During Saturday’s Prescribed Fire Demonstration at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, we noticed just how fast some species of wildlife return to areas subjected to burns administered to maintain grassland habitat and reduce the risk of high-intensity blazes.
Pennsylvania Game Commission crews ignite a back fire to contain a prescribed burn along its downwind/upslope perimeter during a demonstration at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area on Saturday.Visitors observe a fire planned to maintain this section of the refuge as warm-season grassland. A species with roots several feet deep, the light-colored vegetation is Indiangrass, a plant adapted to thrive following periodic episodes of wildfire. Prescribed fire can be used to replace naturally occurring infernos with much safer controlled burns that eliminate successional and invasive plants to promote the establishment of Indiangrass and other native warm-season species including Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Switchgrass, and a variety of wildflowers as well.Even as the fire reached its brief peak of intensity, we noticed birds already attracted to the site…Dozens of recently arrived Tree Swallows swept in to patrol for flying insects as the burn was in progress.One even stopped by to have a look inside the kestrel nest box as fire approached the dry stand of goldenrod on the slope behind.Red-tailed Hawks and other raptors, including nocturnal owls, are frequently the first visitors attracted to the scene of a prescribed burn or wildfire. In grassland and successional habitats, they come looking for any vulnerable voles or mice that may be moving about looking for cover.
These three Eastern Meadowlarks spent the morning in the grassland areas adjacent to the prescribed fire site, mostly where a burn had been conducted one week prior. During the demonstration, one even perched and sang from the oak trees in the museum/visitor’s center parking lot.
Following the Prescribed Fire Demonstration, we decided to pay a visit to some of the parcels where burns had been administered one week earlier on the north side of Middle Creek’s main impoundment. We found a surprising amount of activity.
Apparently feeding upon slightly heat-treated seeds, sparrows were found by the dozens. White-crowned (left), White-throated (right), Song, and Savannah Sparrows were identified.This Downy Woodpecker was finding something to its liking among the scorched leaves, stems, and twigs.American Robins seem to find areas with lightly burnt vegetation and ash-dusted soil advantageous for finding invertebrates following a fire.We found this flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, Browned-headed Cowbirds, and a few European Starlings feeding throughout a grassland field cleared of early-successional growth by a prescribed fire administered one week ago.They seemed to favor gleaning seeds from among the lightly burned areas of the plot.Nearby, in an island of unburned grass in the same field, we found yet another Eastern Meadowlark, our fourth of the day. High-intensity agriculture, particularly early hay mowing and pesticide treatments, have mostly eliminated this and other grassland species from modern farms. Management practices like prescribed fire and delayed mowing (no spinning blades until at least early August) can maintain ideal grassland habitat for stunningly colorful blackbirds including nesting Eastern Meadowlarks, Bobolinks, and many other species as well.A male American Kestrel at a nest box located among Middle Creek’s warm-season and cool-season grassland habitats, the former maintained by prescribed fire, the latter by delayed mowing.
By late winter, sunshine and warming temperatures awaken the sleeping maples of the lower Susquehanna basin and the sap begins to flow. The new growing season is evident by the first days of spring when their swelling buds and flowers paint the drab gray canopy of deciduous woodlands with an overlying coat of red, orange, and maroon.
Red Maples, renowned for their vibrant autumn foliage, are just as conspicuous in the early spring landscape.For birds and mammals like this Eastern Gray Squirrel, the buds and flowers of maples mean relief from the diminished natural food supplies that helped them survive winter’s worst. The season of abundance has arrived and these animals instantly recognize this source of sweet, fresh energy, just in time for the breeding season. The flowers of maples, which later in the spring yield those familiar helicopter-like seeds, are an important early season source of energy for many species of bees and other pollinators.
We’ve seen worse, but this winter has been particularly tough for birds and mammals in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. Due to the dry conditions of late summer and fall in 2024, the wild food crop of seeds, nuts, berries, and other fare has been less than average. The cold temperatures make insects hard to come by. Let’s have a look at how some of our local generalist and specialist species are faring this winter.
House Sparrows (bottom) and House Finches (top) are generalists. To survive and thrive, they are adapted to a variety of habitats and types of food. House Sparrows live almost anywhere man-made structures are found. They are true omnivores and will eat almost anything, especially if they see something else try to eat it first. The House Sparrow’s close association with humans has allowed it to become the most widespread and successful living avian dinosaur. On a cold night, they’ll take shelter either within dense vegetation alongside a building or within the structure itself. Though not nearly as cosmopolitan, the House Finch has successfully colonized much of the eastern United States after escaping from captivity as a cage bird in New York during the middle of the twentieth century. Upon being trans-located here from the arid southwest, they adapted to suburbs and farmlands consuming primarily a granivore diet of seeds supplemented with seasonally available berries. They quickly became accustomed to offerings at bird-feeding stations as well. To survive the harsh winters in the northern sections of their range, eastern populations of House Finches are developing a pattern of migration. These movements are most evident in late fall when dozens or sometimes hundreds can be seen heading south over regional hawk-counting stations.Though they require dead trees for nesting and as places to find the grubs and adult insects upon which they primarily feed, woodpeckers including the Northern Flicker are generalists, seldom passing by a supply of fruits like these Poison Ivy berries as a source of winter food. Flickers regularly visit suburban areas where they’ll drop by at bird-feeding stations for suet. During the warmer months, they are the woodpecker most frequently seen on the ground where swarms of ants garner their full attention.The Pileated Woodpecker is seldom found outside of mature forests where it digs relentlessly to remove grubs and other infestations from dead wood. But it is not a true specialist……it too finds a supply of Poison Ivy berries to be indispensable during a cold winter day.The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a generalist, feeding mostly on insects, but also consuming small seeds and some berries, including those of Poison Ivy. It nests well to our north in tall spruces and other evergreens. During migration and in winter, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet may be found in deciduous trees, brush, and tall grass in habitats ranging from forests to parks and suburbia. This male is displaying its seldom-seen red crown.The Golden-crowned Kinglet, seen here on a Poison Ivy vine, is more of a specialist than the Ruby-crowned species, though the two will often occur in mixed groups during the winter. The Golden-crowned Kinglet nests in Spruce-Fir forests and in conifers within mixed woodlands. Even during migration, and particularly in winter, these birds are seldom found far from a stand of large evergreens within which they find shelter for the night.The Hermit Thrush’s generalist lifestyle allows it to survive cold season weather in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. During summer, it breeds in coniferous and mixed woods from the northern parts of our valley north into Canada and feeds primarily on worms, insects, and other arthropods. During migration and in winter, the Hermit Thrush becomes a regular visitor to deciduous forests, woody parks and suburbs, particularly where a supply of wild berries is available to supplement its diet.Iconic as it pulls earthworms from lawns during the warmer months, the generalist American Robin is fully dependent upon a crop of berries to survive winter conditions in the lower Susquehanna valley. The drought afflicted wild food crop of 2024 has led to fewer robins spending the season here and has delayed the northward push of migrating birds until the ground thaws and the earthworms make the ground