Category Archives: Animal behavior

Facts and observations

Our largest North American woodpecker — a real delight!

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During nesting season, we have a good chance of seeing many birds whom we might not notice otherwise because they’re out in the open, collecting nesting material and scrounging for as much food as possible because they have hungry mouths to feed. I was very grateful to my friend Carol when she told me about a pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) nest where the babies might be fledging soon. Pileated woodpeckers are also nesting somewhere near my home, but I rarely see them.

When we arrived at the nesting site, one baby was poking its head out of the oblong nest hole about two-thirds the way up a very tall snag.

 

Above it, a red-headed woodpecker (see right) was maintaining a nest. A red-bellied woodpecker was also visiting higher up.

While we watched, the young one continued scanning the skies while calling out to its parents. The baby persisted in watching from the nest, which was only lined with wood chips. Unlike other birds, pileated parents do not line their nests with nesting material such as soft grasses.

 

 

Occasionally, the parents answered and, after about 15-20 minutes, one flew over to check us out. It was the father, who could be identified by his red crest that extended down to his bill and the red cheek or moustache stripe (right photo). The left photo shows a female who was foraging in a tree on another occasion. Her red crest is only on top of her head and her cheek stripe is black.

  

The young one looked back into the nest; I wondered whether another nestling might be there. No one else peered out at that moment and we speculated as to whether one might already have fledged as two had been seen the previous day. When the father visited the nest, still only one baby showed itself, so we didn’t know whether there might be another one around (nests usually have 1-3 babies).

 

The father fed his offspring by regurgitating whatever he had been eating. The pileated woodpeckers’ diet comprises mostly carpenter ants (40-97% of their diet in various studies), supplemented by other insects including worms, caterpillars, roaches, flies, and grasshoppers.

   

They also eat nuts and wild fruit. If you have a garden and want to attract them, they like persimmons and many berries, including those of poison ivy, sumacs, dogwoods, elderberries, greenbriers and sassafrass.  

Many landowners tend to clear their yards and gardens of fallen logs and dead standing trees. I keep several woodpiles in various spots as the decomposing wood is home to many of the insects that the pileated woodpeckers and other birds need for their diet.

Papa took off again, leaving a satisfied young one behind (at least for the time being).

These woodpeckers are the largest in North America (15.8-19.3 in/40-49 cm), since the ivory-billed woodpeckers have been declared extinct. They are monogamous and luckily have plenty of opportunities to find mates. Pileated woodpeckers had been in serious decline in the 18th-19th centuries as forests were logged for the timber industry and to clear land for ranches and farms. Since then, they have rebounded to just over 2.5 million individuals.

I realized when I looked at my photos later that I had not been paying enough attention to the coloring of the parents and offspring. When I went away for a short time and then returned, mama pileated was visiting the nest. In addition, whereas I had been watching a female nestling first, now a male baby was calling out for food. A view of the two looking up, shows the male’s red cheek stripes were obvious, but I had been oblivious at the time. The female is on the left and the male is on the right.

 

The next time that papa returned, the male offspring stuck his head out for a feeding.

 

Papa didn’t want to play favorites, so he stuck his head in the nest to apparently call them both to come out.

They opened their beaks wide, begging for food.

 

Papa let them ask for a while, sticking his tongue out at them as they begged.

 

He also decided to take out some fecal matter. I don’t know how long the nestlings had been in there (they usually grow in the nest for a month), but a clean nest is desirable.

     

After the babies fledge, they may stay with their parents for up to three months.

   

I’m so glad that Carol and her sister Donna, near whose home the nest is located, invited me to come see the family. It was time well spent as it got my mind completely off an ongoing series of problems complicating my life lately. Hope seeing these photos was also a bright moment for you!

Yellowstone National Park: Part 5. Grizzlies, coyotes and pronghorns – oh my!

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Note: this long posting is likely nicer to see on a laptop than a phone!

During my first spring visit to Yellowstone National Park in 2016, we encountered black bears (Ursus americanus) throughout the national reserve. When a mother bear with her little cubs was spotted, park visitors stopped often to watch the playful young, especially when they were practicing tree climbing.

