The Ozarks

 Last month I visited family in Missouri. I'd been through Missouri many years before, and remember it being mostly flat. I was travelling out of St. Louis towards Kansas City then. This time, I went southwest out of St. Louis. The road was like sailing the ocean over the waves. Up down one hill then up the next. I always thought the Ozarks were in the southwest corner of the state. It turns out pretty much the whole southern half of Missouri is Ozarks. The undulation leveled out a bit once I reached the Springfield Plateau in the southwest. But it was nowhere near as flat as Illinois.

The wildlife in the Ozarks is different from what I'm used to in Pennsylvania. However, I didn't get to see very many new critters. There are freshwater clams in Stockton Lake. I saw plenty of armadillos, but they were all dead. No roadrunners, no rattlesnakes, no scorpions, and no tarantulas. I saw some insects that I have at home, like a wheel bug, a milkweed bug, and the ubiquitous deer. Southern leopard frogs in a spring house at a Civil War battlefield was a nice surprise.

Wheel bug

Bird poop moth

Milkweed beetle

Black swallowtail

Freshwater clam

There was more forest than I expected to see. I got to check out some oak savanna. Most of the land in the Springfield Plateau that I saw was farmland. There were some crops, mostly corn, but the majority was cattle pasture.

It was nice to see some butterflies finally. Compared to last summer, I haven't seen very many this year. Apparently once you leave Bucks County they are everywhere. The Flight 93 memorial in western Pennsylvania has quite a few grasshoppers too. Turkeys flew across the road ahead of me somewhere in that area. Elsewhere, the sky was full of turkey vultures and hawks that I couldn't identify. A fox ran across the road ahead of me in Indiana.

Dead luna moth

Fence lizard

Fritillary (left) and buckeye (right) butterflies

Southern leopard frogs

Dead armadillo

Even though I didn't set out to explore nature on this trip, it still happened. It happens everywhere I go now that I've been trained to see things everywhere. Next time you are out and about, take a look around and notice what you see.

Tiger swallowtail

Oak savanna

Species of the Month

With Thanksgiving just a week away, once again we turn our attention to the dinner plate. In years past, November's Species of the Month has featured the wild turkey, venison, and clams that were likely present at the first Thanksgiving. This year, we look at a staple of the modern celebration, the North American cranberry.

Whole berry cranberries (UWLC)

Scientific name: Vaccinium macrocarpon

Kingdom: Plantae (plants)

Class: Magnoliopsida (dicots)
Order: Ericales (heath)

Cranberries on the shrub (UWLC)

Range: US west coast, northeast US and Great Lakes areas
Habitat: Bogs with acidic soil
Diet: Water and sunlight
Predators: Bears, rodents, birds, deer, humans
Conservation Status: Listed as endangered in Illinois and threatened in Tennessee

Cranberry bog

Other facts: Cranberries grow in freshwater peat bogs. They are grown commercially for use in food products. The best use is the canned jellied cranberry. Cranberry plants are useful as a food source for animals. Birds, bear, and rodents eat the berry, while deer browse the shrub. Birds and rodents also use the stems for nesting material. Birds may also build a nest in the shrub. Cranberries also form a symbiotic relationship with fungi, giving up sugar in exchange for access to soil nutrients. Cranberries can survive being submerged for long periods, and even being kept on ice over the winter.

Cranberry flower (Cape Cod Cranberry Growers)

This week's information comes from Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association, USDA PLANTS, and University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. Pictures, except the flower, are also from University of Wisconsin- La Crosse.

Species of the Month

November’s Species of the Month is another animal that is related to Thanksgiving. Last year, we covered the turkey, which is the traditional centerpiece in many a holiday feast. But recall that Massasoit’s braves also arrived at Plymouth with five deer. There are several species of deer in the world, and even in the US there are more than one. But the species found in Massachusetts and much of the country is the white-tailed deer.

Scientific name: Odocoileus virginianus

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Mammalia (mammals)

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Range: Southern Canada to Bolivia in South America

Habitat: Nearly universal in their range: forest, grassland, swamp, and urban areas. Wooded cover and open browse are ideal.

Lifespan: 2-3 years in the wild, on average with a maximum of 20 years.

