Katie Says: When it comes to wildlife, let it be!

In most cases, we are told that it is our duty as a part of society to act when we see something wrong. If we see a robbery in progress, we call the police to come and intervene. If we see someone in danger, those that step in are heralded as heroes. But when it comes to wildlife, our first instinct to intervene may not always be the best. Such was the case yesterday when I witnessed a bald-faced hornet kill and devour a red-spotted purple butterfly.

I noticed the butterfly flopping on the ground, and instinctively picked it up to see what was wrong and to put the butterfly on a nearby leaf. It was then that I noticed the bald-faced hornet latched on to its victim, using its jaws and stinger to try to subdue the red-spotted purple. Not wanting to be stung by a rather worked up hornet, I dropped the pair onto the ground. Part of me wanted to intervene; pry the hornet off of the butterfly to save the beautiful insect, but then I realized that the hornet needed to eat too and that I should instead appreciate the incredible opportunity to watch a hornet eat what literally lay before me.

In a gruesome act that seemed to come right out of a mobster movie, the hornet first removed the butterfly’s proboscis (tongue). Next came the head, which ended the butterfly’s suffering. I had predicted that the butterfly’s wings would naturally come next, but instead, the hornet removed the four hind legs of the butterfly, noisily chewing all the while. Finally, the hornet removed the thorax (the middle of the body) from the abdomen and the wings and flew off noisily with its bounty clutched between its legs.

Yes, it may have been a bit unnerving to watch a butterfly being eaten alive by a fierce predator, but what an opportunity, too! To witness the strength and deliberate actions of the hornet was something I will never forget. I may have felt badly for the butterfly who lost its life, but at the same time, I am glad that I did not intervene so that I could share in the hornet’s victory. Have a question or a story of your own to share? Post a comment below; it’s free and you don’t have to create an account!

Katie Says: Did you know…?

…that some species of flowers only open at night? These flowers were designed to attract moths, bats and other nocturnal animals as their pollinators, which are not active during the day.

…that not all fireflies are nocturnal? There are diurnal (active during the day) species that look just like any other firefly, except they lack the yellow, glowing abdomen. They also have longer, fuzzier antennae, a sign that these daytime fireflies rely on chemical signals from their mates, and not blinking, glowing ones.

…that snakes cannot blink? If you ever see a legless reptile blink at you, you’ll know you’re looking not at a snake, but at a species of legless lizard, found in the southeastern United States.

…that daddy long legs are not spiders? Although they are a kind of arachnid (along with mites, scorpions and ticks), they are not spiders. Daddy long legs cannot produce silk, have only two eyes instead of eight and have only one body segment instead of two. And in case you’re wondering, yes, daddy long legs can bite, but contrary to the myth, their venom is quite weak.

…that the barn owl can eat more mice in one year than ten cats combined? In parts of the country where the barn owl is common, farmers put up owl nest boxes around their crops to attract these magnificent mouse munchers!

…that Briar Bush is starting a brand new series of nighttime programs called “Hot S’more Nights”? It’s true! Each Thursday night in July, Briar Bush educators will lead fun and exciting programs to teach about the nighttime side of the Briar Bush woods. Want to learn more? Call Briar Bush at 215-887-6603 or be on the lookout for the next Briar Flyer!

Katie Says: Babies, babies, everywhere!

Everywhere you look; there are babies at Briar Bush! Some are obvious, looking different from the adults or those that are still reliant on their parents for food, and some that achieve independence early in life are less apparent.

It doesn’t take long once you’ve arrived at the Briar Bush pond to notice that the water is practically bubbling with tadpoles. Green frogs (which is the true species name and not just a description) of every life stage can be found in the pond, from legless tadpoles to the giant, bullfrog-like adults. What I think is most fascinating about the life cycle of the green frog is that it takes two years for the tadpoles to complete their metamorphosis into their adult form. They spend the winter snuggled beneath a mud blanket at the bottom of the pond, much like their legged elders.

Common grackle fledglings are also taking Briar Bush by storm! Rather than being colored black with beautiful iridescent feathers on the neck and head like the adults, juvenile common grackles are a matte blackish-brown. They are also easy to spot as they mercilessly follow their parents around, constantly squawking to be fed. I had to laugh this week as I saw a young grackle at the bird observatory, begging to be fed while standing atop a pile of sunflower seeds. When not at the bird observatory, the grackles love to flick and throw dried leaves on the ground outside of my office window in the hopes of finding a tasty insect to eat.

If you’ve been to Briar Bush recently and are thinking that there are an unusually high number of chipmunks here in our woods, you’re exactly right; what you’re seeing is a whole forest full of young chipmunks. Young chipmunks don’t emerge from their underground burrow until they are almost fully matured and independent, so by the time we see them above ground, they blend right in with the adults. The next time you’re out on the trails, count how many chipmunks you see or hear and let me know your tally by posting a comment below!

