Eastern Garter Snake takes on American Toad

Today's class of second graders was sweeping for insects in the field when they came upon this Eastern Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) attempting to feed on an American Toad (Bufo a. americanus).  They were spell bound, watching as the snake maneuvered from side to side trying to swallow its large prey.  

We watched the toad puffing its body, making it more difficult for the snake to engulf it. White bufotoxin oozed from the toad's glands.  All the while, the snake held on, adjusting its jaw and turning sideways, barely making any progress as it tried to inch its way up the toad's body.

We watched for almost 10 minutes before leaving for the wetland to find newly hatched toad tadpoles. The question on everyone's mind, "Who will win?" was never answered. An hour later when we came back to the field, there was no sign of either the snake or the toad.

Dekay's Brownsnake

I love accidentally coming upon an animal or plant that I've never seen before.  Yesterday, I discovered this tiny Dekay's brownsnake (Storeria dekayi) on a dusty hiking trail between a beaver pond and a swampy area while taking a group of first graders to pond for invertebrates.  This snake is known for being diurnal during the spring and fall and nocturnal during the hotter summer months. Despite being pretty common, their night-time behavior keeps them from being seen often. They don't mind built-up areas and hide under boards, logs and leaf litter near water.

Such a small snake (8-14") primarily eats small prey, of course, like worms, slugs and soft insects.

March through May is mating time for brownsnakes.  Three-inch babies will be born in late summer.  Dekay's will often hibernate with members of their own species as well as garter and red-bellied snakes. Brownsnakes have keeled or ridged scales.

Palm Warbler

Interested in bird watching?  Try a garden cemetery.  Our nearby cemetery contains two ponds with abundant fish and invertebrates, trees and shrubs, so it's a haven for birds, especially migrating warblers. Today's find: beautiful palm warblers (Setophaga palmarum).

Palm Warbler - a ground feeder

This stunning little bird with its bright yellow and olive body and rusty cap has just spent the winter in the southern United States, probably in Florida.  It's on its way to Canada where it will spend the summer breeding. By October, palm warblers are headed south for the winter.

There is also another subspecies of palm warbler, the Western Palm Warbler which is a duller brown color with white underparts.

Eastern Phoebes and Brown-headed Cowbirds

The Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe)  have returned from their winter grounds to breed.  They are one of my favorite birds to watch as they perch then perform aerial maneuvers to catch insects on the wing. They seem to prefer the trees and shrubs that abut the wooded area and stream behind our home.  Sometimes they will use the kids' pitchback as a resting spot, wagging their tails up and down before swooping off.

Eastern phoebe

Eastern phoebe

Eastern phoebe

These monogamous little fly-catchers build their nests of mud and dried plant materials often on ledges with overhead cover.  Last spring I came upon this phoebe nest while walking on a trail.  It was built on the roots of a tree which had been toppled after a storm.

The black arrow is pointing at the phoebe's nest

Close up of the phoebe's nest made of mud, dried grasses, pine needles and moss

I've noticed quite a few brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater ) around also.  These brood parasites often choose phoebe nests as the location for their eggs.

Male brown-headed cowbird

Drab gray female brown-headed cowbird on left; male brown-headed cowbird on right

Vernal Pool Time

It was a long wait, but finally there has been activity at nearby vernal pools. Wood frogs  (Lithobates sylvaticus) were busy "quacking" and mating. Freeze-tolerant wood frogs have been overwintering beneath the leaf litter.  Watch this amazing video of  Wood frogs reviving in spring.

Wood frogs in amplexus

Wood frog

We saw only male spotted salamanders.  Females hadn't arrived yet.

Male spotted salamander swimming away.  Males have a noticeably swollen vent (cloaca).

Spotted salamander under water

Spotted salamander in leaf litter

Spotted salamander headed to the vernal pool

Spring peepers were chorusing loudly in a pond across the street from the vernal pool.  Four years ago, there were spring peepers at the vernal pool, but we no longer find them there.

Can you spot the spring peeper in the reeds? See a close-up shot below.

Male spring peeper calling

Click below to hear my recording of the spring peepers. Happy Spring!

Hooded Mergansers

Two hooded mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) enjoyed a late afternoon swim and a bit of fishing at the cemetery pond today.  Females can be easily distinguished from males -- females are a warm orange brown with dark eyes while adult males in mating plumage are a striking black and white above and brown below. Adult males have yellow eyes.  At first, I thought these two were females, but after looking at these photos enlarged, their eyes seem too light colored.  I believe these are actually two immature males.