rumble once again.It’s insects for the nestlings during spring and summer, then berries through the winter for the cheerful Eastern Bluebirds, another generalist species.American Crows are an excellent example of a generalist species. They’ll go anywhere to find food and they’ll eat almost anything. Like the House Sparrow and several other generalists, they adapt very well to human activity and actually thrive on it. Garbage anyone?Another career generalist is the widely worshiped White-tailed Deity, a species adapted to nearly all man-made landscapes with adequate vegetation upon which to browse. Pushed to the limit during severe weather, some individuals will consume carrion and even resort to cannibalism.You might think the Great Blue Heron is a specialist. Nope, it’s an accomplished generalist. Great blues will live, feed, and breed on almost any body of fresh or brackish water. And their diet includes almost anything that swims. In winter, you’ll even see them in fields hunting mice and voles.The Red-shouldered Hawk is a generalist with a diet ranging from amphibians and reptiles to small rodents and large insects. Mostly regarded as a species of bottomlands, they’ll frequent woodland edges, roadsides, and suburbia during the winter months.During its periodic winter visits to the region, the American Tree Sparrow feeds on seeds among the grasses and forbs of semi-open country with scattered short shrubs and trees. A generalist species, it will show up at backyard bird-feeding stations, particularly during periods of inclement weather. In summer, the American Tree Sparrow nests in tundra with growths of stunted willows and spruce and their diet includes insects as a source of protein for themselves and their young.The White-crowned Sparrow has similar winter habitat preferences to the tree sparrows……it becomes adaptable and something of a generalist when searching for food during bad winter storms.The Savannah Sparrow is an omnivore favoring insects in summer and seeds in winter. Though very closely tied to its grassland habitat year-round, snow cover can push these birds to enter woodier environs to consume fruits like these rose hips.Dusk and dawn during the short days of winter are the prime hunting times of a mammal specialist, the Short-eared Owl. Its presence in the lower Susquehanna valley is dependent on two dominant factors: extensive grassland habitat and an adequate population of the owl’s favored food, the Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus). The Short-eared Owl’s requirements as a specialist species make finding a suitable place to live difficult. Unlike the generalist birds and mammals that often adapt to the widespread man-made disturbances in the region, populations of specialists frequently become fragmented, reduced in abundance, and subject to extirpation.The Meadow Vole is a generalist rodent that can be abundant in grasslands, early successional growth, fallow fields, marshlands, and, of course, meadows. They are primarily herbivores, but will occasionally consume insects and other arthropods. Usually nocturnal, some individuals venture out along their surface runways during daylight hours becoming vulnerable to diurnal raptors including kestrels, harriers, and buteos.A Short-eared Owl in near darkness patrolling a grassland for Meadow Voles.The eastward expansion of the Coyote (Canis latrans), a species of western North America’s grasslands and scrublands, and its progressive mixing with the Wolf (Canis lupus) in these eastern extensions of its range, has produced an expanding population of very adaptable generalists we call Eastern Coyotes (Canis latrans var.). These omnivorous canines colonized the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed during the last four decades to replace extirpated wolves as the top-tier natural predator in the region. Their primary diet includes Meadow Voles in grasslands and other small mammals along woodland edges and in successional habitats. Seasonally, they consume the berries of numerous wild plants. Slightly larger than their western ancestors, Eastern Coyotes with the admixture of Wolf genetics can subdue small ungulates. Like other apex predators, they are attracted to vulnerable prey and thus play a crucial role in culling the weak and diseased among their potential quarry species to assure the health and potential of populations of these species as long-term sources of food energy. The benefit to the prey species is however largely diluted in populous areas of the northeast; most venison consumed by Eastern Coyotes here is in the form of road kill. During periods of extended snow cover when small rodents and other foods become inaccessible, Eastern Coyotes, particularly young individuals, will wander into new areas seeking sustenance. Sometimes they venture into cities and suburbs where they explore the neighborhoods in search of garbage and pet foods placed outside the home. (Video clip courtesy of Tyler and Grace Good. Click image to view.)
Wildlife certainly has a tough time making it through the winter in the lower Susquehanna valley. Establishing and/or protecting habitat that includes plenty of year-round cover and sources of food and water can really give generalist species a better chance of survival. But remember, the goal isn’t to create unnatural concentrations of wildlife, it is instead to return the landscape surrounding us into more of a natural state. That’s why we try to use native plants as much as possible. And that’s why we try to attract not only a certain bird, mammal, or other creature, but we try to promote the development of a naturally functioning ecosystem with a food web, a diversity of pollinating plants, pollinating insects, and so on. Through this experience, we stand a better chance of understanding what it takes to graduate to the bigger job at hand—protecting, enhancing, and restoring habitats needed by specialist species. These are efforts worthy of the great resources that are sometimes needed to make them a success. It takes a mindset that goes beyond a focus upon the welfare of each individual animal to instead achieve the discipline to concentrate long-term on the projects and processes necessary to promote the health of the ecosystems within which specialist species live and breed. It sounds easier than it is—the majority of us frequently become distracted.
Being an individual from a population of a very successful generalist species is no guarantee of survival. This Eastern Gray Squirrel fell from a tall tree when the limbs became ice covered during a storm earlier this month. Just a freak accident? Maybe, but mistakes like this are often fatal in the natural world. This squirrel’s passing may seem brutal, but it provides a better opportunity for other squirrels and animals that share its food and cover requirements to make it through the winter. And those survivors that didn’t suffer such a fatal mistake or, more importantly, don’t possess a vulnerability that may have contributed to such a mishap will have a chance to pass those traits on to a new generation. This squirrel as an individual is gone, its species lives on, and may be stronger for its passing.Pennsylvania Game Commission crews maintain a grassland ecosystem for Short-eared Owls and other specialists using prescribed fire to prevent succession beyond its earliest stages. Among the additional specialist species benefiting from this management tool are Monarchs and other butterflies whose host plants survive early-season fire, but not competition with woody vines, shrubs, trees, and invasive herbaceous growth.
On the wider scale, it’s of great importance to identify and protect the existing and potential future habitats necessary for the survival of specialist species. And we’re not saying that solely for their benefit. These protection measures should probably include setting aside areas on higher ground that may become the beach intertidal zone or tidal marsh when the existing ones becomes inundated. And it may mean finally getting out of the wetlands, floodplains, and gullies to let them be the rain-absorbing, storm-buffering, water purifiers they spent millennia becoming. And it may mean it’s time to give up on building stick structures on tinderbox lands, especially hillsides and rocky outcrops with shallow, eroding soils that dry to dust every few years. We need to think ahead and stop living for the view. If you want to enjoy the view from these places, go visit and take plenty of pictures, or a video, that’s always nice, then live somewhere else. Each of these areas includes ecosystems that meet the narrow habitat requirements of many of our specialist species, and we’re building like fools in them. Then we feign victimhood and solicit pity when the calamity strikes: fires, floods, landslides, and washouts—again and again. Wouldn’t it be a whole lot smarter to build somewhere else? It may seem like a lot to do for some specialist animals, but it’s not. Because, you see, we should and can live somewhere else—they can’t.