BOA

It is always sad when we lose one of our resident education animals but many of us had a very strong connection to our red-tailed boa constrictor, who was humanly euthanized last week. ‘Boa’ had been here longer than any of us can accurately remember, but it was at least 18 years. He was a very old snake (we think 25 years at least) who lived a good long life despite respiratory and kidney problems. In his old age, he started to deteriorate and we decided to let him go peacefully when he took a turn for the worse. ‘Boa’ was a favorite among the staff and visitors of all ages – we will miss you big guy.

Kristen Haas, Environmental Educator

Katie Says: Create a backyard oasis!

How many of us have looked at those big, expensive, elaborate ponds in backyards and businesses and found ourselves uttering a big sigh? We only wish we had enough money for supplies, time for installation and patience for malfunctioning pumps. But did you know you can add a pump-free, wildlife-attracting water feature to your backyard or balcony in less than a day? Try a container pond!

First, you’ll need your container. Purchase a large flower pot; the best shape is one that has a base almost the same size as the top and does not have vertical sides. Imagine the bottom cut off of a whiskey barrel—in fact, some home improvement stores sell fiberglass versions of this exact design! Next, if the pot has a hole in the bottom of it, you’ll need to plug it using a bit of epoxy.

Do you want your pond level with the ground, making it appear more natural and wildlife-accessible, or are you living in an area where your water feature cannot be dug into the ground? If digging your pond into the ground, have the lip of the container be slightly above the rest of the ground. This will prevent most soil from washing in during rainstorms.

Once you have your container in place, add some native aquatic plants, like pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata.), bulrushes (Scirpus sp.) or waterlily (Nymphea sp.). Besides adding beauty and shelter for any pond residents, these plants will act as natural filters and aerators for your pond, thus eliminating the need for a pump or filter. These plants can either be planted into sand or aquatic plant soil (found at home improvement stores) or can be put pot and all directly into your pond. A wonderful resource for learning more about Pennsylvania’s native and invasive aquatic plants can be found at http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/agrs110.pdf You may also want to add other features to your pond, such as submerged places for aquatic animals to hide, and a stick leading out of the pond, to assist stranded insects. (My neighborhood robin uses the stick as a perfect bathing perch.) Fill your pond with cool, refreshing water and congratulations! You’ve created your very own backyard oasis.

Finally, if you’re concerned about mosquitoes, there’s a good chance that your pond will attract natural mosquito controls, such as frogs and tadpoles and predaceous aquatic insects and their larvae. Mosquito dunks are also available as a safe method of control that will not harm fish, frogs or other wildlife.

Once you’ve created your own pond, share your experience and wildlife sightings by posting below!

Nature Playscape Grand Opening

We celebrated the grand opening of the Nature Playscape on Saturday, May 8. The playscape is located on the Pond Overlook Trail and is open during daylight hours.

Take a visit to Lancaster County's Shenks Ferry Wilflower Preserve

Katie Says: Soar with the swallows

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I visited one of our favorite places: Lorimer Park. Lorimer borders Fox Chase Farm, and as one walks the border of the park, you can look onto the rolling green hills of the farm. That day, the hills were being visited by a host of bird species all looking for their dinner: American robins, American bluebirds, European starlings, red-winged blackbirds and three species of swallows.

I love all bird species, but I especially love swallows. I have always said that if ever I were to be reincarnated, it is a swallow that I would want to come back as. I just love the effortless way they swoop, glide and zoom over the landscape, sometimes seeming to enjoy flying for the sheer fun of it. These swallows were flying over one of the highest hills of un-mown grass in order to collect insects that were bravely (or foolishly!) rising from the safety of the grass to land on the canopy of the nearby trees.

For a while, Quentin and I focused our binoculars on individual swallows to watch them fly. There were barn swallows, with their deeply-forked tail; tree swallows, with blue backs and white bellies; and cliff swallows, which look very similar to barn swallows, but lack the forked tail. Let me tell you, focusing your binoculars on an individual swallow is a great way to keep your skills with a pair of binoculars tuned—you constantly have to rock the focus to keep them in your sights! We then decided to try something new, and focused instead on individual insects rising from the grass. It wasn’t long before the insect that I was following would disappear behind the blur of a swooping swallow. Swallows are such good flyers that not only do they feed on the wing, but they drink and bathe as well, swooping to the water’s surface to get a drink or just beneath the surface for a bath, a literal “quick dip.”

Sometimes it’s fun to analyze the “hows” of nature and sometimes we ponder the “whys,” but sometimes…it’s just nice to stop and watch the swallows. Have a question or a story of your own to share? Post a comment below; it’s free and you don’t have to create an account!

Katie Says: What is the Pennsylvania state insect?

