Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

I received a great email from one of our members in Leesburg about a bluebird nest they’d been watching at their house.  Wanted to share it with you here:

From Betty:

How often does one see a bluebird hatching in a natural setting?  

Luck!!  For some reason, Bill decided to check on our deck rafter bluebird eggs.  We witnessed a hatching!  It’s hard describe the joy of watching this baby bird struggling out of his shell.  Next day 3 had hatched…one to go.

Thank you Bill for the great photos!

Friends, it’s sad news for our local bats.  I received an email update from Bat Conservation International (BCI) last week and I wanted to share it along with some links with you here.

When I first moved to Loudoun, we had bats flying through our yard every summer night. I bought a bat detector so I could hear their echolocation and it was marvelous!  Now when I go outside to listen for the bats it’s radio silence – reminiscent of the folks trying to search for life on other planets, listening to nothing more than the hiss of the atmosphere. 

I hope we’ll see the return of the bats in our lifetime.  Here’s the information from BCI:

“As Bat Conservation International continues our fight against White-nose Syndrome, research being published in the journal Science predicts the outcome we feared: regional extinctions.

The study forecasts that the little brown myotis, until now one of our most common species and one that is often seen roosting in barns, old buildings and attics, could be reduced to barely 1 percent of its current population in northeastern states within two decades.”

Learn more about bats, white nose syndrome and what you can do to help our bats:
Latest news: http://batcon.org/index.php/what-we-do/white-nose-syndrome.html
BCI email newsletter: http://www.batcon.org/index.php/media-and-info/e-newsletter.html 
BCI Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bat-Conservation-International/144437204518?ref=ts 

Spread the news about the bats so more people are aware of what is happening and what we are losing. If you encounter people looking to exclude bats from buildings, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy has developed some resources that can help both educate people on the situation and enable them to act humanely. BCI and Bat World are also fantastic resources. In times like these, we need to do everything we can to help bats, and part of that is learning to live with and appreciate them.

So, last Saturday we were at a picnic in Round Hill celebrating the nuptials of two dear friends.  As we stood in the field sipping lemonade at about 5pm, a number of us noticed all these flying insects.  They weren’t biting and were high enough over our heads that no one was bothered by them. So, we continued with our chats, hoped for some bats to come through and put on a show, and soon forgot about the insects.

The next day, I received an email through our Loudoun Widlife Conservancy yahoo group from Jim W asking if anyone knew about some insects that emerged around 4pm also in Round Hill. He wrote:

“we noticed hundreds of flying insects all throughout our yard, flying near the ground or as high as 10-20 feet above the ground. As we walked into our grass, we noticed lots (hundreds if not thousands) of mounds of ants (we think they were ants), as well as larger insects with wings among the ants. These clusters of ants and insects were everywhere it seemed. The winged insects among the ants were the ones that were flying around. We needed to leave, and when we got back home about 6:30, everything was gone.”

Then, we heard that another member, Beth A., had the same experience in Lovettsville, also on Saturday afternoon.

Curious, we called in the experts (Cliff Fairweather, Phil Daley, Joe Coleman) and inquired.

Cliff responded back with the answer to our mystery of what insects they were:

“I’m sure Phil has already answered the question, but the phenomenon Jim reported was the emergence of reproductive forms of ants. During most of the year, a queen ant produces sterile, flightless workers, but from time-to-time she produces a generation of flighted males and females that disperse in swarms and, if they survive, mate. The males die soon after mating and the females lose their wings. Like other social hymenoptera, fertilized females go on to found new colonies, assuming they survive and find a suitable colony site.”

Jim posted a photo on our yahoo group page for anyone interested: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/loudounwildlife/

Did anyone else notice this occurrance?

This just in from Monarch Watch (see report below). It will be interesting to see what we find through our butterfly count this Saturday and compare it to previous years. I’ve only had a couple of encounters with Monarchs this year and I’ve been looking!  Our intern, Erin Snook, took this great shot of a Monarch caterpillar at Banshee earlier this season.

Status of the Population

The 2009-2010 overwintering monarch population in Mexico covered a forest area of only 1.92 hectares. This figure represents an all time low for overwintering monarchs and is well below the long-term average of 7.44 hectares (1994-2010).

We worried about these low numbers because of the possibility that a devastating storm could drive the population even lower. And then it happenedŠa storm of the worst possible dimensions hit the overwintering area starting on 2 February.

