Ozark Naturalist's Journal

That snakes and lizards abound in and around my garden and the woods surrounding the house was something I thought I already knew.  Perhaps I just took them for granted.  It wasn’t until now, while doing the Journal that it really made an impact. I’d always been fascinated by snakes and their cousins, lizards. When I found my first snakes at age 8 or there abouts, I proudly and excitedly brought them inside the house to show Mom.

Those little ring-necked snakes were not well received. So while Mom never discouraged my interest or curiosity, she did make a rule — no live snakes in the house.  I quickly learned that rule also applied to salamanders, mice of all types, frogs and, well, all wildlife. Orphaned rabbit babies and injured birds were exceptions.

So this year I began a concerted effort to record all the snakes and lizards I encountered. At first I was ready to write about the Redbelly snake, but then within a day or so there was the Midland brown. A wonderful Saturday with a bunch of Missouri Naturalists at Ha Ha Tonka State Park, practicing wildlife photography yielded some great photos, and the lone lizard of the group, a Broadhead Skink. Then the Western Ribbon snake made its appearance. Enough — time to get this done — too much of a delay already.

The Northern Redbelly Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata  occipitomaculatat{Storer]) was a most unusual find. Earlier in the day I had been searching out and collecting wild worms for a pair of rescued three toed box turtles. It was twilight and I was going in the house, it was getting too dark. And there, on the cement walkway was this big worm. I snatched it up. But I discovered it wasn’t a worm but a snake. Into the house it went. This snake is known to secrete a rather bad smelling white paste from glands at the vent. The next day when I removed it from its temporary home of a wide-mouth quart jar to take its picture, it obligingly extruded some more for the camera. It is a nice little snake, eating those bugs and slugs that are prone to eat our favorite plants.

The Midland Brown Snake (Storeria dekyi wrightorumTrapido) is another one of those little snakes that help us out by having a good appitite for garden spoilers. I frequently come across them around the barn, the garden and in the woods. There is wide color variations in the ones I’ve come across, some very dark, some very light. They all have had a dark spot under each eye and both sides of the neck, that is what has always helped me in identification regardless of the color. They too secrete a scent from the vent, but not nearly as pungent as the Redbelly. I think the snake’s color has something to do with where it hangs out. This particular one is grayish and as you can probably see, it blends in nicely with the gray karst common around our place.

The Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus proximus [Say]) I came across was in a real hurry. They can get really large and I’ve seen them engulf some really large frogs. The best time to photograph them is early morning before they’ve had time to become agile by warming up in the sun.

Then there is the terrific Broadhead Skink (Eumeces laticeps[Schneider]). It was an exciting find and I was very pleased to be able to get a good photo. I had read about it in Tom R. Johnson’s book, The Amphibians and Reptiles of Missouri, but had never before seen one in person. We had surprised it while it was sunning on a trail. Instinct told it to dash to the woods, but then it stopped after about five feet, remaining motionless. Since I was with a group of folks, I first pointed it out. Then, crouching and moving slowly, I took a series of pictures, after each one moving a foot or so closer. When within a foot-and-a-half I decided not to push my luck and slowly moved backward until out onto the trail again. Another naturalist then tried for photos and was able to go in and out as I did without the skink taking off. The third photographer got about half-way and evidently the skink said, “enough already,” and dashed  away. It was a grand adventure with a grand skink. It is one of the largest in Missouri. The head of this particular one is reddish, thus, it is identified as the male. It is usual during the breeding season for the males to develop a bright red head. While it has a  light brown back, it has sort of a greenish cast because of the light shining through the greet leaves above. Perhaps because of its red head or perhaps because of its size, many people think it is posonous. It is not. I’m willing to bet however, if you grabbed it, it would reflexively bite. That could smart. Photos are less painful. Usually.

There are more of those snakes and lizards out there waiting to be discovered. A bunch of little adventures waiting to happen. Bring’em on.

“>Many animals have instincts that automatically put them in motion to flee when approached by people. Others have instincts that initially make them motionless until they either feel threatened enough to attempt an escape or safe enough to move.

Frogs seem to be some of those motionless ones. The Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis – Hyla versicolor) is one of those very common frogs even people who don’t venture into the woods find. They often hide in flower pots, around water faucets and other moist spots outside homes. Those who are not fond of spiders should be glad to find Gray Treefrogs hanging around since they eat spiders as well as insects. They can be gently picked up and moved out of harms way when encountered. This one was hiding between two small plant pots. It went unnoticed until all the pots were moved and I was about to move the tray.

