Short-tailed Shrew

by Carl Strang

A few days ago I saw my first two short-tailed shrews at Mayslake Forest Preserve. Both were dead.

short-tailed shrew b

This one was in the middle of the trail. The other was in a mowed area, a few feet out from the edge of a prairie. These almost certainly were killed by coyotes. They appear to have been left as calling cards in the same way that coyotes deliberately place their scats in the centers of trails. Other coyotes coming along are sure to find them and know the area already is claimed.

I knew that short-tailed shrews were on the preserve, compliments of a great horned owl.

Owl pellet 1b

These skulls all were in a single owl pellet deposited in the center of the preserve last winter. The upper left one belonged to a short-tailed shrew. So, why would the owl eat these shrews, while the coyote leaves them after killing them? After all, if the coyote wants to use a small mammal as a marker, there are many more voles and white-footed mice, so we might expect the coyote to use them as markers, too.

Here I have no inquiry I can do myself. I must rely on what others have found. It turns out that short-tailed shrews are toxic. They have salivary poisons that help them subdue the voles that often are their prey, but some poisons are found all over their bodies. Owls, with their relatively poor taste and smell, gulp down any they kill (great horned owls also eat skunks, by the way). Coyotes are less inclined to do so. They pounce and kill a small mammal moving through the tall grass, then find it’s a shrew. Being resourceful while not wanting to eat something so vile tasting, they use it as a marker. At least, that is what I think is happening here. Another possibility is that the coyote deliberately kills the shrew with the intention of using it for communicating with other coyotes, incidentally taking out a competing predator.

Dragonflies on the Deck

by Carl Strang

I have been part of the regional dragonfly monitoring program since it began in 2003. I started counting dragonflies and damselflies at Willowbrook, Songbird Slough and Waterfall Glen Forest Preserves, in recent years focusing on the last two. Though I continued to find new species from time to time, the past couple of years I have felt the need to try something new. The major gap in my knowledge was in river species, so this year I decided to combine my loves of kayaking and dragonfly monitoring by trying out a river route. Water levels have been high, and cool weather has been suboptimal for monitoring, so I didn’t make my first excursion until last weekend. I launched my sea kayak from the forest preserve boat ramp at Des Plaines Riverway, and headed downstream into Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve.

Des Plaines monitor view b

Experienced kayakers know to tie everything to the boat. I didn’t want to risk wetting my digital voice recorder, so I tied a waterproof notebook to a deck line, tied two pencils to the notebook, wore my waterproof small camera and binoculars, and tucked everything else into my yellow deck bag.

Monitor deck 1b

I used the strongest current in the center of the river to go downstream, taking moments along the way to enjoy sights such as scattered great blue heron nests.

GB heron nest Des Plaines b

The only American rubyspot of the day made it easy by landing on my bow.

American rubyspot kayak b

Dragonflies were tougher, however. The low, seated vantage point made flying dragonflies look different, and it took a while to recognize even familiar species. They were flying fast over the center of the river, making photography impossible, and even tracking them with binoculars was very difficult. My frustration was limited by the low number of insects active in the center of the river that day. I reached a convenient turn around point after an hour, and started back following the sunlit north shore. (Current is slower near the bank, making the upstream paddling easier.) Odonata were much more abundant along the edge. Some damselflies continued to land on the boat. Here a powdered dancer and a blue-fronted dancer chose to land on the deck bag, providing a comparison shot.

Dancers kayak 1b

Other damselflies kept their distance, landing on sticks or debris. The small camera’s telephoto was adequate to get shots of the abundant blue type bluets, which proved to be familiar bluets.

Familiar bluet 5JL 1b

There also were many black type bluets, which I identified as slender bluets.

Slender bluet 5JL 1b

The most abundant dragonflies were jade clubtails, some of which liked my deck.

Jade clubtail kayak b

I was pleased to see a Cyrano darner along the way, though I was unable to get a photo. Toward the end I got a nice view of some Illinois roses.

IL roses Des Plaines b

All in all there was a nice variety of species, most of them familiar but some I missed. I look forward to a continuing learning experience as I return to this route on future weekends.

