Spring has Sprung
Spring has taken her rightful position as queen of the season only yesterday. Winter will tease spring several times during the next few weeks until the cold winds are blown out for another season.
Spring will not be deterred, thank the power that steers the universe. Whether is has been a cold, snowy winter, or a mild one, spring renews man's spirits, as it has for eons. Our ancestors surely crawled out of the caves, shed their animal skin coverings, and warmed themselves in the sun. The feeling is still the same.
Man sheds his heavy winter coats, gloves, and toboggans and sweatshirts, and greets the sun enthusiastically every year.
Man is still awed by the magic of seeds sprouting. It is still somewhat magical to ponder how sap at the roots of trees and shrubs knows when to begin its methodical movement upward toward leaf buds. Last weekend I pushed the leaves away from a portion of the lily bed, and surprised budding plants and myself. It is time that they were pushing through the earth, but finding them working, as they should be is always a pleasant early spring surprise. They have lay dormant for months, and now are working hard to put on an early
summer show that I wait for 11 months every year.
The early spring garden always brings my grandmother close to me again, as does the summer growing season. My fondest memories of her are in her kitchen creating delicacies for her family and preserving food for the worst of all winters to come. When she wasn't in the kitchen, she was in the garden prodding plants to produce for her kitchen. She knew flowers and vegetables like she knew her children and their children.
My grandmother had firm thoughts about daylight saving time. Her clock, the one that hung in the kitchen on the wall above her dough board table, always showed "God's time," and she didn't believe in setting it ahead or back.
The days are beginning to stretch in the morning and evening. Man earns his keep day to day, but those in tune with nature also live season to season. You sense the changing seasons most when you dig in the dirt.
Spending early years on a west Tennessee farm, tagging around after a German grandfather who spent his life farming, gave me a keen sense of what it meant to live season to season. The mind works with the season at hand, but ponders the season to follow.As I uncover plants beginning their spring growth cycle, my mind sees them in full bloom in early summer. It makes all the early spring gardening work well worth the aching back and sore muscles.
Regardless of how you feel about starlings being the one of the major pests of the western world, notice their brilliant yellow bills. They turn yellow as the breeding season approaches. The bill begins to change color at the base and the yellow spreads outward to the tip. The robin's bill is the same color in the springtime. It is signs of the season.
Purple martin houses need to be up and in place to receive the flocks coming in. Blue birds are already examining houses and choosing where they will nest this year. If you are putting up new houses, don't be discouraged if bluebirds decided to not nest in them this year. Sometimes it takes a season of looking,
examining, and then accepting them by the birds. All birdhouses should be cleaned and ready for use by the
time spring arrives.
In nature, spring is the season of reproduction. Wild turkeys are courting and will establish continue to gobble through April. Male red-winged blackbirds are arriving and setting up territories around area ponds. Mourning doves are beginning to pair and coo. Some doves will raise as many as five pairs of
offspring before next fall. The female lays only two eggs, and then begins to incubate them. Squirrels are already busy having their first babies of the year. Songbirds are singing and calling for mates. Nature has risen from the depths of darkness and cold again.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Bats See with Their Ears
Bats actually "see" prey with their ears. Through the somewhat complicated process of echolocation, a bat learns from echoes how big its prey is, how fast it is moving and in which direction it is going.
As a bat approaches its prey it increases the number of signals it produces fixing it precisely in the surrounding landscape.
A bat can detect prey, follow its protective evasive movements and catch in less than one second! Scientists blocked bats' ears, and found they crashed into objects while flying in the dark and were unable to catch prey.
The puzzle was unraveled in the 1930's when Harvard University researchers found that bats emitted high frequency sounds that bounced off objects and returned to the bats as echoes. Scientists labeled this ability as "echolocation."
Many bats cannot locate objects more than 10 to 15 feet away from them. Some species have to be closer than that.
Between the emission of a pulse signal and the reception of a returning echo, just six-one thousandths of a second passes.
A bat thinks very quickly in just under a second. It locates its prey, decides if it is edible, tracks the creature's evasive moves, and then catches it. All of this takes just one second. Once a bat locks onto to the exact location of an insect, it rarely escapes being caught. Some moths are able to pick up on the pulses of a bat and begin evasive moves, while others actually send out signals of their own that act as jamming devices to bats' echolocation.
