Butler’s Garter Snake

Posted on April 11, 2015 by tspuckler

While visiting the northwestern part of my home state of Ohio, I came across this cool little serpent. It is named after ornithologist Amos W. Butler of Indiana.

This reptile only averages 15-20 inches in total length. Like other garter snakes, it features a pattern of dark stripes; unlike other garter snakes found in its range, it has a small, blunt head.

Butler’s Garter Snakes prefer moist meadows, marshes and lake edges. They subsist on a diet of mainly earthworms, but they may also eat leeches, salamanders and frogs.

These snakes breed in the spring, soon after emerging from hibernation. They produce live offspring which are born in midsummer. Females typically give birth to eight to 10 young.

When frightened, these snakes may wriggle rapidly back and forth with little forward motion, creating an image of more towards thrashing in place, rather than to getting away. It was awesome to encounter this reptile, which does not live in my region of the Buckeye State.

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Wild Onion

Posted on April 5, 2015 by tspuckler

I often see this bulbous herb when hiking in the springtime, as it really stands out against the brown fallen leaves. It has a distinct onion odor, slender grass-like leaves and reaches about 2 feet in height by late summer.

It is thought that the name Chicago is derived from the smell of Wild Onions. The Potawatomi, who were the most powerful tribe around the south end of Lake Michigan, hunted, traded furs, and occasionally camped in the area they called “Checagou,” evidently referring to the garlic wild onion smell which scented the air.

This plant is found in meadows and woodlands in the northeastern and north central United States. Onions and garlic belong to the Lily family. Wild Onions were collected and eaten by Native Americans and by European settlers. Native American tribes also used the plant for other purposes like rubbing the plant on the body for protection from insect bites.

This plant is a Winter perennial; it emerges in late Fall from underground bulbs and grows through the Winter and Spring. Therefore it sight (and smell) can be enjoyed at this time of the year.

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Red-winged Blackbird

Posted on March 28, 2015 by tspuckler

One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails and around areas with water.

Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, looking like a large, dark sparrow.

In the North, their arrival and tumbling song are indications of the return of Spring.

There’s variation in Red-winged Blackbirds across the country. The most obvious race is the “bicolored blackbird” of coastal California, which shows no yellow border on its shoulders. Here’s one that I saw in April of last year.

Red-winged Blackbirds are highly social and form flocks all year, though during spring and summer the flocks are small.

This is one of the most easily observable birds. Watching them is fascinating and fun. You’ll never be bored trying to figure out all of their quirks and songs.

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Piebald White-tailed Deer

Posted on March 21, 2015 by tspuckler

Walking the Buckeye Trail I saw a group of White-tailed Deer in a farmer’s field. One of them, however looked very different from the others.

A piebald is an animal that has white blotches in additional to its usual coloration. The patterning of the blotches are usually asymmetrical, resulting in a random arrangement of white and brown.

A genetic variation produces the piebald condition in White-tailed Deer, not parasites or diseases. Sometimes the condition is such that they appear almost entirely white.

Piebald and white deer have long been the subjects of hunting myth and legend. Some believe killing them brings a curse of bad luck during future hunts. For me it was a cool genetic variant of an otherwise common mammal to see on my hike.

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Little Nest Polypore

Posted on March 14, 2015 by tspuckler

As Winter comes to a close and I walk through the woods, I occasionally encounter Little Nest Polypores, which blend in with the snow. The cap of this mushroom is about 1-2 inches wide and is thin, fan-shaped and white.

This common fungus grows “splash cups,” which are round hollow areas that contain spores. The spores are splashed out by falling rain to distribute them in other places and start new polypores.

Its habitat is woodland forests and rather than growing on trees, it is usually found on small sticks. Polypores are also called bracket fungi, and their woody fruiting bodies (the only part of that organism one typically sees) are called conks.

Polypores are among the most efficient decomposers of the main components of wood. Through decomposing tree trunks, they recycle a major part of nutrients in forests. Because of this, the nutrient cycle continues, and the forest remains alive and diverse.

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Hacklemesh Weaver

Posted on March 7, 2015 by tspuckler

Sometimes I find “wildlife” in my house, like this creature that turned up in my Living Room this week. Hacklemesh Weavers can live through the Winter and therefore are often found in households during cold weather.

Outside, their irregular looking webs can be seen in bark and woodpiles and often have roughly the form of a funnel. This species is common in and around homes, but is also found living under rocks, logs and leaf litter. It prefers dark, relatively humid places.

It is typical for this creature to have chevron-like lighter areas on its abdomen. Its legs are reddish to dark brown. It has eight eyes of relatively similar size, arranged in two horizontal rows of four.

The Hacklemesh Weaver makes a special kind of silk. Instead of sticky strands, the silk is made of fine, woolly fibers that can entangle even the smallest prey. The spider feels the vibrations from the struggling victim and rushes out to capture it.

In England, this arachnid is sometimes called the “Old Churchman” because it can be seen scurrying around on the walls and pews of old churches before rain storms.

Silk-spinning spiders have been around for roughly 400 million years, and they’ve made good use of their time. Today, they occupy just about every habitable region of the Earth…as well as my house.

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Ring-billed Gull

Posted on March 1, 2015 by tspuckler

This is Ohio’s most common gull – it is also easy to identify. The head, neck and underparts are white and the relatively short bill is yellow with a dark ring. Its back and wings are silver gray.

As you might expect gulls usually are found near large bodies of water; these were photographed near Lake Erie. Though this species is also a familiar sight in the shopping mall parking lots of the United States, where it can regularly be found congregating in large numbers.

