Caterpillar Extravaganza

This past weekend I attended the third annual "Caterwauling for Caterpillars" night. Despite the strange name, this event is a yearly gathering of insect-loving Ohio University students who have one goal in mind: find cool caterpillars. Although the overall diversity wasn't too great this year, we still saw some interesting "cats," and I wanted to highlight a few of them here.

First up is the Saddled Prominent (Heterocampa guttivitta). This wide-ranging species is quite variable in appearance, and it took me awhile to figure out just what species of prominent (Family Notodontidae) this individual was. The main identifying features are the saddle on the top of the 3rd and 4th abdominal segments (the two segments which have the first and second prolegs), the white line running down the body near the back (subdorsal line), and the brown and white band on the head. The Saddled Prominent is a generalist when it comes to host plant preference. Unlike some caterpillar species which feed on only one or a few species of plants, the caterpillar of the Saddled Prominent feeds on pretty much any woody plants, including American Beech, birches, buckeyes, dogwood, hickories, maples, oaks, sumacs, and many other trees and shrubs.

A relatively common species in southeast Ohio—yet one that I always enjoy seeing—is the Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia). Although you can't really tell from the photo, Giant Leopard Moth caterpillars are large. They're also extremely easy to identify; if you see a large black caterpillar covered in black bristles, with red rings where each abdominal segment meets, you've got yourself a Giant Leopard Moth. The caterpillars of this species feed only at night, spending most of the daylight hours hiding out on the forest floor. Although the black bristles (which are technically called "setae") look formidable, the Giant Leopard Moth does not actually sting. Instead, they will simply roll up into a ball if threatened and hope that they look scary enough for the threat to leave them alone. If you want to read about the adult Giant Leopard Moth, check out my previous post "Mothing at Clear Creek: The Showy."

A few minutes after seeing the Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar, another strikingly-similar caterpillar crossed our paths. This is the caterpillar of the Agreeable Tiger Moth (Spilosoma congrua). Like many other species of insects, the Agreeable Tiger Moth is able to sequester toxins found in the plants that they eat in order to become toxic themselves. In the case of this species, these caterpillars sequester iridoid glycosides. Although the levels of iridoid glycosides aren't very dangerous to most potential predators of the Agreeable Tiger Moth, they do make the caterpillar taste pretty nasty, which would hopefully deter any predators from eating this species. Caterpillars of the Agreeable Tiger Moth come in two color morphs: one with colored rings, and one with red dots down the side of the body. Although I couldn't find any information about the two morphs, it would be interesting to see if there are any differences between the two—whether they occur in different geographic locations, or if they have differences in the iridoid glycoside sequestration, or the likes. 

By far the most abundant type of caterpillar of the night were the geometers. Geometers—better known as "inch worms"—are moths belonging to the family Geometridae. The geometer family is huge, with over 1,400 species in North America (and several hundred in Ohio alone). Identifying geometer caterpillars can be incredibly difficult, especially since many of them are incredibly camouflaged and lack much in the way of obvious identifying characteristics. Although I couldn't identify the one pictured above to species, it was my favorite geometer of the night. This caterpillar is a perfect twig mimic. I would have never seen him had I not had a UV flashlight. UV flashlights are indispensable tools when searching for caterpillars. Most "caterpillaring" occurs under the cover of night, when caterpillars are most active. It just so happens that most caterpillar species fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. If you walk around the forest with a hand-held UV flashlight—which you can easily find on Amazon—the caterpillars will quite literally light up, making it much easier to find cryptic species. 

One of the most peculiar species of the night was the Black-Waved Flannel Moth (Lagoa crispata). The caterpillar of the Black-Waved Flannel Moth is rather ridiculous looking in my opinion, appearing like a frizzy toupée. But don't let its appearance fool you—flannel moth caterpillars are not one to mess with. This caterpillar has two lines of defense. First, all those long hairs you see are urticating setae, which are essentially bristles which can break off into your skin causing irritation (like dozens and dozens of tiny splinters). But hidden within the urticating setae is the second line of defense: short, venomous spines. Being stung by the caterpillar of any flannel moth species is not a pleasant experience, but the Black-Waved Flannel Moth is one of the least painful of the bunch (the Southern Flannel Moth, Megalopyge opercularis, wins the pain contest).

I couldn't talk about the Black-Waved Flannel Moth without at least showing what an adult looks like. The adult Black-Waved Flannel Moth is one of the most fuzzy moths out there. Unlike the caterpillars, the adults are completely harmless. This individual was found in Ross County earlier in the summer.

The last three species I want to highlight are all slug caterpillars from the family Limacodidae. The "slugs" are almost always a favorite of anyone into Lepidopterans (moths and butterflies). Slug caterpillars are called such due to their rounded, slug-like appearance. They hug whatever surface they are clinging too, and move around in a manner more like a slug than a caterpillar. Some slugs—like this Jeweled Tailed Slug (Packardia geminata)—can be rather dull in appearance. Others can be stunningly beautiful.

Many slugs are tiny (quarter sized or less) and mostly green. However, many species are adorned with stinging hairs, such as this is Nason's Slug (Natada nasoni). The spines of the Nason's Slug are unique compared to many other slug caterpillars. These spines are actually retractable, and most of the time the caterpillar will only have the tips of the spines exposed. If the caterpillar feels threatened, it will extend its spines and hopefully scare the threat away. If not, the threat (whether it be a bird, human, or whatever) will receive a painful sting. This was a good species to find for the night, as the Nason's Slug is restricted to only the southern and southeastern portions of the state.

