Have you ever heard crickets in the springtime? You may think so but what you were probably hearing was really American toads. American toads are common in the eastern United States and Canada. In the spring males look for a mate. They call out to receptive females by expanding the pouch on the underside of their throat called a dewlap. The mating call sounds similar to the sound of crickets. The easy way to distinguish between the two is that frogs and toads croak in the spring while crickets sing in the fall. So the next time that you think you are hearing crickets in the spring look around the water and you might see a toad like the one above.

Winter Wonderland

Things here have not gotten to this point yet, but the snow is supposed to begin tonight and continue on through out most of the weekend. This picture was taken in Yellowstone near the Mammoth Hot Springs.

Sunset Palms

Palm trees have been important to man since the early ages of civilization. Archaeologist have found evidence that the Mesopotamian culture cultivated the date palm over 5000 years ago. Ancient religious texts such as the Bible and the Quran also mention palms on numerous occasions. There are over 2600 different species of palms. All of them belong to the family Arecaceae in the order Arecales. They are found in tropical, subtropical and temperate habitats. Today the palm is used primarily in landscaping but palms are still used to produce dates and coconuts and harvested for palm oil and other uses. 

Osprey Banding

 Over the years I have had opportunities to view numerous types of bird banding. Back in the summer of 2010 I was fortunate to be able to photograph osprey banding at several nests around the Twin Cities. Most of the banding took place at nests that were located on osprey platforms. In some cases a climber was hired to climb up to the nest to get the chicks otherwise a basket lift was used. It is important to get the chicks at the correct age, about 5 weeks old. If they are too small the shock of banding may affect their health. If they are too large they might try and escape and hurt themselves or they might try and fight and hurt the bander. This chick had a lot of bravado but it was still young enough for the bander to easily handle.

 While the banders are grabbing the chicks from the nest the parents fly around the nest calling loudly. To them this is an invasion, from a large predator, and their babies are in danger. Besides screaming they also will dive at the bander. They usually do not get close enough to touch the banders but it is important to be careful  because they have very sharp talons. At the end of the day, when the chicks are placed back into the nest and the banders leave, the osprey will be successful and they will have saved their chicks.

 Once on the ground the chicks are kept in the shade. Banding here in Minnesota takes place at the beginning of July so it can be quite warm. Since they are already stressed out because of the banding it is important not to let them get too hot because it might affect their health. The chicks have two bands crimped on to their legs. on their left leg they get a silver Us Fish and Wildlife band. This band number is recorder at the Bird Banding Lab in Washington DC. THE right leg is banded with a colored alpha numeric band which is much easier to read through binoculars or a scope then the silver band. This helps different groups, such as the Audubon Society, Three River Park District or other interested organisations identify the birds in the field.

Although they were at one time plentiful through out the state of Minnesota, the osprey had all but disappeared from the southern half of the state by the early 1900's. In 1984 the Hennepin Parks Association,  now the Three Rivers Park District, began a release program to reintroduce nesting osprey into the Twin Cities Metro area. They set up osprey nesting platforms in suitable habitat and began to release young birds that had been taken from northern Minnesota. Over an eleven year time frame, 1984-1995, they released 144 young osprey into the area and put up around 100 nesting platforms. Many of these birds returned to the Twin Cities after migration and when they reached maturity, 3-4 years, they began to nest in the area. In 2010 their were over 60 active nesting territories in the Twin Cities and the number has continued to grow. Around 85% of the population is banded.

Urbanus procne (Brown Longtail)

 The brown longtail butterfly is a member of the genus Urbanus, which includes many of the tailed butterflies. They are a skipper type of butterfly which puts them in the Hesperiidae family. They are mostly brown with some light mottling on the wings and tail. They are found grassy fields as well as tropical and subtropical forests from South Texas through Mexico, Central America and into northern South America. Their larval host plants are different types of grasses including Bermuda grass.

Eastern Bluebird

 As winter sets in here in the north the world seems to lose much of its color. The green leaves are gone from the trees, soon the ground will be covered with white and the skies are most often gray. Flowers and butterflies are long gone and many of the birds that remain in Minnesota during the winter are brown or shades of gray. Last year we were lucky, as it seems a few hardy eastern bluebirds decided not to migrate south. Instead they over wintered in southern Minnesota. Their bright blue color has sure helped to brighten up the bleak season. Of course last year we did not have much snow at all and the birding was pretty messed up. So if things go back to normal this winter we may have a few months to wait for the color to return to the frozen north.

Welcome to Tuesday Tweets! To join in the fun just post a photo of a bird and then link it by here by using the handy dandy link below. Then make sure you visit other sites to do a little bird watching.

Edinburg Scenic Wetlands

 The Edinburg Scenic Wetlands is a 40 acre park in the middle of the small city of Edinburg near McAllen, TX. This park was the first of the nine World Birding Center sites to open in Texas back in 2003. Surrounded by a city park with baseball diamonds and swings, the wetlands is built on reclaimed farmland and is bordered by Edinburg's effluent and floodwater ponds. These waterways attract migrating waterfowl as well as some of the Rio Grande specialties like the green kingfisher, my nemesis bird, and the least grebe, pictured above.