While roosting bats make notices that are detectable by the human ear. We cannot hear the ultrasonic sounds of echolocation. Roosting bats peeps and squeals.
Other creatures that use ultrasonic sounds to help them survive include whales,dolphins, shrews, moths, grasshoppers, crickets and cicadas.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
As a bat approaches its prey it increases the number of signals it produces fixing it precisely in the surrounding landscape.
A bat can detect prey, follow its protective evasive movements and catch in less than one second! Scientists blocked bats' ears, and found they crashed into objects while flying in the dark and were unable to catch prey.
The puzzle was unraveled in the 1930's when Harvard University researchers found that bats emitted high frequency sounds that bounced off objects and returned to the bats as echoes. Scientists labeled this ability as "echolocation."
Many bats cannot locate objects more than 10 to 15 feet away from them. Some species have to be closer than that.
Between the emission of a pulse signal and the reception of a returning echo, just six-one thousandths of a second passes.
A bat thinks very quickly in just under a second. It locates its prey, decides if it is edible, tracks the creature's evasive moves, and then catches it. All of this takes just one second. Once a bat locks onto to the exact location of an insect, it rarely escapes being caught. Some moths are able to pick up on the pulses of a bat and begin evasive moves, while others actually send out signals of their own that act as jamming devices to bats' echolocation.
While roosting bats make notices that are detectable by the human ear. We cannot hear the ultrasonic sounds of echolocation. Roosting bats peeps and squeals.
Other creatures that use ultrasonic sounds to help them survive include whales,dolphins, shrews, moths, grasshoppers, crickets and cicadas.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
February is the most temperamental month of the year
February rushes into the year like an excited little girl with her first handful of valentines, proclaiming herself the best of the best. The month is the spoiled brat of the year, not being able to make up its mind whether it wants spring or winter.
In February, there are spring- like temperatures one day, and flying snow the next. For the Western North Carolina Mountains, snow in February is usually Gulf-driven, which means it falls heavy and wet with flakes as big as goose feathers. It is a month of early jonquils finally brave enough to blossom, and crocus blooms pushing through the earth. These early bloomers are determined to announce the approach of another spring, regardless of what wind chills rattle man's bones. February is more a phase in nature than a month.
It is hard to take February very seriously for long. She sulks, she beams, and she changes from one minute to the next. It is reassuring that February matures into March with mad, whirling winds when spring is no longer a drop in visitor, but a full time resident.
Groundhog Day on February 2 anchors the month in ancient lore. The whistle pig or woodchuck, better known as the groundhog, has pull in high places. It is the only animal to have a day named in its honor. Noself-respecting groundhog is up and about on February 2. It is one of the true hibernators in the mountains.
German immigrants, the Pennsylvania Dutch, brought the legend of the groundhog to America in the 18th Century. In Europe, they had regarded the badger as a spring barometer. According to legend the burrowing groundhog awakens on February 2, emerges, and if it sees its shadow, it will return to the burrow for six more weeks of winter. If it does not see its shadow, the whistle pig will remain outside and start
another year, bringing spring to the Valley. There has to be plenty of succulent green shoots for the rodent with a voracious appetite to munch on to tempt it to stay up.
Punxsutawney Phil, America's official groundhog that predicts the weather, lives in Gobbler's Knob, Pennsylvania. He is reputed to be more than 100 years old. Have many Phils have there been? No one in the know is confessing.
Gus is the official groundhog of the Asheville area. He lives at the Western Carolina Nature Center. Gus is as adept at predicting winter-spring weather as is Punxsutawney Phil. He is a cousin of the squirrel, but shy and reclusive. In the wild, it eats succulent green plants, like dandelions, clover and various grasses. They are literally tiny mowing machines. Gardeners are not fond of the groundhog. Early plants have little
chance of surviving the razor sharp teeth of the totally vegetarian.
February is a prime squirrel mating month. It is during these times that the squirrels are oblivious to car horns, cats and humans. They are caught up in the pandemonium of noisy mating romps through the trees.