The highlight of the night—at least in my opinion—was this Saddleback caterpillar (Acharia stimulea). The Saddleback is one of the most well-known slug caterpillars, and it's easy to see why. Even someone who doesn't care about insects would be hard-pressed to ignore one of these cats. As you can tell from the photo above, the common name for this species is due to the circular "saddle" on its back. But if any feature is grabbing your attention, it's most surely all the protruding appendages covered in spines. These spines pack quite a punch. Each spine is rigid, incredibly sharp, and most importantly hollow. At the base of each spine is a venom gland. If a spine comes in contact with exposed skin, it breaks off into the skin and begins releasing venom. The Saddleback's venom is both vesicating and hemolytic, meaning that it causes your skin to blister while also breaking down your red blood cells and damaging your tissue. A sting from one of these caterpillars will cause immediate localized pain (fellow blogger Andrew Gibson likened it to "burning knives"), and in extreme cases can also cause nausea, migraines, and a host of other symptoms. The effects of the venom can last upwards of 5 hours. 

On the front end of the Saddleback are two large white spots. These are thought to mimicking eyes. Fake eyes are common in insects—especially in Lepidopterans—and these eye-spots serve to scare away potential predators by either startling the predators or conveying that the animal in question is dangerous.

Like always, this year's Caterwauling for Caterpillars event was fantastic. If you want to read about some of the caterpillars from the first Caterwauling for Caterpillars night, please check out my post entitled "Caterpillars, Caterpillars, and More Caterpillars." And if you are interested in seeing some caterpillars yourself, mid-September is the best time for that in Ohio! Get out and see what you can find!

In Search of Green

We're on the cusp of Spring. The temperatures are rising. The birds who overwintered here are brushing up on their vocal skills. The Skunk Cabbage and Harbinger of Spring are blooming. The daylight period is getting longer. The amphibians are attempting to breed. The reptiles are leaving their hibernacula. Nature is preparing for a new season.

But I can't wait. I think it's because Winter never really came to Athens, Ohio. I love Winter, but I want it to be Winter when it's Winter. Sure, it got kind of cold on some days, and sure there were a few instances of flurries or maybe an inch of snow that lasted a day, but we didn't have any stretch of time where it felt like a proper Winter. So I gave up hoping for a real Winter and have since been impatiently waiting for Spring. Over the past week I couldn't wait any longer, so I ventured out to some nearby parks in search of some greenery to scratch my Spring-itch.

The view from the Sourwood Trail in Riddle State Nature Preserve.

First up, Sells Park and Riddle State Nature Preserve. On the northeast side of Athens sits a system of six contiguous parks owned by various agencies. On the westernmost end of this system sits Sells Park, with Riddle State Nature Preserve located just next door. Several trails crisscross these two parks, which protect a series of mature forested ridge tops and ravines. Riddle State Nature Preserve is well-known for protecting one of the few old-growth forests remaining in Ohio, but the section I hiked around (and that is pictured above) is only a mature secondary-growth forest.

Although we often think of Ohio forests turning various shades of brown during the Winter months, there are a great deal of herbaceous plants which remain green. The little green leaf above is one such example. This is the leaf of a Cranefly Orchid, Tipularia discolor. The Cranefly Orchid is one of the 46 species of orchid which have been recorded in Ohio. It has a rather strange range in Ohio; it can be commonly found throughout the southern third of the state, but can also be found in several counties centered around the Cleveland area. This range, however, appears to be changing; the Cranefly Orchid seems to be slowly expanding northward throughout much of its northerly limits. In the coming decades, there might be populations of this orchid in central Ohio.

Cranefly Orchids have a unique bi-colored leaf. The topside is green, but if you flip it over you'll be rewarded with a deep purple hue. This leaf does more than simply looking cool to plant lovers. But before we get to that, we have to understand what the function of a leaf is. The main function of a leaf is to produce food in the form of glucose for a plant. It does this through the process of photosynthesis. There are three main ingredients when it comes to photosynthesis: carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight. Those last two ingredients, sunlight and water, are rather limiting for a plant. A plant needs a lot of sunlight and a lot of water to make enough food to grow. As a result, it makes the most sense for plants to grow during the warm months from late Spring to early Fall, as the period of daylight is longer and there is normally plenty of water available. But this creates other problems. Imagine you're a tiny herbaceous plant on the forest floor. You need sunlight to make food for yourself, but the trees overhead are hogging most of it. The light that finally reaches you is just a tiny portion of the light initially available. Most of these herbaceous forest-floor plants simply make due with this problem, but some plants have found ways around it.

The leftover flowering stalk of a Cranefly Orchid with seed capsules.

When Winter comes around, many plants decide to stop photosynthesizing and lose their green leaves. With only a few hours of daylight to use, and water not as readily available, it doesn't make sense to photosynthesize. So the forest suddenly becomes a lot less green. But this does something else: with the trees lacking leaves, way more sunlight now reaches the forest floor. In comes the Cranefly Orchid. The Cranefly Orchid evolved a solution to this light competition problem long ago. Instead of fighting for a little sunlight during the Summer when all the other plants are competing as well, the Cranefly Orchid decided to simply change the time of year when it grows a photosynthetic leaf.

Cranefly Orchid flowers in the summer like many other species (as that's when insects are out to pollinate the flowers), but it doesn't grow a leaf until the leaves of most other plants are beginning to change late in the Fall. By the time the leaf is fully grown, the canopy is open and the Cranefly Orchid can exploit all of the sunlight that now reaches the forest floor. As I mentioned before, this is a hard strategy for most plants, which is why we don't commonly see this strategy. However, nearly all of the patterns we see in nature are a result of the interplay between costs and benefits. For the Cranefly Orchid, the benefits of trying to photosynthesize during the winter outweigh the benefits of trying to photosynthesize during the Summer, even when the plant factors in the costs associated with photosynthesizing through the freezing temperatures and shorter photoperiod. As Spring ramps up, this leaf will break down and the rest of the plant will then begin to send up a stalk for flowering before repeating the cycle all over again.

Of course, seeing the Cranefly Orchid made me want to see the other two orchid species around Athens that have leaves present during the winter. The Sun was going down though, so I went home and decided to try again the next day. After classes ended that next day, I traveled out to Strouds Run State Park, yet another park within the larger system bordering Athens.