It rested quite nicely on my hand as I took it to a nearby pond and put it on a rock. Only then did it move, hopping to the ground, going under the overhanging  leaves of an oak sprout.

 Then there was this magnificant frog. I had already walked past it before it registered in my brain I had seen it. Looking back, I confirmed that yes indeed, I had seen a frog. Slowly raising my camera, I took a picture. It was of the frog’s back. Then I slowly walked back, hoping not to scare it into the water. Success. Kneeling  about five feet away, I took a couple of more pictures. Then I inched closer, stopped, took more photos. I repeated this until I was within a foot of the frog. Obviously I was not scaring the frog. Finished with photos, I stood up. It just sat there, even as I walked away. Looking back at the spot 20 minutes later, it was gone.

Later with the aid of the photos, I identified it as a male  Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana Shaw). I hope it sticks around, it will be an interesting night sound along with the Gray Treefrogs and peepers.

More than once, first time visitors to the Ranch ask why poison ivy is allowed to climb  the small oak tree along the front door walkway. I’ve sort of gotten used to it and have developed a rather nice little speech about the virtues of the innocent five-leaved Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia L. Planchon) Almost every part of the vine is eaten by something at different times of the year — the leaves and stems are eaten by deer until fall when they switch to eating the fruit; the fruit is also eaten by a variety of birds, including bob white quail. Not to be left out, squirrels and turkey also find it tasty. Turkey prefer the young tendrils while the squirrels like the leaves and fruit and  in the winter, chew on its bark. With such popularity it’s sort of amazing it is doing so well. But perhaps if it was not such a good wildlife food, it would be a troublesome vine. In the fall, it adds to the autumn colors by turning a beautiful red. So there is no reason to willy-nilly rip out or kill Virginia Creeper — its one of the good guys. Five leaves.

Now, back to poison ivy (Toxicodenndron radicans  L Kuntze).  It has three leaves, not five. But that means it can be easily confused with Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica Aiton) — another great wildlife food. Birds, raccoons, opossums, chipmunks and deer eat the fruit, while rabbits eat the bark during hard winters. Those three leaves are definitely different while being definitely similar. For years I’ve avoided fragrant sumac out of ignorance. Now however, I’ve gotten good at telling the difference between Fragrant sumac and poison ivy. I’m still cautious, being careful to keep a distance until I know for sure I’ve identified it correctly.

So how to tell the difference? The middle leaf. The stem of the middle leaf of the poison ivy is long. The stem of the Fragrant sumac is very short. Poison ivy will creep along the ground, climb up trees and other objects and sometimes just stand upright, two or more feet off the ground. Fragrant sumac does not creep along the ground or climb objects, it only stands upright, about two or three feet off the ground. Another difference is in the fruit. Poison ivy has white berries, Fragrant sumac has red berries. But the berries are not always present. So always check the center leaf.

If in doubt, don’t touch it. Err on the side of caution. All parts of the poison ivy plant can cause irritation, roots, stems, leaves, berries, all. And don’t burn it. Its smoke, if inhaled, it can affect the lungs. What to do about it? If it is around your house or areas where people frequent, it needs to be removed either chemically or by hand pulling. Cutting it with weeders or mowers doesn’t work, it only scatters pieces of the plant, spreading it even further.

Poison ivy does have some virtues, if growing wild. Like Virginia Creeper and Fragrant Sumac, it is a great wildlife food for a variety of animals. And it too, is beautiful in the fall.

Now that the weather is great for hiking and other outdoor activities, stay alert. What do you plan to sit on? Walk through? Brush up against?

Good luck!

“>”>These days, with the advent of spring, much of my time is spent in the garden. There is much to do to get my raised beds ready for my favorite vegetable — chile peppers. Not being really fond of the smell of burning gasoline, I cultivate using one of those long handled four-pronged tools. I’ve gotten fairly good with it over the years, able to get the job done while still being able to hear the  song birds and the occasional chatter of squirrels.

So it was, the other day. I was whizzing along with the cultivator, swinging it up, bringing it down with a strong thud into the weedy soil. Suddenly there was something orange in the dirt. It was one of those “What is that?” moments. Reaching down I pushed it lightly with a finger. It moved, flipping itself over. It was a small eft. Had I punctured it? Smashed it? Didn’t see any blood. It seemed intact. It was intact. It certainly was a lucky critter. A little dazed perhaps, for it was not really moving much.