The Allegheny Woodrat (Neotoma magister), a threatened species in Pennsylvania and a critically imperiled species in Maryland, is a habitat specialist requiring the forested rocky slopes, talus-flanked ridgetops, and caves of the Ridge and Valley Province for its nest sites and survival. Isolated populations survived within similar environs in the lower Susquehanna River valley’s Piedmont Province and on South Mountain through at least the first half of the twentieth century, but have since been extirpated. Human encroachment that fragments their habitat and promotes exposure to parasite-hosting mammals including the Raccoon (Procyon lotor), carrier of the Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascarius procyonis), could prove fatal to remaining populations of this native mammal. (National Park Service image by Rick Olsen)The American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) is a specialist species that uses its highly adapted bill to feed on marine invertebrates including mollusks, few of which are actually oysters. Reliant upon tidal ecosystems for its survival, many of the seashore animals that make up this wader’s diet are themselves specialist species. Oystercatchers spend nearly their entire lives in tidal marshes or within the intertidal zone on beaches. They also frequent rocky jetties, particularly during high tide. This individual was photographed near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in Northhampton County, Virginia, a location that, when the waters of the Atlantic started rising over 10,000 years ago, was the lower Susquehanna valley about 60 miles from the river’s mouth at present-day Norfolk Canyon along the edge of the continental shelf. Get the drift?
Always a great time Stew. See you in the spring. And remember, it’s never a good idea to be late for dinner, so stay away from the carrots, celery, potatoes, and onions—someone may get the wrong idea!
Here are 7 reasons why you, during the coming week or so, should consider spending some time at Willow Point overlooking the lake at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area.
REASON NUMBER ONE— Wildlife is at close quarters along the trail leading from the parking lot to Willow Point…
Eastern Gray Squirrels are common and easily seen along the edge of the woods.Eastern Bluebirds are investigating nest boxes and may presently be using them as communal roost sites during cold, windy nights.A Hermit Thrush was just one of the songbirds we found foraging along the edge of Willow Point Trail.Look carefully and you may see one or more species of woodpeckers in the mature trees. We found this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in a maple near the trail’s terminus at the Willow Point viewing area.
REASON NUMBER TWO— A variety of waterfowl species are lingering on ice-free sections of the lake surrounding Willow Point…
Noisy flocks of Tundra Swans and Canada Geese on open water at Willow Point.American Black Ducks on a fly by.Mallard drakes near the point.A small flock of Green-winged Teal feeding among the Mallards.A flock of Northern Shovelers has been frequenting the shallows along the south side of Willow Point for at least two weeks.Common Mergansers diving for benthic fare.
REASON NUMBER THREE— Bald Eagles are conspicuous, easily seen and heard…
Bald Eagles on tree stumps in the lake.A hatch-year/juvenile Bald Eagle on a glide over Willow Point.
REASON NUMBER FOUR— Northern Harriers have been making close passes over Willow Point as they patrol Middle Creek’s grasslands while hunting voles…
A female Northern Harrier over Willow Point.A hatch-year/juvenile Northern Harrier gazing over a field of goldenrod adjacent to Willow Point.Hatch-year/juvenile Northern Harrier patrolling a field of goldenrod and preparing to pounce.A Northern Harrier buoyantly flying past Willow Point just prior to sunset.
REASON NUMBER FIVE— The annual observance of the White-tailed Deity holidays may be drawing to a close for the gasoline and gunpowder gang, but for the supreme ungulates, the rituals that lead to consummation of their unions are still ongoing…
Mystical White-tailed Deities hiding in plain sight near Willow Point.Having so far survived the ceremonies of sacrifice practiced by worshipers clad in vibrant orange attire, these divine idols agree to a more civilized ritual, a gentlemanly duel.
…then it’s off to find the fair maidens.
REASON NUMBER SIX— Sandhill Cranes are still being seen from Willow Point…
Sandhill Cranes have been spending time on dry portions of the lake bed and in grasslands and croplands to the north.
These Sandhill Cranes could depart from Middle Creek’s refuge at any time, particularly if the deep freeze returns to make feeding more difficult. You’ll want to visit soon if you want to see them.
REASON NUMBER SEVEN— The crowds that will accompany the arrival of thousands of Snow Geese in early 2025 can make visiting Willow Point a stressful experience. Visit now to see these birds and mammals at Willow Point and you might just have the place all to yourself. Then you can spend your time looking through the flocks of waterfowl and other birds for unusual new arrivals instead of wading through a sea of humanity.
White-crowned Sparrows at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area’s Willow Point.
If you provide supplemental foods for the birds visiting your garden sanctuary, we don’t need to tell you how expensive those provisions have become. It can be quite frustrating when the majority of these pricey supplies get gobbled up by the chunky squirrels that dominate your feeding station and leave hungry birds with nothing but the tiny little scraps.
Here at susquehannawildlife.net headquarters, we like to feed whole peanuts in the shell to the resident and migratory native birds. But placed out in the open on a stump or a tray, or even within a hopper feeder, peanuts are quickly carried away and cached for latter use by squirrels and jays. The chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, wrens, and woodpeckers that could really use the extra food to maintain their body fat through the winter get nothing but leftovers.
It’s not unusual for squirrels and jays to scarf up and carry away 90% or more of the expensive peanuts placed at your feeding station. The dozen or more other species of native birds that will partake of this offering get the leftovers or nothing at all.
We’ve discovered a solution that, for us, saves money and more efficiently feeds the native species of birds that stop by our oasis. We’ve been using inexpensive ($6-$8) wire mesh tube feeders intended for suet nuggets to serve whole peanuts in the shell to our guests. As long as they can’t knock the feeders to the ground, squirrels have failed to raid the contents. Like other birds, Blue Jays can still peck away to remove the peanuts from their shells and eat them on the spot, but they can no longer haul off a whole feeder load at a time. Each must carefully crack the shell and remove an individual peanut or portion thereof for immediate consumption. The empty shells remain mostly in the tubes and don’t make a mess. Pesky hoards of non-native European Starlings sometimes visit, but soon become frustrated because their bills aren’t adapted for cracking the hardened peanut husks; they grab any loose morsels they can get, then move along.
We assemble these suet nugget feeders without installing the included perches. We fill them with UNSALTED peanuts in the shell, then hang them from stiff wire hooks beneath the larger horizontal limbs on some of our trees. About every 5 to 10 days, we take them down to remove empty shells, clean the feeder, and add peanuts. A 2-pound bag that would disappear within hours if freely accessible to squirrels now fills 3 feeders or more and nourishes our native birds for a week or longer.
The list of native birds visiting our peanut feeders includes:
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Blue Jay
Carolina Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
The most recent addition to the list of birds feasting on peanuts from our wire mesh tube feeders was this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that visited yesterday.
So don’t pay hard-earned cash to feed nothing but leftovers to your intended guests, give wire mesh tube feeders and whole peanuts in the shell a try. The colorful native birds will thank you with their presence.