It is just Mother Nature regenerating herself.
Notice how the winter wrens have added several notes to their brief calls. Just a week to 10 days ago, their calls were one note only. Hairy and downy woodpeckers have stepped up the drumming from last week.
They are insistent that potential mates hear them. Both the male and female woodpeckers drum to announce territory. They drum also to renew pair bonds. It won't be until the last part of March or early April thatthey will excavate cavities for nesting.
Male cardinals are beginning to sing fragments of their mating song. Both the male and female cardinal sing beautifully. Rabbits are beginning to strip bark from young fruit trees. Doves can be heard cooing every morning and evening. Titmice and song sparrows are beginning to sing as well as mockingbirds.
Flocks of robins have invaded the Valley. These majestic birds that man always associates with spring can sing for long stretches of time.
The rains have brought worms to the surface, and robins are feasting. Those that remain in the Valley throughout the winter live on berries. Nature is making promises and reassuring man of the vitality of life.
The light is noticeably changing now. It is the lengthening of days that triggers hormones in birds that cause them to sing, and begin to send out mating calls. February means sunrise by 6:30 a.m. for the first time since last November. The daylight hours are as long as they were in October. Its nights can be more cold than December's darkness.
The sun is noticeable swinging north. It is only about eight weeks until spring officially arrives, with nature's gate swinging shut on winter for another season. The full moon of February is called the owl moon.
Screech owls continue to trill, calling for mates. They will nest next month.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
In February, there are spring- like temperatures one day, and flying snow the next. For the Western North Carolina Mountains, snow in February is usually Gulf-driven, which means it falls heavy and wet with flakes as big as goose feathers. It is a month of early jonquils finally brave enough to blossom, and crocus blooms pushing through the earth. These early bloomers are determined to announce the approach of another spring, regardless of what wind chills rattle man's bones. February is more a phase in nature than a month.
It is hard to take February very seriously for long. She sulks, she beams, and she changes from one minute to the next. It is reassuring that February matures into March with mad, whirling winds when spring is no longer a drop in visitor, but a full time resident.
Groundhog Day on February 2 anchors the month in ancient lore. The whistle pig or woodchuck, better known as the groundhog, has pull in high places. It is the only animal to have a day named in its honor. Noself-respecting groundhog is up and about on February 2. It is one of the true hibernators in the mountains.
German immigrants, the Pennsylvania Dutch, brought the legend of the groundhog to America in the 18th Century. In Europe, they had regarded the badger as a spring barometer. According to legend the burrowing groundhog awakens on February 2, emerges, and if it sees its shadow, it will return to the burrow for six more weeks of winter. If it does not see its shadow, the whistle pig will remain outside and start
another year, bringing spring to the Valley. There has to be plenty of succulent green shoots for the rodent with a voracious appetite to munch on to tempt it to stay up.
Punxsutawney Phil, America's official groundhog that predicts the weather, lives in Gobbler's Knob, Pennsylvania. He is reputed to be more than 100 years old. Have many Phils have there been? No one in the know is confessing.
Gus is the official groundhog of the Asheville area. He lives at the Western Carolina Nature Center. Gus is as adept at predicting winter-spring weather as is Punxsutawney Phil. He is a cousin of the squirrel, but shy and reclusive. In the wild, it eats succulent green plants, like dandelions, clover and various grasses. They are literally tiny mowing machines. Gardeners are not fond of the groundhog. Early plants have little
chance of surviving the razor sharp teeth of the totally vegetarian.
February is a prime squirrel mating month. It is during these times that the squirrels are oblivious to car horns, cats and humans. They are caught up in the pandemonium of noisy mating romps through the trees.
It is just Mother Nature regenerating herself.
Notice how the winter wrens have added several notes to their brief calls. Just a week to 10 days ago, their calls were one note only. Hairy and downy woodpeckers have stepped up the drumming from last week.
They are insistent that potential mates hear them. Both the male and female woodpeckers drum to announce territory. They drum also to renew pair bonds. It won't be until the last part of March or early April thatthey will excavate cavities for nesting.