There's plenty to eat here, especially goldfish which gather in large numbers around the pond's many ledges.

Another frequent visitor is this great blue heron. Later, another heron arrived and awkwardly perched in a tree next to the pond but never joined in the fishing.

Eastern Comma Butterfly

Today I had an encounter with another overwintering butterfly -- the Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma). After several cool days, this Eastern Comma is taking advantage of today's sunny 58 degree weather and warming itself on my back deck.  Like the Mourning Cloak, this butterfly will hide from the harsh winter elements under tree bark or in various cavities.  At the first hint of spring warmth, it will emerge to bask in the sunshine and lay its first brood.  These butterflies are quite feisty and are known to fly at other butterflies and insects that invade their territory.   Host plants for their caterpillars include nettles, American elm, and hops.

Overwintering Mourning Cloak

I turned over this chunk of wood while hiking recently, not expecting to find much of anything as the cold weather has already set in.  

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a mourning cloak butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa). 

It's so well camouflaged that the edges of its wings are barely noticeable against the wood.

While most butterflies migrate or overwinter as eggs, larva or pupae, adult mourning cloaks find a spot under tree bark, in a hollow or another suitable crevice such as eaves of a house, where they remain through the winter in a state of diapause.  Like other creatures that overwinter, mourning cloaks are able to keep from freezing by building up glycerol, an "anti-freeze" in their bodies while also lowering their metabolic rate. It's amazing that such a fragile looking creature can withstand the fury of winter.  By overwintering, mourning cloaks gain by being the first butterflies of spring.  They may be seen drinking tree sap.  The females will lay eggs on host trees - birches, poplars and elms.

Cornell Lab Bird Cams | Virtual Bird Watching at its Best!

Cornell Lab Bird Cams | Virtual Bird Watching at its Best!

Hawks have hatched! 

Ring-necked ducks



Just recently, ring-necked ducks (Aythya collaris) arrived at Baker's Meadow.  There are about five male/female pairs swimming about in the deeper parts of the pond.  They've come from warmer southern wintering grounds.  They are just stopping over on their way north to breed.  Unlike the dabbling mallards, ring-necked ducks can be seen diving underwater.  There's plenty of food here for them - lots of insect larvae, freshwater clams, and aquatic vegetation.  From a distance, the males appear black with a white ring at the base and near the tip of their beak.  In reality, their heads are overlaid with irridescent purple. The females are brown with a white beak ring.  The "ring neck" in their name comes from a dark brown ring around the male's neck which is difficult to see from a distance.  Look closely and you can see the ring in the photo below.



Both have gold colored eyes, but the female also sports a white eye ring.



The ring-necked ducks must share the pond with quite a few bossy Canada geese.  Lucky for them, the mute swans seem to be absent.

Calvert Cliffs State Park, Maryland

The final destination in Maryland was Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby on the Chesapeake Bay. 

 

 

The 1.8 mile hike to the water was easy and scenic, with plenty of wildlife and varying habitat.

 

 

 

Can you spot the two fence lizards -- one gray and the other brown with a blue underside -- in the center of the photo?  They were having a territorial skirmish just outside the parking area.

 

 

 

A red-tailed hawk waited patiently for a meal to appear near the trail.

 

 

 

Turtles basked along logs in the marsh.

 



 

 

 

Too bad this boardwalk was closed for repairs.

 

 

Northern cricket frogs of varying colors bounced around the water's edge and along the sides of the trail.



 



 

A zebra swallowtail flitted from flower to flower.

 

 

This watersnake was weaving its way through the dense shrubs along the waterside edge of the trail. We met a ranger along the way who mentioned seeing a cottonmouth earlier that day.

 

 

A five lined skink zipped up, down and around a tree.

 

 

Finally, the trail opened up onto the beach and the fossil hunting began.

 

 

 

What we found:

 

A shell fragment of Chesapecten nefrens - an ancient scallop.

 

 

Snaggletooth shark teeth

 

 

Tiger shark tooth

 

 

Lemon shark teeth

 

 

Ray dental plates

 

 

A sand tiger shark tooth

 

 

A piece of a megalodon tooth

 

 

A gray (or requiem) shark tooth

 

 

A nearly complete megalodon tooth

 

Even on the way back to the hotel, we spotted this osprey near its nest on a platform near the side of the road.

 

 

 

 

 

A great day of hiking, nature watching and fossil hunting.