Cuddlin' in Cleveland

Our North Coast- Cleveland, Ohio- has been rocking the news all across the state with the new opening of the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.  Today my daughter sent a photo of a couple of baby gators cuddlin' under the heat lamp.  I intend to see them in person later in this week.  That will make me feel a bit better about missing the Space Coast Birding Festival this year!  Hey Florida friends- we got gators too!

Brr, it is cold in Cleveland! 

These cuddle bums are still babies, about 3 months old. American Alligators, commonly called gators, grow

about a foot a year. Gators max out around 16 ft, but are usually less than 10 feet.  If you get close enough, and take a good looky at their smile you can tell these are gators, not crocodiles.  Gators have a more rounded snout and their teeth fit nicely in the mouth. Crocs have gnarly teeth hanging out all over the place. Florida is the only place you can find both, although alligators prefer brackish water.

A big shout out to my daughter, JJ, for the photo from the new aquarium and congratulation to her for landing a job as a biologist/aquarist back home in Ohio.  It is nice to have her back after stints in Miami and Philadelphia.  I am looking forward to the full tour at her new job.  More photos to come!

Cawing all Crows

Everyone respects the intelligence and resourcefulness of a crow.  Some people just don't know it yet.  It is not their fault; they just didn't understand the mystique of the bird, until now.

 In an effort to enhance the American Crows' standing in Mansfield, Gorman Nature Center and Greater Mohican Audubon dreamed up an educational experience to banish all the ignorance surrounding crows.

          The first sampling of 45 Richland County folks to be inoculated with "crow love." 

Steve McKee offered a program about the winter roosting habits of our American Crows, starting with their collective name.  A group of crows is called a "murder".  How cool is that?  Mansfield is one of the mid-sized cities to be blessed with a mega-murder winter roost in Ohio.  This year it was estimated to number 30,000+ crows.

Why do crows roost together in the winter?  For protection and security, perhaps even for heat.  Urban areas offer a bit of ambient light and warmth. Crows gather at night, wary against their main predator- the Great Horned Owl.  To learn much more about crows, click on this Cornell "crowfacts" link which is filled with fabulous information.

 After the program, Steve lead the attendees out into Mansfield for a wild car chase- in search of crows! Irene is smiling just to have survived long enough to tell the tale!

The crow-active crowd gathers on the street.  Passers-by ask, "What's the excitement about?"

 INCOMING CROWS!

The wing beats and cawing of a thousand crows is a breath-taking sight.  The bats in Texas or Sandhill Cranes in Bosque del Apache have nothing on our Mansfield Murder.

Jan Ferrel and the JNATS (Junior Naturalists) are all over it!

As the birds settle in for the night, we mid-Ohioans counted ourselves lucky and rich in crows.




And what is the "plus" of a winter crow roost?  Besides the sight of a natural history wonder, and the resonating "coos" of a late night roost, crows do great community service.  They are the ultimate recyclers.  When the Turkey Vultures take off for the winter to seek more temperate climes, the crows remain.

Who removes the dead 'possums from the roads?  Crows do.  Who eats thousands of rodents and snakes? Crows do.  And if you stop to wonder what our world would look like with no "recyclers"  to do our dirty work, consider the crow.  And you will become a fan too.


Maybe they need a Facebook page.

Mohican John's River

Mohican's Covered Bridge is an icon of the natural areas in my parts.  And as many times I have been there in the last 6 years, it always offers something new.

Recently, the tale of "Mohican John" was unfolded to me.  The first surveyors encountered him on the river, and the rest is history.  Or at least frequently told folklore.

But the real story of  Mohican revolves around the water.  Water that trickles through the sandstone and  forms rivulets coursing down to the river.  Water that nourishes spring wild flowers and fruit along the riverine corridor.

Flowering Raspberries grow near the covered bridge,  enlarged, soft purple flowers that far surpass the beauty of most members of the Rubus family. 

                              The water flows cold and free.        

                      The fish are (almost) fearless.

And hemlock line the trails, giving shade to the hikers and creating habitat for Winter Wrens.

The waters of the Mohican are pristine and pure.  It is one of Ohio's Scenic Rivers.  And those of us who live here feel it is important to keep it that way.

Thinking about...

It is a dreary day in mid-Ohio, our six inches of snow has melted into standing water and soggy lawn.  But have no fear!  We are reaching in to the grab-bag of photos I have been using to build some power-point programs I'll be giving in a month or so.  

  So prepare yourself for some sunshine from the Buckeye  State!

A Common Buckeye butterfly on Riddell's Goldenrod.

The pugnacious attitude and beautiful color-spots on the buckeye has always made it a special butterfly for me.  As a child, it was a real treat when we found them in the mid-late summer. But they were not guaranteed every year. I suspect they are more commonly found in the last decade, as the numbers of many southern migratory butterflies are on the rise.  

Don't think that is an indicator of climate change?  Try taking that up with the Buckeyes.

Buckeye Caterpillars- Ah, what could be cuter than baby pictures?!  These are baby buckeyes in the making.  And if you are having a hard time thinking that caterpillars are your "thing," think of them as butterflies or bird food.  Or, biodiversity.

Nature doesn't live in a vacuum.  We don't get to pick and choose.  Just as we can't have kittens without cats, we can't have butterflies without caterpillars.  And we won't have birds without caterpillars either, since they are a primary food for growing young birds.  

Hope you will be joining me at one or more of the programs this spring, I look forward to meeting new friends and catching up with nature lovers of all kinds.  Check the side panel for dates and locations of some wonderful gardening and birding events.  

A little birdie told me...

Spring may seem a long way away, but I assure you it will be here in no time. Nature lovers and bird watchers everywhere will soon be celebrating the annual migration of the most spectacular display of miniature rainbows- the neo-tropical warblers.

 Canada Warbler-  photo by Dave Lewis

Winging across the continent on northward flights to their breeding grounds, these tiny birds can catch the imagination of  the winter-worn environmentalist and even the most jaded industrialist alike.   The story is as old as time, and many of us hope to spread the story through tourism and educational programs.  Ohio has a wealth of natural areas, birds, trees, flowers and insects that need our attention and protection.

The future world would be a better place if we started to cater to the needs of these species, as many are bioindicators.  When life here on earth is no longer suitable for them, it will not be long until it will not be suitable for humans either.

 Blackburnian Warbler- photo by Dave Lewis.

To get the complete spring experience, one will want to start in Shawnee Forest in southern Ohio  in late April /early May.  Flora-Quest makes it easy for you- our experts guides will take you right to the plants, butterflies and birds you are longing to see. 

Greg Miller will be leading our birding trip, and also a Birding Road Trip for the Biggest Week in American Birding.  If you want to do a full-sweep of warblers in Ohio, you'll want to start with us in Adams and Scioto Counties.

Registration is now open for Flora-Quest and will soon be open for Biggest Week in American Birding.

>Be certain to visit Dave Lewis at Birds from Behind blog and you'll see Ohio's birds from a whole new perspective.