Grabing the camera,  I took about four photos, then decided to put it in with the worms and dirt I had collected in a used gallon ice cream tub. Threw in a few leaves in case the eft wanted  some shade. It got really active, going around in circles, then resting under a leaf. More pictures later when I went to lunch, I thought. Clean it up for a better photo.

It was not to be. It escaped.

But perhaps that was best. It was back to where it was familiar. It has a good chance of survival that way. And the photos I do have are just fine. It is how you or anyone might see it at first. Many times photos in books are the ideal, no distracting debris, perfect color for identification. But nature is not usually that way.

By now you are probably wondering what an eft is. An eft is the land form of the Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis[Wolterstorff] ). Newts are a type of aquatic salamander which have a complicated life cycle. The adults live in the water, preferring wood shaded ponds and swamps. You usually won’t find them in ponds that have fish because fish will eat them and their eggs. They lay their eggs one at a time on underwater pond plants. The young, when hatched have gills but develop or metamorphose into what are called efts. After a few months they lose their gills, develop a tougher skin and then leave the water for land.

On land, they become a gardeners friend. If you forget to move a downed tree limb, don’t have time to rake away all the leaves from corners or fences, don’t bother to burn a brush pile, the efts will move in, quietly living there eating small snails and insects. Then after a couple or three years, the eft matures and returns to the water. You can’t see it in these photos, but the underside, is a bright orange. A good thing, too, for it was that orange belly that got my attention and saved its life.

While many people anxiously await the dogwood blooms, I look for the hints of the deep pink to red to purple blooms of the redbud (Cercis canadensis L.).  Appearing just after the white bloom clusters of the Service berry (Amelanchier aborea), I’ve never gotten used to that sudden splash of color. This year I decided I needed to mark the blooming Redbuds with surveyors tape so I could remember their location come winter and not be quite so surprised in the spring. That decision has lead to some little adventures since most of the Redbud on our property is growing on steep west facing slopes. Getting to them is not all that difficult, it is getting back to the top of the ridge. At least I’m beginning to lose a bit of that extra weight winter brought me.

According to Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri Redbuds are a good source of nectar for bees and several species of birds eat the resulting seeds while the foliage is browsed by deer. Nice that it can be beautiful and useful. The flowers are pea-like and like peas, form pods that eventually break open.

Even better news for bird lovers is how great Service berry is as a food source. That same reference book states at least 35 species of birds eat its berries and 11 species of mammals also eat the berries or browse the twigs and foliage. Several years ago I marked the Service berry in our immediate area. Now I know a Service berry no matter what the season or its size.

It may seem to be unimportant information, perhaps even useless. Well, no. Not the case. If you own more than a small city lot that was razed of all living matter to build your home, you will be facing choices of what to continue to let grow, what to cut down or clear.  There are many native shrubs, small trees and vines that can be attractive and when encouraged, beneficial to wildlife. Redbud and Service berry are two of many. It’s a tough life, being a small shrub or tree, so now I challenge myself to identify them. Not an easy task for me. I have difficulty remembering the names of new acquaintences, movies and song lyrics. I find repetition helps. Now, everytime I see the tagged Redbuds, I’ll be reinforcing the look with the name.

Works for me.

For some reason, I sometimes just don’t have the stamina I recall having when in my 20s. So, it is not uncommon for me to take short breaks where I just stand still. Such was the case this last week while looking in our woods for great places to plant Spice bush [Lindera benzoin (L.) Blume]. It’s a great medium sized shrub, gets to about 18 feet, has berries which at least 24 species of birds find delicious; with leaves deer and the caterpillars of the Spicebush swallowtail butterfly find tasty.

This was a solo planting adventure which meant no camera long. It was enough carrying a five gallon bucket of seedlings in water and the planting bar. Didn’t need to be worrying about safeguarding a camera.

Naturally, when taking a break, glancing down at a lichen and moss covered rock, I saw them, the Red Velvet Mites. And no camera.

I first came across them the previous spring, took some photos, but they were blurry. That didn’t help me identify them, but other people suggested they might be red velvet mites. Fortunately I was only a few minutes from the house. I got the camera. Back to the rock. Forgot the macro lens. Back to the house, got the macro lens. Back to the rock. No mites. Now I needed a break from my break. Sat down on the rock.  Maybe they were in the leaves. Swiped my hand through the leaves around the rock. Aha! there they were. Two climbed up on the rock. Perfect. Stood up, turned, kneeled and got some good pictures.

