My front deck is the reptile rendezvous of choice.

Early May has brought out the reptiles in abundance at my house. Almost every time I walk anywhere on our five acres these days, I see/almost step on a snake or lizard. Amphibians of numerous species are also ubiquitous. I encountered two very large toads in different parts of the vegetable garden yesterday as I planted my summer squash seedlings.

A week or so ago, early afternoon brought out two lizard species on our front deck. We couldn’t miss them, because they were basking/interacting just outside our front door. Those are Green Anoles on the railing, of course. I’ve written about them several times, including here. They like that railing, and we see them there often.

The new additions were the skinks loitering on the deck below. They are either Five-lined Skinks or Southeastern Five-lined Skinks. The two species are very similar; apparently the experts distinguish between them by examining scales on the undersides of their tails. I wasn’t about to traumatize them or myself by trying to catch them for closer examination.

At first, I thought the Green Anoles were engaging in courtship behavior, but the longer I watched, the more I thought that perhaps it was a slow-motion reptilian territorial dispute. The most action occurred when one of them caught a small butterfly that was visiting one of the white salvia flowers growing beside the railing. Just as one anole caught its prey, the other rushed it, jostling it, so that it released the fluttering victim, which flew away as the two anoles settled in for more slow motion space wars.

The nose-to-nose staring contest lasted for many minutes.

One was clearly shedding the skin off its tail. Maybe this makes it extra grouchy?

One occasionally inflated his throat pouch. The other never did, which is why I suspected it might be female.

The skinks were much less active than their green friends. They seemed content to stay nearly immobile, soaking up sun and ignoring me as I moved around trying to get better camera angles on them without startling them.

Those are White Texas Sage flowers.

This one was larger and wider and had no blue on its tail, which I think means it is older than the other one.

This one was more shy, hugging the edge of the deck for a quicker escape. Note the blue tinge to its tail.

Skinks and Green Anoles are all welcome in my yard and garden, of course. Any critter that eats some of the ten gazillion bugs that occupy my garden is welcome. For every butterfly they devour, they almost certainly eat more unwelcome insect pests. I’ve read they eat spiders, too, and I’ve noticed fewer of the eight-legged creatures lingering around my front deck. Perhaps the lizards have reduced their numbers somewhat?

At least one large snake also occupies the area around our front deck, although it is not audacious enough to sun itself on the deck with the lizards (thank goodness!) I suspect it is the same Black Rat Snake I wrote about here, because of its size, but I can’t be certain. I almost stepped on it the other day as I was weeding around a daylily, and last week, it left me a present coiled around the large Spanish Lavender bush that thrives against the front of my house:

A freshly shed skin.

It’s a little hard to see in the above shot, but the shed skin is quite long. I got out a yard stick, gently eased the skin away from the lavender, and laid them side-by-side on a garden bench for comparison:

Four feet long, give or take a few inches.

Here’s a slightly different angle:

You can tell the former owner of this skin was not only long, but relatively thick.

I’m happy to report that it’s not just the cold-blooded clan that love the habitat-rich environments we’ve created for them. Bird song by many species begins before the sun has done more than hint at the arrival of a new day. All the summer visitors are here now: Summer Tanagers, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, and too many warblers to ever distinguish. The Red-breasted Nuthatches finally left for their northern breeding grounds. I’ll miss their bold visits to the suet feeders as I tried to re-fill them.

And don’t get me started on the summer weeds. My knees may never forgive me for the relentless torture I’ve subjected them to as I’ve tried to plant vegetables amid predictions of wildly varying temperatures.

Reptiles have it far easier in that regard. I suspect that knee pain is rarely, if ever, an issue for them.

Note:  For those looking for information on the class I’m teaching in July, see my About page. Thanks!

Butterfly milkweed, not yet blooming.
Wild blue indigo, in luscious bloom.
Cobaea beardtongue, plentiful this year.
Daisy fleabane, blooming rather early, I believe.
Lots of Arkansas rose.

several scissor-tailed flycatchers
one turkey
dozens of turkey vultures
one nighthawk
lots of killdeer
brown-headed cowbirds
meadowlarks
Franklins gulls
barn swallows
kingbirds
one indigo bunting, which thoughtfully landed in a tree in easy view. I actually stopped the car for this one.
redwing blackbirds
upland sandpipers

rat snake
yellow-bellied racer
five-lined skink
The last two reptiles were here at the motel, but I love them so much I didn’t want to leave them off the list.