A welcome visitor, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker stopping by for dinner……and varying its diet by finding small insects among the bark of some of our larger trees.
There’s now a sense of urgency because for the Eastern Chipmunk, the opportunities to gather and store nuts, seeds, and acorns are slipping away. The time has arrived for retreat to its burrow where, because it stores no body fat for winter, this member of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) relies upon its cache of provisions for snacking between periods of extended slumber during the coldest months of the year.
Mid-November is our favorite time of year to visit Hawk Mountain Sanctuary on Blue Mountain/Kittatinny Ridge just to the east of the lower Susuquehanna valley near Kempton, Pennsylvania. By now, the huge crowds that come to see October’s world-famous raptor flights and spectacular fall foliage have dwindled to small groups of serious hawkwatchers and hardy trail enthusiasts. Join us as we drop in on the Keystone State’s most famous birding destination.
The entrance to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is located at 1700 Hawk Mountain Road off PA Route 895 east of PA Route 61.Start your visit with a stop inside the refuge headquarters building where you’ll find raptor ecology and migration displays, a gift shop, and a window overlooking a busy bird-feeding station. Hawk Mountain is a non-profit organization that receives no taxpayer support and relies largely upon membership fees and donations for the majority of its operating expenses. Inside the headquarters building, you can pay dues and join on the spot.The native plant habitat includes a pond and a rain garden that collects stormwater from the roof of the headquarters building. There’s also a memorial fern garden named for the refuge’s first curator, Maurice Broun, author of a 1938 index to the ferns of North America.After a visit to the habitat garden, it’s time to make our way toward the lookouts.2024 marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. We stopped at the trail crossing along the mountain road to admire this newly erected sign.Trail fees are collected to support the sanctuary’s operations and maintain its 2,600 acres. Members enter free.Interpretive signs and trail information are provided throughout the refuge, particularly along the mile-long climb to the North Lookout.Aside from the route to the lookouts (along which sturdy shoes and good balance are a must), many of the sanctuary’s hiking trails require special equipment and preparations. Be certain to follow the posted guidelines.The scope of Hawk Mountain’s educational mission includes topics ranging from local Appalachian natural history to global raptor conservation.Just a few hundred yards from the entrance gate, South Lookout provides a panoramic view of the “River of Rocks” talus outcrop and beyond. On days with southerly winds, autumn raptor flights are sometimes enumerated from this location.Hawk Mountain’s “classroom in the sky”, the North Lookout, hosts school and scout groups learning raptor identification and ecology. It’s the sanctuary’s primary location for counting thousands of migrating birds of prey each fall.Students quickly learn to identify distant Turkey Vultures by their upturned wings held in a dihedral posture and by their rocking motion in flight.After the pupils depart for the day, there are but few observers remaining to find and count passing hawks and eagles during mid-November.While sitting quietly among the boulders of North Lookout waiting for the next bird to come along, one can be treated to a visit by one or more of a local population of Southern Red-backed Voles (Clethrionomys gapperi).Red-tailed Hawks remain common among the flights of mid-November migrants.And it happens to be an ideal time to see Red-shouldered Hawks on the move.While you were busy looking up, the Southern Red-backed Vole was at your feet scarfing up the crumbs from your sandwich. When not availed of our leftovers, its diet includes seeds, various plant parts, and subterranean fungi.Playful groups of Common Ravens often provide comic relief during interludes in the parade of migrants.Don’t look now, but your friend the vole has scurried away and a Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) has arrived from beneath the rocks to finish the remnants of your lunch. On the rocky outcrops atop the ridges of southeastern Pennsylvania, these mammals are often found in close company; Red-backed Voles traveling through the burrows and runways created by Northern Short-tailed Shrews instead of excavating their own. Unlike the vegetarian voles, shrews are classified as insectivores, behaving mostly as carnivorous mammals. Equipped with salivary venom, they can consume prey as large as other similarly sized vertebrates, including small voles.Flights of Bald Eagles thrill visitors on North Lookout throughout November.But late-season visitors really want to see a Golden Eagle. On a chilly day with gusty northwest winds, few are disappointed.We got very lucky during a recent day on North Lookout, spotting this rarity, a hatch-year/juvenile American Goshawk (Accipiter atricapillus), a species which, in 2023, was split from the Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), a species which was simultaneously assigned the new common name Eurasian Goshawk. Even more recently, within the past several weeks, the genus name Astur has replaced Accipiter for the goshawks, now formally known as the the American Goshawk (Astur atricapillus) and the Eurasian Goshawk (Astur gentilis). The new classification includes Cooper’s Hawk in the genus Astur, while the Sharp-shinned Hawk remains in the genus Accipiter.A November specialty, a hatch-year/juvenile American Goshawk (Astur atricapillus) passes the North Lookout. During this century, the drop in American Goshawk numbers has been precipitous. Most eastern hawk-counting stations see fewer than four or five goshawks during their entire fall season. Many no longer see them at all.Here and gone in a jiffy, a brief but memorable look at a hatch-year/juvenile American Goshawk.
If the cold of mid-November doesn’t cramp your style, and if you’d like to seize your best opportunity for a much-coveted sighting of one or more of the late-season specialties, then now is the time to visit Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Bring a cushion upon which to sit, dress in layers, pack a lunch, and plan to spend the day. You could be rewarded with memorable views of the seldom-encountered species some people spend years of their lives hoping to see.
For many species of terrestrial vertebrates living in the lower Susquehanna valley, it’s time to take refuge in a safe place below ground to enter a winter-long slumber. The numerous frosty nights of the past two weeks have expedited the stragglers’ efforts to find a suitable place to pass our coldest months.
Aside from the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina), the Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) is our most terrestrial species of testudine, however it is seldom found far from wet bottomlands. Last week, we found this pair preparing to burrow into alluvial soils along the edge of a floodplain wetland where they will spend the winter. In recent years, Wood Turtle numbers have plummeted due to habitat fragmentation and loss, and due to collecting by short-sighted petkeepers and profiteers.A sluggish Wood Turtle catching a few last rays of sunshine before digging in for the winter. If you encounter these or any turtles now or at any time of year, it’s important that they not be disturbed. Look and leave them be.
And now, just in time for Halloween, a look at some hibernating species that some of our more squeamish readers consider to be “scary”.
In the mountainous forests of the Ridge and Valley Province, there lives a seldom seen little mouse which, unlike the more familiar species found in the fields, farms, and homes of our valleys and Piedmont, spends almost half the year in true hibernation.
The Woodland Jumping Mouse (Napaeozapus insignis) is a nocturnal species of rodent found primarily on rocky forest slopes, particularly those with growths of Eastern White Pine and Eastern Hemlock. Unlike the similar White-footed Mouse, a species that sometimes enters homes in the fall and remains active year-round, the Woodland Jumping Mouse builds a small subterranean nest among rocks and boulders where it will enter a long winter slumber, often not emerging until the milder days of April. During the long hibernation, these mice sometimes fatally diminish the energy stored in their body fat; up to 75% may perish before spring arrives (Merritt, 1987).