Back Yard Gardens

by Carl Strang

Yesterday I shared my woodland gardens. Today I want to show the back yard. We’re not talking big. For instance, here is my wetland.

Yard 3JL 13b water garden 2009

My prairie is in two parts, both of the postage stamp scale. One part along the back fence will peak in blooming later. For now, some non-native day lilies are providing color.

Yard 3JL 16b fence bed

The other prairie plot has flowers through more of the season.

Yard 3JL 18b prairie

At the moment, the main eye-catchers are butterfly milkweed, white wild indigo, and spiderwort. Others will come along later.

Yard 3JL 19b prairie

On the same scale I also tuck in a vegetable garden.

Yard 3JL 22b vegetable

As I mentioned yesterday, gardening involves inquiry. Though the back yard is the sunniest area I have, the sun doesn’t really reach it until late morning, limiting what I can do there. I have had poor results with carrots and with garlic, for example, and no longer grow them. Beans have given such inconsistent results that I have abandoned them, too. This year I am focusing more on greens, adding Tuscan kale and Swiss chard to the old standby, lettuce.

Woodland Gardens

by Carl Strang

In an earlier post  I outlined my general, less-than-purist approach to gardening. I emphasize native species, but add others to make connections to my neighbors’ landscapes and to keep some color going through the season. Any gardener knows that there is an element of inquiry in the art. For instance, I have not had success with Jacob’s ladder in the main woodland garden in my side yard, but it does fine in the front.

Yard 10MY2b Polemonium

This year I am experimenting with a variegated form of Solomon’s seal in the front and side yards.

Yard 10MY3b var sol seal

My small side yard is dominated by 3 silver maples. Beneath them I have an understory with witch hazels, smooth arrow-wood, Juneberry, and pagoda dogwood. A mix of native woodland plants has something blooming for a good part of the season. Earlier the wild geraniums flowered.

Yard 23MY 3b geranium

These are supplemented by some non-native amsonias in the background.

Yard 23MY 12b Amsonia

If you look closely you may see the small pawpaws that ultimately will overtop the amsonias. These are growing from seeds I brought back from a vacation trip to southern Ohio, though pawpaw is native to northeast Illinois, too. Mid-summer brings a gap in blooming woodland wildflowers.

Yard 3JL 9b green textures

Though personally I like the variation in textures and shades of green, I like to bring in some color with tuberous begonias and hostas along the edge.

Yard 3JL 8b begonia hosta

This year I also added an urn with some New Guinea impatiens and a tropical Alocasia ‘Sarian’.

Yard 3JL 10b side yard container

I’m interested in seeing if these will keep going if I bring the urn indoors for winter.

P.S. this is the 200th post of this blog.

Roots of Inquiry: Roger Raccoon Club

by Carl Strang

One of the children’s programs I help conduct each year is a camp for 9-12-year-olds called the Roger Raccoon Club. This is one of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s efforts to give suburban kids the opportunity to experience nature through free-form play and exploration. We provide instruction in basic safety, and offer ideas, but then maximize the free time and turn the kids loose. Though inquiry is not part of the curriculum, naturally it comes up. For instance, we teach the safe capture, handling and release of small animals.

RRC09 3b

The children spend an impressive amount of their own time, then, on the hunt.

RRC09 11b

Their explorations may give them experiences of looking into water,

RRC09 22b

immersing themselves in water,

RRC09 14b

and climbing trees.

RRC09 18b

Creative manipulation of plants may produce a necklace

RRC09 12b

or a magic wand.

RRC09 29b

Following a dry streambed to see where it goes can lead to the discovery of a Silurian cephalopod.

RRC09 37b

Fascination with fire led one boy to see what would happen if he scorched leaves.

RRC09 31b

He reported that some smelled, surprisingly, like apple cider, while others didn’t. My only participation in the process was to suggest that odors are chemicals and heat can produce chemical changes. Where any of these experiences will lead is impossible to say, but I believe it is important that all children have them.

Roots of Inquiry: Class of ‘69

by Carl Strang

Class reunions are revealing. I graduated in 1969 from Culver Community High School. That school district is so rural that my graduating class had just a few more than 100 people in it, and that was after consolidating 4 entire townships (from 4 counties!). Recently we celebrated our second big reunion. The first, our 20th, I enjoyed, but I remember noting how we fell quickly into old roles, how there was a fair amount of posturing, how emotional wounds still needed healing in many of us. The 40th was different.