I’ll give you a hint through a song lyric: “You would not believe your eyes if ten million _____ lit up the world as I fell asleep.” Did you guess? This is the first phrase from Owl City’s “Fireflies,” a song that quickly became a sensation after its release in 2009. The song plays on a familiar childhood memory of chasing and catching fireflies in our backyards and maybe even putting a few in a jar to watch their soothing nightlight as we fell asleep. It’s no wonder then, that the firefly (or lightning bug) became the official Pennsylvania state insect in 1974. We may all know the firefly for its greenish-yellow glow, but there’s much more to this insect than blinks the eye!

Despite their name, these insects are actually a species of beetle that can be found on every continent except Antarctica. There are over 2,000 species of fireflies worldwide and an astounding 175 species here in the United States alone! Although not all adult fireflies produce light, all species of eggs and larvae glow as a way of warning potential predators that they taste bad. The adults that do produce light do so in order to find not only a mate, but sometimes…dinner! Some fireflies have been known to copy the flashing patterns of other species in order to eat them!

Even the chemistry behind a firefly’s flash is amazing. Unlike bioluminescent animals which simply glow, the firefly’s ability to turn its light on and off (i.e., blink) is a rare find in nature. And the energy used to produce the light? In a normal incandescent light bulb, 10 percent of the energy that goes into the bulb is used to produce light, and the rest is emitted as heat. With fireflies, an astounding 90 percent of the energy goes into producing the light! Talk about the ultimate Energy Star appliance!

I was thrilled last week to have spotted my first firefly of the season in my own backyard! Have you spotted your first yet? Have a question or a story of your own to share? Post a comment below; it’s free and you don’t have to create an account!

Katie Says: What a great find!

Yesterday, on a cold and rainy Monday, 40 kindergarteners came to visit Briar Bush for a nature hike. Determined not to submit to the gloomy weather, the junior hikers came prepared in rain jackets, hooded sweatshirts and big smiles. As I began my hike with my small group, we stopped to look at natural wonders along the way: an uprooted tree, new leaves on trees and flowers in bloom. Then we hit the nature hike jackpot: an eastern box turtle!

This little gal wasn’t fazed by the weather at all! Cold or not, she was determined to find something tasty to eat. Much to my amusement, her beak was covered in slimy, gooey mushroom paste. Nearby, a cluster of mushrooms bore signs that looked suspiciously like box turtle bite marks… Besides mushrooms, box turtles love to eat earthworms and other invertebrates and the occasional “salad,” all of which can be found in abundance at Briar Bush.

I carefully picked up the box turtle, explaining to the children that because she was a wild box turtle and not a pet, that we would only look at her for a little bit before letting her go on her way. Understandably nervous, the box turtle hid in her shell, closing up the front using the hinge on her plastron (the bottom of her shell). It’s this ability to close their shells completely like a box that gives the box turtle its name (not because the turtles are known to sparring matches, as most children are disappointed to learn). It’s also the plastron of a turtle that will tell you if you are looking at a male or female; females’ plastrons are flat, while the plastron of a male is concave.

Having given everyone a chance to see this spectacular wildlife find, I carefully placed the box turtle back in her leafy hunting grounds. The children told the box turtle that she need not be afraid of us, and wished her well. The next time you are hiking the trails of Briar Bush, be sure to keep your eyes open for our friend, the eastern box turtle! Have a question or a story of your own to share? Post a comment below; it’s free and you don’t have to create an account!

Whole Foods 5% Day

Briar Bush educators and volunteers will be at the Jenkintown Whole Foods celebrating Earth Day! Please come support us by shopping - 5% of the total sales from Thursday, April 22 at the Jenkintown Whole Foods will be donated to Briar Bush Nature Center. We will have some of our famous critters outside and lots of information inside. Whole Foods will also be having a cooking demonstration in the evening. The BBNC environmental educators will be having lunch at the cafe from noon to 1 p.m. so if you would like to meet the education team and learn more about our great programs, stop by!

Katie Says: Celebrate with Briar Bush!

April is a busy month here at Briar Bush! Not only do we see an increase in visitors as the spring weather arrives, but there are two big environmental celebrations in April: Earth Day and Arbor Day. This Thursday, April 22, is the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day! In celebration, keep your eyes open for Briar Bush Nature Center to be making appearances all over the area, from the Philadelphia Zoo, to Whole Foods in Jenkintown, and Earth Day and other outdoor festivals all over Montgomery County.

Not too far behind, April 30 is Arbor Day, a day established to encourage everyone to plant and care for trees. Earth Day may be celebrating its 40^th anniversary, but Arbor Day is celebrating its 138^th! To celebrate Arbor Day, come and take a walk on the trails at Briar Bush. Many trees can now be identified by their fresh, green leaves and some, like the dogwood and redbud, are covered in magnificent flowers. If you’d like to learn more about trees, then be sure to register for my next family program, “Dendrologist for a Day” this Sunday, April 25! As you’ve probably guessed, dendrologists are scientists who study trees and in this Sunday’s program we’ll be getting up close and hands-on with the trees of Briar Bush. We’ll be taking the same kinds of measurements using the same kind of equipment dendrologists do! This is a great program to attend if you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at environmental science or if you’d like to learn how to identify some of the common trees of Pennsylvania.