During my 2022 visit, we did not see black bears but had the good fortune to see quite a few grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis). Some were quite light in color, while others had dark fur. A mama grizzly and her cub were the first mammals we saw (due to my friend Joan’s sharp eyes!) and we must have seen at least one or two every day. (If not a live bear, there were plenty of them featured in artwork in Gardiner.)

Rangers were often present at our sightings or arrived shortly after we did. They mostly warned humans to keep considerable distance from the bears, but we also saw them shooing the bears away from roads when many people were passing by.

(The bears below were shooed back up the hill; the white spots on the photo are snowflakes.)

The “hump” on the grizzlies’ shoulders helped us identify them since black bears lack this feature. Also, when walking on all fours, the grizzly’s rump is lower than its shoulders. The impressive grizzly claws are also much longer than those of black bears.

Sometimes we spotted the grizzlies grazing far away in fields. A few times, we had the good fortune to spot a mother bear with her young cubs.

One mother in particular gave us wonderful views as she wandered about with her triplets. That was lucky for us as grizzlies have one of the lowest reproductive rates of North American terrestrial mammals.

They are not sexually mature before the age of 5 years. After mating in the summer, implantation of the embryo is delayed until the female hibernates. She could miscarry if she does not ingest sufficient calories and nutrients during the summer. She also will not mate again until her cubs have reached three years of age.

One of the most interesting foods that the grizzly bears eat is the adult form of the army cutworm, called the miller moth (Euxoa auxiliaris). This moth has the highest known percentage of body fat of any animal, comprising up to 72% of its body weight! The moths fly from low-lying farmlands to crevices in mountain slide rocks, where the bears go in late summer to dig them out. It’s estimated that a grizzly can eat up to 40,000 moths in a day, thereby ingesting up to 20,000 calories.

One of the grizzlies’ competitors for food, particularly carcasses, are the coyotes (Canis latrans). These beautiful canids are unfortunately detested by many people, as related by Dan Flores in his informative book Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History.

At one point, we saw numerous cars parked along a road and stopped to see what everyone was observing. There was a coyote feeding on a large carcass that had already been partly consumed.

The coyote was engrossed in getting some meat off the bone, which was apparently not an easy task. These canids usually eat deer and smaller prey such as little mammals (rabbits, hares, rodents), birds, reptiles and amphibians, and invertebrates. It was not entirely clear to me what this prey had been.

A fascinating coyote behavior is that they sometimes collaborate with badgers to dig up rodents. They even appear to like these fierce predators as people have seen coyotes licking a badger’s face or laying their heads on the badger’s body. A decorated jar found in Mexico dating back to the years 1250-13oo showed this relationship.

Unfortunately, although the coyote figures prominently in Native American/Indian folklore, the US government has initiated and supported efforts to eradicate the species altogether. From 1947 to 1956, about 6.5 million coyotes were killed in the American West. However, these intelligent animals have managed to survive and eventually spread to the eastern United States (where they are now again unfortunately detested by considerable numbers of people).

In Yellowstone, the larger ungulates on which the predators such as bears, coyotes and wolves feed include elk and moose. As mentioned in a prior blog, elk (Cervus canadensis) can be seen up close in Gardiner, the town at Yellowstone’s northern entrance, where they wander through the streets and rest in people’s yards. A more melodious name for them is wapiti, used by the Shawnee and Cree peoples. It refers to the animal’s white rump.

To me, the elk appeared quite large but they “only” measure about 4-5 feet in height. The males’ antlers can grow up another 4 feet, however, giving them a much taller appearance.

The males also have another interesting characteristic — their bugling, which is used to attract mates and mark their territories. This sound is the loudest call of any members of the deer family. The males produce it by roaring and whistling simultaneously!

Because elk prefer colder weather, they are more visible to Yellowstone visitors in the late autumn, winter and early spring. We saw females and young elk in town and spotted the males out in the valleys. They are very social animals and one of the largest herds (about 11,000 members in 2022) is known as the “Jackson Elk Herd”, which migrates between southern Yellowstone and the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming.