They are only about an eighth of an inch long and move very quickly. Those two projections at the front that look like antennae are actually the first pair of legs. They have four pairs of legs, eight legs, the same number as spiders. But unlike spiders, they do not have two distinct body areas.

These particular  mites are good guys. Most gardeners and farmers only have experience with the “bad” mites, the spider mites that damage crops and decorative plants. The Red Velvet Mite larvae, which have six legs, are external parasites of insects, spiders, daddy-long-legs and scorpions. As adults they feed on suitable insect eggs, which makes them our friends.

It was good to see them again and I did eventually get all the spice bush planted. With only a few more breaks.

We don’t have many dismal days around here, but the Saturday scheduled for the “Witch Hazel Event” in early March happened to have great  potential to be a dandy of a dismal day. Fortunately, some weeks before I had mentioned to James, my fishing buddy, that I’d have some trees to plant in March. “Would you be interested in lending a hand,” I asked. His “yes” came without hesitation. Fortunately his Mom was equally enthusiastic. So when the trees arrived,  the date was set.  Little did we know then it would be gloomily overcast with a slight drizzle accompanied by a “brisk” breeze. Try telling a nine-year-old it’s too cold and nasty to be outdoors planting trees.

The trees were bundle of 25 vernal Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) which I ordered from the Missouri Department of Conservation.  Their shrubs and trees are not to be used for personal landscaping or for resale, but for “reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control, as well as wildlife food and cover.” As an avid advocate of native plants versus cultivars from goodness-knows-where, I chose  Witch Hazel because it is one of the first to bloom, from January to March, no leaves mind you, just yellow and red blooms. According to Tried and True Missouri Native Plants for Your Yard, published by the Missouri Department of Conservations, Witch Hazel  “Provides food and cover for birds; provides nectar for flies and bees on warm winter days.” Perfect. Particularly since my “yard” consists of the woods and glades surrounding the house. 

Eager to get on with the adventure, James and Mom arrived. It had not yet begun to get misty outside. Since these were bare root seedlings, planting them is a bit different from those often bought in a pot. I sat James down in front of the computer and had him read the MDC web page showing how to plant: http://mdc.mo.gov/forest/IandE/MOConservationTreesAndShrubs/planting.htm 

I also showed him the book with the picture so he would know what this small stick with roots would look like in the years to come. I’ve only seen one in person — in a yard — not in the wild. It was spectacular. Two weeks prior I had attended a Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop given by  Horticulture Specialist James Quinn of the University of Missouri Extension. There, in addition to all the fruit trees, brambles and fig, was a witch hazel in full bloom. Fantastic. But it was a cloudy, misty day and I had left the camera at home. Arrgh. So when the second pruning session was held two weeks later, I finally got the picture that opens this posting. Overall, the blooms were starting to fade, only a few remained full of color. The pruned witch hazel was about eight foot tall and about five foot in diameter. If ours take, it will be interesting to see how large they get.

Out we went to plant. James was selected to carry the planting bar. Mom carried the bucket of water with the bare root seedlings. I got to carry the camera. Tough.

There were several factors that influenced selection of the spot to plant. First, would it get enough sunlight when the trees had leaves. Second, did the planting bar go “clink” when initially plunked down. If it did, we moved slightly to avoid the rocks it clinked on.

Sometimes it was not easy to get the bar through the ground. Small and large rocks were stubborn, but we assisted James by one of us  putting our weight on the bar.

Then by moving the bar back-and-forth and from side-to-side. it was enlarged enough to put the seedling roots in comfortably. The soil was then pushed closed to eliminate air pockets.

As you can see, these photos were not all taken with the same planting. The weather began to deteriorate. Mist became too common. But through it all James persisted and all the seedlings were planted. We marked the seedlings with surveyor’s tape so we could check on them later. It would be great if they all survived, but most likely not. Time will tell.

What began as an ordinary walk-about on a rather cloudy day ended with a great find.  There was an area of our property I hadn’t trekked through in months. It was time, my curiosity said, to see what changes nature had thrown our way over the winter.  There was also another reason for a walk-about — shed antlers. The male deer lose their antlers every year, usually during January and February. This was March.

