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In the Doghouse
Am I the only one who feels like Oliver Wendell Douglas living in an eccentric society overrun by millions of dogs, cats, and other domestic animals that have assumed the identity of Arnold Ziffel?
Just asking.
Migratory Waterfowl on Local Ponds and Lakes
Following the deep freeze of a week ago, temperatures soaring into the fifties and sixties during recent days have brought to mind thoughts of spring. In the pond at susquehannawildlife.net headquarters, Green Frogs are again out and about.
But is this really an early spring? Migrating waterfowl indicate otherwise. Having been forced south from the Great Lakes during the bitter cold snap, a variety of our tardy web-footed friends belatedly arrived on the river and on the Susquehanna Flats of upper Chesapeake Bay about ten days ago. Now, rising water from snow melt and this week’s rains have forced many of these ducks onto local lakes and ponds where ice coverage has been all but eliminated by the mild weather. For the most part, these are lingering autumn migrants. Here’s a sample of some of the waterfowl seen during a tour of the area today…
With the worst of winter’s fury still to come, it’s time to say farewell to most of these travelers for a little while. With a little luck, we’ll see them again in March or April.
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Do Those Bluebird Feeders Really Work?
Those bluebird feeders with a one-and-a-half-inch entrance hole seem like a great way to offer supplemental foods like mealworms and raisins while excluding invasive European Starlings and other large birds from gobbling up all the expensive fare. But do they really work? Well, have a look for yourself…
There you have it. Feeders like this one are available commercially, so you don’t have an in-house wood butcher to get one. We’ve heard a rumor that Santa makes them too!
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Take a Look at My Mussels
At this very moment, your editor is comfortably numb and is, if everything is going according to plans, again having a snake run through the plumbing in his body’s most important muscle. It thus occurs to him how strange it is that with muscles as run down and faulty as his, people at one time asked him to come speak about and display his marvelous mussels. And some, believe it or not, actually took interest in such a thing. If the reader finds this odd, he or she would not be alone. But the peculiarities don’t stop there. The reader may find further bewilderment after being informed that the editor’s mussels are now in the collection of a regional museum where they are preserved for study by qualified persons with scientific proclivities. All of this show and tell was for just one purpose—to raise appreciation and sentiment for our mussels, so that they might be protected.
Click on the “Freshwater Mussels and Clams” tab at the top of this page to see the editor’s mussels, and many others as well. Then maybe you too will want to flex your muscles for our mussels. They really do need, and deserve, our help.
We’ll be back soon.
The Gasoline and Gunpowder Gang’s Biggest Holiday of the Year
For members of the gasoline and gunpowder gang in Pennsylvania, the coming two weeks are the biggest holiday of the year. Cloaked in ceremonial orange, worshippers of the White-tailed Deity are making their annual pilgrimage into the great outdoors to beat the bushes in search of their idol. For the fortunate among the faithful, their devotion culminates in a testosterone/adrenaline-charged sacrifice of the supreme being.
Remember, emotions run high during this blood-letting festival—sometimes overwhelming secular attributes like logic and rational decision-making. You don’t want to be in the crossfire—so stay out of the woods!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
We’re thankful if you got a mouthful!
Photo of the Day
Today’s Golden Eagle Flight
Here are several of the Golden Eagles seen migrating in this morning’s stiff north-northwest wind along Second Mountain in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
To learn more about determining the age of a Golden Eagle on the wing, click the “Golden Eagle Aging Chart” tab at the top of this page, then get to a hawk watch and have a look.
Photo of the Day
Black-capped Chickadee Invasion
Our cute lovable chickadees are resident birds, remaining in the same general area throughout the year, often throughout their lives. In the Mid-Atlantic States, there are two species. The tiny Carolina Chickadee is at the northern limit of its geographic range in the Piedmont Province of southcentral Pennsylvania. The slightly larger Black-capped Chickadee is a year-round resident mostly to the north of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. Within the Susquehanna basin, an intergrade zone of the two species occurs in the mountains and bottomlands of the southern portion of the Ridge and Valley Province just to the north of the Pennsylvania cities of Carlisle, Harrisburg, and Lebanon. The range of the Carolina Chickadee, as well as the hybrid zone, has gradually crept north during the last fifty years—as much as twenty or thirty miles—while the range of the pure-bred Black-capped Chickadee has simultaneously withdrawn almost entirely from the lower Susquehanna, particularly in the valleys.
