee on the column (fused male and female structures located directly beneath the labellum), where pollen can be placed on its back. If the bee already carries a load of pollen, it will contact the stigma and thus pollinate the plant.
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Green Frog Tadpoles Maturing
When you think about the structure and form of a tadpole, a plant-eating, streamlined creature designed for aquatic life, and that of a meat-eating terrestrial frog which is adapted for jumping on land, and know that they are one and the same organism, one can’t help but be impressed. The visible changes in this transformation are dramatic enough – legs emerging, head shape changing, tail being absorbed – but the internal changes a tadpole undergoes are just as dramatic. Research has shown that everything from a tadpole’s respiratory (gills replaced by lungs), urogenital and sensory systems to its digestive system (intestines becomes much shorter due to change in diet) is undergoing significant changes.
The length of time these changes take varies according to the species of amphibian. Most Green Frogs (Rana clamitans, pictured) undergo metamorphosis within the same breeding season or they overwinter as tadpoles and mature the following summer. (There are records of Green Frog metamorphosis taking up to 22 months). Biologists in Michigan found that eggs deposited before roughly June 25 were capable of developing in one season, whereas eggs deposited after roughly July 10 remained as tadpoles until the following year.
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Rose Chafers Busy Eating & Being Eaten
All of a sudden we are besieged by Rose Chafers, those tan beetles that feed on roses and peonies, as well as the foliage of many trees, shrubs and other plants. The reason for their sudden appearance has to do with their life cycle.
Adult Rose Chafers emerge from the ground in late May and early June. (Because the Rose Chafer prefers sandy soil to lay eggs, plants located on sandy sites are most likely to be attacked.) Adult beetles feed on plants for three or four weeks, generally until late June when they mate, lay eggs in the soil and then die shortly afterwards. Two to three weeks later, the eggs hatch into small, white grub‑like larvae which feed on the roots of grasses and weeds. The larvae spend the winter in the soil below the frost line before pupating and emerging as adults in the spring.
Rose Chafers contain a toxin that can be deadly to birds, but apparently not to crab spiders, at least the one that was photographed drinking the innards of a Rose Chafer it had caught. As testimony to their drive to reproduce, a Rose Chafer, minutes after this picture was taken, mounted and attempted to mate with the Rose Chafer that was being consumed by the crab spider.
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Hooded Merganser Ducklings on the Water
Hooded Merganser ducklings typically leap from their cavity nests in trees within twenty-four hours of hatching. Long claws on their feet aid them in climbing up to the opening of the cavity in order to join their mother who is calling from below. The ducklings feed themselves (aquatic insects and invertebrates) from day one, and are capable of shallow dives as soon as they leave their nest. The mother (who has been their sole caretaker since she started incubating the eggs) often moves her brood downstream to larger lakes, rivers and bays from smaller streams and ponds near the nest site. Eventually she leaves her young, anywhere from a month or two after they hatch, often before they can fly.
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Ragged Robin Flowering
Ragged Robin, Lychnis flos-cuculi, is native to Europe and has become so abundant in northern United States that it borders on being considered an invasive plant. Found usually in wet areas such as marshes, fens and wet meadows, this perennial can cover an area as large as an acre. When flowering, Ragged Robin is very noticeable — not only to humans, but also to the many insects that pollinate it. Bees and butterflies, especially, flock to stands of this plant in order to obtain its nectar and white pollen. (If you suck the base of the flower, you will soon detect the sweetness that attracts pollinators.)
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Young Eagles Preparing to Fledge
For several weeks prior to their first flight from their nest, Bald Eagle nestlings practice flapping their wings to the point of lifting themselves up several inches into the air. This develops their wing muscles, flight coordination and landing ability.
At anywhere from eight to fourteen weeks of age, juvenile Bald Eagles fledge, or leave their nest. According to Birds of North American Online, up to half of young Bald Eagle nest departures are unsuccessful. The young land on the ground and may remain there for weeks before regaining flight ability. More often than not their parents will continue to feed them, but they are much more vulnerable to predation in this situation. Fledglings may continue to use their nest as a feeding platform for several weeks after leaving it, as they gain flight and foraging skills.
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Indian Cucumber-root Flowering
Indian Cucumber Root is a member of the Lily family that grows to be one to two feet tall and has one or more whorls (several leaves coming off stem at same point) of leaves. Plants that are going to flower usually put out two tiers of leaves, with their distinctive flowers arising from the second tier. The flowers nod down below the leaves, while the dark purple fruit that forms later in the summer rises above them. As its name implies, the small root tuber of this wildflower is edible, and resembles a cucumber in both texture and taste, but should be harvested very sparingly.
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Home Delivery for Barred Owl Nestlings
Young Barred Owls are fed by their parents from the day they hatch until late summer/early fall. During their first two weeks, food is delivered by the adult male to the adult female, in a bill-to-bill exchange. The female tears up the prey into swallowable bits and feeds them to her offspring. During this time the female does little hunting, but she begins to capture prey after about two weeks of brooding the young. At about this time, the young begin consuming whole prey on their own (see photo). Female prey deliveries are greatest immediately following sunset and immediately prior to sunrise, while male prey deliveries remain fairly constant throughout the night. (Photo: Barred Owl delivering Red-backed Vole to nestling.) (Thanks to Alfred Balch for photo op.)
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Snapping Turtles Laying Eggs
Every June female Snapping Turtles leave their ponds to bury their eggs in sandy soil where the eggs will incubate for the next three months without any parental care or supervision. These eggs, as well as those of many other reptiles, experience temperature-dependent sex determination. The temperature of an individual incubating egg during the middle one-third of embryonic development determines whether the developing turtle will be a male or female. Males are generally produced at lower incubation temperatures than females. At temperatures ranging between 72°F. and 80°F., males usually develop, whereas warmer temperatures around 86°F. produce female turtles.
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Pitcher Plants Flowering
The flowers of Pitcher Plants are just as unusual and fascinating as their insect-luring leaves. These plants can be found blossoming during a two to three week period in the spring (late May-June). Although the maroon petals hanging down typically prevent you from seeing the structure of the flower, it more or less resembles an upside-down umbrella. Within one to two days of the flower opening, the stigmas become receptive and the anthers shed their pollen, which falls into the umbrella-like tray where insects travel on their way to the stigmas. Ants are almost invariably present in the flowers, attracted by the abundant nectar, but they are probably of little importance as pollinators. Bees and flies appear to be the primary pollinators of Pitcher Plants.
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Predator Eating Predator
The Six-spotted Fishing Spider, Dolomedes triton, is an arachnid in the nursery web spider family Pisauridae. As its name implies, the Six-spotted Fishing Spider does occasionally eat small fish, but also consumes other invertebrates and tadpoles. The hunting techniques of fishing spiders are varied. Often they sit patiently during the day, waiting hours with their legs stretched out for an unsuspecting insect (such as the pictured Dot-tailed Whiteface dragonfly) to land on the same lily pad or leaf that the spider is sitting on. They can and do walk on water as well as dive up to seven inches deep in order to catch aquatic prey. The Six-spotted Fishing Spider in this photograph has removed the head of its prey and is drinking its liquefied innards.
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