Red-spotted Purple

A couple days ago I blogged about finally getting a chance to see a White Admiral up close. Well, yesterday here at home I had a chance to observe a Red-spotted Purple.

The tie you might ask? They're considered the same species (Limenitis arthemis). Yep. They look completely different but you have to delve deep into their teeny-tiny mitochondrial DNA to find any genetic variation.

Because they do hybridize, there are considered a polytypic species with two subspecies: the Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax), found throughout most of the United States (I love the reddish tips on the antennae!):

and the White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis arthemis), found in the northern United States and Canada:

Some references list a third form, the Western White Admiral, found west of the Rockies, that looks the same as the White Admiral, but with the addition of red spots on the hindwings. My purely unscientific mind says to listen to the various scientific sources and stick with two distinct subspecies with hybrids occurring between the two. Dan Tallman's blog has a nice photo of such an intergrade.

Of interest, the Red-spotted Purple is a Batesian mimic of the Black Pipevine Swallowtail. It has developed color mimicry to help deter predators (the Black Pipevine Swallowtail is poisonous and birds have learned to avoid it, and anything resembling it).

So cool to see these two back-to-back!

Northern Escape

Last weekend we escaped up north to explore 40 acres of newly purchased land. We spent the weekend with friends near Tom Lake and had a great time walking along the bubbling trout creek that runs through our property.

I was thrilled to find Ebony Jewelwings all along the creek. I'd never seen one before in the wild and was fascinated the first time I ever saw photos of one. (Check out Dan Tallman's blog for really nice photos of jewelwings.)

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately since I did end up sitting in the creek, I didn't bring my telephoto lens. I'm actually amazed that the photos turned out!

Some of the northern wildflowers are still blooming, like this delicate Shinleaf that reminds me a bit of Lily of the Valley.

Shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica) contains a property similar to aspirin and its crushed leaves were applied to bruises to reduce swelling and pain. It's a member of the wintergreen family, but doesn't have a minty smell or flavor.

While a common plant, its diminutive nature and propensity to grow in heavily shaded decidious forests, makes this flower often overlooked.

I also had the opportunity to finally see a White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis arthemis) up close. Easily recognized by the white band on black, White Admirals are found in deciduous forests throughout Canada and the northern United States.

The underside of their wings are a deep rusty red. The intricacies of marginal rows of blue and a submarginal row of red dots are stunning. This one was enjoying the nectar of Jon and Terri's mock orange.

A Hidden Surprise

While dead-heading the front roses today, something jumped and landed on one of the roses. Just assumed it was a grasshopper, until I started thinking that it's too early for them.

I'm glad I took a closer look, I found this little guy peering out at me:

I'm not good at ID'ing Cope's Gray Tree Frogs vs. Gray Tree Frogs (we have both in Minnesota), but based on the fact that it's skin is fairly smooth, and that it's close to the ground, I'm going to guess a Cope's. (would love input on this!)

He emerged after a few minutes for a better view:

One of the fascinating things with both Cope's Gray Tree Frog and Gray Tree Frogs is that their skin color changes based on time of year. During the summer when it's warm and vegetation is green, both frogs' skin is green. During cooler weather and after foliage begins to die (or in the spring before it "greens up"), their skin is a mottled gray.

The other fascinating item about both frogs? They freeze in the winter! They produce glycerol that's converted to glucose that they pump through their blood system as temps begin to drop. This fills and encases their organs, preventing them from freezing, but the rest of the body freezes up when temps plummet. Their hearts even stop! They burrow into dirt for added insulation: in fact many people have them emerge from potted plants that they're overwintering.

The two frogs have very unique calls, which makes ID'ing them at night easy. Here's a link to the Cope's call; and a link to the Gray Tree Frog's.

Red Fox Release (and a small rant)

My Mom lives in Florida and one of our favorite games to play on the phone is "Guess what's in the car?" This is a result of me transporting various critters of all species and sizes around the state for rehab, release or placement.

Mom guessed yesterday's quiz after only two questions. Way to go Mom! The answer was four Red Fox kits on their way back to the wild.

The view from my rearview mirror yesterday was priceless: A large kennel cab with three pairs of pointy ears as three of the four young red fox kits I was transporting peered out the back window, much to the utter delight of my surrounding commuters. (have to admit that it took me a bit to figure out what all the people, especially kids, were smiling and pointing to as they went by...)