Since I was a child I’ve wanted to see a zebra swallowtail butterfly, but never did, until this week.

And mustn’t forget — this one doesn’t belong on my list because I didn’t personally see it, but several of the musicians saw a mountain lion, and got pictures. Don’t tell Fish and Wildlife, they still don’t want to admit that mountain lions are in Kansas.

I decide to hike to a location in Hot Springs National Park that has a lower visitor count. It is my hope the Fordyce/Ricks Pond and the Sunset Trail will have an abundance of Wildflowers.  The heat this spring has sorely limited the number of Wildflowers blooming along the most accessible trails in the park.

Unexpectedly the only blooms I can locate around the pond turn out to be an alien invader… a domestic pink Tea Rose.  The pond is low and murky, the Striped Bass are barely visible even in the sunlight.  The shell to shell line of Turtles that usually line the exposed logs basking in the sun are scarce.  The usually abundant Dragonflies are not present either, the most hopeful sign is a swarm of gnats.

Further into the Forest on the Sunset Trail only tattered single Wildflowers appear on the trail edges.  The usually encompassing canopy has many gaps and it seems too bright in the early morning light. I miss being wrapped in the dark green of past late springs. Even broad Leaf evergreen Trees are dropping there leaves covering the trail as if it were Autumn.

As I photograph and stare wistfully at a Black-Eyed Susan I have the feeling I am being watched.  Slowly turning I see a sweet face peeking at me from the top of an old stump.   A tiny Five-Lined Skink is watching me,  after I take couple of photos he/she vanishes.  As I take a step forward past the stump I see the beautiful blue tail of my new friend.  It calmly stretches its full exposed body until we are eye to eye.  I am surprised it is not moving it’s bright blue tail to lure me from seeing the lovely striped face.

Another half mile along the trail, still no sign of birds or small mammals and only a distant huff of a deer.  Nearing the top of the ridge I spot a lovely turtle walking toward me.  She stops momentarily unsure of my presence, then pokes her head back out continuing past me to the edge of the trail.  Stopping to look back at me I am taken by the beauty of her markings and the lack of damage to her shell.  Living off the beaten path has offered her some protection.  The shells of most of the turtle on Hot Springs, North and West Mountains always seem to have damage including canine teeth punctures. This is becoming the year of reptiles in Hot Springs National Park.

I am concerned the extreme heat will add an extra layer of combustibility to the Forest.  If you are out in the park this spring/summer please don’t smoke.

Love to ALL!
Lee

I couldn't find what species of dragonfly this is. So I ordered a dragonfly identification book for future reference.

This is part 2 of my Cochran Shoals trip this week.  These images focus on butterflies, dragonflies, and a skink with a bright blue tail.  That’s a new one for me!  

Five-lined skink

Spiderwort

American Painted Lady

Red Admiral

Duskywing

Whitetail dragonfly

Honeysuckle - such sweet perfume

www.CindyMcIntyre.com

No one’s ever gotten a good headcount of Connecticut’s Five-lined Skink, the little lizard that is good at hiding under leaves and making itself scarce. The five-inch creature, which is native to Connecticut, is also adept at escaping from its predators, even after it’s caught. It moves very quickly, too fast for onlookers to see it.

WCBS 880′s Fran Schneidau reports

Download: lizard-mp3.mp3|titles=Five-Lined%20Skink%20Remains%20A%20Phenomenon%20In%20Connecticut's%20Year%20Of%20The%20Lizard|artists=Fran%20Schneidau

“A number of lizards — and the Five-lined Skink is one of them — has a tail that will break off at a fairly precise area if it’s grabbed by the tail,” reptile specialist Al Breisch told WCBS 880′s Fran Schneidau.

Breisch says that the broken part of the tail continues to wiggle, thus holding the attention of the predator.

“And while the tail is there wiggling and the predator turns to focus its attention on that, the skink itself can get away to live another day,” Breisch said.

Breisch says that sometimes hikers catch a glimpse of the little creatures, but he acknowledges that if they’re viewed at all, it’s always at a distance. Sightings of the little lizard are so scarce that extinction is feared, and now the Five-lined Skink is on Connecticut’s endangered species list.