In spring and fall, Eastern (Black) Ratsnakes are frequently seen basking in the sun as they absorb heat and get their metabolism going. During the hottest days of summer, when ambient air temperature is sufficient for their needs, they become nocturnal, hunting mice and other creatures that are also active at night. During October, they make their way back to a winter den where they will remain until March or April.
A last-minute Eastern (Black) Ratsnake makes a slow late-October trek across a mountain road toward a winter den on the south slope of the ridge.This Eastern Ratsnake is on its way to a cold-season hideout where it may spend the darker months in the company of other communal hibernators including……Eastern Copperheads……and Timber Rattlesnakes.
That’s right, all three of these snakes are known to cohabitate, not just during hibernation, but at other times of the year as well. And you thought they were mean and nasty to anything and everything in their path, didn’t you?
Here in the northeastern United States, fear of indigenous wild snakes is a totally irrational anxiety. It’s a figment of our indoctrination. Their wicked reputation is almost exclusively the result of a never-ending stream of demonizing propaganda from the pulpit, press, parents, panicked, and picture shows. All they want from you and I is to be left alone. Want something to really be afraid of this Halloween? Try domestic dogs. That’s right—the “friendly” pooch. In the United States, they’ll land hundreds of people in the emergency room today. Don’t like that one. How ’bout cars and trucks. They’ll kill and maim people all day long. And don’t forget about sugar. Yes friends, that sweet treat is pure poison that kills all day long. Happy Halloween!
SOURCES
Merritt, Joseph F. 1987. Guide to the Mammals of Pennsylvania. University of Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, PA. pp.230-233.
Shaffer, Larry L. 1991. Pennsylvania Amphibians and Reptiles. Pennsylvania Fish Commission. Harrisburg, PA.
…but the stench would have been a lot worse without our friendly neighborhood scavengers around to clean up our mess. Turkey Vultures thrive in scorching temperatures, riding thermal updrafts to patrol the countryside for roadkill victims like this unfortunate Woodchuck.
In recent days, the peak northbound push of migratory birds that includes the majority of our colorful Neotropical species has been slowed to a trickle by the presence of rain, fog, and low overcast throughout the Mid-Atlantic States. Following sunset last evening, the nocturnal flight resumed—only to be grounded this morning during the pre-dawn hours by the west-to-east passage of a fast-moving line of strong thundershowers. The NOAA/National Weather Service images that follow show the thunderstorms as well as returns created by thousands of migrating birds as they pass through the Doppler Radar coverage areas that surround the lower Susquehanna valley.
Sterling, Virginia, Doppler Radar west of Washington, D.C., at 4:00 A.M. E.D.T. indicates a dense flight of northbound migrating birds located just to the south of the approaching line of rain and thunderstorms over the State College, Pennsylvania, radar coverage area. (NOAA/National Weather Service image)More northbound birds are indicated at 4 A.M. by the radar station located at Dover, Delaware… (NOAA/National Weather Service image)…and by the Mount Holly, New Jersey, radar site. (NOAA/National Weather Service image)Many of the migrating birds shown here over the Binghamton, New York, radar station at 4 A.M. probably overflew the lower Susquehanna region earlier in the night. (NOAA/National Weather Service image)And these birds over Albany, New York’s, radar station at 4 A.M. are mostly migrants that passed north over New Jersey and easternmost Pennsylvania last evening and during the wee hours of this morning. (NOAA/National Weather Service image)
Just after 4 A.M., flashes of lightning in rapid succession repeatedly illuminated the sky over susquehannawildlife.net headquarters. Despite the rumbles of thunder and the din of noises typical for our urban setting, the call notes of nocturnal migrants could be heard as these birds descended in search of a suitable place to make landfall and seek shelter from the storm. At least one Wood Thrush and a Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) were in the mix of species passing overhead. A short time later at daybreak, a Great Crested Flycatcher was heard calling from a stand of nearby trees and a White-crowned Sparrow was seen in the garden searching for food. None of these aforementioned birds is regular here at our little oasis, so it appears that a significant and abrupt fallout has occurred.
A White-crowned Sparrow in the headquarters garden at daybreak. It’s the first visit by this species in a decade or more.
Looks like a good day to take the camera for a walk. Away we go!
Along woodland edges, in thickets, and in gardens, Gray Catbirds were everywhere today. We heard and/or saw hundreds of them.During our travels, American Redstarts were the most frequently encountered warbler. Look for them in low-lying forested habitats.Many early-arriving Baltimore Orioles have already begun building nests. But widespread territorial fighting today may be an indication that some latecomer orioles became trespassers after dropping in on existing territories during the morning fallout.Red-eyed Vireos are difficult to see but easily heard in forested areas throughout the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.If the oriole isn’t the showiest of the Neotropical migrants, then the Scarlet Tanager is certainly a contender…Listen for their burry, robin-like song in the treetops of mature upland forests.No woodland chorus is complete without the flute-like harmony of the Wood Thrush. Look and listen for them in rich forests with dense understory vegetation.The Eastern Wood-Pewee, another forest denizen, has an easy song to learn…a series of ascending “pee-a-wee” phrases interspersed with an occasional descending “pee-urr”. It was one of the few flycatchers we found today, but more are certainly on the way. Their numbers should peak in coming days.Yellow-rumped Warblers can be especially numerous during migration but tend to peak prior to the arrival of the bulk of the Neotropical species. This was the only “yellow-rump” we encountered today. The majority have already passed through on their way to breeding grounds to our north.If today you were to visit a streamside thicket or any type of early successional habitat, you would probably find this perky little warbler there, the Common Yellowthroat.The Yellow Warbler likes streamside thickets too. You can also find them along lakes, ponds, and wetlands, especially among shrubby willows and alders.While nowhere near the headquarters garden, we ran into another White-crowned Sparrow in less-than-ideal habitat. This one was in a row of trees in a paved parking lot.Not all songbirds migrate at night. The Bobolink is an example of a diurnal (day-flying) migrant. They’re currently arriving in hay fields that are spared the mower until after nesting season.While looking for Neotropical species and other late-season migrants, we also found numerous early arrivals that had already begun their breeding cycles. We discovered this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on its nest in a Black Walnut tree……then, later in the day, we found this one in its nest, again in a Black Walnut tree. Note the freshly emerging set of leaves and flower clusters. With many tree species already adorned in a full set of foliage, open canopies in stands of walnuts we found growing in reforested areas seemed to be good places to see lots of migrants and other birds today. It’s hard to say whether birds were more numerous in these sections of woods or were just easier to observe among the sparse leaf cover. In either case, the nut-burying squirrels that planted these groves did us and the birds a favor.
There’s obviously more spring migration to come, so do make an effort to visit an array of habitats during the coming weeks to see and hear the wide variety of birds, including the spectacular Neotropical species, that visit the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed each May. You won’t regret it!