Fortunately for those commuters, I did not take a photo from that angle, but here's one from the rear of the car with the tailgate open. I can only imagine how cute they looked standing on their rear legs against the gated door looking out the window.

For those of you who have been involved in a wild animal release, you know that they are highly unpredictable. They are, after all, WILD animals.

Yesterday's release was no exception. We opened the large kennel door first and one of the three immediately bolted and disappeared north into the forest. The single one came out next and kind of hung around while the second fox from the large kennel braved a mad dash into the woods. We had to tilt and pretty much force the third fox kit out of the kennel, at which point it wandered off after the first two, while the single kit headed west.

After making sure they weren't going to re-appear, we packed up the kennel and drove away. Not five minutes later the single kit appeared trotting down the gravel road, heading south onto our neighbor's property. Best laid plans, right?

We stopped to make sure it wouldn't return to the road and our neighbor took the opportunity to approach us and ask if it was a fox he'd just seen. That conversation then evolved into a discussion on releasing fox near his land because he has chickens. (good for the fox, bad for the neighbor, I'm rooting for the fox)

After explaining that this is prime habitat for fox: hundreds of acres of open farmland mixed with large stands of hardwoods, and that there already are fox and coyote in the area, he proceeded to tell us that his neighbor's dogs had killed two of his chickens last week. And he's worried about a fox kit.

Isn't part of having free-range chickens in a rural, farm setting acknowledging that you'll have predation loss? How do you move to one of the few rural farm communities still within the Metro area, and not realize the environment into which you're moving?

I'd rather see a fox or coyote, part of the natural predation cycle, take chickens that a neighbor's dog.

Personal rants aside, the release was fun to watch and it's a lifetime experience to see these beautiful animals return to their native habitat.

Crazy Days of Summer

Working for a very seasonal non-profit has its pros and cons. Pros: intense stretches of learning new things, working closely with more than 150 species of wildlife, being fully caught up in the seasons and the ability to spend most of the winter off the grid in far Northeastern Minnesota. Cons: keeping a balanced life from May through August.

Keeping up with this blog is one of those challenges. (you don't want to see my poor weed-filled veggie garden!) 

Seems like every day I see something and think "how cool is that!" Sometimes I manage to snap a couple decent pictures, but alas they usually sit in my computer for days or weeks until I get time to write up a new post.

This week alone we admitted more than 500 patients at WRC. For every patient that comes in, there are phone calls, follow-ups, photos and other miscellaneous things to coordinate. I love my job, but it takes up a lot of time during our peak season.

Yesterday I drove to Duluth and back to release our first Avian Nursery patients of the season: two Hairy Woodpeckers (one of which is above) who had been orphaned as tiny, naked nestlings due to tree trimming. Here's my WRC blog post.

On the home front, once I've arrived home to the serenity of a rural acreage, I've been enjoying a fabulous blooming season for the gardens:

And watching the birds as they gather nesting materials and exhaust themselves flying back and forth from our feeders to their hungry nestlings:

And in between all this, I keep the brain cells going by keeping up with a fabulous group of intellectuals and nature lovers on Twitter. I love all the fascinating info people share about nature and science. Cheers to a great group of Tweeps!  Gotta love those Crazy Days of Summer...

Nectar-sipping Tennessee Warblers

Did you know Tennessee Warblers drink nectar? I sure didn't. Prof Dan did. That's one of the greatest aspects of banding with a retired ornithology prof: the continual "cool!" moments when you learn something new (and for me, there's a lot of those).

The wild plum trees between our veggie garden and the meadow to the east were full of warblers last week. At first I thought they were picking the bugs off the blooms, but then I realized they were actually going from flower to flower and sipping the nectar. They'd stick their beak in as far as it would go, one after the other.

Of course, that meant go grab the camera and for the next half hour or so I was completely enthralled watching the birds as they hopped around. They'd hang upside down, stretch way up on their tippy toes - generally looking like they were in a Twister game, all for the nectar.

Several Nashville Warblers joined in the fun and games, too.

 

Periodically they'd switch over to our crab apple tree.

Judging by the spicier, almost muskier scent of the crab compared to the plums, I'm guessing it was to cut their sugar high.

Digital Warbling

It's amazing what digital cameras have done to make photography (or lack of) more accessible to everyone. Personally, I've always been fascinated by it, took photography classes, used a dark room for years; but until the purchase of my new Nikon earlier this year I'd given up trying to take a lot of photos. It was just too expensive.

Case in point? Warblers. Well, actually birds in general.

How many of you have shot tons of film only to have a couple good photos at best? Now, with my trusty camera, stoop sitting with a glass of wine during this year's phenomenal warbler migration is my favorite current pastime. (Well, not as much a favorite, kind of a cherry, not grape.)

And, to my utter amazement, I actually got a few warblers on camera. No, they're not good photos by any means, but the fact that I even captured them while manually focusing an older telephoto lens (had it from an earlier Nikon and don't have the budget right now to purchase a new lens) shocks me. Not to mention the fact that as I said, it's usually done with a glass of wine in hand. It's something I never would've tried with a film print camera.

Last Friday night, Friday the 13th actually, we had a phenomenal migration of warblers pass through the trees just 50' from our house. We counted more than a dozen species including magnolia, redstart, N. parula, Tennessee, yellow, chestnut-sided, Blackburnian, black and white, yellow-rumped, Nashville, mourning, Wilson's and Connecticut (at least I think it was a Connecticut).

This caused a flurry of digital warbling. Some passable:

And others not so much (but fun nonetheless):

I've decided the Northern Parula is the fastest moving warbler I've seen. It never sits still.

A couple Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are still around and joined in the party, too. 

Think this one is my favorite, simply due to the bird's funny position and how he seems to be moving with the branch:

So, a big THANKS to Nikon for bringing a new challenge to my world!

Canadian Wild Ginger

We have this patch of tiny, heart-shaped leaf plants that emerge ever spring under our pines. If you look real closely, you can see a funky shaped flower near the base of the plant. It's Canadian Wild Ginger and in addition to being an oddly attractive plant, it's also the larval host for the Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly (which is rarely seen in these northern parts).

When the plants emerge, it's this clustering of upright, green velvety leaves poking through the pine needles. They're beautiful on dewy mornings.

Wild Ginger should not be confused with edible ginger, even though the roots have a similar smell - they're not even in the same family. While it's been an herbal remedy for years, Wild Ginger contains a toxic acid (Aristolochic) that causes kidney failure and cancer. Unfortunately, since the plant was cited by Native Americans, Chinese healers and people in the Balkan region for everything from treating burns to using as a contraceptive, many people still use the plant in traditional medicine. In fact, just yesterday the FDA issued a stronger warning to discontinue all use of any botanical products containing Aristolochic acid.

Apparently the root can be carefully harvested and dried, then burned as an insect repellent, but I think I'll just enjoy it as a unique plant in my garden.

Pine Warbler

Timing is everything. I missed a photo of a brightly-colored towhee earlier but while walking back into my kitchen I spied a Pine Warbler on the suet feeder.

The first time I saw this activity was a couple years ago and I had to do a double-take because at first glance I thought it was a female goldfinch. I was glad I'd taken a second look since that was my first viewing of a Pine Warbler in the wild.

Now, every spring, I await the return of the Pine Warblers and Yellow-rumped Warblers since both flock to the suet feeder, making for excellent viewing.

Last week Professor Dan posted information on his blog about how the design of the Yellow-rumped Warbler's digestive system allows it to have a wider diet than other warblers; helping it survive the harsher weather conditions it faces as one of the earliest migrating warblers.

I'm guessing that the Pine Warbler's digestive system is similar to the Yellow-rumped since it is the only wood warbler whose diet consists heavily of seeds. Because of this, they're frequently seen in backyards (especially those with pines). In fact, it turned its beak up at the mealworms located just a foot away from the suet feeder today. Of course, during the summer they do consume primarily insects, but they're often found hammering away on seeds wedged into the bark of a pine tree much like a woodpecker or a nuthatch.

I always think if more people really looked closely at their backyard birds they'll see species they've not noticed before, and this is one of the prime examples - it just kind of blends in with your other birds.

Pasqueflower

Wow, who would've thought that there'd be so much misleading or contrasting information out there on Pasqueflowers?