Do you think you’ve ever seen a Five-lined Skink? Share your stories and comments below…

Fall is one of my favorite seasons, but it is also one of the busiest. Between winterizing the garden, gathering wild edibles, bringing in firewood, and generally readying ourselves and the homestead for the winter to come, it seems to me that we have been in perpetually motion – a frenzy, if you will.  A word that seems to convey just a touch of obsessive compulsive behavior that can sometimes lead to strains, and bruises and bumps.  But we humans are not the only creatures driven to frenzy in our preparations for the coming winter.  In fact, sometimes the frantic nature of animals searching for food, mates and shelter lands them in a slippery situation.

A few years back, on a day much like today, I was busy at some fall task or another when I heard Dean calling my name from the bathroom. His voice sounded a little strange and I ran in there thinking that something had happened to him. When I walked in he was standing there looking into the toilet with an expression of surprise and curiosity on his face that caught me off guard.

He looked up at my confused expression and said, “There’s a skink in the toilet!” At first I thought he was joking. I took the last few steps to see for myself. In our toilet was an extremely large skink that had to be eight or nine inches long and as big around as a man’s thumb. We stood there side by side for a moment looking down into the commode with something akin to wonder.

There are three species of skink here in the Ozarks; the Southern Coal Skink, the Five-lined Skink and the Broadhead skink. Two of these species bear young with bright, iridescent blue tails. The young appear so different from the adults that for a long time herpetologists believed that they were a completely different species. Aside from their smaller size and iridescent blue tails, the young are jet-black with five thin creamy-yellow to orangish stripes running from head to tail. The only way to tell the difference between the young – and sometimes even the adults – of the different species is by the number and shapes of certain scales on their bodies. It is pretty obvious that the skink in our toilet is a five-lined skink.

Like many people who live in the country, we have friends among the wildlife. Some of them even become akin to pets. Our favorite wild friend was a broadhead skink that we called Felix. Like all skinks, Felix was very smooth and shiny like a snake. He was a luminous golden copper color most of the time. During mating his jaw would turn a vivid orange-red. Felix lived in a rotting portion of an old three-way-split oak tree that stood in the center of one of my flower gardens. He used to come out and watch me as I worked below. He would often perch on the flat part of a cut off trunk just above me and hang his head over the edge so he could see me better. Sometimes, he would actually climb down the tree and stop right in front of my face as if he were inspecting my work.

The skink in my toilet was not a broadhead, but a beautiful adult five-lined skink sporting alternating black and cream stripes from tip to tail. It was immediately apparent that it could not negotiate the slippery porcelain of the commode and that it was absolutely terrified. It repeatedly tried to escape the confines of the bowl only to slip back down into the water again and again.

Dean and I looked at each other. What now? Dean wasn’t terribly exited about grabbing a creature that had just been in our toilet with his bare hands, but that turned out not to be a problem because every time Dean tried to grab it the skink went berserk, throwing itself in every direction as it tried to get away. It was obvious that the skink could not get out of the toilet on its own, yet if we attempted to grab it again, it might just actually make it up and over the edge. Having a lizard running around the house didn’t seem to be a good idea – not because we were afraid of it – but because the idea was to try to save it, not let it die behind the refrigerator.

After a quick revision of our plan, I ran to the shed for a five-gallon bucket and a lid. We held the bucket up to the rim of the toilet and Dean gave the skink a good goosing from behind. As it tried to run he gently helped it up and over the rim and into the bucket. We cheered as the skink in the bucket panted in fear.

The obvious question was how did the skink get into the toilet in the first place? Obviously the skink didn’t negotiate smooth surfaces well so we ruled out the possibility that it climbed into the toilet from the floor or fell into the toilet from the ceiling. As we stood there looking back and forth between the skink in the bucket and the toilet bowl Dean looked at me with a knowing eye. I said, “Do you mean to tell me…?” and he said, “Yeah, I think so.” which is short for “it crawled up through the pipes”.

Skinks are curious by nature and they find much of their food by prying and probing into nooks and crannies. They explore any opening that seems to lead somewhere. And with the advent of cooler temperatures, it’s no wonder that this skink looked upon the drain pipe as potentially leading to an underground wintering spot and followed it all the way to the house. After a very long journey in a dark slimy, slippery pipe the skink finally found its way out via the s-trap of the toilet only to be confronted by two giant, but sympathetic, humans with a bucket.