Diet: Grasses, forbs, shrubs, succulents, twigs and shoots of trees

Predators: Wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, jaguars, bears, humans

Conservation Status: No special protection

Other Information: The white-tailed deer is one of America’s most popular game animals. Hunted nearly to extinction, due to better game management and habitat enhancement (often incidental to loss of habitat for other species) it is believed that there are more deer now than in pre-Columbian times. White-tailed deer are a nuisance in some areas, destroying crops and ornamental plants, striking vehicles, and overconsuming forest resources due to overpopulation. They are also disease vectors, hosting ticks that carry Lyme disease. White-tailed deer also played an important role historically in the US. Native Americans and European settlers alike used the deer as a source of food, clothing, and tools. White-tailed deer mate in the fall, usually in their second year. Births are usually single or double. Fawns can walk immediately and have no scent. Lack of scent, coupled with camouflage pattern that makes them resemble the forest floor, is an adaptation to protect against predators. When startled, the mother will bolt and leave the fawn(s) behind, triggering a predator’s chase instinct. Bucks grow antlers annually prior to mating season. They will spar with other males, using antlers as a weapon and to impress females. Antlers, which are made of bone, grow covered in velvet, which supplies blood to the growing bone tissue. After the velvet is shed, the antlers stop growing and eventually weaken and break off after mating season ends. Summer and winter coats differ in color, ranging from brown to grayish. The underside of the tail is white and is flicked as a warning signal to others, giving the white-tailed deer its name. White-tailed deer is an ungulate and as such, has a multi-chambered stomach like cows. Food is partially broken down, regurgitated, and digested more completely. This allows the deer to break down tough cellulose in plant material to more efficiently gain energy from it.

November’s Species of the Month is another animal that is related to Thanksgiving. Last year, we covered the turkey, which is the traditional centerpiece in many a holiday feast. But recall that Massasoit’s braves also arrived at Plymouth with five deer. There are several species of deer in the world, and even in the US there are more than one. But the species found in Massachusetts and much of the country is the white-tailed deer.

Scientific name: Odocoileus virginianus

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Mammalia (mammals)

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Range: Southern Canada to Bolivia in South America

Habitat: Nearly universal in their range: forest, grassland, swamp, and urban areas. Wooded cover and open browse are ideal.

Lifespan: 2-3 years in the wild, on average with a maximum of 20 years.

Diet: Grasses, forbs, shrubs, succulents, twigs and shoots of trees

Predators: Wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, jaguars, bears, humans

Conservation Status: No special protection

Other Information: The white-tailed deer is one of America’s most popular game animals. Hunted nearly to extinction, due to better game management and habitat enhancement (often incidental to loss of habitat for other species) it is believed that there are more deer now than in pre-Columbian times. White-tailed deer are a nuisance in some areas, destroying crops and ornamental plants, striking vehicles, and overconsuming forest resources due to overpopulation. They are also disease vectors, hosting ticks that carry Lyme disease. White-tailed deer also played an important role historically in the US. Native Americans and European settlers alike used the deer as a source of food, clothing, and tools. White-tailed deer mate in the fall, usually in their second year. Births are usually single or double. Fawns can walk immediately and have no scent. Lack of scent, coupled with camouflage pattern that makes them resemble the forest floor, is an adaptation to protect against predators. When startled, the mother will bolt and leave the fawn(s) behind, triggering a predator’s chase instinct. Bucks grow antlers annually prior to mating season. They will spar with other males, using antlers as a weapon and to impress females. Antlers, which are made of bone, grow covered in velvet, which supplies blood to the growing bone tissue. After the velvet is shed, the antlers stop growing and eventually weaken and break off after mating season ends. Summer and winter coats differ in color, ranging from brown to grayish. The underside of the tail is white and is flicked as a warning signal to others, giving the white-tailed deer its name. White-tailed deer is an ungulate and as such, has a multi-chambered stomach like cows. Food is partially broken down, regurgitated, and digested more completely. This allows the deer to break down tough cellulose in plant material to more efficiently gain energy from it.November’s Species of the Month is another animal that is related to Thanksgiving. Last year, we covered the turkey, which is the traditional centerpiece in many a holiday feast. But recall that Massasoit’s braves also arrived at Plymouth with five deer. There are several species of deer in the world, and even in the US there are more than one. But the species found in Massachusetts and much of the country is the white-tailed deer.

Scientific name: Odocoileus virginianus

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Mammalia (mammals)

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Range: Southern Canada to Bolivia in South America

Habitat: Nearly universal in their range: forest, grassland, swamp, and urban areas. Wooded cover and open browse are ideal.