In “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown!” Sally was asked by her teacher what Arbor Day was. Having not done her homework, Sally replied; “That’s the day that all the ships come into the ‘arbor!” Whether you spend it on a ship in the ‘arbor or on the trails at Briar Bush, be sure to celebrate the outdoors this month! Have a question or a story of your own to share? Post a comment below; it’s free and you don’t have to create an account!

Katie Says: Spring is full of surprises!

This weekend I decided to install a container pond in my backyard. A container pond is a simple, inexpensive way to add water to your backyard using just a flower pot and some native aquatic vegetation. (For more information on container ponds, be sure to attend my family program “Take the Park Home with You! Creating Backyard Wildlife Habitats” in May!) As I dug the hole for my pond, I discovered the tunnel of a burrowing animal, complete with a store of seeds and birdseed from my neighbor’s yard. I dug a bit further and happened across a nest of leaves and shredded plastic. “I must have found an animal’s old hibernation burrow!” I thought to myself. I began to pull out the leaves and found quite the surprise…six newborns!

Now I admit that although I am a wildlife biologist, I had no idea what mammal species these squirmy pink things were. It was quite possible that they were rats and not the chipmunks I initially thought they were, but all I knew is that charismatic species or not, I rudely unearthed these little guys from their safe home beneath the soil. In the spring, Briar Bush and other nature centers are flooded with all kinds of calls when people find baby wildlife much in the way that I did and do not know what to do. Is it best to put them back and rebuild the nest? Now that I have disturbed the nest, will the mother abandon it and the babies need to go to a wildlife rehabilitator? I called the experts at Schuylkill Wildlife Rehab Clinic and AARK Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center to be sure. They confirmed that in most cases, the best thing to do is to rebuild the nest and let nature take care of the rest.

So, I carefully put the leaves and as much of the stored food as possible back into the nest, and put a piece of cardboard to act as the wall that I had removed before filling in the hole. I then chose a new location for my pond, knowing that someday soon it may serve as a source of water for the young sleeping in their nest just beneath my feet. Have a question or a story of your own to share? Post a comment below; it’s free and you don’t have to create an account!

New critters!

Over the past couple of weeks, Briar Bush has welcomed two new critters to our family of animals who live in the museum and are used for educational programs. Be sure to stop in (remember, we're FREE!) and say hello to "Bubbles" and "Boo," two adorable little domestic rats. These little critters are happy in their new home and have already made their program debuts!

Katie Says: The eastern carpenter bee is on patrol...

My boyfriend and I live in a duplex where each floor is smaller than the one beneath it. After we moved in, we decided to take advantage of the large, flat roof space outside our kitchen window and hang various bird feeders. It’s a lot of fun to watch the birds, especially since birds are my favorite animal. This weekend, as I looked out the kitchen window, I saw a black blur zoom past the window and then a few seconds later, it returned and hovered within a couple of feet from my face. I found myself staring face-to-antennae with a male eastern carpenter bee!

If you are one who has always been afraid of anything black, yellow and possessing a stinger, then the eastern carpenter bee has the potential to change your fear into fascination. Not known to be aggressive toward humans, the females are more interested in feeding and tending to her nest, and the males are too busy patrolling their territories to concern themselves with the likes of large, clumsy humans. And oh how territorial the males are! Our eastern carpenter bee, whom my boyfriend named “Buzz” (he said “What else are you going to name an insect that buzzes back and forth all day?”), patrols our roof all day and will chase off any insect that dares come near the flowers of our Norway maple. Not only does he chase everything from other carpenter bees to gnats, but I’ve also watched him chase insect shadows, finches, and to my amusement, sunflower seeds that I throw into the air. When Buzz is not chasing intruders, he slowly flies back and forth over the roof, stopping on occasion to hover inches in front of my face, antennae sticking straight up into the air.

Although some consider the eastern carpenter bee a pest because of the nests females make in wood, the damage caused by the bee is very small, consisting of a T-shaped tunnel in which she lays her eggs. Eastern carpenter bees do not eat wood, and therefore have no motivation to destroy anymore wood than they need to make this small nest. Instead, many consider the carpenter bee a valuable pollinator species, and some farmers have been known to put out blocks of wood around their crops to encourage the bee’s presence. As you enjoy the beautiful weather of the next few days, be sure to keep your eyes open for the eastern carpenter bee on patrol!

Have a question or a story of your own to share? Post a comment below; it’s free and you don’t have to create an account!

