Photographs in Living Color: Black and White is Beautiful

Here at susquehannawildlife.net headquarters, we really enjoy looking back in time at old black-and-white pictures.  We even have an old black-and-white television that still operates quite well.  But on a nice late-spring day, there’s no sense sitting around looking at that stuff when we could be outside tracking down some sightings of a few wonderful animals.

American Toad Tadpoles
American Toad tadpoles have hatched from clusters of eggs deposited in this wet roadside ditch furnished with a clean supply of runoff filtered through a wide shoulder of early successional growth.  Recent rains have kept their vernal nursery flooded, giving them the time they need to quickly mature into tiny toads and hop away before scorching summer heat dries up their natal home.
Water Striders mating.
Weekend rains and creek flooding haven’t stopped these Water Striders from pairing up to begin their breeding cycle.
Common Whitetail
Around streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands, the Common Whitetail is one of our most conspicuous dragonflies.
Great Blue Heron
Now that’s what we call a big beautiful bill, on a Great Blue Heron stalking fish.
Golden-backed Snipe Flies
These mating Golden-backed Snipe Flies (Chrysopilus thoracicus) are predatory insects, as are their larvae.  They are most frequently found in bottomland woods.
Eastern Ratsnake
About three feet in length, this Eastern Ratsnake is unusual because it still shows conspicuous remnants of the diamond-patterned markings it sported as a juvenile.
Black-and-white Warbler
The plumage of the Black-and-white Warbler lacks any of the vibrant colors found in the rainbow, but is nevertheless strikingly beautiful.
Black-and-white Warbler
This male Black-and-white Warbler appears a little bit ruffled as he dries out his feathers following a brief afternoon downpour. 
Black-and-white Warbler
But as the sunshine returns, he bursts into song from a forest perch within the nesting territory he has chosen to defend.  In addition to the vocalizations, this eye-catching plumage pattern helps advertise his presence to both prospective mates and would-be trespassers alike.  But against the peeling bark of massive trees where this bird can often be found quietly feeding in a manner reminiscent of a nuthatch, the feathers can also provide a surprisingly effective means of camouflage.  

Three’s Company

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.

Wood Turtles
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.
Wood Turtle
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.

Woodland Jumping Mouse
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.

Eastern Ratsnake
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.
Eastern Ratsnake
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 Copperhead
…Eastern Copperheads…
Timber Rattlesnake
…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.

Photo of the Day

Eastern Ratsnake Crossing a Road
With cold weather settling in, reptiles including this Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) are making their way to winter den sites.  Many will be crossing roads, trails, and lawns, unknowingly subjecting themselves to the mercy of the more than one million merciless people living in the lower Susquehanna valley.  Don’t behave like a sociopath, please refrain from murdering, molesting, or kidnapping them.  Turn over a new leaf this fall and give them a brake.  Then leave them alone.