Male cardinals are beginning to sing fragments of their mating song. Both the male and female cardinal sing beautifully. Rabbits are beginning to strip bark from young fruit trees. Doves can be heard cooing every morning and evening. Titmice and song sparrows are beginning to sing as well as mockingbirds.
Flocks of robins have invaded the Valley. These majestic birds that man always associates with spring can sing for long stretches of time.
The rains have brought worms to the surface, and robins are feasting. Those that remain in the Valley throughout the winter live on berries. Nature is making promises and reassuring man of the vitality of life.
The light is noticeably changing now. It is the lengthening of days that triggers hormones in birds that cause them to sing, and begin to send out mating calls. February means sunrise by 6:30 a.m. for the first time since last November. The daylight hours are as long as they were in October. Its nights can be more cold than December's darkness.
The sun is noticeable swinging north. It is only about eight weeks until spring officially arrives, with nature's gate swinging shut on winter for another season. The full moon of February is called the owl moon.
Screech owls continue to trill, calling for mates. They will nest next month.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Winter continues to tease the mountains
Winter continues to move in and out of the Valley flexing its seasonal muscle, and reminding man that its presence will be felt.
The jonquils that became confused and shot up blades at least six inches high, and some set buds, are delayed only. They will not be killed,unless winter moves in with a fury for weeks. They are hardy flowers determined to grace yards with their cherry blossoms every late winter and early spring.
The Lenten roses are especially pretty this year, and blooming only a couple of weeks earlier than usual. It seems every year; these unusual flowers are suddenly in bloom, adding charm to their particular corner
of the garden.
The jay, crows and titmice rule the bird feeding station currently. The jays are not bashful about criticizing slow moving humans who haven't put out the peanuts. The titmice and chickadees call for the suet early. Daybreak finds juncos on the ground cleaning up any left overs that have fallen from the feeders the day before that the ever hungry raccoons missed the night before.
From the number of hawks that have made their presence known lately, one wonders if they are congregating, making preparation for an early departure south, or maybe they are just hungry and have their vigilant eyes on the songbirds for a meal. The large red tails are year round residents, and they have not been among the evident hawks. Usually the crows route out the hawks and put them to moving, but occasionally one escapes the diving, screaming crow machines that are determined that a hawk will not stay
in their territory.
Winter wind is deadly as it gusts to more than 50 miles an hour on the mountaintop some nights. The wind has an elemental voice that roars through the night. It rattles the shutters and panes and whistles around the corners of the house. Wind is homeless, because it is forever on the move. If it seems to relax momentarily, it is merely gathering strength for the next blow. It thickens the ice in the ground drinkers, and it swirls even a small amount of snow, blowing it completely off the mountain at times. I try to remember what an old timer told me about mountain winds. "Remember girl. It is just winter blowing itself out."
January doesn't have just two faces like its mythological namesake, but 31. It seems different every day and night. It's temperament rangers from spring like frolicking to dead of winter huddling.There are some robins that refuse to migrate, weathering the ups and downs of January, feasting on overripe berries, and sunning themselves sober after a bout of mid-afternoon snacking. Most birds participate in eating too many too ripe
berries at times, as do raccoons and other animals, and suffer the consequences of the staggers and snoozes.
If you happen upon one of these creatures, leave it where you find it. Nature will take its course. However, if you have an outside cat that can find the bird, it may be best to pick it up, place it in a small box, and let it go when it has its wits about it. Never, never pick up a raccoon for any reason.
Pinecones are terrific barometers of what the humidity is like outside. On dry, sunny days, the cone opens widely. When the air is moist, the cone closes tightly. The fibers of the pinecone respond to the rise and fall of humidity, as do the leaves of the rhododendron open and close as temperature changes.
Deer seek the shelter of evergreen thickets to avoid the biting January wind. Also, they alter their behavior, slowing the loss of fat and protein energy reserves during severe weather. Their winter hair is thick and long, providing a comfortable winter coat by this time of the year. Their hair works much like a down comforter wrapped around the body.