Katie Says: Meet my favorite denizen of the detritus!

One of my favorite activities here at Briar Bush Nature Center has got to be log rolling. No, that doesn’t mean that you’ll find me standing on a spinning log in the middle of our pond; I mean rolling over logs on the ground to look for what hides beneath! Rotting logs act as a mulch motel for all kinds of creatures including centipedes, pill bugs (better known as roly polys), earthworms, termites and my personal favorite, the redback salamander.

The redback salamander is the most common salamander here in the northeast and can be found in just about any healthy forested area. Scientists consider the redback salamander an indicator species, meaning that high numbers of the salamanders indicate a healthy forest ecosystem. In a forest that has been clearcut of all of its trees, the salamanders disappear and won’t return for at least another 50 years. Chances are you’ve seen the redback salamander before: the two to four inch peppered amphibian with a reddish-orange stripe down his back. Others, known as “leadbacks,” lack the colorful stripe, betraying their redback name. Like all amphibians, their skin needs to stay wet in order to breathe, which gives the salamander a shiny or “slimy” look, but make no mistake; these guys are soaked in cuteness, not slime! What I find especially amazing about the redback and other woodland salamanders is that unlike other amphibians, they do not depend on water for any part of their life cycle. Instead, eggs are laid in tiny, grape-like clusters beneath logs or in other damp places. There, the young develop completely within the egg and emerge as miniature versions of the adults instead of the familiar tadpole that we associate with frogs and toads. In the winter, salamanders both young and old hibernate through the winter by digging down as much as 15 inches into the soil and leaf litter. Once they emerge in the spring, these tiny hunters will spend their nights, especially rainy ones, prowling the forest floor in search of tasty insects.

The next time you’re out at Briar Bush, try out some log rolling of your very own! Just remember to put the logs back where you found them…that’s a salamander’s home under there! Have a question or a story of your own to share? Leave a comment below! Blogger accounts are not required to leave a comment.

Environmental Justice Information

Briar Bush educators Mark Fallon and Anne-Marie D'Onofrio participated in Gwynedd-Mercy College's Justice Fair on March 29. Below is a list of documentaries, TV shows and books to gain further insight into the many environmental justice topics:

Movies/TV Series

• No Impact Man: The Documentary (2009)
• Go Further (2004)
• Food, Inc. (2008)
• King Corn (2007)
• The Beautiful Truth (2008)
• Eco Trip Series – Sundance Channel (2009)
• The Garden (2008)
• The Lazy Environmentalist Series – Sundance Channel (2009)
• The Future of Food (2004)
• Fast Food Nation (2006)
• Super Size Me (2004)
• An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
• When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)

Non-fiction Books

• Cradle to Cradle – William McDonough and Michael Braungart
• Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of our Environmental Future – Mark Hertsgaard
• Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies – Jared Diamond
• Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed – Jared Diamond
• Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment – James Gustav Speth
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals – Michael Pollan
• In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto – Michael Pollan
• Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser
• Food Politics – Marion Nestle
• Poisons on our Plates: The Real Food Safety Problem in the United States – Michele Morrone
• Troubled Waters: Religion, Ethics and the Global Water Crisis – Dr. Gary L. Chamberlain
• Boiling Point: How How Politicians, Big Oil and Coal, Journalists, and Activists Have Fueled a Climate Crisis--And What We Can Do to Avert Disaster – Ross Gelbspan
• Diet for a New America – John Robbins
• Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating – Jane Goodall
• The Ten Trusts: What we must do to Care for the Animals we Love – Jane Goodall and Marc Bekoff
• The Environmental Predicament: Four Issues for Critical Analysis – Carol F. Verburg
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
  

Classic Non-fiction Books

• Sand County Almanac – Aldo Leopold
• Silent Spring – Rachel Carson
• The Yosemite – John Muir

Katie Says: Give your yard a spring cleaning!

This past weekend, I watched many of my neighbors taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Children rode bikes, the smell of barbecue grills was in the air and my next door neighbor spent the morning preparing his garden for planting by pulling out remnants of last year’s flowers and unsightly weeds. Many of us tend to our gardens in this way, yet leave one of the biggest threats to our yard untouched: English ivy.

English ivy is considered an exotic invasive plant. Plants like these are not from Pennsylvania and have a negative impact on native plant and/or animal species. In English ivy’s case, it was brought to the United States from its native Europe, western Asia and northern Africa because it was considered an attractive ornamental plant. However, as English ivy climbs a tree or other plant, it covers the tree’s leaves and prevents it from obtaining the sunlight that it needs for photosynthesis. As a result, any branches covered in ivy eventually die and in the case of smaller trees or shrubs, the entire plant may die. When I removed ivy from the hedges in my yard this fall, I was amazed to find large sections of the hedge had completely rotted beneath its ivy blanket. English ivy also serves as a reservoir for Bacterial Leaf Scorch, a plant disease that is harmful to elms, oaks, maples and other native plants.