We carried the bucket out to the garden – far away from the sewage pipe – and gently shook the skink out onto the newly fallen leaves. It was so traumatized and exhausted that it didn’t even try to run. It sat there panting hard and looking at us.  We left the poor thing alone to regain its composure but it wasn’t the only one who had been shaken – it took a good while before I could sit on the toilet again without looking down first.

Jill Henderson is an artist, author and the editor of Show Me Oz       © 2011 Jill Henderson

Parts of this article were excerpted from
A Journey of Seasons:
A Year in the Ozarks High Country

A Journey of Seasons is a beautifully recounted story of life on a rural Missouri homestead. Based on the changing landscape of the seasons and filled with nature notes, botanical musings, back-woods wisdom and just a pinch of hillbilly humor, noted author, naturalist and organic gardener, Jill Henderson, spins a story of delight and enchantment. This is one journey you don’t want to miss!

Paperback: $18.00 www.createspace.com/3477718
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Five-lined Skink (Eumeces fasciatus) who should have been eating ants in the kitchen. Washington County, AR. 2011.7

Scarlet Tanager (S.Leckie)

Our third season of M.A.P.S is now approaching its halfway point. Our second round of visits to the three stations was a little more active than the first, especially at Blue Lakes (BLAK) and Maplewood (MABO). This striking male Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) was one of 23 birds captured on June 16 at MABO. Veery was the most abundant species captured that day followed by the ubiquitous Red-eyed Vireos – the most prolific forest songbird in the Frontenac Arch.

White Admiral (D.Derbyshire)

After capturing just 10 individuals in early June at BLAK, we expected another quiet day when we set the nets up at dawn on June 15. Perhaps the fairer weather helped as the vireos finally showed up and a bunch of other species seemed to be more evident. We ended the day with a meager but respectable 15 birds captured. Butterflies and other non-avian critters seemed to catch our attention throughout the morning, including the White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis) pictured above – a personal favourite.

Five-lined Skink (S.Leckie)

There is no substitute for sitting patiently and quietly when you want to find wildlife. During our first visit a couple weeks earlier we had a Smooth Green Snake approach us at the banding station. During our next visit while I was out on a net round, Seabrooke was approached by this adult Five-linked Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) at the station! We also had a brief look at a blue immature individual just yesterday at the same spot.

Black-and-white Warbler (D.Derbyshire)

Normally I pull the plug on any planned M.A.P.S visit when the forecast indicates a 50/50 or greater chance of precipitation – too risky for me. However, I had little choice with visit 2 to Rock Ridge (RRID) on June 17. There was a brief 30 minute shower near dawn, which delayed net opening, but the rest of the morning was generally just damp and cloudy. We closed slightly early due to the forecast late morning thunderstorms – don’t want to be caught in that when a couple of kilometres out on Big Clear Lake. We noted much more bird song and chatter on this visit compared to our first but it seemed that the dreary weather was limiting bird activity. We ended the abbreviated visit with just 7 captures but left feeling encouraged by the apparent increase in numbers of expected species, particularly Black-and-white Warblers and Eastern Towhees. We caught an Ovenbird, which was weird for rock barren habitat. Even more surprising was the Prairie Warbler that sang from two positions at opposite ends of the study area throughout the morning. I’ve already picked out his colour bands so hopefully he will be there when we return….

Saw a five lined skink on the front deck today and an anole in the brush by the pond last weekend, but not much else in the way of reptiles – still no snakes or box turtles this year.

Arlington Lawn Future Magnolia

Hot Springs Mountain Trail Tufted Titmouse

Upper Dogwood Trail

Floral Trail Red Spotted Purple Butterfly

Take a hike with me across two Mountains in Hot Springs National Park.  This morning a cool breeze is traveling across my skin as I enter the park.  I am greeted by a tiny sparrow dusting itself in the dry soil below a Magnolia Tree. No longer in bloom the elegant Magnolia seeds sleep in a velvet cocoon high in the dark leaves.

On the Carriage Road I look up to see a beautiful moon rise over West Mountain.  As a Cancer child moon rises always make me feel happy. When I reach the Dead Chief Trail I see a beautiful large blue rock perched next to the stairs.  Early morning light often reveals beautiful details.