69 1b

Clearly we had grown beyond those old influences. We each had survived our own battles, had become comfortable with our selves.

69 3b

Though naturally we conversed mainly with our closest childhood friends, there was an interest in what everyone had done, and I felt a collective sense of pride at how much we as a group had accomplished.

69 4b

What does this have to do with inquiry? So much of who we are is established in our school-age years. We find our first interests, and test them out. Someone remembered me giving a talk on coots, how they are different from ducks and so forth. It turned out that several people remembered my coot talk. I was not one of them.

69 2b

Probably that talk grew out of a period of a few years when I reported to the state conservation department on the numbers of various waterfowl species stopping by Lake Maxinkuckee  during migration. I filled out a postcard form each week and sent it in. That experience taught me a little about making careful observations and recording data, and was so enjoyable that it reinforced my established interest in nature study.

69 5b

The tone of the reunion was of mutual support and congratulations. Again I thank the organizers, and all of you who helped frame my development in those important formative years.

Gypsy Moth Caterpillars

by Carl Strang

Earlier I described gypsy moth egg masses . These hatched in May, and the caterpillars have been busy. The larval gypsy moth is distinctive.

Gypsy moth 4JEb

This caterpillar, about an inch long, I photographed at Mayslake on June 4. It is hairy, has rows of blue and red spots on its back, and (not so visible in the photo) a mottled yellow and black head. The entire package reminds me of a Chinese parade dragon. There would be no problem if there were just this one, or a few. Unfortunately their populations build to the thousands, enough to strip some trees of their leaves. On June 13 I visited York Woods, where several oaks were defoliated last year. Though some leaves looked well chewed,

Oak leaves chewed York b

I saw no trees that appeared in danger of being defoliated this year.

Oaks 13JE York Woods 1b

Earlier in the season, helicopters sprayed a bacterial disease at York Woods and other spots where there was danger that gypsy moths would defoliate trees. I saw one dead gypsy moth caterpillar that appeared to have been killed by this disease.

Gypsy moth killed York b

The bacillus attacks all moth and butterfly caterpillars, and so the decision to spray is not made casually. As I understand it, the spray is used to protect hot spots as long as these are few and local. Once the gypsy moth population builds to the point where they are abundant and universal, that spray will be discontinued (except, perhaps, in certain high use and high quality areas) and hope will shift to a fungal disease, predators and insect parasites to limit the harm done by the caterpillars. The usual pattern is a few years of unpleasantness and the loss of a percentage of trees (mainly ones weakened by other conditions), after which there is a permanent presence of diseases and parasites that keep gypsy moths within limits.

Fawn Spotting

by Carl Strang

One of the first postings in this blog was about identifying the gender of older fawns . Now that we have a new crop of them, I want to bring up the possibility of recognizing individuals by their distinctive spotting patterns. Here is a tiny fawn that enchanted us at Fullersburg Woods a couple years ago when it curled up beside the office building one day.

Fawn 2b

Compare its spotting pattern to that of the fawn below, encountered 42 days later not far from the office building.

Fawn Wildflower Trail b

It’s the same animal. I draw your attention to the smiley face pattern on the upper right shoulder, the trio of spots to the right of it, and the large area empty of spotting above it. Here’s another example.

Triplet fawns 13b

The above photo I took July 17. Compare it to the next, taken August 27.

Later triplet fawn 2b

Again I feel confident in declaring these photos to be of the same individual. Spotting patterns on fawns appear to be distinctive, and as long as they last you can use them to keep track of animals in areas you visit regularly.

Roesel’s Katydid Quest

by Carl Strang

Earlier I featured northeast Illinois’ common native predaceous katydid, the protean shieldback . We have another predaceous katydid, an import from Europe, Roesel’s katydid. Here is a female. Note the general brown color, and the yellow-edged half-moon of black behind the head.

Roesel's katydid female 2b

This is a species of open prairies, meadows and roadsides, preferring a mix of tall grasses and forbs. Here is a male in singing posture.