Lifespan: 2-3 years in the wild, on average with a maximum of 20 years.

Diet: Grasses, forbs, shrubs, succulents, twigs and shoots of trees

Predators: Wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, jaguars, bears, humans

Conservation Status: No special protection

Other Information: The white-tailed deer is one of America’s most popular game animals. Hunted nearly to extinction, due to better game management and habitat enhancement (often incidental to loss of habitat for other species) it is believed that there are more deer now than in pre-Columbian times. White-tailed deer are a nuisance in some areas, destroying crops and ornamental plants, striking vehicles, and overconsuming forest resources due to overpopulation. They are also disease vectors, hosting ticks that carry Lyme disease. White-tailed deer also played an important role historically in the US. Native Americans and European settlers alike used the deer as a source of food, clothing, and tools. White-tailed deer mate in the fall, usually in their second year. Births are usually single or double. Fawns can walk immediately and have no scent. Lack of scent, coupled with camouflage pattern that makes them resemble the forest floor, is an adaptation to protect against predators. When startled, the mother will bolt and leave the fawn(s) behind, triggering a predator’s chase instinct. Bucks grow antlers annually prior to mating season. They will spar with other males, using antlers as a weapon and to impress females. Antlers, which are made of bone, grow covered in velvet, which supplies blood to the growing bone tissue. After the velvet is shed, the antlers stop growing and eventually weaken and break off after mating season ends. Summer and winter coats differ in color, ranging from brown to grayish. The underside of the tail is white and is flicked as a warning signal to others, giving the white-tailed deer its name. White-tailed deer is an ungulate and as such, has a multi-chambered stomach like cows. Food is partially broken down, regurgitated, and digested more completely. This allows the deer to break down tough cellulose in plant material to more efficiently gain energy from it.

November’s Species of the Month is another animal that is related to Thanksgiving. Last year, we covered the turkey, which is the traditional centerpiece in many a holiday feast. But recall that Massasoit’s braves also arrived at Plymouth with five deer. There are several species of deer in the world, and even in the US there are more than one. But the species found in Massachusetts and much of the country is the white-tailed deer.

Scientific name: Odocoileus virginianus

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Mammalia (mammals)

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Range: Southern Canada to Bolivia in South America

Habitat: Nearly universal in their range: forest, grassland, swamp, and urban areas. Wooded cover and open browse are ideal.

Lifespan: 2-3 years in the wild, on average with a maximum of 20 years.

Diet: Grasses, forbs, shrubs, succulents, twigs and shoots of trees

Predators: Wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, jaguars, bears, humans

Conservation Status: No special protection

White-tailed doe resting in the cover of a forest

Other Information: The white-tailed deer is one of America’s most popular game animals. Hunted nearly to extinction, due to better game management and habitat enhancement (often incidental to loss of habitat for other species) it is believed that there are more deer now than in pre-Columbian times. White-tailed deer are a nuisance in some areas, destroying crops and ornamental plants, striking vehicles, and overconsuming forest resources due to overpopulation. They are also disease vectors, hosting ticks that carry Lyme disease. White-tailed deer also played an important role historically in the US. Native Americans and European settlers alike used the deer as a source of food, clothing, and tools. White-tailed deer mate in the fall, usually in their second year. Births are usually single or double. Fawns can walk immediately and have no scent. Lack of scent, coupled with camouflage pattern that makes them resemble the forest floor, is an adaptation to protect against predators. When startled, the mother will bolt and leave the fawn(s) behind, triggering a predator’s chase instinct. Bucks grow antlers annually prior to mating season. They will spar with other males, using antlers as a weapon and to impress females. Antlers, which are made of bone, grow covered in velvet, which supplies blood to the growing bone tissue. After the velvet is shed, the antlers stop growing and eventually weaken and break off after mating season ends. Summer and winter coats differ in color, ranging from brown to grayish. The underside of the tail is white and is flicked as a warning signal to others, giving the white-tailed deer its name. White-tailed deer is an ungulate and as such, has a multi-chambered stomach like cows. Food is partially broken down, regurgitated, and digested more completely. This allows the deer to break down tough cellulose in plant material to more efficiently gain energy from it.

Information this month comes once again from University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web. 

A mother and two fawns browse in edge habitat.
A buck is behind and uphill.