Good-hearted wildlife lovers who feed deer may be doing more harm than good. What kills a deer when it is fed during the winter is an imbalance in the beneficial relationships that must exist between microorganisms in the rumenticulem compartment of their stomach. Rapid changes in diet produce digestive disruptions, which can prove fatal. It is likely that winter conditions in Western North Carolina will ever be severe enough to warrant supplemental deer feedings.
A brush pile is one of the most beneficial things the backyard wildlife lover can do for smaller critters. One provides escape places for small songbirds, and animals. Also, it gives shelter from winter's cold wind and snow. Even some butterflies choose to over winter in a brush pile.
A compost pile is a favorite of insects and wrens. The wrens love to explore and find insects in the pile. January is the height of mating season for fox. The fox bark is one you will never forget. They emit short triple barks or screams, communicating with one another. They look for suitable places to create a den for three to four cubs, which are born in March. The family group stays together throughout the summer,
breaking up in early fall.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
The jonquils that became confused and shot up blades at least six inches high, and some set buds, are delayed only. They will not be killed,unless winter moves in with a fury for weeks. They are hardy flowers determined to grace yards with their cherry blossoms every late winter and early spring.
The Lenten roses are especially pretty this year, and blooming only a couple of weeks earlier than usual. It seems every year; these unusual flowers are suddenly in bloom, adding charm to their particular corner
of the garden.
The jay, crows and titmice rule the bird feeding station currently. The jays are not bashful about criticizing slow moving humans who haven't put out the peanuts. The titmice and chickadees call for the suet early. Daybreak finds juncos on the ground cleaning up any left overs that have fallen from the feeders the day before that the ever hungry raccoons missed the night before.
From the number of hawks that have made their presence known lately, one wonders if they are congregating, making preparation for an early departure south, or maybe they are just hungry and have their vigilant eyes on the songbirds for a meal. The large red tails are year round residents, and they have not been among the evident hawks. Usually the crows route out the hawks and put them to moving, but occasionally one escapes the diving, screaming crow machines that are determined that a hawk will not stay
in their territory.
Winter wind is deadly as it gusts to more than 50 miles an hour on the mountaintop some nights. The wind has an elemental voice that roars through the night. It rattles the shutters and panes and whistles around the corners of the house. Wind is homeless, because it is forever on the move. If it seems to relax momentarily, it is merely gathering strength for the next blow. It thickens the ice in the ground drinkers, and it swirls even a small amount of snow, blowing it completely off the mountain at times. I try to remember what an old timer told me about mountain winds. "Remember girl. It is just winter blowing itself out."
January doesn't have just two faces like its mythological namesake, but 31. It seems different every day and night. It's temperament rangers from spring like frolicking to dead of winter huddling.There are some robins that refuse to migrate, weathering the ups and downs of January, feasting on overripe berries, and sunning themselves sober after a bout of mid-afternoon snacking. Most birds participate in eating too many too ripe
berries at times, as do raccoons and other animals, and suffer the consequences of the staggers and snoozes.
If you happen upon one of these creatures, leave it where you find it. Nature will take its course. However, if you have an outside cat that can find the bird, it may be best to pick it up, place it in a small box, and let it go when it has its wits about it. Never, never pick up a raccoon for any reason.
Pinecones are terrific barometers of what the humidity is like outside. On dry, sunny days, the cone opens widely. When the air is moist, the cone closes tightly. The fibers of the pinecone respond to the rise and fall of humidity, as do the leaves of the rhododendron open and close as temperature changes.
Deer seek the shelter of evergreen thickets to avoid the biting January wind. Also, they alter their behavior, slowing the loss of fat and protein energy reserves during severe weather. Their winter hair is thick and long, providing a comfortable winter coat by this time of the year. Their hair works much like a down comforter wrapped around the body.
Good-hearted wildlife lovers who feed deer may be doing more harm than good. What kills a deer when it is fed during the winter is an imbalance in the beneficial relationships that must exist between microorganisms in the rumenticulem compartment of their stomach. Rapid changes in diet produce digestive disruptions, which can prove fatal. It is likely that winter conditions in Western North Carolina will ever be severe enough to warrant supplemental deer feedings.