When I reach the top of Hot Springs Mountain the clods are clearing and the sun is shining brightly.  On the Hot Springs Mountain Trail I can hear the song of a Tufted Titmouse.  I Look up to see it hopping from branch to branch in the tree above me. It is beautiful to see it’s beautiful wings as it flies across the the higher branches.  Moving along the trail I reveal in the green that will soon give way to the colors of Autumn.  Nearing the trail head I spot a sweet vireo peeking out of the leave of a tree far below me.

I Love the hike down the Gulpha Gorge Trail and onto the Goat Rock Trail.  It rough rocking pine strewn landscape always reminds me of central Oregon. All along the Goat Rock Trail I can hear the rapid scurrying of lizards.  As Goat Rock I finally spot a Five Line Skink and further up a Prairie Lizard. The last remaining wildflowers decorating the trail are Oxeye Daisies in white and lavender.  Now the trail is painted with lichen covered rock and the violet berries of Callicarpa Bush.

My hike across North Mountain via the Upper Dogwood and Lower Dogwood Trails is peaceful and meditative.  I listen to the distant songs of warblers and finches, it is the perfect song for this lovely summer morning.  When I reach the bottom of the Floral Trail a Red Spotted Purple Butterfly lands on the Rock before me.  It gracefully turns and flexes it’s wings as the breeze pushes against it.  Thank You for traveling through the Forest with me this morning.

Much Love,
Lee

Hot Springs Mountain Trail Juvenile Male Summer Tanager

Hot Springs National Park, AR Tufa Terrace Chipmunk

Hot Springs National Park, AR Home Rose Chafer Beetle

Carriage Road Eastern Cottontail

Sometimes Nature comes to your front door and I was on my way out when I spotted a lovely green beetle. Special thanks to @Squirrelbasket on Twitter for identifying it as Cetonia Aurata (Rose Chafer).  On my way up the Tufa Terrace I am greeted by a Chipmunk standing as sentinel in the Park.  It is a beautiful way to begin my morning hike.  As another person approaches it moves to the Tufa Rock to my side.  As I connect with the Peak Trail I watch a Spider Wasp fly up the trail ahead of me.

When I reach the Carriage Road and see an Eastern Cottontail heading up the hill.  I love how it’s ears glow in the sunlight.  At the end of the Carriage Road there is a new patch of beautiful blue Asiatic Dayflowers.  I head up Dead Chief and hear a Male Cardinal singing high above me in the green leaves.  The heat is building and it is so quiet as I hike up the Short Cut Trail to the top of Hot Springs Mountain.

You appreciate the wonderful taste of water when you sweating like I am as I stand in the picnic area.  I hike along the Hot Springs Mountain Trail and I see flashes of red and green above me.  Further along I spot a Juvenile Male Summer Tanager transitioning between green and red.  It is a spectacular sight.  Nearing the Trail Head I hear a loud rustling in the leaves.  My first thought is Chipmunk, often they move leaves for nesting in their burrows.  I finally locate the source, it is a Five-Lined Skink with a giant Moth in it’s little mouth.   The Skink hauls the Moth up to a log and I can see it’s bright blue tail as it weaves it’s way through the leaves.

I hike from the Hot Springs Mountain Trail to the Upper Dogwood Trail, down the Lower Dogwood and Floral Trails.  I stop at the cold spring water station to fill my stainless steel water bottle.  When I arrive a pretty red spotted purple Butterfly and a bright yellow Moth.  They rarely land fluttering frantically around the water spigots.

As I am walking home I notice leaves are falling as if it is autumn.  The park need more rain desperately.

Never miss an opportunity to seek the wisdom of Nature.
Love,
Lee

]]> http://generallordisimo.com/2010/05/26/edisto-camping-2010/ Wed, 26 May 2010 20:58:14 +0000 Nathaniel http://generallordisimo.com/2010/05/26/edisto-camping-2010/ Well I disappeared for a few more consecutive days and things seem to be doing a-okay out here in the blogosphere . . . or something like that anyway.

Anhow, I was off camping on Edisto Island for several days (starting on last Thursday – the 20th – until yesterday – the 24th).  It was a wonderful time just getting away and getting to enjoy the outdoors for a bit.  I went with Eliza and her daughter and generally just enjoyed the coastal Carolina atmosphere.

