Yearly Archives: 2015

Wild Leek

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Walking along Chippewa Creek in Brecksville Reservation, I noticed an unusual looking flower – Wild Leek. The flowers form in sphere-shaped clusters.

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Its preference is dappled sunlight during the Spring when the leaves develop, while during the summer considerable shade is tolerated as the leaves have withered away. .

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The presence of this species is a sign that the original flora of a woodlands is still in intact. Its flowers attract various kinds of bees, including masked bees, honeybees, bumblebees and mason bees.

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This woodland wildflower is somewhat unusual because its foliage has withered away by the time the flowers bloom. Both the foliage and flowers are attractive; the latter help to brighten the gloomy corners of woodlands during the summer.

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Ravine Salamander

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This amphibian can easily be mistaken for the “leadback” phase of a Redback Salamander. It has short limbs and is somewhat worm-like in appearance and movement.

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The background color is brownish black to black and flecked with a varying amount of fine silvery white to golden specks. This is Ohio’s most slender salamander. One-half of this animal’s total length is made up of its tail.

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Ravine Salamanders reside in forests and are often found on the slopes of valleys and ravines where it lives among the leaf litter, hiding under logs, stones or stumps. Unlike many amphibians, this creature completely terrestrial, laying eggs on land. The eggs hatch as tiny juveniles.

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During Spring and Fall they can be found on the surface under leaf litter and other debris, but they burrow into the ground or retreat into deep, moist crevices to avoid the warmer temperatures of Summer.

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Adult Ravine Salamanders are 3–4½ inches in total length. They are found in eastern Kentucky, Ohio, southern West Virginia, western Virginia, northwestern North Carolina and northeastern Tennessee.

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This is a species of amphibian is in the “lungless salamander” family, which contains many species. Like other members of its genus, Ravine Salamanders lack lungs and conduct respiration through their skin and lining of their mouths. For this reason they need damp conditions in order to function.

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Puffballs

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A Puffball is a type of mushroom that looks like a ball when it matures. Once mature, it splits open, or a perforation develops on surface of the ball, through which the spores escape. Some sort of disturbance is needed to cause the spores to eject, like raindrops landing on the Puffball, wind, or an animal brushing up against it.

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These mushrooms differ widely in size and texture, from tiny species that grow in clusters on wood, to large, terrestrial species growing in fairy rings in meadows. Earthstar Puffballs have layer of fruit body tissue that splits open in a star-like manner.

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Puffballs follow the same life cycle but look different than the typical mushroom with which you might be familiar. When sliced open, puffballs contain only flesh or, if they have matured, spore dust.

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Some types of these mushrooms have tradtionally been used for medicine as well as food. Not to mention that they perform the important feat of breaking down once-living matter to release carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and other matter back into the soil and atmosphere.

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Sowbug Killer

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Even for someone who likes “creepy crawlies” this spider, also known as a Woodlouse Hunter, isn’t particularly attractive. This spider’s favorite meal is the sowbug, also known as pill bug, wood louse, or roly poly, depending on where you live. They are easy to identify as they typically have a red head and legs and ivory abdomen. Females are almost twice as large as males.

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This spider is an active hunter, but it does have a lair. Inside its hideout, the remains of previous meals can often be found. The Sowbug Killer not form webs to catch its food. Instead, it finds a prey item and uses its giant jaws to stab it in an ambush attack. Though scary looking, spider is not aggressive, and its venom isn’t particularly potent.

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I tend to find them under rocks, flower pots and logs – all places where sowbugs regularly occur. They are equally at home in urban, suburban and rural areas as are their favorite prey item (sow bugs). Sowbug Killers don’t mind living close to humans and are found mainly in urban gardens, fields and parks.

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They take about 18 months to mature and then may survive an additional year or two. Aside from looking a freeakishly spooky, this creature goes about doing exactly what it’s name implies – killing sowbugs.

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Blue Vervain

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This is a neat and distinctive plant that I sometimes come across in fields at this time of year. It is a slender, but erect wildflower that grows up to 5 feet tall.

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Blue Vervain habitats include riverbottom prairies, moist meadows in floodplain woodlands, soggy thickets, borders of rivers and ponds, marshes, ditches, fence rows and pastures. It adapts readily to degraded wetlands and other disturbed areas.

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It is a member of the mint family so it has a square stalk and opposite branches. The flowers of Blue Vervain attract many kinds of long-tongued and short-tongued bees.