First up, Puttyroot Orchid, Aplectrum hyemale. Puttyroot is another orchid which utilizes a strategy like that of Cranefly Orchid. Toward the end of Fall, the underground part of the plant sends up a single leaf in order to capitalize on the open Winter canopy and avoid the competition associated with sunlight during the Summer. This leaf will live through the Winter months before breaking down by mid-Spring. Right after the leaf disintegrates, the plant will send up a flowering stalk.

The overwintering leaf of a Puttyroot Orchid is quite stunning. They're pretty large, and hard to miss if you're looking at the plant life within a forest. This species is more widespread in Ohio, with the core of its range being in the southern and northeastern portions of the state, with scattered populations elsewhere in the central and northwestern portions. The Puttyroot Orchid is an inhabitant of moist woods, where it can be found along forested floodplain terraces, the bottoms of ravines, low to mid level regions of forested slopes, and sandstone canyons. The individual pictured above was part of a colony found underneath a sandstone outcrop on a rather-seepy forested hillside.

Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without talking about one of my favorite orchids, the Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, Goodyera pubescens. Unlike the previous two species I've talked about, the leaves of the Downy Rattlesnake Plantain are present year-round. This orchid species can be found throughout the Allegheny Plateau region of eastern Ohio, where it grows on dry or moist upland portions of the widespread hills. In fact, this orchid can be very abundant in the appropriate habitat, and the individuals pictured above were just a few of the dozens I saw over the course of 2 hours at Strouds Run State Park.

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain is one of my favorite orchids for two reasons. First, it was the first species of orchid I ever saw in the wild. Second, the leaves are phenomenally beautiful and eye-catching. Even a person not that interested in plants would find themselves stopping for a closer look if they came across a population of this orchid while out on a hike.

As I write this, the weather is chilly and rainy. This is a far cry from the previous Friday, where Ohio teased us all with Spring-like weather in the high 70's. As we sink back into a more seasonable weather pattern, I can't help but continue to impatiently wait for Spring to rev up in earnest. Thanks for reading!

Ross's Geese in Athens!

This February has shaped up to be one of the most spectacular migratory goose flights in Ohio in awhile. Beginning in the first week of the month, reports started pouring in from around the state on eBird, Birding Ohio, and other media reporting flocks of dozens to even hundreds of Snow Geese, Ross's Geese, and Greater White-Fronted Geese. These species of geese are pretty rare in Ohio, but each winter will often bring many scattered reports of one or two individuals mixed in with a flock of Canada Geese. The past 2 weeks, for some reason, has brought very large flocks of these rare geese throughout Ohio.

Luckily, Athens got to partake in what I've heard people calling "Goosapalooza." On February 12, Ohio University professor Phil Cantino reported 8 white geese on the western side of Athens near the Hocking River. These 8 white geese turned out to be Ross's Geese, and they continued hanging out for several days. Yesterday, on Feb. 15, a group of Ohio University students (including myself) went to see the individuals. It wasn't hard; we drove past a large group of Canada Geese hanging out at the Athens County Fairgrounds, and sure enough the 8 Ross's Geese were mixed in with the group of 150 or so Canada Geese.

The diminutive Ross's Goose is one of my favorite birds. As I mentioned previously, they are quite rare in Ohio, but they aren't globally rare, however. Their rarity in Ohio stems from their migration routes. The Ross's Goose breeds in northern Canada and overwinters in two distinct locations - California and the southern Great Plains. The populations which overwinter in the southern Great Plains migrate using the Central Flyway, which is pretty much 2 states west of Ohio. Since they utilize a migration flyway which doesn't come through Ohio, they don't really come through Ohio either. Occasionally something, whether it be a storm, individual mistake, etc., will cause one or a few individuals to veer off course and end up in places like Ohio. In the case of this giant flight into Ohio, weather is probably to blame.

Photo taken in Fairfield County, Ohio, back in December 2015. The Snow Goose is in the back, while the Ross's Goose is in front of the Snow Goose.

As you might have seen, I had a post on both Ross's Geese and Snow Geese back in December (which you can read at this link). The Snow Goose and the Ross's Goose superficially look the same, but there are a few differences to note. I'll use a nice comparison photo from the Fairfield County ones I chased back in December. In the photo above, the Snow Goose is the white goose in the back, while the Ross's Goose is the white goose in the front. First, take note of the black wingtips in both; this shows that the goose is either a Snow or Ross's goose, and not just a white domestic goose, which will lack any black in the wings. Now, how do you tell the difference between a Snow Goose and a Ross's? Essentially, a Ross's Goose is a miniature, duck-sized version of a Snow Goose. Size, however, can be deceiving. Another feature that can help, but can also be deceiving, is neck size; a Ross's Goose typically has a very short, stubby neck, while a Snow Goose typically has a much longer neck. However, this can be dependent on how the goose is holding its neck and it isn't a good feature to solely base an identification on. The best field mark to separate the two species is the bill. With a Snow Goose, the bill will be large and pretty long. The bill will also have a distinctive dark "mustache." A Ross's Goose will have a much smaller and more dainty bill, and it will lack that dark "mustache."

In the case of the flock of 8 white geese this time around, they were all tiny, short-necked geese with dainty bills. This identifies them all as Ross's Geese. This was pretty exciting; the Ross's Goose was one of the last rare goose species which I hadn't yet seen in Athens! When rare geese do show up in Ohio, it's typically in the northwestern part of Ohio or along Lake Erie. Southeastern Ohio isn't typically a hotspot for rare waterfowl. However, the past 2 winters have brought an array of rare geese, with Greater White-Fronted Geese and Cackling Geese and Snow Geese. Now I can add Ross's Geese to the list of interesting Hocking River visitors!

If you live in Ohio, keep your eyes out for the rest of the week for any unusual geese! You never know what you might find!

Snow Goose in the Athens!

Last night (November 3rd), I got an email on the Athens Area Birders message board; a local birder had spotted a juvenile Snow Goose earlier in the day along the Hocking River right in Athens. I was absolutely ecstatic; I have been wanting to see a Snow Goose for years and years, but they have eluded me year after year. I had seen other rare geese, from the Ross's Goose to the Cackling Goose to the Greater White-Fronted Goose, but never a Snow Goose. Oddly enough, the Snow Goose is the next most commonly found goose in Ohio after the Canada Goose, although it is still rare. Time after time I had seen geese rarer than the Snow Goose, but my lifer Snow Goose was no where to be found. But finally, after years of looking and hoping, I have seen my birding white whale: the Snow Goose.