What can you do if you want to reclaim your yard from English ivy? To remove ivy from trees, cut the vines near the ground and again at shoulder height. Eventually the vines growing up the tree will die. The base of the vines will continue to re-sprout, so be sure to either pull up the remainder of the vine or keep it trimmed back. If the ivy in your yard has only just begun to spread, try using a deep layer of mulch. This will cover the ivy’s leaves and kill it in the same way it kills other plants! For other ways to control ivy in your yard, visit the Plant Conservation Alliance’s website. Good luck in your battle against the evil English ivy! Your yard will thank you by springing back to life!

Have a question or a story of your own to share? Email me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!

Katie Says: Sing a song of spring

Nothing signals the start of spring to me more than the songs of birds filling the morning air. Melodious male birds sing to attract mates and to stake their claim on their territory. A male who can sing well is showing to females that he is healthy and that his offspring will also be healthy singers who can attract mates of their own and continue to pass along his superb genes.

Each bird has a different song to set it apart from other species, from the cheer-cheer-cheer of the northern cardinal, to the peter-peter-peter-peter of the tufted titmouse, and even the simple chirp of a house sparrow. Woodpeckers prefer the use of percussion instruments and will drum loudly on a hollow limb or trunk of a tree as their song. Mockingbirds, catbirds and European starlings show off by copying as many sounds as they can. Males with the biggest repertoire get the girl! These birds never cease to amaze me with their spot-on impressions of blue jays, American robins and red-tailed hawks. One starling in particular who resides in the “Michaels” lettering by the Willow Grove Mall does such a good imitation of a killdeer that I am often left looking around for the long-legged shorebird.

The next time you find yourself marveling at these spring songsters, try a couple of activities to tune your listening ear:

1) Count how many different kinds of songs you can hear. It may be hard to pick them out at first, but with practice you’ll start hearing all kinds of different songs.

2) Pick out one individual bird and listen for all of the other males responding to his song. It’s amazing how many and from how far away they will respond!

3) Just like people from different areas, some birds have different song dialects! See if you can hear slight variations in songs of a single kind of bird as you travel.

I’d love to hear about your findings! Share your story by emailing me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!

Katie Says: I’ve got a bone to pick!

The winter’s record snows have almost completely melted! As the snow retreats, treasures become revealed: new green shoots of spring flowers, stashed acorns forgotten by squirrels, and sometimes…bones.

After the snow melts and before the spring’s new vegetation grows is a great time to practice what I fondly call “skulling.” Skulling is the process of hiking around an area in search of animal bones. Why look for animal bones? Because it’s incredible what you can learn from them! You can learn about the anatomy of the animal itself, how it died, and what animals live where you are, just for starters. During my skulling journeys in many states, I have come across many fascinating finds: an entire deer skeleton perfectly preserved in a wetland, a raccoon skull deep in a forest, propeller-scarred manatee bones on Florida shores, and fish skeletons below an osprey’s nest. It is very important to note that if you choose to embark on your own skulling mission, any piece of animal remains, even feathers, cannot be kept without a permit from the federal and state governments. Better to leave your finds behind for the next skuller anyway!

Once you find your first skull, you may wonder, “How can I tell what animal this is from?” Well this Sunday you can have the chance to find out! March 14, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. is “Nature Detectives: Taking the Sk-ary out of Skulls” at Briar Bush. The program is part of a new family series of programs, geared towards participants from seven to 107. During this month’s program, led by The Nature Geek (that’s me!), we’ll be examining real animal skulls and will figure out the mystery identities of each by looking at where the skull came from, its size and the kind of teeth it has. We’ll even be solving an animal mystery along the way! If you are interested in registering for the program, contact Briar Bush! And as always, if you have a question or a story of your own to share, email me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!

Spring is almost here

Have you noticed our sun rising earlier in the morning? March 20 marks the first day of spring. On this day our sun will follow the celestial equinox. According to astronomer Jack Horkheimer, “If you go to work/school around sunrise on a due east/west highway notice just how close the Sun rises to the center of the road each day and then as it gets closer to March 20th watch it rise even closer to the yellow line until on Saturday the 20th it will rise directly over the yellow line.” Go ahead and try it yourself and have a happy spring.

Ehren Gross, Environmental Educator

February ACEd

The Association of Conservation Executives (ACE) is a group made up of employees of PA/NJ nature centers, land preserves, arboretums and other similar organizations. Related, ACEd is a group for all the educators within the ACE group.

The ACEd group met at the Buttinger Nature Center, part of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association on February 5 to discuss summer camp, and then was treated to a walk around the property led by Jeff Hoagland, the education director. During the walk, the group looked for voles and moles, fox and deer scat, praying mantis egg cases and other signs of wildlife on the chilly winter day.

Katie Says: That’s a lot of animals!

This week's blog is all about groups of animals. Animals that like to hang out in groups are called gregarious...they're social butterflies! (or birds, or mammals, or fish, or whatever!) Some animals hang out in groups all the time and some only at certain times of the year, like migration or during the winter months. What has always been one of my favorite bits of animal trivia is the names given to various groups of animals. Check out these fun animal group names:

Murder: a group of crows
Unkindness: a group of ravens
Intrusion: a group of cockroaches (I'll say!)
Band: a group of coyotes
Memory (or herd): a group of elephants
Army: a group of frogs or ants
Charm: a group of goldfinches or hummingbirds
Knot: a group of toads
Mischief: a group of mice
Prickle: a group of porcupines
Parliment: a group of owls
Smack: a group of jellyfish

And some groups are even given different names depending on what they're doing. For example, a group of hawks is called a cast. But when they're flying, they're a kettle and when they're circling on air currents they're called a boil! Whew! That's a lot to keep track of!

So remember, the next time you strike up a converstation about jellyfish you really can say you're talking smack!

Have a question or a story of your own to share? Email me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!

February Full Moon

Did you ever hear of a Harvest Moon, or “once in a Blue Moon”? Naming moons is a tradition that goes far back before Europeans settled in America. Various American Indian tribes of the Northeast would name Full Moons according to seasonal events.

February is known as the Full Snow Moon. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, usually the heaviest snows fall in February. This is true for Philadelphia this year. We have had the most snow ever on record for the month of February. Animals hide and stay in their homes making hunting very difficult. To some American Indian tribes, this was also called the Hunger Moon.

The next full moon is scheduled for February 28^th, 2010. This is Educator Ehren giving you the heads-up and asking you to keep your “heads up” to the night sky.

Katie Says: Branch out and try something new!

Everywhere I go recently, I am amazed at the number and size of tree tops, branches and even whole trees that have fallen as a result of the heavy snow we received earlier this month. If you have limbs down in your yard, what are you to do with them? How about using them to attract wildlife to your backyard?

There are all sorts of ways that we can welcome wildlife into our backyards. Most people know they can attract birds by adding bird feeders and baths, and many people plant native vegetation in their yards to attract birds, butterflies and maybe even a mammal or two. Another way to attract wildlife is to build a brush pile. By taking some of those fallen limbs and piling them up in a corner of your yard, you are creating a safe hiding place for all sorts of animals, including birds, chipmunks, rabbits, lizards and snakes. If you’re a little uneasy at the thought of snakes in your yard, just remember that snakes are a great form of pest control. Much cheaper than hiring the Orkin man to protect your property from rodents! If you really want to turn your brush pile into The Ritz, add a nice big log. As the log decomposes through the aid of insects, it turns into a feast for insect-eating animals. A hollow log is also a choice hibernation spot for small mammals, reptiles and even some butterflies that hibernate beneath bark.

Adding a brush pile to your backyard is not only a great benefit to wildlife, but also a benefit to yourself; you have the opportunity to watch wildlife, find a use for those fallen branches, and it’s less of your yard you have to mow come spring!

Have a question or a story of your own to share? Email me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!

Katie Says: Taxidermy is stuffed full of fun!

Everyone has some sort of hobby or activity that they love to do. For my Dad, it’s woodworking. For my Mom, it’s making cards. Me, I get all tingly with excitement playing with dead things. I get a thrill when I come across the skeleton of an animal in the woods and star in my own episode of “CSI: Philadelphia” to figure out what the animal is and maybe even how it might have died. At Briar Bush, I lovingly tend to a colony of dermestid beetles, a native species of beetle that can take a dead animal and clean it down to the bone in less than a week. I have also taken on a new hobby of study skin preparation.

Study skins are a kind of taxidermy, but instead of stuffing an animal and then arranging it into a life-like pose, the animal is laid flat, in order to be stored and displayed inside of a drawer. Biologists and other scientists use study skins to study anatomical features of a species when a life specimen is not available. At Briar Bush, these study skins will not only be used for display, but will provide an up-close and hands-on experience for visitors, something that the “Please do not touch” full taxidermy specimens cannot provide. The process of preparing a study skin can be meticulous and difficult, but it is always fun and educational! The animals that I prepare are ones that were found dead and were donated to Briar Bush by visitors, volunteers or staff members, who know that we possess all the required permits to keep these animals. If you come across a dead (but not decomposing) animal that you would like to donate to Briar Bush, be sure to let me know…you just may see it on display or in a program some day!

Have a question or a story of your own to share? Email me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!

Katie Says: Track down some fun in the snow!