A few things.

1.  This was my first time, in my nearly three years living here, of being to the South Carolina coast.  It is a little embarrassing, as people have been singing it’s praise for a long time now, but hell, sometimes you have just got to take your time getting around to a good thing like this.

2.  It has easily been four or five years since I last went camping and so that experience was also really fun again.

3.  Wildlife on Edisto is amazing.  Just a running list of things that I saw that really excited me.

• Broad-headed Skink; the largest lizard in South Carolina.
• Five-lined Skink; Pretty common but still fun to see.
• Green Anoles; Also quite common.
• Glass Lizard; Fast as lightning so didn’t get to confirm exact species, but this was definitely not a snake and that distinctive glass lizard shape.  I was terribly excited about this.
• Smooth Green Snake; Also super fast.  I kicked a branch while I was in the woods and this fellow slithered out.  A beautiful little snake and the only serpent I saw in the wild on this trip.
• Whimbrels; These might have been the strangest sightings because according to all guides I’ve looked into they should have migrated back north some time ago.  But they were unmistakable from multiple sightings.  Fascinating little birds.
• Tri-colored Herons; Very cool looking herons.  Somewhat similar to great blue herons, but smaller and with more distinct coloration.
• Great Egrets; Beautiful, large, white egrets.  Saw quite a lot of them.
• Green Herons; Saw a pair of them in a tree.  Pure luck in sighting them.
• Wood Storks; Saw a couple of these large and strange birds out in the marshes.
• Brown Pelicans;  Lots of them flying over the beaches at regular intervals.  These are impressively large birds.
• Laughing Gulls;  Utterly ubiquitous but entertaining nevertheless.
• Skimmers; Strange birds with impressive under-bites.
• A Sandpiper; Just one, not sure of specific kind.
• Fiddler Crabs; Everywhere in the marshes.
• A very annoying Raccoon who terrorized our campsite the last night.

4. We got to visit a really cool place called the Edisto Island Serpentarium which has an amazing collection of SC’s native reptiles (as well as a few other exotic reptiles).  Without going into a long description of all that was amazing at this spot, I will leave it at this; watching hundreds of snakes consume hundreds of white mice in a matter of minutes is both utterly disturbing and yet absolutely fascinating.

5. Monday we went to Charleston for a little bit before heading abck to Greenville.  Damn, what a cool town.  We took a carriage tour of the city which was really fascinating and we got to go out to the battery park and look out at the harbor for a bit.  I am really lookingforward to going back to that town for future exploration and enjoyment.

All and all it was a good vacation with lots of sun, good food (camping cooked as well as Charleston seafood), and no computers for five days (which I guess kind of makes this blog post ironic . . . or something?).

Anyway, I’m back, and need to get back into the writing swing.  I’ve been lax lately.  I’ll see what I can offer.

Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)

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So strange to find a lizard in Ontario but they’re definitely here. Yesterday around noon, I found this adult male in a rocky outcrop laden with deadfall and thorn scrub. The Five-lined Skink is Ontario’s only native lizard species. They occur in two areas; the Carolinian region and along the Southern Shield ecotone. The two populations are genetically isolated and have differing habitat associations. The Southern Shield population favours rocky areas while the Carolinian version prefers sandy habitats. The Carolinian population, listed as Endangered, is small and restricted to just a few sites in southwestern Ontario. Five-lined Skinks of the shield are considered more numerous although relatively little is known about their ecology and abundance. The shield population is listed as a Species at Risk with a status of Special Concern. More information on this remarkable species can be found here.

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Unlike this adult, the juvenile Five-lined Skink is quite colourful with its black body and bright azure blue tail. Click here for a photo of a younger individual. Apparently they lose their colour as they age. After first spotting this adult dart away I wondered if I might be lucky enough to get a photo. This little guy was fast and fidgety, making it difficult to get a view of more than just a tail tip or leg. I accumulated a large batch of poor photos before I opted to stand still and change some settings on my camera. The skink then proceeded to slowly amble over to check out my shoe!

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I don’t know how many there are.  I only occasionally actually see one of the critters.  They are harmless and eat bugs, so I’m cool with them being there except for two things.

The first thing is that they may be lizards, but they don’t dart like a green anole.  Instead they move with a side-to-side motion like a snake.  So every time I go into the garage and startle one who isn’t in hiding, it panics and bolts off, scaring the bejeebers out of me.  My mind sees the movement and screams “SNAKE!” and before it can realize its mistake and backtrack, it’s already got my body pumping adrenalin through my veins.  Once I’ve calmed down I think “gee, isn’t it rather cool that it had a blue tail?”.

The second reason is how I know the skinks are present even when I don’t see them.  Those skinks have giant poop, and they are not shy about leaving it out so that everyone can admire what they produced.  I am continually amazed that a relatively small lizard can leave such a big fat turd.  But it’s impressive enough that I found a photo of it here on Al Gore’s internets:  Skink poo.

Yeah, I don’t know why someone took a photo, either.  Other than the fact that they too were just as impressed as they were grossed out.

I found my first skink scat of the season today.  Isn’t that fun to say?  Skink scat.  Skink scat.  Skink scat.  Anyway…I think the skink was giving me fair warning that it has moved back into my garage, because it left it right in the pathway to the washing machine, where I’d be sure to see it (and really sorry if I didn’t).

Maybe I should start rattling the handle of the door to the garage before I open it.  Just to give the skinks time to get back into hiding.  Because we all know each other is there, but none of us actually wants to see the other.

The perimeter of the pond became inundated with tadpoles a couple weeks ago and now they are growing out.   We saw several strands of Bufo eggs, but only that one glob of Pickerel Frog eggs (although others may well have been out of sight in deeper water).  We can’t yet tell if the tadpoles are a single species or several.

Bufo eggs

Bufo eggs - another view

Tadpoles

More tadpoles

And even more tadpoles

The Pickerel Frogs have stopped groaning in the past week or two as well and Bufo’s song is rare now too.  We do hear a nice chorus of Peepers early evening though.

The weather turned very quickly – since mid-March it has been warm, dry and sunny.  The flowers and trees have all exploded in bloom creating a monumental mess of pollen.  But the yard looks awesome.

Cherry blossoms

Along with the flowers and pollen, the bugs have exploded – quite a few bumblebees (who seem to like the screened porch), moths and other flying critters.  And the ticks and chiggers are ramping up production.

We’ve recently spotted a nice southeastern five-lined skink, replete with bright blue tail and a green anole in one of the trees near the garden.

Southeastern Five-Lined Skink

Bass basking in the sun

Black-and-white Warbler

The first “official” day of the Frontenac Breeding Birds program began with both great anticipation and the sound of the alarm clock at a shockingly early hour! The first day at a shiny new MAPS station is usually filled with a lot of excitement mixed with a bit of drama and perhaps even a bit of anxiety. Stumbling through the one kilometre long “path” through the thick bush at 430am is then followed by a mad scramble to expeditiously locate net sites and erect the mistnets. This can be a trying experience however things always get easier once this procedure is out of the way. Our first visit of the year was to Hemlock Lake, a gorgeous site of mixed forest and wetlands on crown lands in the FBS study area. The most distinctive characteristic of the HELA station is the proliferation of Eastern Hemlock and the lake itself, which is full of drowned timber and a regenerating shoreline of trees felled by the infamous ice storm of 1998. This shoreline is now regenerating with a host of successional shrubs and saplings, which provides excellent edge habitats for sampling both adult and dispersing juvenile demographics.  Black-and-white Warbler (pictured above) is one of the most abundant species in the area, although just one male was captured this morning.

Hemlock Lake at dawn (S.Leckie)

Of the three MAPS stations we are running in 2009, Hemlock Lake is definitely the most rugged and arduous to traverse. There is a great amount of deadfall at the site and a lot of ups and downs over rock outcrops and small ridges and valleys. Wild Roses also provide a dense thorny covering for hidden snags and branches. While each of the twelve runs of the mistnets during the morning is an undertaking, the unique ecology, sights and sounds make it worthwhile and enjoyable.

Deciduous forest in northwest corner of HELA (S.Leckie)

The site also has large components of decidous forest at the boundaries of the station where Ovenbirds, Red-eyed Vireos and Scarlet Tanagers are common.