The morning after reading that email happened to be my ornithology lab. It was a "dry lab" today, meaning we were inside looking at study skins and other goodies. I told the TA about the possible Snow Goose hanging out along the Hocking River, only a 5 minute walk from the classroom. He excitedly suggested we all take a field trip and go look for the goose. A few minutes later we were staring out over the river, trying to see if the Snow Goose was still hanging out. Normally there is a large group of Canada Geese present, but there were only 5 at the moment. The birder who found the Snow Goose yesterday said it was mixed in with that large Canada Goose flock, but the flock was no where to be found. A few minutes later we look up to see about 20 Canada Geese flying at us, and that's when it hit me; the geese hadn't returned from their nightly roost in the fields yet! Sure enough, that group of geese landed in the river, but still no Snow Goose. Another group flew from over the hills toward us, but once again no Snow Goose. A third group came a few seconds after, still no Snow Goose. Then the fourth group made its appearance. My friend Alayna Tokash suddenly yelled "THERE IT IS!" I trained my camera on the flying flock and there he was - a single white goose among the Canada Geese. The group of geese, with Snow Goose included, landed in the river and joined the rest of the flock. And just like that, the hunt for my Snow Goose was over.

Map courtesy of Terry Sohl over at South Dakota Birds and Birding!

You might be wondering why this goose is so special, and why I was so excited to see it. The Snow Goose is a rare, but regular, visitor to Ohio. As you can see in the range map above, the Snow Goose breeds in the high Arctic and overwinters in various places around the US and Mexico. You can also see that none of their migration flyways go through Ohio; in fact, we are right between the Atlantic and the Mississippi flyways. If you were to go to either of these flyways and witness Snow Goose migration, you could see groups of several thousands flying or stopping over in a field or waterway. Being in between flyways, Ohio does get a few dozen of the individuals each year who are on the fringes. Oftentimes a storm or front system might blow them off course and into Ohio. I'm not sure if there's any know reasons for the others who show up (such as this one) that aren't associated with a front. This one was a juvenile; he just might not have his migration navigation down yet. There could also be a multitude of other factors. Regardless, when the Snow Goose does show up in Ohio, it's normally along Lake Erie or at least in the western half of the state. To get one in Athens in southeastern Ohio is really, really awesome.

The Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens, is a medium-sized goose. It's larger than the various "miniature" geese species (with the similarly-looking Ross's Goose being the miniature species "version" of the Snow Goose), but smaller than most Canada Geese subspecies, including the subspecies we have in Ohio. There are two color morphs of the Snow Goose, a white morph and what's called the blue morph. The blue morph has a dark brown/gray body with a white head. This specific individual is a white morph juvenile, as can be told by the dusky brown tinge and dark bill. Adults of the white morph will be a clean white with a pink bill.

There are a few characteristics a person should look for when they come across a possible Snow Goose. Not all white geese are Snow Geese (or Ross's Geese). The vast majority of white geese people see in Ohio are simply domesticated geese of some sort. These domestic geese tend to be all white with a relatively large butt (which I've heard informally called a "diaper butt"). Snow Geese will have a much smaller butt (compare to this domestic goose). The most important characteristic, however, is the black wingtips. Domestic geese will have all white wings, while the primaries (think wingtip feathers) of a Snow Goose will be black. You can see this really well in the photo above; look for the black feathers near the rump of the goose. It's always important to double check a white goose before jumping to an identification; for example, there's a domestic white goose that likes to hang out in the Hocking River in town that I've gotten excited about many times before, only to realize it's not a Snow Goose like I thought.

Greater White-Fronted Goose (left) and Cackling Goose (right)

Interestingly, this isn't the first rare goose to show up on the Hocking River in Athens. Last year I was chasing two continuing Greater White-Fronted Geese when I then found two Cackling Geese, both rare geese for Ohio. I made a post covering these two, which you can read here. This brings up a question that I'm not sure has an answer. Have small numbers of these rare geese species regularly shown up in the Hocking River over the years, or has some factor resulted in a recent influx of these species, or is this simply a coincidence? More and more rare birds are being found every week in Ohio, but I think a large reason behind that is the internet. More and more birders are finding rare birds and reporting them to the masses via the internet; before this, most of the birders might tell a few select friends or just keep the sightings to themselves. As a result, I think the internet has given us a false perception of rare birds. Rare birds have always visited Ohio, but now it's easy to find out about them, and more eyes are looking for them. This factor might force us to reconsider what's "rare" and what's not in the upcoming years.

"IT'S PREENING!"

Hopefully this Snow Goose is just one of many rare birds for the winter months. Finding or chasing rare birds is one of the many exciting parts of birding; it's just thrilling to see something in a place it shouldn't be. It also makes seeing certain birds much easier; for example, I didn't have to travel to say Greenland to see a Black-Legged Kittiwake, I could just see one 45 minutes from home. Birding is a treasure hunt played out across the globe, and rare birds are some of the most sought-after prizes.

That's it for this post! I'll be heading to Lake Erie this weekend to do some birding, so stay tuned for more birdy-posts! Thanks for reading!

Caterpillars, Caterpillars, and More Caterpillars

This time of the year belongs to the caterpillars. Right now, hundreds and hundreds of species are eating, building up stores of energy, and preparing to overwinter either in diapause (a type of hibernation), or as a chrysalis (for butterflies), or in a cocoon (for moths). Michelle Ward, a fellow undergraduate Wildlife and Conservation Biology student at Ohio University, set up a caterpillar hunting night at her house and invited several other wildlife-based undergraduates and graduate students. Her house just happens to be in the middle of a forest in northern Athens County, which made for a really awesome night. I'm going to go over a few of the more showy "cats" in this post, but there will be other caterpillar-themed posts coming!

We found several sphinx moth caterpillars throughout the course of the evening. This individual is a Blinded Sphinx caterpillar, Paonias excaecatus. Notice the "horn" at the end of the abdomen, a characteristic found in many, but not all, sphinx moth caterpillars. Many sphinx moth caterpillars, such as this one, also have cryptic coloration, with most being primarily green or brown. Also notice the diagonal streaks going across the body, another common feature. In the case of the Blinded Sphinx, these streaks are brown, but we'll see another color of streaks on the next individual.

This is another sphinx, specifically the Elm Sphinx, Ceratomia amyntor. Generally speaking, moths and butterflies typically feed on specific plant species versus any random plant. Sometimes this is taken to the extreme, where a certain Lepidopteran (moths and butterflies) species will only feed on one specific species of plant and nothing else. Most other Lepidopterans have a small group of plant species they will feed on, and the Elm Sphinx falls into this category. As the name implies, it does indeed feed on elm trees, but they will also feed on cherries, basswoods, and birches. Take note of the four horn-like projections near the head, a diagnostic characteristic for this species. The Elm Sphinx cat also has a horn at the end of its abdomen, along with the diagonal streaking across the body (with a whitish-cream coloration).

One of the most abundant caterpillars of the night was the Spotted Apatelodes, Apatelodes torrefacta. This picture doesn't do it justice, but these are pretty large caterpillars, with many we saw reaching lengths of 3-3.5 inches. A fuzzy little caterpillar, these can come in two different colors. All the ones we saw were the yellow individuals, but this species can also come in white.

The caterpillars we found ranged in sizes from monstrously large (as you'll see) to very tiny. These smaller ones are hard to find by flashlight alone while bumbling around a forest at night; this is when a UV flashlight comes in handy. A UV flashlight simply emits light in the ultraviolet wavelength. This is incredibly useful for people looking for caterpillars because many (but not all) caterpillars will actually fluoresce. Essentially, ultraviolet light will be absorbed by the exoskeleton of certain species, and the exoskeleton will re-emit that light as visible light, resulting in glowing caterpillars among the dark forest (you can only do this in the dark of night). This makes finding many caterpillars much easier, especially for the small ones such as this Snowberry Clearwing, Hemaris diffinis. This is one of the hummingbird moth species, and I've previously covered his cousin, the Hummingbird Clearwing, here.  

So far, all of the species I've covered have been moths. This, on the other hand, is a butterfly. It also happens to be one of the most common butterfly species in Ohio. This is the Silver-Spotted Skipper, Epargyreus clarus. Although the adults are small, the caterpillars are not. This one was around 2 inches long, and quite chubby. One of the stand-out features of this caterpillar are the two orange dots on the head. These are presumably mimicking eyes in an attempt to dissuade predators. The real eyes are too small to see in this photo. 

The find of the night was this monstrous creature, the Hickory Horned Devil, Citheronia regalis. This species is also called the Regal Moth and Royal Walnut Moth, especially when referring to an adult. The common name Hickory Horned Devil is mostly used when talking about the caterpillar stage. This incredible caterpillar was humongous; it was easily 5-6 inches long. This magnificent creature is going to get a post all his own, so stay tuned! Update: Here is my post on the Hickory Horned Devil!

From left to right: Yours truly, Olivia Brooks, Brandan Gray, Michelle Ward, Cassie Thompson, Alayna Tokash, and Jake Schoen. Not pictured is Vincent Farallo.

The night was a smashing success, and not only in regard to caterpillars. We also had a Ring-Necked Snake, a few Red-Backed Salamanders who were out and about walking around, and a surprise Marbled Salamander (who are migrating right now). Our group is pictured above (I'm on the far left).

As I previously mentioned, I'm planning a few other caterpillar posts in the upcoming days. I'm definitely going to have one on the Hickory Horned Devil (Update: Post on the Hickory Horned Devil), and I am trying to find enough species for a post on some of the slug caterpillars of Ohio, which are the coolest caterpillars in my opinion. If you like caterpillars, stay tuned! Thanks for reading!

Ornithology Lab, September 9

This is the second installment in a series of weekly posts for my ornithology class at Ohio University. We go out in the field every Wednesday (weather permitting) to do some birding and bird banding. One of our assignments is to write a blog post about each of these field trips, which is what this series will be about.

First Post: September 2

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An Eastern Wood-Pewee, one of the migrant species that was still singing at The Ridges. This photo was taken at Old Woman Creek in Erie County this past May.

It was another early morning at 6:45 AM. This week we were at The Ridges, Athens County, once more. It was yet another warm morning, with temperatures in the high 60's (which quickly climbed into the 70's) and near 100% humidity (dew points between 68 and 70 degrees). Haze filled the otherwise cloudless sky, and some patchy fog hung about in open areas. Put shortly, it was a muggy and still morning. I've been eagerly awaiting for it to feel like Fall, but it appears I'll have to wait a bit.

Sadly, it was yet another bad day for Fall migration; southerly winds for the past couple days have held down what migrants we've had in the region and prevented more waves from coming through. For you birders out there who want to know if a day has the potential to be good or not, a great tool to utilize is Cornell University's BirdCast. During Spring and Fall migrations, they give weekly outlooks, including regional outlooks, on what days seem to be good for birding, and what species will most likely be on the move. For an example, you can check out this week's outlook here.

I mentioned southerly winds holding migrants back, and I'll explain that concept a bit more, using BirdCast to help. The majority of songbirds (Warblers, Sparrows, Vireos, etc.) migrate during the night, which might surprise many of you (I know it surprised me when I learned!). Essentially, the birds take off at dusk, fly all night, and drop into a patch of good habitat in the morning. During the day they try to stuff themselves with food and rest, preparing for another full night of flying. During Fall migration, many songbirds are coming from their breeding grounds in Canada and the northern US and are trying to get to Central and South America to spend their winter. As a result, it is a huge energy-saving advantage if the wind is helping push you along. For this, the birds need northerly winds (winds coming from the north and blowing toward the south). If faced with southerly winds, many songbirds will simply stay put because it isn't worth the energy expenditure to try and fly against the wind. So to have a "good" migration day, you want to look for a morning where there were northerly winds overnight in your area/state. Northerly winds overnight should mean there are hundreds of hungry, tired migrants in the forests around you. 