These birds forage for food and pick up objects while swimming, walking or wading. They also steal food from other birds and frequently scavenge. They have an omnivorous diet which may include insects, fish, grain, eggs, earthworms and rodents. These birds are opportunistic and have adapted well to taking food discarded or left unattended by people.

Ring-billed Gulls nest in colonies on the ground, or sometimes in trees near lakes. They often nest near other water birds. The male and female work together to build the nest out of twigs, sticks, grasses, leaves, lichens and mosses.

Females usually lay three eggs. The eggs are light blue, green or brownish and spotted. Both the male and female both incubate the eggs for about 20 to 31 days. After the chicks hatch, both parents take care of them.

Ring-billed Gulls are highly social, occupying large colonies, especially during the breeding season. They defend small territories within nesting colonies. They engage in play, dropping objects while airborne, then swooping down to catch them.

They often associate with other species of gulls, ducks and cormorants. By forming mixed flocks, birds help each other stay alert for potential danger.

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Diabolical Ironclad Beetle

Posted on February 21, 2015 by tspuckler

Back in June of 2013 I was herping in Southern California and came across this beetle. It turned out to be an easy-to-keep pet, and I still have it in a terrarium on my basement window sill.

These beetles mainly eat fungus as well as some vegetation. As the common name implies, have one of the hardest of all arthropod exoskeletons. Adults are often found walking around out in the open; they may also be found under bark. They are about an inch long.

As a defense, the adults play dead, pulling in their legs and antennae. Their body has special grooves to hold these appendages.

This extremely durable beetle and its relatives reside in the American desert. Their hard exoskeleton is useful in retaining water. It is also nocturnal, venturing abroad when temperatures are cooler than in the daytime.

For as cool as this little insect is, not much is known about it – including how it got it’s “diabolical” name. This group of beetles have not been studied thoroughly and very little is known about their biology and habits.

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Milkweed

Posted on February 14, 2015 by tspuckler

As I walk through snow-covered fields this Winter, it’s hard not to notice the seed pods for Milkweed plants. With a little imagination, this one looks like a dragon’s head puffing smoke.

Milkweed is an important plant because so many species of insects depend on it. Monarch Butterflies, Milkweed Bugs and Milkweed Leaf Beetles only eat milkweed, and could not survive without it. Here’s a Milkweed Tiger Moth caterpillar that I saw last Summer in Brecksville Reservation.

This plant’s fruits are green pods which turn brown before bursting open and letting out fluffy seeds. A Milkweed seed is spread by the wind, which catches the cotton-like part and carries the seed for long distances.

Milkweed is usually 4-5 feet tall and has large, broad leaves. It can be found in fields, gardens and along roads. Milkweed flowers are pinkish-purple clusters which often droop. This is one that I photographed in the summertime.

This plant gets its name from its milky sap, which seeps when a leaf is broken. This sap has poisons in it which some animals can eat and not be harmed. When the Monarch butterfly’s caterpillar consumes the leaves of Milkweed, the sap goes into its body, making the caterpillar poisonous to predators. Even after the caterpillar has changed into an adult butterfly, it is distasteful to predators. Here is a Monarch Butterfly on Milkweed seen in Cuyahoga Valley National Park last Summer.

In the Autumn, large numbers of Milkweed Bugs can often be seen on the seed pods. At this time of the year, the Milkweed Bugs are focused on piercing the wall of the pod to feed on the seeds inside.

Milkweed is an interesting plant which can be enjoyed during all seasons.

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White-tailed Deer

Posted on February 8, 2015 by tspuckler

Although these are the largest wild animals where I live, they are smallest members of the North American deer family, and are found from southern Canada to South America.

In the Summer they are often found fields and meadows, using small trees for shade and hiding places. During the Winter they generally reside in forests, preferring coniferous stands that provide shelter from the harsh elements.

Only the males (bucks) grow antlers, which bear a number of tines, or sharp points. During the mating season, bucks fight over territory by using their antlers in sparring matches.

White-tailed Deer are reddish-brown with a white belly and tail in Summer. In Winter, the reddish-brown changes to grayish-brown. White-tailed Deer are mostly nocturnal, but can be seen any time of day. They do most of their feeding early in the morning or when the sun is going down.

A female (doe) has from one to three fawns in a litter. Fawns stay with their mother for almost a year. A doe leaves her fawns hidden while she feeds. Sometimes she leaves them for up to four hours. They do not move while she is gone. They have extra white spots on their coats which help camouflage them. These photos were taken in my backyard this month, here’s a summertime fawn seen in my yard a couple of years ago.

White-tailed Deer run very fast, up to 36 miles per hour. They are great swimmers and can leap far as well. Deer can leap over eight feet high and thirty feet long.

These animals are herbivores, but they eat a wide variety of foods, including green plants in the Summer; acorns, fruits and nuts in the Fall; and twigs in the Winter. White-tailed Deer also eat a lot of garden plants, flowers, vegetables and ornamental trees in people’s yards.

When a deer is nervous it will snort and stamp its feet. When it is alarmed it automatically raises its tail. Sometimes when you startle a deer, all you see is a flash of white disappearing into the woods.

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Tim Spuckler's Blog

Reptile Ramblings and More

Author Archives: tspuckler

Butler’s Garter Snake

Wild Onion

Red-winged Blackbird

Piebald White-tailed Deer

Little Nest Polypore

Hacklemesh Weaver

Ring-billed Gull

Diabolical Ironclad Beetle

Milkweed

White-tailed Deer