Part of the walk-about included  going from one side of a gully to the other. One of those where it fairly easy to get to the bottom, but a challenge to get up the other side. Contemplating this challenge, looking to my right, there was a color out of place. Hummm. So I took the picture that opened this posting. Perhaps you can spot it. But since it is a different experience in person, I’ve enlarged it.

And enlarged it again.

While I’d found individual sheds, some very massive and irregular, this is a first for me. Looking through the leaves, I also found the lower jaw, intact. That too is very unusual. For some reason these particular bones had not washed further down to the base of the gully. There were a few other bones, gnawed on ribs, vertebrae and long bones, but they were found further down.

So what happened? We can only speculate. Big bucks, this was at least a 10 pointer, don’t just up and die of natural causes at the top of a gully. The bones were very clean. No hair or skin was left. It can take up to two ears for hair to decompose. My guess is that this deer was shot during the 2008 hunting season. Injured deer can sometimes travel for miles before going down because of blood loss. Some survive. This one didn’t.

While it may seem a shame this happened to the buck, there are some positives. This deer fed a great number of animals during a time of year when food is scarce.  Of course vultures had a feast and possibly fox, coyote and a whole bunch of insects. Its bones continued giving  by providing calcium to animals such as squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs and turtles.

The key to finding the unusual is being aware of and investigating the things that seem out of place. The flash of white jumped out to me. It was not usual in that leaf covered location. Now I get to closely examine a real deer skull. It is fascinating. More on that another time.

Who says procrastination doesn’t pay. Most mothers, most bosses and well, I’ve said it myself. But what’s a saying without an exception. There are occasions where procrastination results in something positive. Such is the case with the “Hatching Insects.”

It began last January. That’s when I wrote about a mass of insect eggs found on a bramble stem sticking out of the snow. There were two masses, I took one, cut it open to discover what it was. The other one remained where it was outside. I titled that one “Keeping Warm Insect Style.” I’ve been checking that egg mass regularly since the weather has gotten warmer, so I wouldn’t miss seeing what hatches.

Then Monday, while writing about garlic for a special presentation, I needed a particular gardening book. It was on a shelf above the ledge where the cut-in-half egg case has languished since January. I had procrastinated about disposing of it.

It moved.

I looked again, closer. Both halves of the egg case were alive with what appeared to be small worms. But they weren’t worms, they were the insects’ pupae moving because the insect was trying to get out. I Grabbed the camera, turned on a lamp to take some still photos. Then, wondered if the video camera could get close enough to record these tiny insects. The answer was yes. Video time is limited in this venue, so have a small clip of one of these insects getting the last four of the six legs free. It actually took over four minutes, you will see the last minute-and-a-half. Many people will recognize this cute little one, a beneficial insect that can get quite large. I had one in my dorm room, named it Johnny P. Mantis.

Click on “persistent” below to see the video. 

persistent

On March 3rd the sun shone, the weather began to change and the snow thawed. Walking along a trail I’ve named “Lower Turtle Trail,” my curiosity got the better of me. Wonder if I can find a snake under any of the many logs along the way. Slowly, I turned over a log, rolling it toward me so nothing that could bite could get to me. No snake. But glistening in the sunlight were some bright metallic green flies – or so I thought at the time. But back at the house, browsing the books, it just didn’t fit. At first I thought it might be a green bottle fly.  But the eyes weren’t the right color and the wings were held differently. Then looking some more, thought perhaps a Condylostylid long-legged fly. Humm, the legs weren’t right, not skinny and black; plus the wings didn’t have the right pattern. Now what. Started thinking about those legs. So took a look at another photo of that insect.

Yes, indeedy, look at those really hairy legs, very much like a bee. I already knew not all bees are yellow and black.

And there it was in the book: Augochlora Green Metallic Bees. It fit. Not only the description and the photo, but the description of where it can be found. It seems that the female bee tunnels into dead wood, such as that under the log, to make cells. Into each cell she puts a ball of pollen and nectar. With that done, she lays an egg on top. When the egg hatches, the larvae has plenty of food. Good thing too, for it is obvious that these larvae and pupae (where they change into the final adult) are developing during a time of really cold weather.

So this one and the others I saw under the log, are just about ready to go.  Where are they going to find pollen and nectar? I wonder, what is flowering now? Nothing obvious, then I thought about the Trout lily, yellow star grass  and other small cold weather plants. One thing leads to another. So now guess what I’m looking for.