Map courtesy of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Now is where BirdCast comes in to help. Pictured above is a map of the wind directions predicted for Wednesday morning at 2:00 AM (last night). This is in the middle of the night, which is exactly when songbirds are migrating. If we look at Ohio, we can see that the entire state is covered by southerly winds. That means that the migrants north of us will mostly be staying in the north. These conditions make for a "bad" day for birders and bird banding.

Regardless that it was a bad migration day overall, we ended up observing and mist netting more species than last week, which was a hotter and overall more miserable day. This time we set up nets in 7 areas. I made a quick breakdown of the area, which you can see above. The short white lines represent the nets. As you can see, we set up the nets in a variety of habitats. This ensures that we get a wider range of possible species, as different species exploit different habitats. We had 2 nets set up in dense shrub habitat, 4 nets set up in young scrubby forest, and 1 net set up by a pond. Due to area and time constraints, we can't set up any nets in the deciduous forests with more open undergrowth. It's also important to note that most bird species, while having a preferred habitat, will cross through different habitats to find better food sources, especially in migration. For example, we had a foraging flock of Carolina Chickadees that came from the open deciduous forest in the top right corner of the photo, which moved down across the scrub forest directly below, and then moved over into the edges of the lawn area. By covering more ground, the chickadees have a better chance of finding a good food source. Also, since breeding season is over, the chickadees don't have to worry about territories for the time being. The chickadees formed this foraging flock in order to maximize their chance of finding food (more eyes means more ground covered in less time) and to maximize their chance of seeing any potential threats before it's too late (such as seeing a Cooper's Hawk fly in).

The first bird we netted was a young male Northern Cardinal. It was in the same area as the adult female that we netted last week. Later we caught another female in the same area (who didn't have a band, so it was different from the female last week). I've also seen a male individual in the area. Northern Cardinals will form foraging flocks in the winter, and it seems like we have the start of one forming. It will be interesting to see if we eventually get recaptures every time we go out.

The second bird we netted was a female Common Yellowthroat, a species of warbler. This was our second warbler species we've banded so far in the Fall, and hopefully there are many more to come.

The third bird that flew into the mist nets was another Northern Cardinal. This individual was a juvenile, as the black beak told. Cardinals will have orange beaks when they reach adulthood.

An adult male (left) and adult female (right) Northern Cardinal. Notice the orange beak on the female; although immature males have plumage like a female, their beaks are black/brown. Both photos were taken in Pickaway County this past Winter.

In keeping with the cardinal theme, the fourth bird was an adult female Northern Cardinal. This was the individual I mentioned along with the first cardinal from today.

The last 3 birds we had were all caught in one net, and all during the same period. We had set up a net on a pathway between two areas of vine-covered shrubs with a a few trees scattered about. This is perfect White-Eyed Vireo habitat, and we were lucky enough to catch not only one, but three individuals in one go.

An adult White-Eyed Vireo. This was taken along the Nature Walk trail at The Ridges during Spring Migration.

One of the White-Eyed Vireos was noteworthy - he had already been banded, and not by us. All 3 individuals were "Hatch Year" individuals. This simply means they were all born this past Summer. So the one that was banded had not only been born within 4 months or so ago, but had also been netted and banded during that time. We then recaptured it while it was migrating south. One of the cool things about bird banding is learning about recaptures; if you can read the code on its ankle band (by either photo or having the bird in hand), then you can look that code up in the bird banding database to learn where that individual had been previously caught, who banded it, and other assorted information. Sadly we haven't been able to look up the code for that one yet, so I can't say where it had been previously banded.

Here is my personal list for the day, which includes all the birds I saw/heard from 7:00 AM to 11:30 AM:

1. Turkey Vulture
2. Rock Pigeon
3. Mourning Dove
4. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
5. Red-Bellied Woodpecker
6. Hairy Woodpecker
7. Pileated Woodpecker*
8. Eastern Wood-Pewee*
9. White-Eyed Vireo
10. Yellow-Throated Vireo*
11. Red-Eyed Vireo
12. Blue Jay
13. American Crow
14. Carolina Chickadee
15. Tufted Titmouse*
16. White-Breasted Nuthatch
17. Carolina Wren*
18. American Robin
19. Cedar Waxwing
20. Common Yellowthroat
21. Magnolia Warbler
22. Wilson's Warbler (New for my Athens County list)
23. Eastern Towhee
24. Northern Cardinal
25. American Goldfinch

Note: * means "Heard Only"

A Tufted Titmouse, one of the species we heard today. This adorable individual is from Pickaway County.

Overall, this was a pretty good day. We had a decent number of birds banded, and I got to see my first Athens County Wilson's Warbler. There have been a few peculiarities so far though. We haven't heard or seen a Gray Catbird yet, and there's plenty of perfect habitat for them where we band. eBird doesn't have sightings dropping off in Ohio until late October, so I'm surprised we haven't seen any in such a good habitat. We have also been missing Eastern Bluebirds, a relatively easy-to-find bird at The Ridges. Song Sparrows have also been missing so far. Of course, it is only our second week out at the same location, so we might have just missed any in the area, but I'm still surprised we've went 9 hours of birding total without seeing any of those species in an area where I've seen them previously. I'll just have to keep my eye out even more.

Thanks for reading!

Ornithology Lab, September 2

Hey everyone! This is the first installment in a series of weekly posts for my Ornithology Class at Ohio University. We go out in the field every Wednesday (weather permitting) to do some birding and bird banding. One of our assignments is to write a blog post about each of these field trips, which is what this series will be about. A note to my regular readers: these posts will most likely be very different from my usual posts. I try to have a photo for every individual thing I talk about, but I won't be able to bring my camera on these field trips. As a result, these posts will be more like a journal than anything. I'll try to post any relevant photos I have from my library, but no guarantees! I'm hoping to intersperse "normal" posts with these posts as well. This series will run until early December. Alright, back information aside, let's get started!

