Cozy

Late one October night I started to remove a bird feeder to fill it when I heard wings flutter then something flew into my chest. I thought either a bat or a bird flew out of the seed hopper. I kept thinking about that night and wondered what it was that flew out and bumped into me.

Then the mystery was solved. Watching the feeders one evening I saw a white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) climbing all over the suet finally settling down on the top. This bird spent almost every fall and winter night sleeping under the top of the suet holder.

February 6, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

Be sure to kiss the one you love this Valentine's Day!

Red eft (Notophthalmus viridescens) and slug look like they are kissing but were just checking each other out.

November 2008.

Flying squirrel

Driving out of a conservation area I saw a tabby cat in the road. I stopped the car near the cat and a tiny squirrel jumped up and the cat swatted at it. I quickly got out of the car to try and keep the cat from getting at the squirrel. I was able to shoo the cat away but it didn't go far. The small animal was frightened but seemed uninjured.

I believe this is a southern flying squirrel (G. volans) due to its small size. You can see its body is about the same length as a birch leaf. Northern flying squirrels (G. sabrinus) are larger (10 to 13.5 inches long) than southern flying squirrels (8 to 10 inches long).

October 24, 2011.

Leucism

Leucism happens when a mutation occurs that prevents melanin from being deposited in feathers or hair. Albinism is a condition in which there is a complete lack of melanin in the body. Melanin is responsible for dark colorations such as black/brown and red/brown variations.

These images show comparisons of animal species with leucistic pigmentation versus normal pigmentation.

The top left image shows a pale gray or leucistic skunk while its litter mate shows the usual black pigmentation. The two lower left-hand photos show a pale, leucistic female mallard and a typically pigmented duck. The two lower right-hand images show first, the winter plumage we see in an American goldfinch compared to a goldfinch with a white ring (pied) around the birds head.

Metamorphosis

On August 8, 2011 at 4:30 in the morning I spotted this Virginian tiger moth (Spilosoma virginica) caterpillar on a sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) leaf. The yellow larva in the top image is an early instar which was about to tranform to its next instar stage. The caterpillar measures 4 cm in length.

The lefthand image in the center photo taken 59 hours later on August 10 shows the caterpillar after it had completed ecdysis. The setae have emerged as a light brownish-orange color. The shed integument-in yellow-can be seen to the right of the caterpillar and is being eaten.

The righthand image in the center photo taken 5 1/2 hours later shows the caterpillar eating the shed integument with not much remaining.

The bottom image shows the caterpillar eating the fern leaf. The colors in the head have darkened since the the cuticle dried and hardened. The larva now measures 2.5 cm in length.

Green frog malformity

On August 9, 2011 this young green frog (Rana Clamitans) showed up at my backdoor. This frog appears to have a malformed eye and I doubt she could see out of it. There may be some mouth/jaw malformations as well.

Suspected causes of malformations in frogs include chemicals such as those found in pesticides and the use of CFCs, which have depleted the ozone layer. Depletion of the ozone layer allows more ultraviolet (UV) radiation to enter the Earths atmosphere. UV radiation can enter cells and alter DNA, which may then result in mutations.