The other large, hoofed animal which we glimpsed one day was a moose (Alces alces). This ungulate is the largest member of the deer family, reaching a height of 6 feet (1.8 m) and a weight of up to 1,000 lb (450 kg).

We saw a male — identifiable by the antlers which were just beginning to grow — as he grazed in a marshy area beside the road.

Besides eating tree and shrub bark, leaves and twigs, they enjoy eating aquatic plants in ponds and streams. This can have a downside for them. Sometimes, they unknowingly eat snails while foraging and the snails can carry parasitic brain worms.

In Gardiner, we also often saw mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). They can be distinguished from white-tailed deer by their large ears, which measure about 75% of the length of their heads!

They also have a white tail with a black tip, while white-tailed deer lack that feature.

I found them to have a sweet face.

The final ungulate that we had the pleasure to see at Yellowstone were the fast-footed pronghorn antelopes (Antilocarpa americana).

These small-hoofed creatures are not as fast as cheetahs but can sustain their speedy gait for a longer period of time, reaching speeds of up to 60 mph.

The pronghorns not only travel rapidly; they also may travel for long distances. During the winter of 2011, monitoring of a pronghorn herd showed that they had achieved the longest terrestrial migration in the continental USA (not counting Alaska).

While both sexes have horns, those of the female pronghorns are mere bumps, while the males display unique backward-pointing horns that grow up to 12 inches long. (The one grazing below had impressions in the fur on its back that looked like claw marks to me!)

According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service of Montana, “Pronghorns existed in North America at the same time as predators like the dire wolf, saber-toothed cat, and American cheetah, all of which are long extinct. Scientists believe the pronghorn’s excellent vision and extreme fleetness are adaptations to survive these super predators.”

It’s fascinating that so many of the animals living in Yellowstone National Park have been in this area for thousands of years. An upcoming blog will feature smaller mammals after taking another visit to thermal attractions in the park. Before that, I’ll post a couple blogs about some of the wildlife I’m seeing here at home. 😊

Yellowstone National Park: Part 4. An unplanned and unexpected encounter!

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As my friend Joan and I traveled through Yellowstone, we saw bison everywhere, in herds, small groups and sometimes in pairs or alone. Quite often this was on the road, so that we needed to be aware it might take us longer than planned to get to a particular place.

The many reports of human-bison encounters which I had seen and read about over the years made me quite aware of how dangerous it can be for a person to come close to a bison. They are huge animals – adults weighing between 1,200-2,000 pounds and standing 4-6 feet tall. If provoked or alarmed, they can be quite dangerous.

I was not above making derogatory comments about how thoughtless people took risks when they approached bison. For example, one day we stopped along a road and watched bison crossing the Yellowstone River, swimming with difficulty against the rapid currents.

Some park visitors had stopped down the road and a couple got out and descended into the valley, headed for the river. They apparently were hoping to get some close-up photos and I made some disparaging remarks about how they were taking unnecessary risks and should turn around.

A few days later, however, I discovered that not all encounters are the result of thoughtlessness.

Joan and I had stopped at a valley overlook where Park authorities had laid out a walking trail. It was a good distance from any hills and several people were out hiking the trail. As we both like to walk, we decided to go down to the trail as well.

As Joan walks faster than me and because I stop often to photograph, she went on ahead. I meandered along taking photos of plants, birds and what I thought were prairie dogs, but which were likely Uinta ground squirrels. There were some bison far down the valley, but they were mostly heading up into the hills, so we felt ok walking on the trail.

After a while, I was nearing the river and wanted to photograph some green-winged teal. As I approached their spot, Joan came walking back to my surprise. I’d thought she would go on for a while, but she said some people ahead of her were following the trail as it ascended a hill, and they were not that far from some bison. She didn’t want to be around any mammal-people encounters so she decided to return. I said I’d come back when I had photographed the ducks.

The sun was shining nicely and the teal were swimming back and forth. I checked my vicinity and saw no people or animals; the rodents had gone into their dens.

As I stood taking pictures, I suddenly heard a soft sound behind me, kind of like a grunt or snort. I slowly turned right with my camera still held up to my face and found myself facing a small group of bison with the lead male watching me from some yards away.