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The morning started early. I would say bright and early, but it's quite dark outside at 5:30 AM. I got ready, grabbed my field guide, binoculars, field notebook, and a pen, and left my dorm room at 6:30 AM. We packed up the banding equipment and drove up to The Ridges, arriving at about 7:10 AM. The Ridges lies on the edge of the city of Athens in Athens County. It's an interesting place, and I honestly spend way more time there than I probably should. Most people know it as the site of the old Athens Lunatic Asylum, but it's much more than that. The land is now owned by Ohio University, and behind the old asylum building is dozens and dozens of acres of land with a smorgasbord of different habitats. Miles of trails, utilized by the students of Ohio University and the "townies" of Athens, crisscross the landscape, cutting through mature deciduous forest, grassland, abandoned orchards, shrubby overgrowth, young forest, and more. I've previously given a quick of The Ridges, which you can read here. 

The view of Radar Hill, one of the main attractions at The Ridges. Field Sparrows nest all throughout the grassy areas you see, while more "deep forest" birds like Pileated Woodpeckers call the forests you can partially see on the sides of the photo home.

As you might expect from a place with a variety of habitats, it's a good place for birds. I mean, it's a really good place for birds. I would definitely say it's one of the best places in Athens County to go birding. To give you an idea, 224 species have been recorded in Athens County on eBird. Of those 224 species, 155 of them have been seen one time or another at The Ridges. That's about 70%. I personally have a list of around 90 species here at The Ridges, including 21 species of warblers. 

The first bird we heard this morning was a White-Eyed Vireo. This is a common species along the beginning of the Nature Trail by the Challenge Course. The White-Eyed Vireo pictured here is from April 2015 along the Nature Trail.

Now that you have some background information on the area, let's get into today. As I mentioned, we arrived at around 7:10 AM, so all of the sightings I'll mention here happened between then and when we left at 11:40 AM. The morning started off relatively warm at around 65 degrees. It was incredibly humid and only got worse throughout the morning. Light fog hung in some of the low lying areas, while a hazy sky with some cirrus clouds soared overhead. The fog and haze left between 9:30 and 10:00 AM. We were hoping for a lot of good Fall migrants, but this week was a bad week for migration. Southerly winds prevented large movements of many of the northern-breeding songbirds. 

One of the main goals of our class is to get better acquainted with bird banding, specifically with the use of mist nets. Essentially, a mist net is a thin, hard to see net that birds will fly into before getting stuck in a tiny pocket. Once caught, a bird can be removed from the net, inspected for various things such as age, sex, and weight, and then banded. When banded, a bird is given a unique number code that is printed on a tiny aluminum ring. This ring is attached to the leg of the bird. If recaptured at any other banding station, or by any other bander, the code can be looked up and they will have access to all of the previous information gathered on that specific bird. This helps ornithologists gain a better idea of the basic morphology of a species, migration routes used and timing of those routes, what species utilize certain habitats, and much more.

We set up mist nets at 5 different locations. These locations were in a power-line right-of-way with a deciduous forest on each side, by a small pond, by a shrubby area next to an area of semi-developed land, and in a young deciduous forest. Upon setting up these nets, you wait for 10-30 minutes (depends on the conditions of that day) away from the nets, and then make a round checking all the nets. You hope there's at least one bird at one of the nets, but sometimes you come up empty. On a good day and at a good location, some banding stations can get hundreds and hundreds of birds. This day was not a good day. We ended up banding 5 birds total. However, 2 of these birds were really "good" birds.

The first was a surprise. By the tiny pond we caught a waterthrush, a species of warbler. Now, the first thought by me and most others was "Oh, it's a Louisiana Waterthrush." This is by far the most commonly seen waterthrush around Athens, and the only one that breeds here. However, the yellowish wash on its flanks, streaks on the throat, and yellow supercillium (eyebrow stripe) actually meant this was the Northern Waterthrush. This was a lifer for me and a few of the other birders in the class (although I don't really "count" birds that have been caught with a net). A great start to the semester. 

The second bird that was netted was a female Northern Cardinal. This individual was caught along a slight slope in a scruffy secondary growth woods next some lawn, a normal type of habitat that you would expect a cardinal in. Right now in the year, nesting is essentially over. As a result, we have an influx of juvenile birds going through their awkward teenage years. A young male Northern Cardinal superficially looks like an adult female; however, there are a few differences. The most obvious is the bill color; adult females will have a bright orange bill, while young males will have a dull gray bill. Another feature, which you won't see unless you have the bird in hand, is a brood patch, which this female had. Essentially, a brood patch is an area of featherless skin on the stomach of a female. A female's skin is much more efficient at directly transmitting heat to her eggs than adding the feathers as a "middle man." 

The third bird we banded was a Chipping Sparrow that had hatched this past season. As a result, he had juvenile plumage and was missing that species' characteristic rufus crown.

The fourth bird was the second "good" bird of the day. In a young and scrubby deciduous forest patch by an ephemeral creek we caught a Swainson's Thrush, another migrant species. Looking similar to a Wood Thrush or a Hermit Thrush, the Swainson's Thrush is a bird of Canada. They only pass through Ohio during Spring and Fall migrations, typically in April/May and September/October, respectively. A reserved skulker of a bird, this is a species most people don't see unless they're looking for one. It was great to see one so upclose!

Hey, I actually have a picture for this species! This is a Carolina Chickadee from Pickaway County, Ohio.

Last, but not least, was a Carolina Chickadee. A very common species at The Ridges, we heard several this day but only netted one, a young juvenile. The Carolina Chickadees should be, if they haven't already, starting to form mixed foraging flocks for the winter months. These typically consist of species like the Tufted Titmouse, Brown Creeper, and others. If you hear a chickadee starting from September on through the winter, it's best to look around and see what other birds are in the area!