A brush pile is one of the most beneficial things the backyard wildlife lover can do for smaller critters. One provides escape places for small songbirds, and animals. Also, it gives shelter from winter's cold wind and snow. Even some butterflies choose to over winter in a brush pile.
A compost pile is a favorite of insects and wrens. The wrens love to explore and find insects in the pile. January is the height of mating season for fox. The fox bark is one you will never forget. They emit short triple barks or screams, communicating with one another. They look for suitable places to create a den for three to four cubs, which are born in March. The family group stays together throughout the summer,
breaking up in early fall.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Mother Nature is on a roller coaster ride with temperature swings in the mountains
Mother Nature played "gotcha" this week with snow showers.
People were excited by the appearance of snow, since many thought the season had slipped out the gate for the year. Not so. Winter is definitely not over.
I hear a lot of people questioning, "do you think we'll pay for all these warm days?" One never pays for a good day from Mother Nature. It is a gift freely given. A too warm winter, and several too warm winters in a row, is a different story. Records show that 2006 was the hottest on record. What is the harm?
Wildlife takes its cues about migration, mating, feeding and life in general from the length of daylight, the temperature and the amounts of rain and snow. Usually birds return just as food sources become plentiful again. Butterflies emerge as plant sources for food become available, and animals mate only when conditions are conducive to raising their offspring.
About 10 days ago I saw honeybees in the garden. It was sad because there are no blossoms with nectar to feed them. It must be confusing to the bees and other insects. It is warm; the sun is shining, and where are the blooms?
There is supposed to be a natural synchronicity between animal species and the seasons. That isn't the case any more. Mother Nature's timing is off, and wildlife suffers as a result.
The last three decades has seen a gradual warming not just in the United States, but also throughout the entire world. Scientists confirm that this hasn't occurred in the past 1,000 years. Spring is arriving earlier around the world. Wildlife must adapt or perish.
Too warm springs bring the arrival of migrating birds weeks early, and hatchlings are making their way out of the egg too early for food supplies to be available to their parents to feed them. Some species will flourish and others will die. What man must remember is that everything in nature is connected. Nothing happens in isolation. One plant dying and one animal species vanishing into extinction can set off a chain reaction of biological events. What can result is the annihilation of a whole ecosystem.
Disruptions in wildlife life cycles are already widespread and alarming in many parts of the world.
Disrupted synchrony affects birds drastically. Scientists are finding that some species are producing more females due to the warmer weather, caterpillars are hatching at least a week to 10 days earlier, disappearing when the birds need them the most to feed their young. Some birds are putting on less fat to survive winter, because they don't seem to need it due to warmer temperatures. Coral reefs are being affected negatively and amphibians are also suffering ill effects.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program's records show that when earth warmed after the last glacial period peaked, which was about 20,000 years ago, animals and plants that could move toward the poles or to higher elevations did so. Species that could not keep up with the rate of habitat change simply vanished.
Now suitable habitat may not be available to those species that choose to move because of human development. Due to the presence of farms, cities and freeways, some species may not be able to move fast enough.
Hundreds of research studies confirm that animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than was originally predicted, because of the warming of the earth. Even biologists and ecologists are surprised by the fast-moving adaptation, because warming is occurring so rapidly.
At least 70 species of mountain frogs with nowhere to go to escape the escalating heat have already gone extinct. Another 100 to 200 other cold dependent animal species are in serious trouble. This includes penguins and polar bears.
Research scientists are not only seeing many species move north, attempting to adapt to changes, but plants are blooming earlier, and there is an increase in pests. These same scientist thought such changes would be at least a decade away. The changes are occurring now. Children 10 years old now will notice drastic changes by the time they are 50 to 60 years old.
Now the most noticeable changes that man sees are earlier springs. Notice the cherry blossoms appearing earlier each year, and grape harvests are earlier each year. Many songbirds are laying their eggs at least nine days earlier each spring. Man is witnessing evolution that he can track.
You may not be able to save the polar bears or the penguins, but what you do in your backyard makes a big difference to wildlife. Feed the birds, make sure they have fresh water, providing shrubs that give the birds shelter and food, and watch the use of insecticides is important.