In the center of the park there is a beautiful interpretive center that includes exhibits, a classroom and gift shop. Looking out, one of the many windows that helps to fill the interpretive center with natural light, you can view the 3.5 acres of native plants that surround the center. With 180 different species of plants and flowers, that are native to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, these gardens are designed to attract the numerous hummingbirds and butterflies, like this little yellow, flitting about. There is also a dragonfly pond to provide habitat for the underwater larval stage of the dragonflies. Two and a half miles of walking trails let visitors get a good view of this oasis in the city.

 The pearl crescent is a common North American butterfly. It is found almost everywhere through out the US except for the west coast. It can also be found in most of Mexico and parts of southern Canada. Adult are usually found in open fields, roadsides, pastures and other open spaces where they feed on nectar from a variety of flowers including milkweed, dogbane and asters. Pearl crescents lay their eggs on the underside of aster leaves which is what the larva, caterpillar, eat.

Burrowing Owl

 Burrowing owls are a part of of a genus of smaller owls called Athene. The burrowing owl is the only member of the genus that is found in North or South America. They live in open grassland, agricultural fields, and desserts in the western half of North America, Mexico, and parts of Central and South America. They live in underground burrows which they most often commandeer from rodents such as prairie dogs or larger ground squirrels, they will also use holes that are dug by badgers looking for prey. They often collect animal dung which they use to line the entrance to the burrow to help detour predators. They will nest as far north as south central Canada but birds that nest in Canada and the northern U.S. will migrate south for the winter. Most of the other burrowing owls will stay on territory year round.

While most U.S. burrowing owls live in the west there is a subspecies that lives in Florida and the Caribbean. Since their are not any larger digging rodents that live in their range these burrowing owls dig their own burrows. The loose sand found in the area make this possible. The first shot is of a western burrowing owl photographed in Idaho while the second shot is a Florida burrowing owl. Burrowing owls will hunt at any time day or night but they prefer hunting in the morning or evening. They eat a wide variety of prey depending on what is available. They typically eat a lot of large insects, such as grasshoppers, scorpions and beetles, which they catch during the day. At night they usually hunt for rodents such as mice, rats and ground squirrels. They will also eat things like snakes, lizards and small birds. It is often possible to see borrowing owls during the day, often sitting on the ground or a low pole, which makes them easier to photograph. During the middle of the day though they are usually back in their burrows to get out of the midday heat.

TGIF

Thank God it's Friday! This week has seemed to last forever. With the holiday last week and a couple of tests that I took this week it has made this week seem to last forever. Here is a nice pic that I took of a water lily at the Como Zoo water garden this summer. Hopefully it will help cheer you up if you are having a week like mine.

Split Rock Lighthouse

Split Rock Lighthouse in the fall. 

Goldenrod Crab Spider

One of the new things that I have begun to photograph in the last couple of years are spiders. I find spiders extremely fascinating. Like other predators they are diverse in their prey and how they hunt. This affects the habitat where different species live. When most people think of spider they think of them spinning webs but there are many types of spiders that do very little spinning. The goldenrod crab spider is a good example of this.   

 The goldenrod crab spider typically only spins webs during mating and egg laying. They hunt by ambushing their prey. The goldenrod crab has the ability to change its color between white and yellow. They change color to blend in to the flower that they are sitting on. This camouflage helps them to sneak up and ambush their prey. The prey typically consists of pollinating insects which the crab injects with venom and sucks out all of the body fluids, as in the first photo. They are often found in their yellow form on goldenrod flowers, because goldenrod attracts many insects.

 Female goldenrod crab spiders (top) are all one color, either yellow or white, except for the two red stripes that run down their abdomen. Male goldenrod crabs (second and third photo) have a dark thorax. Their front two pair of legs are also dark. The abdomen and back legs look similar to those of the female. The big difference between the sexes is size. The female spider is at least three times larger then the male. This is true of many spider species. This last shot gives you a perspective of just how small the male goldenrod crab is.

Sandhill Cranes

Tennessee Warbler

The Tennessee warbler is a bird with a misleading name. The Tennessee warbler was named in 1832 by Alexander Wilson, a naturalist that first scientifically described the species from individuals that he observed on the banks of the Cumberland River in Tennessee. The fact is that the only time you would be likely to see a Tennessee warbler in Tennessee is during migration. These warblers nest in the boreal forests of Canada and the northern United States, including north east Minnesota. Their favorite food is the spruce budworm. During the winter they migrate down to southern Central America and northern South America where they are often found on coffee plantations. During the winter they still eat insects but they also supplement their diet with nectar, particularly from the flowers of the inga trees.

 Welcome to Tuesday Tweets! To join in the fun just post a photo of a bird and then link it by here by using the handy dandy link below. Then make sure you visit other sites to do a little bird watching.

Hugh Ramsey Nature Center

 The Hugh Ramsey Nature Center is a city park located in Harlingen, TX. Much of the 55 acre park was once a landfill.  It was designated a park by the city of Harlingen in the 1970's but sat unimproved for twenty years. In 1994 a parking lot and loop road were added and a project began to restore the vegetation back to what it would have been prior to becoming a landfill. Revegetation continued off and on through the 1990's and into the 2000's.

 In 2005 Hugh Ramsey was combined with the Harlingen thicket to become a World Bird Center location. The entire park is called the Harlingen Arroyo Colorado after the Arroyo Colorado waterway which runs through both parts of the park. Although it is a World Bird Center Location I found it a great place to photograph butterflies, dragonflies and spiders. The numerous gardens, including two butterfly gardens, and water features help to draw in both birds and insects and make it a very beautiful place to visit.