There were plenty of other birds that we saw and heard during our time this morning. Here's my personal list of birds that I saw or heard (also including the species banded) during the field time, in taxonomic order. Note, species with an * means "heard only."

1. Turkey Vulture

2. Red-Bellied Woodpecker

3. Pileated Woodpecker*

4. Eastern Wood-Pewee*

5. Yellow-Throated Vireo*

6. White-Eyed Vireo*

7. Red-Eyed Vireo

8. Blue Jay

9. American Crow

10. Carolina Chickadee

11. Tufted Titmouse

12. White-Breasted Nuthatch

13. Carolina Wren*

14. American Robin

15. Swainson's Thrush

16. Cedar Waxwing

17. Northern Waterthrush

18. Chipping Sparrow

19. Eastern Towhee

20. Northern Cardinal

21. American Goldfinch

Some of the other species that I did not personally see, but others in the class did include:

1.Yellow-Billed Cuckoo

2. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

3. Northern Mockingbird 

A flock of Cedar Waxwings came through at one point over the pond along the Nature Trail. The Cedar Waxwing pictured was an individual from earlier in the year taken along the Radar Hill Trail at The Ridges.

Overall, it was a really good first week out. I'm hoping that next week will bring northerly winds, and more migrants with it. I'm eagerly awaiting the return of Golden-Crowned Kinglets, Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, and White-Throated Sparrows as well, which should be around mid to late September.

Two Rare Geese on the Hocking!

Okay, so this is horribly overdue, but here it is nonetheless. The Sunday of February 8th, I decided to head up to The Ridges, an Ohio University owned hiking complex on the edge of Athens in Athens County, to do some birding. It was a good trip for mid winter, but the real surprises of the day were found when I was walking back to Ohio University. As I was crossing the Hocking River, I decided to scope out the larger and ever-present resident population of Canada Geese. A local birder had found two Greater White-Fronted Geese a few days prior, and although I didn't think they would still be hanging around, why not look?

I relocated them within 30 seconds, much to my surprise. After a few obligatory seconds of freaking-out-over-a-lifer, I crossed the bridge and decided to get a better view. So why all this hoopla over a goose? Well, the Greater White-Fronted Goose is a pretty rare visitor to Ohio. When they do show up here, it's mainly in the glaciated portions of western Ohio and along Lake Erie; to have not one, but two, show up in southeastern Ohio, in a pretty urban area, was really unexpected.

The Greater White-Fronted Goose, Anser albifrons, is a goose of the west. The North American populations (they are also found in Eurasia) breed on the tundra of Alaska and northern Canada. They overwinter in disjunct regions in the southern US and Mexico, including the Central Valley of California along with southeastern Texas and Louisiana. They migrate mainly along the Pacific and Central Flyways. The Central Flyway goes up and down the Great Plains region.  If you haven't noticed yet, they're a little out of place here in Athens, Ohio. Although they are a bird found mainly west of the Mississippi River, a few individuals do stray east into Ohio every year.

The Greater White-Fronted Goose is a relatively small goose. Compare the size of the Canada Geese with the White-Fronted in the photo above to get an idea of the size. I knew they were smaller, but their size honestly surprised me when I saw them. They were just so dainty!

These geese are sometimes nicknamed "Specklebellies" here in the US. The dark bands and speckles going across the breast, as seen above, give rise to this name. You might also be wondering about the "Greater" in their common name as well. If there is a Greater White-Fronted Goose, is there a Lesser? There is indeed a Lesser White-Fronted Goose, but they are not found here in North America. Greater White-Fronted's are circumpolar breeders, meaning they breed all around the northern half of the world, including Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and Siberia. Lesser White-Fronted Geese are restricted to Eurasia, breeding primarily in northern Asia. They are superficially similar to the Greater White-Fronted, with the biggest difference being their smaller size. For some reason in the geese, "dwarf species" have arose several times. For example, the Greater and Lesser White-Fronted Geese, Snow and Ross's Geese, and Canada Geese and Cackling Geese.

Interestingly, these two individuals stuck around Athens for awhile. I assumed they would try to move on relatively quickly, but they were repeatedly found for about 3 or so weeks total.

After watching the Greater White-Fronted Geese for awhile, I decided to scan the rest of the river to see if there were any ducks hanging around. Of the near 100 Canada Geese hanging around, two immediately made me stop scanning. My mind started racing; could those two small geese be what I thought they were? Could it really be that the Hocking River not only held one rare species that day, but two? Could they really be Cackling Geese, yet another lifer for me?

I looked over their field marks: Tiny, Mallard-like size? Check. Short, stubby neck? Check. Squarish forehead with a very short beak? Check. Yes! It was a Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii! I was completely amazed; not only was I lucky enough to relocate the rare Greater White-Fronted Geese, but I also found two Cackling Geese to boot! Cackling Geese are another species of western geese that occasionally visit Ohio each winter. They breed along the Arctic tundra and migrate primarily through the Great Plains and down the Pacific coast, overwintering in both Texas/New Mexico and California/Oregon/Washington, respectively. Most of the individuals that move through Ohio are found in the western half of the state, especially near Lake Erie. Finding two in Athens County was yet another unexpected treat.

The Cackling Goose is a "newer" species. Up until 2004, the Cackling Goose was considered one of the many subspecies of the Canada Goose. Some research concluded that it was indeed a different species, a relatively common occurrence. Many subspecies get elevated to the species level, and sometimes two or more species are lumped together into one species. The act of lumping and splitting species has especially increased with the rise of genetic studies in the past decade. More genetic research has found that there are a number of highly distinct subspecies of the Cackling Goose, so future studies might even result in a further split.

The semester is winding down for me, with only about a month to go! This semester has been crazy, making it really hard to find time to blog. Hopefully this summer brings me more time to write. I will be spending the first half of my summer in northern Ohio doing more salamander research, and I am very excited for that. The second half of my summer will be spent in either New Mexico for an internship, or back in Athens for snake research. I'm hoping that I'll come across some awesome stuff to write about since most of my summer will be spent outside! Thanks for reading!