Remember. All summer birds eat insects. Butterflies need the shrubs for the blossoms and leaves to feed the caterpillars. Bees need blossoms for nectar, which feeds them.Helping wildlife is as close as your backyard, the parks and area gardens. All are important to feeding and sheltering the wild world.
Squirrels are beginning to breed. Raccoons will breed from now through March. Pileated woodpeckers will begin to drum to establish territories.
May you always hear the whisper of wings?
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
People were excited by the appearance of snow, since many thought the season had slipped out the gate for the year. Not so. Winter is definitely not over.
I hear a lot of people questioning, "do you think we'll pay for all these warm days?" One never pays for a good day from Mother Nature. It is a gift freely given. A too warm winter, and several too warm winters in a row, is a different story. Records show that 2006 was the hottest on record. What is the harm?
Wildlife takes its cues about migration, mating, feeding and life in general from the length of daylight, the temperature and the amounts of rain and snow. Usually birds return just as food sources become plentiful again. Butterflies emerge as plant sources for food become available, and animals mate only when conditions are conducive to raising their offspring.
About 10 days ago I saw honeybees in the garden. It was sad because there are no blossoms with nectar to feed them. It must be confusing to the bees and other insects. It is warm; the sun is shining, and where are the blooms?
There is supposed to be a natural synchronicity between animal species and the seasons. That isn't the case any more. Mother Nature's timing is off, and wildlife suffers as a result.
The last three decades has seen a gradual warming not just in the United States, but also throughout the entire world. Scientists confirm that this hasn't occurred in the past 1,000 years. Spring is arriving earlier around the world. Wildlife must adapt or perish.
Too warm springs bring the arrival of migrating birds weeks early, and hatchlings are making their way out of the egg too early for food supplies to be available to their parents to feed them. Some species will flourish and others will die. What man must remember is that everything in nature is connected. Nothing happens in isolation. One plant dying and one animal species vanishing into extinction can set off a chain reaction of biological events. What can result is the annihilation of a whole ecosystem.
Disruptions in wildlife life cycles are already widespread and alarming in many parts of the world.
Disrupted synchrony affects birds drastically. Scientists are finding that some species are producing more females due to the warmer weather, caterpillars are hatching at least a week to 10 days earlier, disappearing when the birds need them the most to feed their young. Some birds are putting on less fat to survive winter, because they don't seem to need it due to warmer temperatures. Coral reefs are being affected negatively and amphibians are also suffering ill effects.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program's records show that when earth warmed after the last glacial period peaked, which was about 20,000 years ago, animals and plants that could move toward the poles or to higher elevations did so. Species that could not keep up with the rate of habitat change simply vanished.
Now suitable habitat may not be available to those species that choose to move because of human development. Due to the presence of farms, cities and freeways, some species may not be able to move fast enough.
Hundreds of research studies confirm that animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than was originally predicted, because of the warming of the earth. Even biologists and ecologists are surprised by the fast-moving adaptation, because warming is occurring so rapidly.
At least 70 species of mountain frogs with nowhere to go to escape the escalating heat have already gone extinct. Another 100 to 200 other cold dependent animal species are in serious trouble. This includes penguins and polar bears.
Research scientists are not only seeing many species move north, attempting to adapt to changes, but plants are blooming earlier, and there is an increase in pests. These same scientist thought such changes would be at least a decade away. The changes are occurring now. Children 10 years old now will notice drastic changes by the time they are 50 to 60 years old.
Now the most noticeable changes that man sees are earlier springs. Notice the cherry blossoms appearing earlier each year, and grape harvests are earlier each year. Many songbirds are laying their eggs at least nine days earlier each spring. Man is witnessing evolution that he can track.
You may not be able to save the polar bears or the penguins, but what you do in your backyard makes a big difference to wildlife. Feed the birds, make sure they have fresh water, providing shrubs that give the birds shelter and food, and watch the use of insecticides is important.
Remember. All summer birds eat insects. Butterflies need the shrubs for the blossoms and leaves to feed the caterpillars. Bees need blossoms for nectar, which feeds them.Helping wildlife is as close as your backyard, the parks and area gardens. All are important to feeding and sheltering the wild world.
Squirrels are beginning to breed. