Skunked - finally!!

Symplocarpus foetidus - Eastern Skunk Cabbage
Fox Island Co. Park - trail "E"

The Vernal Equinox has past, the Red Winged Blackbirds have arrived and the Skunk Cabbage is up at Fox Island and Metea County Parks.  Forget the weather forecast and forget what's going outside - spring is here!!

OPOSSUM-the Marsupial, the Myth, the Legend.

The Virginia Opossum, Didelphis virginiana, is pretty low on our list of "Most Adored" and loved North American mammals. This only North American representative of order Marsupial has adapted over several million years to survive in our northern United States climate. An omnivore that includes snakes in it's diet has also developed a resistance to snake venom and is 8 times less likely to carry the rabies virus than woodland canines.  As a marsupial, the female carries her hairless, sightless newborn in her pouch for about 2 months until the honeybee sized babies are able to come out and cling to the mother's fur while she searches for food and shelter.  A litter of these little "Joeys" averages 9-10 young. Commonly known as simply "possum" the opossum has one of the shortest lifespans for mammals their size.  A three year old possum is a very rare occurrence and automobiles are one of the main causes of possum deaths.  Opossums are often pictured sleeping hanging by their hairless tail, which they do not do, and carrying their babies which are hanging on their mother's tail which is also a myth.  As opossums extend their range into the northern United States and southern Canada  their hairless tail and toes are always subject to frostbite.

"Playing possum" is a reflex reaction that the opossum displays as a reaction to a threat.  It is an involuntary response also known as "tonic immobility.  Opossums have 50 teeth, more than any other land mammal, and will eat a wide variety of food including bird eggs and dead animals.

The hind feet of the opossum have 4 clawed toes and 1 nail-less opposable thumb which aids its ability to hold onto branches.

Hairy? Downy?

It's not always easy to describe the subtle differences between Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers.   The larger size and longer bill of the bird on the left shows it's a Hairy Woodpecker.  The Hairy's bill is roughly the same length as it's head.  The Downy Woodpecker's bill is much shorter in relation to it's head.  The red patch on the Hairy shows it is a male and the absence of the patch on the Downy shows it is a female.

The Beat Goes On!

What do the Allen County Parks do in the winter time? Winter time is the ideal time to run programs on tracks and animal winter adaptations that allow them to survive in our climate. School groups regularly take advantage of these offerings.

Fox Island and Metea Parks also rent cross country skiing equipment for the visitors who want to see the snow covered landscape of the parks. Several of the trails in each park are restricted to skiing traffic only when there is at least 4" of snow on the ground.  Allen County Parks are two of the few places in the state that rents cross country skiing equipment and draws visitors from outside of the county as well as local visitors.

This school group learns about the anatomy of the crayfish through dissection led by Metea Park naturalist and former biology teacher Ron Divelbiss 

Several classes and workshops are offered to school groups and the general public related to the natural world of the parks. When the temperature dips below zero and the wind and snow are blowing, rest assured, the parks staff is busily laying out the offerings for the coming warmer weather.  For more information on the current and future offerings as well as current skiing conditions in the parks please go to Allen County Parks

"That stinks..........!"

This creature showed up, uninvited, in my kitchen and was preceded by several relatives since October.

You just never know who will show up at your front door, or invite themselves in for a little warmth and rest. Since the late 1990's the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) has been increasing it's presence in the states east of the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast states.  The BMSB damages fruit by piercing the fruit with it's beak which produces a non-sellable mark on fruits such as apples and peaches. A true bug, this insect has the distinctive "shield" shape of all stink bugs and emits a foul odor when handled or disturbed. The alternate brown/white markings of the feelers and body margins distinguish this stink bug from those bugs native to the US. The BMSB is a native of China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan and damages fruits, vegetables and farm crops as well as becomes a pest by seeking cold weather shelter in homes and buildings. The best way to prevent these invaders from taking up residence in your living room is by sealing entry points and removing existing visitors with a vacuum.

Robins in January

Where do American Robins go when it is -12 deg, F. (-24 deg, C) with 10" of fresh snow covering the landscape?  Obviously, my back yard.  This morning broke cold and clear after yesterdays snow storm and a small group of robins were feeding on the few remaining berries on the cranberry viburnums in the woods behind my house.  Viburnum berries are an important food source for many overwintering birds including Brown Thrashers and Cedar Waxwings as well as our Robins.  The berries are never the food of preference for the birds which explains why these red cranberry look-a-likes may go the entire winter without being eaten.

DON'T BE BUFFALOED-IT'S A BISON

The rub on the trees behind this Ouabache State Park (Indiana) bison is due to the park's bison rubbing on the trees to remove their winter coat of hair.

Long a symbol of free ranging North American prairie wildlife, the North American Bison, is actually divided into two sub-species.  The American or Prairie Bison of the great plains and the Wood Bison of Canada are members of the largest of North American mammals. Large bulls can weigh 2000 pounds and stand over 6 feet tall at the shoulders.  Large herds of bison migrated through southern Indiana between Vincennes and New Albany, up until approximately 1803, crossing the Ohio River near the Falls of the Ohio on their way to the mineral licks of Kentucky.  This annual migration produced the "Buffalo Trace", a path 12' to 20' wide, that later became a main travel route for settlers and military forces on the move. This hardy, fast, hulk of an animal who's likeness graces the seal of the State of Indiana, was gone from Indiana by 1830, some 50 years prior to the extermination of bison on the Great Plains.

Bison at Ouabache State Park
Bluffton, Indiana

Incorrectly called a "buffalo", the North American BISON is very different from the Old World buffalo like the Water Buffalo of India and the Cape Buffalo of Africa. Our North American Bison are very closely related to the European Wood Bison also known as the Wisent.