This is not the bison that faced me: I was not taking photos or making any noise at this point!

Joan had been watching from above the valley at the parking place along with a couple other people. She’d seen the bison come up over a hill and walk toward me, but she was too far away to let me know. I never heard them – or smelled them as the wind was blowing in their direction.

Not the bison who was examining me!

Joan considered calling 911 but phone coverage can be spotty. She also briefly thought about how to get medical help if something happened but hoped a ranger would come quickly as they did seem to magically appear all over the park when needed. We saw them often when groups of people stopped at roadsides.

Again – not the bison who was examining me!

In the meantime, I quickly considered my options. I can’t run; even if I could, it would be useless as bison have been clocked at 40-45 mph (65-70 km/h). I knew enough not to challenge the bison in any way, quickly looking away so I wasn’t gazing into the male leader’s eyes. I kept the camera with its long lens up in front of my face. Slowly, I pivoted back left towards the direction of the river, facing away from the bison. Then I stood completely motionless (camera still up in front of my face). I don’t know how long I stood there but at some point, I heard movement further away to my right and dared a look. The bison leader and his group had decided that I posed no threat and they had moved on down the valley.

I waited, still standing stock still, until they were a good distance away. I had to take a couple photos of the – now far off – group and then began walking as quickly as I could manage down the return path.

Photo heavily cropped; they were very distant!

My feelings were mixed: shock at what had happened, relief that I had known what to do in order not to provoke the bison, and elation that I had survived the close encounter unscathed. It also taught me that not all human-bison encounters are the result of complete stupidity – I was on a path laid out for visitors, there had been no bison nearby when we began walking, several other people had been on the trail and so I hadn’t suspected anything could happen. I likely won’t hike any paths at the park again if bison are in sight, even far away.

I continue to be in awe of the magnificent bison. I’m glad my love of wildlife and instincts helped me through a safe encounter and this will certainly be one of my most vivid travel memories. And I’ll continue to be as careful and watchful as I can when I go out into nature.

Yellowstone National Park: Part 3. Red dog at play!

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When I visited Yellowstone in 2016, seeing the American baby bison at play was one of my favorite sightings; I was certainly looking forward to seeing them again in May 2022. They did not disappoint; the first group of bison (Bison bison) that stopped us on the road on Day 1 included a good number of babies.

During our week’s stay in Yellowstone, the weather was very changeable. On one and the same day, we would have snow flurries, cold winds and hours of bright sunshine and balmy warmth leading us to shed warm jackets. That didn’t stop us from seeing bison everywhere though.

As you drive through Yellowstone, your progress is often slowed down or stopped as herds of bison take over the roads. They have the right of way, so cars need to stop as the group walks around the parked vehicles. People are not allowed to get out as the protective parents could seriously harm anyone nearby.

Sitting in your stopped car does give you a good look at the molting adults and cute youngsters as they pass by your window, sometimes within a couple of feet.

Bison are the largest mammals in the USA. They were designated the country’s National Mammal on 9 May 2016 through the National Bison Legacy Act.

They literally go everywhere. When we walked through thermal areas, we often saw bison “patties” lying about.

When I asked a ranger how they could traverse the hot springs, she said that their hooves can withstand the heat; in some areas, their thick fur even shields them and they lie down to rest in the warmth for a while. However, rangers have seen some with burns on their legs.

Bison patties are also left in grasslands, hillsides and forests. I don’t recall seeing many on roads, however.

Most calves are born in late April and May. They can stand within an hour of birth and begin walking soon thereafter. It doesn’t take long at all for them to become rather independent even though their mothers care for them for about a year.

Apart from their obvious small size, the baby bison are notable for their reddish coloring; their fur will turn adult brown during their first mid-winter. When they are about 2 months of age, the characteristic shoulder humps begin to emerge.

The babies can be extremely playful; their relatively small size enables them to run and jump in seeming jubilance, leading to the nickname “red dogs”.

Perhaps it was the climatic circumstances, but we didn’t see as many playful red dogs as I’d seen in 2016. One youngster did give us a sample of youthful exuberance, however, running, jumping and generally exuding joy.

