Hummingbird Hawk Moth

Another lovely day at Clear Creek Metro Park , complete with a sighting of the spectacular Hummingbird Hawk Moth. Dozens of them in fact. They are definitely one of my favorites in the insect world.

Reading to the Dogs

This is my friend's grandson Jake who is 7. He's involved in a summer reading program "Read to a Dog" called at their local library. He is reading an adventure book that he chose titled "Volcano!" to Buster, a 7-year-old mix breed dog, during the event, which is designed to promote summer reading for kids. Isn't this cute and what a great idea!

The House That Built Me

On my way home from work today I heard a very poignant song sung by Miranda Lambert and called The House That Built Me. After it ended I reflected on my own childhood home, where my parents still live, and the many wonderful memories made there. Then it occurred to me that my grandparents and great grandparents homes were also among the "houses that built me". When I think about all the places I spent the majority of my time (other than school) these are the ones. Sadly, all the grandparents are gone, but on occassions in the past we drove by their houses just to remember them and reminisce about the fun we had there over the years growing up. Once my cousin and I asked to go inside grandma's house after grandpa died and grandma had moved away; it was bittersweet because the inside has changed so much. Overall, none of the houses look the same and the garden's aren't well kept like they used to be either. Nowadays I just prefer my memories to driving past them. Anyway here is a link to the song. I hope you enjoy it too.

The House That Built Me as it looked eons ago in 1963.

Meadow Jumping Mouse

This little fellow, a Meadow Jumping Mouse, was making his way across the entrance road into the park when Andrew's intern spotted him. Andrew stopped the truck and Kyle dashed out and caught him so they could take a photo. Isn't he cute?

Notes from the Field (Part 2)

Battelle Darby Creek, the locale of much of my field work in college, is home to 44 species of freshwater mussels including 23 that are rare and 2 that are federally endangered. What is a mussel? Mussels belong to a group of water animals called mollusks. They are soft bodied animals enclosed by two hinged shells made mostly of calcium. The size, shape, color and marking of the shell are used to identify the different species. Shell surfaces vary in color and contain distinctive ridges, rays and bumps. The interior is composed of pearly nacre that varies in color from pure white to shades of pink, salmon, gray and purple. The physical attributes and common names of the individual species are what fascinates me. Freshwater mussel are found living on the bottom of lakes and streams. One thousand species have been identified worldwide. Nearly 30% of those are found in the southern Ohio River Basin which has one of the richest and most diverse assemblages of freshwater mussels. Historically freshwater mussels provided food for early man and Native Americans. Mussel shells were used for jewelry and as currency. At the turn of the century mussels were harvested in North America to make pearl buttons out of the shells. There was a button factory in Manchester on the Ohio river and as recently as fifteen years ago you could still find punched shells along the shore. Today mussels are not recommended as food because they bioaccumulate and store toxic metals and other water pollutants in their body tissues. They are a vital link in the food chain as they are major food items for wildlife. As important natural filterers in the river bed they improve water quality by straining our suspended particles and pollutants. They are used by biologists as "biological" monitors to indicate past and present water quality conditions in rivers and streams. Mussels are filter feeders. Their diet includes a variety of microscopic particles (algae, bacteria, and organic particles suspended in water. They feed by inhaling water and passing it over their gills where food items are collected and transported to the mouth. They have a somewhat complicated reproductive cycle, which due to space constraints I will not describe at this time. However two other things worth mentioning about these interesting critters it that it is illegal in most states to collect them in quantity. (Consult the fishing regulations in your state for more information). Also besides being endangered by pollution these animals are subject to illegal poaching by people who sell them to the producers in the orient who cut and use their pearly shells to "seed" oysters in the cultured pearl industry. This activity alone has wiped out massive quantities of many species. Read more on this topic in Audubon Jan.-Feb. 1997 "Mussel Poaching: A New Shell Game". The specimens you see here were collected by permit and no live specimens were taken.

TL Kidney shell, ML Squawfoot, BL Lilliput, TR Hickorynut, BR Wabash pig toe

Purple Pimpleback, Fine-rayed Pocketbook, Painted Elk Toe

Fat Mucket, Cub Shell

Yellow Mucket, Lady Finger

Round Pig Toe, Pistol Grip

Heel Splitter

Hackleback, Maple Leaf

Shell buttons and button cut outs.

Butterflies...

We went to Clear Creek again today in search of butterflies and as usual were not disappointed. The eastern tiger swallowtails were out in force as it was hot and sunny and several summer flower species were just coming into bloom. A worn out male found respite on my forehead and lapped up some sweat. It tickled.

Notes from the Field (Part 1)

I've got twenty years worth of a natural history collection here and there. It's all documented in my field journals but on my to do list is to photograph the items and put them into some semblance of order. Most of my stuff is from Ohio but some items came from my travels to other states too. I will note these where appropriate. When I worked for the parks and did public programming a lot of these items were used for interpretation and educational displays.

First up is my skull collection; all mammal except for one bird skeleton (and bird leg bones) and one turtle skull. Missing at the moment is a beaver skull -but it will turn up eventually and not pictured is a skunk (in poor condition). All of these items were found in their natural setting (usually in the spring) and no animals were harmed in the collection. In fact I should note that everything in my collection was acquired legally and on public land (no trespassing to collect) and all of the items were found while we were just out walking about. The most recent item is the chipmunk skull that I found on the hospital grounds while visiting my dad last week. The animal had died and the skeleton was baked clean by the sun. Following the boy scout motto of always being prepared I had items in my purse which enabled me to collect the poor thing without ado.

Stacks of field notes. Documentation is a very important part of a natural history collection. I record the location, the date, and the weather along with other pertinent details. Some of my field notes are on scrapes of paper and napkins from restaurants along the way. Photographs can be taken when collecting is not possible such as with a live specimen or rare plant or bird to document or voucher the sighting.

Opossum

Mouse

Porcupine (Michigan)
Ground hog

Cottontail Rabbit

Raccoon

Shrew

Mole

Mink

Fox

Chipmunk
deer

Snapping turtle


Banded bird ( I reported the info on the bands to the proper agency when these were found and somewhere in my files is a letter I received with the history of the bird).
Ring-billed gull (Michigan) I found the entire skeleton along with the hook and line that evidently caused it birds demise.

DeLoy Robert's Animal Skull Identification
(one of the best reference sites I have seen)