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This plant has a use for humans as well; it is an anti-spasmodic herb and muscle relaxer. Blue Vervain has been used to soothe and repair damaged nerves. There’s a lot of reasons to like this graceful plant once you get to know it.

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Eastern Kingbird

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The crisp markings of this bird and its white tail tip are distinctive. This big-headed, broad-shouldered bird gets its name from its habit of harassing Crows, Red-tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons and other birds that pass over its territory.

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Eastern Kingbirds often perch on wires or on the topmost tips of plants in open areas, leaving their posts to fltter over the tops of grasses in searech of flying insects to eat. These birds are members of the Flycatcher Family.

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They inhabit woodland edges, river groves, farms, orchards and roadsides. In the Summer, Eastern Kingbords require open space for hunting and trees for nesting; their habitat ranges from clearings within forest to open grassland with few scattered trees.

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After migrating to South America in Autumn, in the Winter these birds take on a different personality, living in flocks in tropical forests and dining on berries.

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Eastern kingbirds are important predators of insects during this time of the year. They are also fun to watch hunt food and chase other (in many cases larger) birds from their territories.

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Big-headed Ground Beetle

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Although a bit scary looking, due to its small size, this insect poses no danger to humans. These distinctive, shiny-black creatures are usually about 3/4″ long and are named because of their large mandibles.

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These beetles share physical characteristics of the tropical stag beetles, but are not closely related. Big-headed Ground Beetles can often be found under loose rocks and boards. If touched, they often “play dead” by folding in their legs and arching their backs.

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They are able to live in a variety of different habitats, including urban areas, woodlands and gardens. Big-headed Ground Beetles are frequently found in agricultural areas, where they hunt other insects (their main food source).

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Northern Pike

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I went fishing with my brother-in-law at a small lake not far from my house and he landed this incredible fish. This fish gets its name from its resemblance to the pole-weapon known as the pike (from the Middle English word for “pointed”).

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Northern Pike average 18-20 inches in length. They can be identified by their single dorsal fin and light-colored spots along their dark body. They are found in a variety of freshwater habitats, from cold deep lakes, to warm shallow ponds, to muddy rivers. They have a broad range of tolerances for water temperature, clarity and oxygen content.

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These are aggressive, solitary fish. They typically lurk, relying on camoflauge and are able to attack quickly. Their eyes are highly movable and are able to see in practically any direction. They are “sit and predators” that usually hide in some type of cover, cocked in an “S” position and ready to strike.

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Northern Pike are equipped with sharp teeth and have very complex skull and jaw structures, enabling them feed on smaller fish, frogs, crayfish, small mammals and birds. These fish are top predators in the systems they inhabit and it was very cool to encounter one in the wild.

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California Mountain Kingsnake

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The most exciting part of my recent visit to southern California was seeing a few of these spectacular serpents in the field. This is one of the most strikingly colored snakes in North America. Its colors really stand out on its smooth, shiny scales.

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This reptile is endemic to North America and a Coral Snake mimic, having a similar pattern consisting of red, black, and yellow on its body, but kingsnakes are completely harmless.

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These are slender, smooth and medium-sized snakes usually about 24-30 inches long. Most California Mountain Kingsnakes live in the mountains of California, but they can adapt to a wide variety of habitats, including coniferous forests, oak-pine woodlands, riparian woodlands, chaparrals and coastal sage scrubs.

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California Mountain Kingsnakes are constrictors, their diet includes lizards, smaller snakes, nestling birds and bird eggs and small mammals.

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This species is mostly diurnal, but can be active at night in warmer weather. They are excellent climbers and prefer southwestern facing slopes, often retreating beneath granite flakes of rocks. It was awesome to see this species of snake in the wild.

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Red-spotted Toad

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The Red-spotted Toad of the arid southwestern United States is named for the orange or red spots that are usually scattered on its back, sides and legs.

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No two are alike – some have many spots while others have few to none.

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This toad is one of the very few amphibians that can be found in the desert throughout most of the year. I see them most often along the edges of creeks and springs.

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They have a general body pattern that is flattened. This allows them to crawl beneath rocks and crevices where these nocturnal creatures spend much of the day hiding.

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Red-spotted Toads are nimble and climb over, under and around rocks with ease. They are one of our smaller toad species, reaching lengths around 2-1/2 to 3 inches.

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