Roesel's katydid b

There are two things to note in comparing the two photos. First, the female is recognized by the curved, bladelike ovipositor protruding from the back of her abdomen. A structure of this sort is present in all female crickets and katydids. Second, note the long wings of the male and the short wings of the female. This is not a gender difference, as either gender can have either wing length. The male’s singing structures are in the basal part of the wings, and are complete in short-winged individuals.

Range maps for Roesel’s typically show it in a fairly large area of the northeastern U.S. plus a separate, smaller area in northern Illinois. I expected to find it in DuPage County. It is indeed abundant here, and I have found it in Kane and Kendall Counties as well. Imagine my surprise two years ago when, riding my bicycle around Culver, in north central Indiana, I started hearing the distinctive flat buzzing songs of Roesel’s katydids. I interrupted my workout to find one, and confirmed its identity visually. I intended to begin exploring the extent of their range extension last year, but a bike fall in mid-June gave me a broken collarbone and rib, forcing a postponement.

Last week I took a couple vacation days and searched for Roesel’s in two additional Indiana areas. First I drove to North Manchester in Wabash County, home of Manchester College.

Manchester College 3b

I covered 25 miles of country roads on my bike, and found scattered Roesel’s both west and east of North Manchester. I collected a voucher specimen.

Roesel's voucher b

I’m not fond of killing insects, but in this case felt the need for a voucher to support my claim. For what it’s worth, the greatest concentration of them was at the intersection of county roads 1400N and 300W.

Roesel coll site 2b

I found a larger than usual area of unmowed mixed grasses and forbs there.

Roesel coll site 3b

That was the source of the voucher specimen. The next day I drove down to Logansport for another prospecting bike ride. In a 22-mile tour of Cass County roads from the Wabash River north, again I encountered Roesel’s katydids regularly along the way. As on the previous day there were plenty of spring field crickets, too, plus a number of common meadow katydids, the first I’ve heard this year.

Roesel’s song is a mechanical sounding buzz, lengthy but with occasional interruptions. Nothing else produces a sound like it so early in the season. The males usually begin singing around mid-morning (though on a hot day I have heard them as early as 7:15 a.m.), and continue through the heat of the afternoon. In northeast Illinois the earliest appearance I have noted was June 10 (in 2007), latest June 22 (last year). They continue into the second half of July (the latest I have heard one was July 28 in 2006). For recordings of the song, go here  or here . You also can see the conventional range map, which clearly needs updating.

Prairie Flowers and Others

by Carl Strang

We have entered a part of the season when most newly appearing native wildflowers are those of prairies and other open areas. Woodlands are so shaded by now that most of their flowers have finished blooming. One common exception is the white avens.

White avens b

This member of the rose family is one of our most common woodland plants. Its seeds have little hooks for catching the fur (or clothing) of passing mammals, which then convey them. Earlier in the season  I mentioned another avens, the yellow avens, which since has proven to be ubiquitous at Mayslake to the point where I don’t remember seeing it nearly as abundant anywhere else. A third avens species is the rough avens.

Rough avens b

This one is much less common at Mayslake, growing mainly in somewhat open places close to the stream or other bodies of water. Water also is the home for the beautiful flowers of the water knotweed.

Water knotweed 2b

This one is abundant in parts of the marsh between the stream and the chapel. The rest of the flowers featured today are prairie forbs. A forb is an herbaceous species that is not a grass, sedge or similar plant. The criterion is not, however, wind pollination vs. animal pollination. The waxy meadow rue is a wind-pollinated forb.

Waxy meadow rue 1b

Dogbane is the native plant which produces the best fibers for rope making.

Dogbane 2b

Other prairie plants have names suggesting uses we may have found for them: food (wild onion),

Wild onion b

dye (white wild indigo),

White wild indigo 2b

and medicine (wild quinine,

Wild quinine b

and purple coneflower).

Purple coneflower b

The last has become a popular herbal remedy under its genus name, Echinacea. Medical researchers are skeptical of its efficacy, but I find that laboratory studies do not carefully replicate traditional preparation methods and so themselves have to be regarded as inconclusive.

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