I did learn this year that Yellowstone’s bison are quite unique. The Park is the only place with bison that are direct descendants (without cattle genes) of the millions of early bison that roamed the area in prehistoric times.

By the late 1800s, only a few hundred bison remained, having been hunted to near-extinction and deprived of needed habitat. Then, by 1902, poachers had reduced Yellowstone’s herd to only about two dozen animals.

Today, their Yellowstone population varies from 2,300 to 5,500 animals and there are groups at other National Parks as well. The Native American Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council collaborates with the National Park Service to transfer bison from national parks to tribal lands.

It’s so fortunate that strides have been made in preserving these iconic animals for us to see in person. And dedicated people are providing resources for people who want to learn more about bison: https://allaboutbison.com/

Adorable anoles — lizards with moods!

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Hello, readers — it’s been a while! Time seems to be passing ever faster for me with each new year of life. I was surprised to realize that it’s been a couple months since I posted a blog. So here is a column that I just submitted to a local newspaper with a few more photos than the paper could accommodate.

One of my favorite local reptiles is the Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis). These cute lizards can be seen year-round since they don’t hibernate. In my experience, however, they seem to be more active — or at least viewable — in late summer and early autumn.

Also known as green anoles, they are the only anoles native to the southeastern United States. Green is nevertheless not their only color. You may encounter dark brown, light brown and green/brown anoles and they might even change their coloring as you watch them.

Unlike chameleons, who change color to blend in with their surroundings so that they can hide more easily from predators, anoles mainly change their skin hues in response to stress or their mood, when they are active or when they want to defend a territory. Darker colors may indicate that they are feeling cold or stressed out.

Sometimes when I’ve watched individuals at length, it’s seemed to me as if they were expressing a variety of moods, even if they didn’t change color.

  

 

Full-grown males are larger than females, but you can also guess their sex based on anatomical features. When males hope to attract a female for mating, they display a brightly colored reddish flap underneath their jaws called a dewlap. When a female sees it, this may induce her to ovulate. Males also show their dewlaps when defending territory against other males.

   

Female anoles can often be distinguished by a row of white markings along their spine, which most males lack.

Like other lizards, anoles regularly shed their skin. Observation last year taught me that they may also eat that skin since this provides them with extra nutrients that may be lacking in their direct environment.

 

Their regular diet is varied, including flies, beetles, spiders, cockroaches, worms, ants, termites, moths and butterflies. Seeds and grains can form part of their meals as well.

    

Carolina anoles are known as arboreal lizards because they spend a lot of time in trees and shrubs. From a higher perch, they can survey their surroundings. Climbing up shrubs and trees can also help them escape from predators who cannot follow them because they lack the sticky foot pads that enable anoles to ascend vertically. Other predators, such as tree snakes and larger lizards, can catch them if they are quick.

 

Sometimes, a predator may catch a green anole by the tail and the anole escapes by dropping its tail—a defensive behavior known as caudal autotomy. A new tail will grow but will be weaker as it contains cartilage instead of bone and often will not be as long.

 

Recently, I learned that birds also hunt anoles when I photographed a blue jay who had caught one. Other birds in our area who go after them include kestrels and bluebirds.

 

The Carolina anoles usually live from about 2 to 8 years. A few who live around my front porch sometimes approach me closely and it’s noticeable that they are watching me, too.

  

Another one decided that an unused bluebird nest box was a good place to hide from predators, obviously not during birds’ nesting season!

It’s been so nice to see the anoles out and about the past weeks. Tonight, we’re having our first freeze of the 2022 autumn/winter season so the anoles may start seeking warm places to hang out. Hopefully, they will have found good places to over-winter.

Readers in the southeast USA who would like information on how to create habitats that can harbor anoles and other native reptiles and amphibians can check out this information site: Reptiles and Amphibians in Your Backyard.

  

My next blog will be the first of a series about Yellowstone National Park. I’d originally planned to post the series this past summer but then couldn’t find some photos I’d taken. The missing card “turned up,” so a photographic tour of the park before it flooded this past June will soon commence.

Have a great day!