Every few years, presumably when their numbers are too great for the sustenance available from the wild food crop in their home range, Black-capped Chickadees invade the more southerly range of both Carolina Chickadees and the hybrids in the intergrade zone. This appears to be one of those years. Black-capped Chickadees are working their way south and showing up at feeding stations stocked with sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, and/or peanuts—sometimes in flocks numbering five to ten birds or more.
Let’s take a closer look at the two species…
Not only is now a good time to carefully check the chickadees you see, but it’s an opportune time to watch for other invaders from the north, specifically the “winter fiches” including Pine Siskins, Evening Grosbeaks, Purple Finches, Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra), and White-winged Crossbills (Loxia leucoptera). During recent weeks, each of these species has been reported by observers at hawk-counting stations on local ridgetops, an indication that they too are experiencing inadequate food resources in their home ranges.
So, as winter approaches, you’ll want to keep an eye on those feeders—and don’t forget to keep an ear on the pines and hemlocks. The rewards could be many!
Northwest Winds in November Bring Big Birds
With colder temperatures arriving on gusty northwest winds, the next couple of days will be ideal for seeing migrating birds of prey along the ridges of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. It’s still peak time for movements of four of our largest species: Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, and Golden Eagle—so let’s grab our binoculars and have a look!
Be certain to click the “Hawkwatcher’s Helper” tab at the top of this page to select a lookout for observing and enjoying the passage of these spectacular late-season raptors. To improve your chances of seeing a Golden Eagle, visit a counting station in the Ridge and Valley Province, but do bundle up—it’s cold on those mountaintops.
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Nocturnal Migrants in Moonlight
Happening right now, in the bright moonlight on a crisp autumn night, there is a massive movement of nocturnally migrating birds indicated on National Weather Service Radar from State College, Pennsylvania. Notice the dense wave crossing the lower Susquehanna River watershed from northeast to southwest. The coming morning may reveal plenty of new arrivals after daybreak. Look for robins, native sparrows, etc.
Photo of the Day
Tree Identification
As deciduous trees lose their foliage in coming days, it’s an excellent time to pick up and examine some samples from the species you encounter during your autumn strolls. Uncle Tyler Dyer is assembling the leaves he finds into a guide for identifying the most common wild and naturalized trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. To use it, click on the “Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines” tab at the top of this page and check out…
…better known as Uncle Tyler’s leaf collection.
Thinking about doing some planting on your property during the fall or in the spring? Before you do, peruse the gorgeous colors offered by the native species shown on Uncle Ty’s page. You might never go back to those short-lived high maintenance cultivars of imported species ever again. And by choosing a variety of native plants, you’ll be helping wildlife too.
Oh, by the way—thanks Uncle Ty. Yes, it is far out!
Happy Halloween
Here’s wishing you and yours a Happy Halloween. It’s a much-anticipated day of excitement capped by surprise visits from strange-looking hideous creatures you’ve never seen before. They don’t stop by for a chat. Nope, not a word. Just a little bit of nearly imperceptible buzzing when the move around. You see, the little sneaks have hatched a plan. They want to eat your stuff and maybe trash the place before they go. And when you finally get rid of them, more start showing up—dozens and dozens, then hundreds. The more you have, the more you attract. You’ll be shocked that there are that many living in your neighborhood. It’s like a scene from “Nightmare on Maple Street”. The invasion drives some people mad, but you’re just going to love it. So, get ready, because here they come. Trick or Treat!
Red Maples
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Select Your Berry-producing Plants Now
You probably know that fall is an excellent time for planting. Roots continue to grow in the warm soil even after the air becomes cool and leaves change color, setting the stage for your new trees and shrubs to sport splendid foliage and flowers in spring.
But did you know that autumn can be the best time to visit your local nursery/garden center to select the native trees and shrubs that produce berries for attracting and feeding overwintering birds and other wildlife? Here are three of our favorites. Each is looking its best from now through at least the first half of winter.
There’s still time to get the shovel dirty, so visit your local native plant dealer this week and invest in some fruit-producing trees and shrubs. Fall is also a good time to plant pines, spruces, and hemlocks. Who knows, you might just get a good end-of-season deal.
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
Photo of the Day