White-tailed buck (Pennsylvania Game Commission)

The Urban Wilderness

A few weeks ago, I mentioned some of the animals of the urban wilderness, those that have adapted extremely well to life with humans. This week I’ll share some wild urban spaces, little patches of actual jungle in the urban jungle. Note: the actual jungle I refer to isn’t really a jungle.

The Seattle area where I live is home to quite a few wild spots in not so wild areas. I’ll run through some of the ones I have been to. 

Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park is one of the largest city parks in Washington. It has Puget Sound shoreline, which is hope to marine life such as harbor seals and giant Pacific octopi. It also has some old growth forest, home to black-tailed deer and eagles. Other attractions include the zoo and Fort Nisqually. 

Not-so-giant giant sequoia at Point Defiance

The recently renamed Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge preserves the delta of the Nisqually River. Located between Olympia and Tacoma, it is bordered by Interstate 5. With freshwater and saltwater marshes it is an important stop on the Pacific Flyway and its estuarine waters nurture salmon smolts adjusting to seawater. 

Taking flight at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

The US Army Corps of Engineers’ Hiram Chittenden Locks provides a channel for boats to travel between Lake Washington and Puget Sound. On the west side of the locks is a rookery of great blue herons, the only place I’ve ever seen one. Harbor seals frequent the locks, hoping to snag a migrating salmon. Salmon are visible at the lock’s fish ladder. 

Great blue heron rookery

Sockeye salmon at the fish ladder

I grew up near Philadelphia, and there are some urban wilderness areas there also. John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge is right alongside Interstate 95, just south of the airport. It is one of the last remaining tidal marshes on the Delaware River and an important bird habitat. 

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge (US Fish and Wildlife Service photo)

Valley Forge National Historical Park is best known as the location of George Washington’s winter camp during the American Revolution. Now completely surrounded by suburban development, it is a haven for white-tailed deer. I’ve also seen turkey vultures and heard turkeys there. 

Colonial Springs, deep in the woods (right off the highway) at Valley Forge

New York, the largest city in the country, even has some wild spaces. Central Park is home to more than just pigeons. I’ve seen a woodpecker and squirrels there. Migrating birds on the Atlantic Flyway probably stop there from time to time. The Oakwood Beach neighborhood of Staten Island is no longer a neighborhood; home have been bought out following Hurricane Sandy. The area is already reverting to nature. Across New York Harbor, New Jersey’s Sandy Hook boasts a rare intact holly forest, as well as coastal dunes. Imagine my delight watching crabs skittering through the woods. 

A woodpecker grows in Manhattan

Holly forest at Sandy Hook (Middletown, NJ Patch photo)

One last place worth mentioning is Springbrook Nature Center in Minneapolis. I’ve never been there but a friend is there frequently. It is home to many species of birds, plus the usual deer and even foxes. With any luck I will get there some day. 

Springbrook Nature Center (photo by Mark Layeux)

What are some surprisingly wild places near you?

US Fish and Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/John_Heinz/visit/plan_your_visit.html

Middletown, NJ Patch: https://patch.com/new-jersey/middletown-nj/holly-forest-walk-at-sandy-hook

Species of the Month: Wild Turkey

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and like most Americans you are probably looking forward to gobbling that big meal. Although we most commonly associate turkey with the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims and the Indian friends ate so much more than that. Deer and eels were also on the menu. Your turkey was likely farm-raised, but its ancestors, before domestication, were wild. November’s species of the month is the wild turkey.

Scientific name: Meleagris gallopavo

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Aves (birds)

Order: Galliformes (chicken-like birds)

Range: Eastern US, parts of western US, northern Mexico; introduced in other areas of US, Germany, and New Zealand

Habitat: Hardwood or mixed forest with openings

Lifespan: 1-2 years (estimated)

Diet: Omnivorous- insects, small amphibians, nuts, seeds, grains, roots, leaves

Predators: Raccoons, opossums, skunks, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, rat snakes, bull snakes, mountain lions, eagles, great horned owls, humans

Conservation Status: No special protection

Other Information: Popular game bird. Turkey habitat conservation benefits other species. Males (toms) use their impressive tail feathers and gobbling to attract a mate. Mating season is early spring; females lay 4-15 eggs in a single annual clutch. Active during the day, turkeys roost in trees at night. Yes, they can fly! The turkey was proposed as America’s national symbol by Ben Franklin.

Female turkey with chicks (what I call turklets)

Male turkey in display

This week's facts and pictures come once again from University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web