Wood Ducks arrived in February and March to breed in the lower Susquehanna valley. Soon after hatching in April or May, the young leave the nest cavity to travel under the watchful gaze of their ever-vigilant mother as they search for food along our local waterways. If you’re fortunate, you might catch a glimpse of a brood and hen while you’re out looking at the more than one hundred species of birds that occur in our region during the first half of May. Good luck!
As week-old snow and ice slowly disappears from the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed landscape, we ventured out to see what might be lurking in the dense clouds of fog that for more than two days now have accompanied a mid-winter warm spell.
After freezing to a slushy consistency earlier this week, the Susquehanna is already beginning to thaw. Below the York Haven Dam at Conewago Falls, the water is open and ice-free.On frozen man-made lakes and ponds, geese and ducks like these Mallards and American Wigeon are presently concentrated around small pockets of open water.During the past ten days, American Robin numbers have exploded throughout the lower Susquehanna valley. The majority of these birds may be a mix of both those coming south to escape the late onset of wintry conditions to our north and those inching north into our region as early spring migrants.The January thaw has melted the snow from lawns and fields to provide thousands of visiting robins with a chance to forage for earthworms.A visit by this young Cooper’s Hawk to the susquehannnawildlife.net headquarters garden sent songbirds scrambling……but did nothing to unnerve our resident Eastern Gray Squirrels,……which promptly went into tail-waving mode to advertise their presence.But earlier in the week, when heavy snow cover in the rural areas surrounding our urbanized neighborhood made it difficult for rodent-eating raptors to find food, we received brief visits from both a Red-tailed Hawk……and this young Red-shouldered Hawk, an uncommon bird of prey most often found in wet woods and other lowlands.To escape notice during visits by these larger raptors, our squirrels remained motionless and commenced performance of their best bump-on-a-log impressions.Unimpressed, each of our visiting buteos remained for just a few minutes before moving on in search of more favorable hunting grounds and prey.As snow melted and exposed bare ground in fields of early successional growth, we encountered……a flock of White-crowned Sparrows, most in first-winter plumage……and at least a dozen American Tree Sparrows. During the twentieth century, these handsome songbirds were regular winter visitors to the lower Susquehanna region. During recent decades, they’ve become increasingly more difficult to find. Currently, moderate numbers appear to be arriving to escape harsher weather to our north.What could be more appropriate on a foggy, gray evening than finding a “gray ghost” (adult male Northern Harrier) patrolling the fields in search of mice and voles.
If scenes of a January thaw begin to awaken your hopes and aspirations for all things spring, then you’ll appreciate this pair of closing photographs…
The maroon-red flower buds of Silver Maples are beginning to swell. And woodpeckers including Pileated Woodpeckers are beginning to drum, a timber-pounding behavior they use to establish breeding territories in habitats with suitable sites for cavity nesting.In wet soil surrounding spring seeps and streams, Skunk Cabbage is rising through the leaf litter to herald the coming of a new season. Spring must surely be just around the corner.
A glimpse of the rowdy guests crowding the Thanksgiving Day dinner table at susquehannawildlife.net headquarters…
A male White-breasted Nuthatch visits a peanut feeder……soon to be joined by a female White-breasted Nuthatch.A male Downy Woodpecker gets a bill full of suet.A Carolina Wren nibbles at a peanut.An Eastern Gray Squirrel stuffs itself on peanuts dropped by the birds.A territorial Northern Mockingbird stands guard over its supply of Common Winterberry fruit.To avoid the mockingbird’s aggression, the Eastern Bluebirds opted out of fresh fruit in favor of raisins offered at the feeders.This persistent American Robin has made an art of repeatedly sneaking in to quickly devour a few berries before being chased away by the vigilant mockingbird.After everyone has had their fill, Dark-eyed Juncos clean up the leftovers.
To pass the afternoon, we sat quietly along the edge of a pond created recently by North American Beavers (Castor canadensis). They first constructed their dam on this small stream about five years ago. Since then, a flourishing wetland has become established. Have a look.
Vegetation surrounding the inundated floodplain helps sequester nutrients and sediments to purify the water while also providing excellent wildlife habitat.The beaver lodge was built among shrubs growing in shallow water in the middle of the pond.Woolgrass (Scirpus cyperinus) is a bulrush that thrives as an emergent and as a terrestrial plant in moist soils bordering the pond.A male Common Whitetail dragonfly keeping watch over his territory.A Twelve-spotted Skimmer perched on Soft Rush.A Blue Dasher dragonfly seizing a Fall Field Cricket (Gryllus pennsylvanicus).A Spicebush Swallowtail visiting a Cardinal Flower.A Green Heron looking for small fish, crayfish, frogs, and tadpoles.The Green Heron stalking potential prey.A Wood Duck feeding on the tiny floating plant known as Lesser Duckweed (Lemna minor).A Least Sandpiper poking at small invertebrates along the muddy edge of the beaver pond.A Solitary Sandpiper.A Solitary Sandpiper testing the waters for proper feeding depth.A Pectoral Sandpiper searches for its next morsel of sustenance.The Sora (Porzana carolina) is a seldom seen rail of marshlands including those created by North American Beavers. Common Cattails, sedges, and rushes provide these chicken-shaped wetland birds with nesting and loafing cover.
Isn’t that amazing? North American Beavers build and maintain what human engineers struggle to master—dams and ponds that reduce pollution, allow fish passage, and support self-sustaining ecosystems. Want to clean up the streams and floodplains of your local watershed? Let the beavers do the job!
Don’t want to feed suet to the birds around your home during the blazing heat of summer? Well, you might be glad to know that peanuts offered in one of these expanded metal tube feeders make a great substitute. They provide a nutritious supplement to naturally occurring foods for nuthatches, chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, Blue Jays, finches, and woodpeckers including this Red-bellied Woodpecker. Secured to a vertical length of wire hung from a horizontal tree limb, these feeders have proven so puzzling to the squirrels at susquehannawildlife.net headquarters that they no longer make any effort to raid them. Though marketed primarily to dispense suet nuggets, powder-coated metal mesh feeders can be used for sunflower seeds too. This juvenile House Finch plucks the black oil variety from one of the tubes in our garden. Seeds that fall are quickly scarfed up by ground-feeding species including Northern Cardinals, Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus), and frustrated squirrels. Fewer seeds are lost if the larger varieties of sunflower such as “grey stripe” are used.
We don’t have a resident groundhog at susquehannawildlife.net headquarters, but the arrival of an American Robin to begin cleaning the abundance of berries from our holly trees and shrubs gives us the idea that spring is just around the corner. We could hardly be happier.
For members of the gasoline and gunpowder gang in Pennsylvania, the coming two weeks are the second-biggest holiday of the year. Cloaked in ceremonial orange, worshipers 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.
The White-tailed Deity
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!
Uncle Tyler Dyer reminds all his vegetarian friends to speak clearly when ordering the “House Salad” in a noisy restaurant, otherwise you may go hungry. Unlike Uncle Ty, the White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), seen here in its nest, is omnivorous, so it seldom goes hungry.