Accounts of the flooding and landslides can be found on the Monarch Watch Blog at

http://monarchwatch.org/blog/category/mexico/

Attempts to find out how the monarchs fared following these winter storms were unsatisfactory. We estimated that at least 50% of the monarchs died during the winter months, recognizing that this value could have been low.

Fortunately, the conditions encountered by the monarchs that reached Texas were favorable. The result, in spite of the low number of returning monarchs, was a substantial first generation.

These butterflies colonized much of the northern breeding area from late April to mid-June.

It appears that the monarchs are making a modest recovery and we expect the overwintering population will measure close to 3 hectares.

For a more detailed status and updates throughout the season please visit the Monarch Watch Blog at http://monarchwatch.org/blog/

Dave Thomas had a wonderful experience this past spring and was kind enough to write up his observations for us here. I’ll include a few of the photos in this post but will put the full album of the 20 photos on our Facebook Album. It’s a wonderful visual chronology!

Red-shouldered Hawks Nesting at Lansdowne, March — June, 2010, by Dave Thomas

In February, a few residents of our condominium in Lansdowne (part of Leisure World of Virginia) noticed a pair of hawks being very active around a tall oak tree behind the rear parking area of our 11-story building.  For those who know the area, the oak is less than 100 yards from the property boundary with our neighbor, Landsowne Resort.

The hawks took over a squirrel’s nest nicely located at a large tree fork opposite the ninth floor. They then greatly enlarged the nest and drove off squirrels that occasionally came back to look.

During March the pair evidently mated and settled in.  Even before the trees leafed out, however, the interior of the nest was impossible to view, so we could not be sure when and how many eggs were laid.  Much later, it became clear that one young hawk was being raised.

The twenty photographs and captions capture a fragmentary “natural history” of the story as it unfolded.  Even though the photography was difficult, and still distant despite a good telephoto lens, it was a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for us.

The photographs are selected from well over 1000, most of them sequences at six frames per second to capture fleeting moments. 

For example, the snake was visible in successive photos both approaching the nest and being fed to the young hawk. Unfortunately, sharp focus is often difficult to achieve, but the events were faithfully recorded.

I thank many neighbors who watched developments carefully and kept me informed, and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy members who identified the hawk species and nesting behavior.  Finally, I have greater awe than then ever of the remarkable work done by dedicated and talented nature photographers. –Dave Thomas

Dave Thomas has been at it again, getting some amazing hawk photos and once again, these were taken right from his balcony (lucky duck!)

The hawk here is a Red-Shouldered Hawk and you can see it coming into the nest and sitting on it.  We can’t wait to see the eggs and young in coming weeks – what a great nature story playing out outside Dave’s home!

Mary Lopresti put together a great article on the Northern Water Snake for us – They can often be seen in rivers and streams through Loudoun – so don’t be afraid, just watch and enjoy - they’re pretty cool snakes!

The Northern Water Snake
by Mary Lopresti

Sharing winter dens with copperheads, black rat snakes, muskrats and even beavers, water snakes emerge from their watery lairs in March or late April.  As the heavy February snowfalls melt, the ponds, tidal creeks, marshes, and other bodies of water replenish and create the ideal habitat for a water snake.  Water snakes are active during the day and night.  When they are not hunting or hiding among plants on the water’s edge, the snake can be found basking in the sun on rocks, stumps, brush or in trees above water.  Like all snakes, water snakes can climb.  If startled while sunning itself in a tree, the snake will drop to the water. 

Virginia’s most common water snake, found in all counties, is the Northern Water Snake.  This large non-venomous snake is often mistaken for the copper head or cottonmouth snake (water moccasin), due to the similarities in their body markings.  The Northern Water Snake’s colors vary from brown, gray, reddish or brownish-black with cross bands on their necks and dark blotches on the rest of their body.  Their bellies can be white, yellow or gray with reddish or black irregularly shaped blotches.  As a water snake matures, its markings become darker and less distinct.  These snakes live only seven to eight years and typically grow up to four or five feet long.  

Water snakes are live bearers, meaning that the eggs hatch inside of the female snake.  After mating in April or June, anywhere from 30 to 70 baby snakes can be born at once.  The mother snakes do not care for their young, so after birth in late August to early October, the baby snakes are on their own. 

Water snakes are excellent swimmers whether they are on the water’s surface or submerged.  They prey on fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, turtles, small birds, and mammals.  In turn, they are prey to many different types of wildlife, such as: birds, raccoons, opossums, foxes, snapping turtles, bullfrogs and other snakes. 