We certainly have been receiving a lot of snow here at Briar Bush! But before you think the only fun thing to do after a heavy snow is to cozy up on the couch with a Snuggie and a cup of hot cocoa, instead consider strapping on your winter jacket and snow boots and heading out to Briar Bush! Snow provides the unique opportunity for winter animal tracking. A hike through the snow-covered woods can reveal countless stories and give you clues to animals you rarely get to see.

On Sunday, following the latest heavy snow, I headed out to a local park to do some tracking of my own. It wasn’t long after I had set out on my adventure that I found some mystery tracks. Fluffy snow makes telling what precisely made the trail a bit more difficult, but following the tracks might lead to more clues. I followed my mystery tracks up the hill and there, in the shelter of a large oak tree and a couple of logs, I found three bowl-like depressions in the snow where deer had spent the snowy night, the snow slightly melted by their body heat. I hiked a bit further and found the tiny, bounding tracks of a white-footed mouse. Every so often, the tracks would end at a perfectly spherical hole as the mouse dove under the snow, only to emerge a few inches later. Perhaps the mouse heard a predator? Certainly there are many predators in the park as my next discovery was the tracks of a red fox on a fallen log. I couldn’t make out the tracks very well, but the musky, skunk-like smell of the “yellow snow” on the log made it perfectly clear whose tracks I was looking at!

If you would like to have your own wildlife tracking adventure, be sure to stop by Briar Bush this week. You’ll be amazed at the stories told in the snow!

Have a question or a story of your own to share? Email me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!

Katie Says: Allow me to introduce myself!

Hello! And welcome to a new feature here on the Briar Blog, “Katie Says:” This will be a weekly feature where I will write about wonders of the natural world, answer commonly asked questions at Briar Bush, or share other personal nature-related experiences.

I thought that since this was my first entry, that it would only be polite to introduce myself. I am Katie Fisk, a new environmental educator who started with Briar Bush back in September of 2009. I moved here from Florida, but before you start feeling bad for me “Oh! A Floridian stuck in a Pennsylvania winter!” I will tell you that I spent the first 18 years of my life in North Dakota. Yup, winters here are far milder by comparison! Amongst my other job responsibilities, writing and teaching on and off-site programs with my colleagues, I am also launching a new program series, “Family Programs with The Nature Geek!” This monthly series features fun, interactive programs that will entertain and educate both child and adult alike. I hope to see all of you at a program sometime!

Before I sign off for this week’s entry, of course I must include a nature story! Although Punxsutawney Phil predicted yesterday that we will have six more weeks of winter, I have begun to see signs of spring! Just this weekend I noticed a group of European starlings whose beaks had changed from their dark winter coloration to the bright yellow of the breeding season. It seems these marvelous mimics are making all the preparations to strut their stuff in hopes of attracting the perfect mate. And why not? Valentine’s Day is only 11 days away!

Have a question or a story of your own to share? Email me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!

Naturalist News: Urban raptors soaring over city and suburbs

Did you know October is Raptor Month? Since 2006, Briar Bush has celebrated with “RaptorFest.” The open house event features family fun and learning, including amazing, up-close encounters with live birds of prey from local organizations and falconers alike. Sponsored by Marsha Pearson of The Avian Promise and FOBB Board Member, these live animal presentations have taught us all a great deal about these amazing birds.

Watching wild raptors doesn’t have to wait until next October! For many reasons, hawks, falcons, owls and other raptors have been showing up in the urban and suburban landscape in ever greater numbers since the 1970s. While some of the increase has been attributed to loss of previous habitat, many positive factors are involved: the banning of DDT and other pesticides in the early ‘70s was a major step along with federal protection and re-introduction projects in cities and wildlands alike.

There can be a high concentration of food for the predators where we humans abound: feeding birds is becoming one of the most popular past-times in the country and many raptors feed on smaller birds. Though some may not appreciate the feeder birds being “picked-off,” it is important to remember that hawks have to eat, too! Besides, how often do we get to see a predator in action right in our backyard?

Raptors also provide a major benefit as they prey heavily on rodent pests. Unfortunately, this can often lead to their downfall: many birds of prey are poisoned when they eat tainted rats or mice. Most rodenticides on the market contain poisons which do not kill pest animals immediately. The poisoned rodents often go outside and are eaten by hawks or other raptors, killing them. At Briar Bush we have been upgrading buildings to try to exclude rodents and we are moving to non-toxic methods of pest control in order to better protect the birds and other wildlife here.

For more information on raptors in our area, check out the websites listed, or contact our education staff and keep watching the skies in your neighborhoods!

Militia Hill Hawk Watch: http://www.wyncoteaudubon.org/mhhw.htm

Webcam (and lots of info) of Peregrine falcons in Harrisburg: http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/falcon/

Webcam of Red-tailed hawks nesting at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia:
http://www2.fi.edu/hawknest.php

Article written by Briar Bush Nature Center Senior Naturalist, Mark Fallon