Along the lower Susquehanna, an unseasonably mild day in early spring can provide an observer with the opportunity to witness an annual spectacle seldom seen by the average visitor to the river—concentrations of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of turtles as they emerge from their winter slumber to bathe in the year’s first surge of warm air and sunshine.
Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) spend the winter buried in mud along the river shoreline and in nearby Alluvial Terrace Wetlands. We photographed this one just as it was digging its way out.A cold and stiff Snapping Turtle crawls away from the shade toward sun-drenched shallows where it will have a chance to limber up.A cruise in open water loosens up the muscles and gets rid of some of the accumulations of sticky mud and muck.Freshly emerged Painted Turtles clamber onto a log to bask in the cloud-filtered sun.A Painted Turtle looking for a place to get out of the chilly water soon discovered the obvious solution.It’s catching on, more Painted Turtles atop a Snapping Turtle in an Alluvial Terrace Wetland.The Common Map Turtle (right) is the turtle most frequently observed basking on rocks and logs along the main stem of the Susquehanna. To the left is a Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), an increasingly numerous invasive species. The first Red-eared Sliders arrived in the river as, you guessed it, unwanted pets. Editor’s Note: Special thanks to the local North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) for trimming the trees and providing a clear shot for this photograph!And now, a quick quiz. Name the things that don’t belong in this picture? Here’s a hint: a non-native Red-eared Slider (left) joins indigenous Painted Turtles atop a discarded tire in an Alluvial Terrace Wetland in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
Despite being located in an urbanized downtown setting, blustery weather in recent days has inspired a wonderful variety of small birds to visit the garden here at the susquehannawildlife.net headquarters to feed and refresh. For those among you who may enjoy an opportunity to see an interesting variety of native birds living around your place, we’ve assembled a list of our five favorite foods for wild birds.
American Goldfinches in drab winter (basic) plumage visit the trickle of water entering the headquarters pond to bathe and drink. In addition to offering the foods animals need to survive, a source of clean water is an excellent way to attract wildlife to your property.
The selections on our list are foods that provide supplemental nutrition and/or energy for indigenous species, mostly songbirds, without sustaining your neighborhood’s non-native European Starlings and House Sparrows, mooching Eastern Gray Squirrels, or flock of ecologically destructive hand-fed waterfowl. We’ve included foods that aren’t necessarily the cheapest but are instead those that are the best value when offered properly.
Bread, “bargain” seed mixes, and cracked corn can attract and sustain large numbers of House Sparrows and European Starlings. Both are non-native species that compete mercilessly with indigenous birds including bluebirds for food and nesting sites. Though found favorable for feeding Northern Cardinals without attracting squirrels, the expensive safflower seed seen here is another favorite of these aggressive House Sparrows. Ever wasteful, they “shovel” seed out of feeders while searching for the prime morsels from which they can easily remove the hulls. Trying not to feed them is an ongoing challenge, so we don’t offer these aforementioned foods to our avian guests.
Number 5
Raw Beef Suet
In addition to rendered beef suet, manufactured suet cakes usually contain seeds, cracked corn, peanuts, and other ingredients that attract European Starlings, House Sparrows, and squirrels to the feeder, often excluding woodpeckers and other native species from the fare. Instead, we provide raw beef suet.
Because it is unrendered and can turn rancid, raw beef suet is strictly a food to be offered in cold weather. It is a favorite of woodpeckers, nuthatches, and many other species. Ask for it at your local meat counter, where it is generally inexpensive.
Raw beef suet is fat removed from areas surrounding the kidneys on a beef steer. To avoid spoiling, offer it only in the winter months, particularly if birds are slow to consume the amount placed for them. If temperatures are above freezing, it’s important to replace uneaten food frequently. The piece seen here on the left was stored in the freezer for almost a year while the rancid piece to the right was stored in a refrigerator at about 40 degrees Fahrenheit for just two months. You can render raw beef suet and make your own cakes by melting it down and pouring it into a form such as cupcake tin. But do it outdoors or you’ll be living alone for a while.A female Downy Woodpecker feeds on raw beef suet stuffed into holes drilled into a vertically hanging log. Because they can’t be cleaned, log feeders should be discarded after one season. Wire cage feeders though, can usually be scrubbed, disinfected, dried, and reused.Pesky European Starlings might visit a raw beef suet feeder but won’t usually linger unless other foods to their liking are available nearby.This male Downy Woodpecker has no trouble feeding on raw beef suet packed into holes drilled into the underside of this horizontally hanging log. Starlings don’t particularly care to feed this way.Unusual visitors like a Brown Creeper are more likely to stop by at a suet feeder when it isn’t crowded by raucous starlings, House Sparrows, and squirrels. This one surprised us just this morning.Below the feeders, scraps of suet that fall to the ground are readily picked up, usually by ground-feeding birds. In this instance, a male Eastern Bluebird saw a chunk break loose and pounced on it with haste.
Number 4
Niger (“Thistle”) Seed
Niger seed, also known as nyjer or nyger, is derived from the sunflower-like plant Guizotia abyssinica, a native of Ethiopia. By the pound, niger seed is usually the most expensive of the bird seeds regularly sold in retail outlets. Nevertheless, it is a good value when offered in a tube or wire mesh feeder that prevents House Sparrows and other species from quickly “shoveling” it to the ground. European starlings and squirrels don’t bother with niger seed at all.
Niger seed must be kept dry. Mold will quickly make niger seed inedible if it gets wet, so avoid using “thistle socks” as feeders. A dome or other protective covering above a tube or wire mesh feeder reduces the frequency with which feeders must be cleaned and moist seed discarded. Remember, keep it fresh and keep it dry!
Niger (“thistle”) seed is very small, so it is offered in specialized feeders to prevent seed from spilling out of oversize holes as waste.An American Goldfinch in winter plumage feeding on niger seed from a wire mesh feeder. By April, goldfinches are molting into spectacular breeding feathers. Niger seed can be offered year-round to keep them visiting your garden while they are at maximum magnificence.American Goldfinches in August. This tube feeder is designed specifically for goldfinches, birds that have no difficulty hanging upside down to grab niger seed from small feeding ports.During invasion years, visiting Pine Siskins favor niger seed at feeding stations.Like goldfinches, Pine Siskins are quite comfortable feeding upside down on specialized tubes with perches positioned above the seed ports. Seeds dropped to the ground are readily picked up by ground-feeding birds including Mourning Doves and Dark-eyed Juncos. Periodically, uneaten niger seed should be swept up and discarded.
Number 3
Striped Sunflower Seed
Striped sunflower seed, also known as grey-striped sunflower seed, is harvested from a cultivar of the Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), the same tall garden plant with a massive bloom that you grew as a kid. The Common Sunflower is indigenous to areas west of the Mississippi River and its seeds are readily eaten by many native species of birds including jays, finches, and grosbeaks. The husks are harder to crack than those of black oil sunflower seed, so House Sparrows consume less, particularly when it is offered in a feeder that prevents “shoveling”. For obvious reasons, a squirrel-proof or squirrel-resistant feeder should be used for striped sunflower seed.