Mixed forest habitat (S.Leckie)

Mixed forest is more typical of the banding area, which is dotted by streams and ephemeral ponds. Gray Tree Frog, Winter Wren and Northern Waterthrush, among others, are found in these wetlands at Hemlock Lake. The most exciting find was of a fast moving Five-lined Skink, which thwarted any attempt to acquire a photograph. The Five-lined Skink is Ontario’s only species of lizard and is a designated Species at Risk.

From Royal Ontario Museum…

The Five-lined Skink is Ontario’s only species of lizard, and it is split into two series of populations with distinct habitat preferences. The Carolinian populations, which are Endangered Nationally and Special Concern Provincially, occur in Carolinian forest and prefer wooded habitat with sandy soil and ground cover. They use woody debris as shelter and hibernate by burying themselves in the soil. The Great Lakes/St. Lawrence populations, which are Special Concern Provincially and Nationally, occur on the southern part of the Canadian Shield. Preferred habitat is on rocky outcrops in mixed coniferous and deciduous forests, where they can seek refuge from the elements and predators in rock crevices and fissures.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (S.Leckie)

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were also common throughout the Hemlock Lake station and are a dominant woodpecker species in forests of this type in the Frontenac Arch region.

Juvenile Brown Creeper (S.Leckie)

Brown Creepers are abundant at the site, due in part to the abundance of dead and decaying conifers along the shoreline of Hemlock Lake. We are already monitoring an active nest at the site and today captured this juvenile along with its parent (below). The two were released together at the net location where they were captured. All juvenile birds banded are released at locations where they were captured as they are often still dependent on their parents for feeding.

Adult Brown Creeper

Winter Wren nest in Eastern Hemlock

Speaking of nests, I discovered a Winter Wren nest at the site last week. The nest is located in a most unusual fashion as Winter Wrens typically build their dome shaped nests low to the ground in mossy stream banks and fallen logs. This particular nest was built on the end of a lateral Eastern Hemlock limb about eight feet off the ground! The photo below is of the entrance hole to the nest. The nest itself looks much like a ball of twigs and moss from below. Male Winter Wrens are known to continuously build nests throughout the summer, even after the female is tending eggs and young in one of his nests from earlier in the season. Males can build as many as twelve nests in a single breeding season! This particular nest is unlined and contains no eggs, which leads me to believe that it is one of these unused building projects. I will continue to check on this nest to note any change in occupancy and will begin my search for the active nest next week.

close-up of Winter Wren nest

Bird bag (S.Leckie)

A bird waiting for processing at the banding station. A fabulous set of bird bags for Frontenac Bird Studies was expertly prepared and delivered by Wendy Derbyshire (thanks mom!).

Seabrooke Leckie at the banding station

Research assistant Seabrooke Leckie processing birds at the shore of Hemlock Lake. These MAPS stations are spartan affairs as keeping things light and portable is a top priority! A total of 16 birds were captured during visit one to Hemlock Lake in 2009. Complete results are provided below. Overall, it was a fantastic start to the MAPS component of the Frontenac Breeding Birds and we have twenty more mornings and 251 more net checks at the MAPS stations still to come-a lot to look forward to!

HEMLOCK LAKE-Visit 1 of 7
Banding Results

Brown Creeper-2
Black-and-white Warbler-1
Ovenbird-1
Northern Waterthrush-1
White-breasted Nuthatch-1
Eastern Towhee-1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak-2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-2
American Robin-3
Blue Jay-2

Notable Observations

Yellow-billed Cuckoo (bounced out of net 2!)
Barred Owl
Pied-billed Grebe
Chestnut-sided Warblers
Black-throated Green Warblers
Hermit Thrush
Red-shouldered Hawk

At this time of year, when the birds are silently going about the business of raising their families, my time in the woods and fields lessens somewhat but when I’m out; it broadens to include other critters not so high in the canopy.

In the woods the other day, I spied a five-lined skink. It warily watched me approach, then skittered a few inches away. We played push-me-pull-you for several minutes, before it ran off into the damp underbrush. I was thrilled; I had never seen one.

The black rat snake that is living on the chipmunks in the backyard occasionally lazes replete, draped on the top of the rock wall. This is the same snake I have cut out of deer netting, twice.

A gray tree frog was plastered to the window on the deck. I flipped on the outside light. I peered at it; it peered at me. Its throat pulsed, but I could not hear it over the rain. Its thighs against the glass were bright orange.

You often see more than birds when you are out birding.