Ours is just opening today and I thought it'd be interesting to learn more about the plant. I know it's a prairie plant and even can be found in tundra areas. I know it's the state flower of South Dakota and that it has medicinal properties. It's also the provincial emblem for Manitoba

And I know it's one of my favorite spring plants.

Other than that, it seems like there's a lot of misinformation out there. Wikipedia has it listed as Prairie Smoke, which I always thought was a different plant, apparently not? Wiki's never been a favorite source of mine, so I'll use the USDA and the MNDNR sites as references.

The medicinal properties affect the nervous system and were used by the Chippewa and Blackfoot tribes for everything from congestion, to arthritis to childbirth. It was also used to prolong sex due to the fact that it depresses the nervous system. Too much of it though, and it'll cause vomiting and kidney pain. Careful!

Back to the flower...

I love the light green furry foliage, out of which erupts these gorgeous large (4-5") purple flowers with bright yellow stamens. They just have a very unique appearance. Sometimes they look like flowers out of a fairy tale:

I believe this one is a cultivar since it's never reseeded or spread throughout the garden. Every year we get anywhere from 8-16 blooms, after which it provides attractive lacy foliage; a perfect backdrop for other plants.

This year the Pasqueflower is opening nine days later than last year, but only two days later than in 2009.

Spring is finally here!

A Downy and a Hairy Side-by-Side

I had a cooperative Hairy and Downy Woodpecker on the suet log the other day and snapped a few photos. I've learned if you have the opportunity to show them side-by-side you do it. So many people haven't seen them next to each other to get an idea of size comparison.

Hairys have a wide range of length: from 8-12." Downys on the other hand, rarely venture outside the 5.5-6.5" length.

In addition to the overall size of the bird, you can look for these two identifying features:

1) beak length.  A Hairy Woodpecker's beak will be nearly the depth of its head. It's very balanced in appearance. On the other hand, the Downy Woodpecker's thin, tiny bill looks small on its face; typically measures half of its head depth. I like to think that the Downy's beak looks like a little ice pick whereas the Hairy's beak is more like a true woodpecker's beak.
2) bars or spots on tail feathers. Here in Minnesota (and the Eastern part of the U.S.), Downy Woodpeckers have black dots on outer white tail feathers; Hairy Woodpeckers have solid white feathers. Oddly, in Newfoundland and in the Pacific Northwest (wouldn't you think they'd be closer geographically?), Hairy Woodpeckers often have the black tail markings of Downy Woodpeckers.

Spring Blooms...and snow

Just a few days ago this is what greeted me one morning:

This morning, it's a different sight. The pasque and crocus are completely buried under 2" of fresh spring snow:

I'm holding out hope that our forsythia will still open. Only once in the last 9 years have we lost the blooms due to cold weather, and that was on April 9, 2006.

The bright yellow of a male goldfinch is a welcome splash of color:

Even the deer came out to check out a downed tree:

Cricket Radio

Here in the frozen tundra of Minnesota, spring is slowly emerging. Tulips have broken through, crocuses and squills are blooming and, if you're quiet at night, you can hear the first frogs beginning to call.

For me, nothing speaks more of the northwoods and summer than the lively chorus of frogs, toads, crickets and other night insects.

Several weeks ago I enjoyed listening to an NPR broadcast focusing on all these sounds with guest author John Himmelman.

Himmelman's written a book titled "Cricket Radio" about the night's "nature sounds" and what prompts these critters to produce them.

The sounds swept me away with the promise of warm summer nights. Himmelman's voice detailing what I was hearing, and why I was hearing it, was perfect.

Here's the "Cricket Radio" site where you can listen to the NPR program and learn more about Himmelman's book.

Midwest Crane Count

Gather around Citizen Scientists:
The annual Midwest Crane Count is next Saturday, April 16.

Join more than 3,000 other volunteers as we record crane counts in six Midwest states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.

To volunteer, just contact your county coordinator.


And, this morning on WPR at 11am (during Larry Meiler's show time) staff from the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wis., will talk about the upcoming count and how crane populations are doing here in the U.S. and around the world. Should be a fascinating program!

(for those not familiar w/WPR's online stream, follow the link and then choose the "Ideas Network" streams.)

Many thanks to WRC for the use of the juvenile Sandhill Crane photo.

Archived WPR stream (2nd one down, 11am on Tuesday, April 5)