Striped sunflower seed.A male House Finch and a Carolina Chickadee pluck striped sunflower seeds from a squirrel-resistant powder-coated metal-mesh tube feeder.An American Goldfinch in winter plumage finds striped sunflower seeds irresistible, even with niger seed being offered in an adjacent feeder.A Tufted Titmouse visits a feeder stocked with striped sunflower seeds.Northern Cardinals readily feed on striped sunflower seeds, especially those that fall from our metal-mesh tube feeders.An Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) has no choice but to be satisfied with striped sunflower seeds that spill from our wire-mesh tube feeders.
Number 2
Mealworms
Mealworms are the commercially produced larvae of the beetle Tenebrio molitor. Dried or live mealworms are a marvelous supplement to the diets of numerous birds that might not otherwise visit your garden. Woodpeckers, titmice, wrens, mockingbirds, warblers, and bluebirds are among the species savoring protein-rich mealworms. The trick is to offer them without European Starlings noticing or having access to them because European Starlings you see, go crazy over a meal of mealworms.
Dried mealworms can be offered in a cup or on a tray feeder. Live mealworms need to be contained in a steep-sided dish, so they don’t crawl away. Unless you’re really lucky, you’ll probably have to place your serving vessel of mealworms inside some type of enclosure to exclude European Starlings.A male Eastern Bluebird tossing and grabbing a dried mealworm.A female Eastern Bluebird with a dried mealworm.A pair of Eastern Bluebirds. The value of mealworms is self-evident: you get to have bluebirds around.
To foil European Starlings, we assembled this homemade mealworm feeder from miscellaneous parts. The bluebirds took right to it.It frustrates the starlings enough to discourage them from sticking around for long.If you’re offering dried mealworms, a source of clean water must be available nearby so that the bluebirds and other guests at your feeder don’t become dehydrated.
Number 1
Food-producing Native Shrubs and Trees
The best value for feeding birds and other wildlife in your garden is to plant food-producing native plants, particularly shrubs and trees. After an initial investment, they can provide food, cover, and roosting sites year after year. In addition, you’ll have a more complete food chain on a property populated by native plants and all the associated life forms they support (insects, spiders, etc.).
In your garden, a Northern Mockingbird may defend a food supply like these Common Winterberry fruits as its sole means of sustenance for an entire winter season. Having an abundance of plantings assures that in your cache there’s plenty to eat for this and other species.The American Goldfinches currently spending the winter at our headquarters are visiting the feeders for niger and striped sunflower seeds, but the bulk of their diet consists of tiny seeds from the cones on our Eastern Hemlock trees. At night, birds obtain shelter from the weather by roosting in this clump of evergreens.While the Eastern Bluebirds visiting the susquehannawildlife.net headquarters are fond of mealworms, the bulk of their diet here consists of these Common Winterberry fruits and the berries on our American Holly trees.Cedar Waxwings are readily attracted to red berries including Common Winterberry fruit.Migrating American Robins visit the headquarters garden in late winter each year to devour berries before continuing their journey to the north.
Your local County Conservation District is having its annual spring tree sale soon. They have a wide selection to choose from each year and the plants are inexpensive. They offer everything from evergreens and oaks to grasses and flowers. You can afford to scrap the lawn and revegetate your whole property at these prices—no kidding, we did it. You need to preorder for pickup in the spring. To order, check their websites now or give them a call. These food-producing native shrubs and trees are by far the best bird feeding value that you’re likely to find, so don’t let this year’s sales pass you by!
The Woodchuck (Marmota monax), also known as the groundhog, gets no respect. Shouldn’t it be the official state mammal of Pennsylvania? After all, a nationally recognized holiday centers on the prognostications of the state’s favorite son, “Punxsutawney Phil”. And think of all those state lottery tickets sold by that media groundhog, “Gus”. Yep, only Pennsylvania would have an animal often named for a different state as its official mammal: the Virginia White-tailed Deity.
If you visit the shores of the Susquehanna River during the warmer months of the year, there’s a pretty good probability that you’ll be taking a visitor along home with you. Not to worry, it won’t raid the icebox or change the television channels when you leave the room to get a snack. It won’t put you in the doghouse with the landlord for having a forbidden pet. As a matter of fact, you may not even notice your new companion. Sure enough though, it’s there, crawling through the luxurious warm fabric of your clothing and seeking out a good place to dig in and chow down. O.K., so now you’re worried.
Ticks, particularly the American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis), are widespread in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. Like spiders, they are arachnids. They have a four-stage life cycle (egg-larva-nymph-adult) which, in the case of D. variabilis, requires a minimum of two months to complete. Females lay up to 6,500 eggs on the ground. Then the fun begins as the larvae with any hope of survival must attach to a small mammal to feed. They can survive for almost a year before finding a host. After a successful hookup and subsequent blood feast of up to two weeks duration, the larva drops to the ground, molts into a nymph, and finds another small mammal, usually a bit bigger this time, to feed upon. A nymph can survive for up to six months before needing to feed. Finding the second host, the nymph feeds for 3 to 10 days, then drops to the ground to molt into an adult. Adult American Dog Ticks can endure up to two years without feeding on a host. The adults mate and feed on larger mammals such as deer and domestic animals including, of course, dogs. After a blood meal of five days to two weeks duration, the adult female tick drops to the ground to lay eggs and initiate a new generation.
The adult American Dog Tick attaches to a potential host by hanging from vegetation and grabbing the passing victim with its forward legs to hitch a ride. If undetected, a female will find a nice warm spot and “dig in” to begin feeding. This male is looking for love, and in all the wrong places.
The American Dog Tick is renowned as a carrier of the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever bacteria (Rickettsia rickettsii). The bacteria is vectored by the ticks from rodents to dogs and humans. The adult tick must be attached to the victim for a minimum of six to eight hours to transmit the pathogen. A rash spreading from the wrists and the ankles to other portions of the body begins two to fourteen days after infection.
Tularemia, caused by the bacteria Francisella tularensis, can be passed by the American Dog Tick.Symptoms can appear in three to twenty-one days and include chills, fever, and inflammation of the lymph nodes.
American Dog Ticks which attach to dogs, particularly near the neck, and are left in place to feed and engorge themselves for longer than five days can cause Canine Tick Paralysis. Symptoms usually begin to subside only after a recovery period following removal of the arachnid.
The American Dog Tick is exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria responsible for Lyme Disease, however, transmittal of this pathogen is by the smaller Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis), also known as the Black-legged Tick. The Deer Tick is not presently common at Conewago Falls. In the adjacent uplands, it is widespread and is carrying Lyme Disease where the White-tailed Deity (Odocoileus virginianus), the preferred host for the ticks, is found along with mice and other small rodents, the source of B. burgdorferi bacteria. The Deer Tick easily escapes notice and cases of Lyme Disease are frequent, so vigilance is necessary.
SOURCES
Chan, Wai-Han, and Kaufman, Phillip. 2008. American Dog Tick. University of Florida Featured Creatures website entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/medical/american_dog_tick.htm as accessed July 30, 2017.