These snakes have a bad temperament and will defend themselves viciously.  If provoked, the water snake will bite its enemy; it could also release scat or musk or even regurgitate its last meal.  If you encounter a water snake or any snake on an outdoor hike, do not handle it!  More than 80% of snakebites occur when a person is trying to kill or handle a snake.  Your best defense to avoid a bite is to stay calm and slowly back away from it. 

As with any wild animal, observe them from a safe distance.  Be aware of the impact that you are making on the environment, while enjoying your time outdoors.

Sources:
www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/watersnakes.htm
www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/?s=030034//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Water_Snake
www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/northern_water_snake.htm

So how do they do it?  These tiny little birds flying thousands of miles from wintering grounds in Central America back to North America?

Take a look around your yard – see any of those bright red flowers blooming yet? Nope, not for awhile still. What about little insects to glean?  Well, there are a few but they may be few and far between right now.

So how do our hummingbirds get enough food to make their annual migration back north?

Well, there’s this great relationship between our Ruby-throated Hummingbird and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that is just amazing – and it points out how interdependent we are and how timing is so important.

Some of us started to see yellow-bellied sapsuckers here in Loudoun about a week ago.  Their migration starts a little bit before the Ruby-throated hummingbird. 

But why are the sapsuckers starting to head north as such a time?  Because the trees are waking up and sap is starting to run!

The Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are migrating northward, making wells in trees to sip sap from.  As this happens, tiny insects are attracted to the sweet sticky substance and get trapped there and sap seeps from the wells. 

Next on the scene….our Ruby-throated hummingbirds! Following fast on the heels of the sapsuckers, our hummingbirds head north, checking out these sap wells, sipping the sweet nectar and gobbling up insects that are stuck in them.

Check the latest migration maps on the Journey North website – see where our Ruby-throated hummingbirds are now.  I bet you’ll be surprised at how far they’ve gone in just a week!  Hope you have those feeders up

Beavers are great members of the wild kingdom – they play such a critical role in our ecosystem, helping develop and maintain wetlands which serve as some of the richest habitats in our area.

I recently received the latest issue of Beaversprite – the newsletter prepared by a great organization called Beavers Wetlands and Wildlife, and in it they talked about International Beaver Day and some ideas on how to celebrate our wetland engineers:

“International Beaver Day on April 7 celebrates the “keepers of the streams.” It is a great time to hike to a beaver pond, read a beaver book, attend or give a beaver program and write a letter to the editor about these amazing animals. Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife has beaver brochures and other materials available about this keystone species and ways to coexist with the animal that restores our land’s best life support system.”

There’s a beaver pond over at Banshee Reeks Nature Preseve in Leesburg – not sure if the beavers are active there this year but it’s worth a check. 

Check out this latest issue of Beaversprite as well as the Beavers Wetlands and Wildlife website to learn more about living well with Beavers. They’re really cool friends.

As you may recall from my post last year, April is National Frog Month!  While we may laugh at how there seems to be a month or day for every cause, I get excited about a few of them and Frog Month certainly is one of those.

Of course, our season for big amphibian activity really starts up in March and goes through at least July but we’ll take April as a good time to focus in on frogs.

Here are a few ideas for things to do in celebration and appreciation of our frogs (and other amphibians) this month:

- Clean up litter around a wetland – For some reason, it’s been pushed into our psyches that streams, ponds and other waterways are a good place to dump trash. You see old refrigerators, tires, litter and all sorts of other things getting dumped in these sensitive areas. Cleaning up one of these place not only helps get rid of the pollution but also helps change that psyche. A place that has trash is more likely to get more of it. Cleaning up a location shows that someone cares about it.

- Build a frog pond – We have a great set of articles on building a backyard pond. Backyard ponds don’t have to be very large to attract visitors either so this can be lots of fun in all sorts of places.  Just don’t be tempted to buy tadpoles….be patient and your local neighborhood frogs and toads will find it.  And no fish please.

- Learn the frog calls and try your hand at identifying them – Frogs call primarily in the spring to both establish territories and attract mates so this is a great time of year to learn their calls. Through our amphibian monitoring program, volunteers receive an id guide as well as a cd so if you really get interested in frogs (and toads and salamanders) consider signing up but in the meantime, you can find calls on the Virginia Herpetological Society’s website.

- Join us for Frog Walk – while our April walk is already full, we’ll be doing more walks through the late spring and summer. Check our calendar for details.

- Learn about the Frogs and Toads of Loudoun – We had an article in the Habitat Herald awhile back specifically on the species of Frogs, Toads and Salamanders that we have here in Loudoun.  You can read through that article and then have some fun with our Frogs and Toads crossword puzzle.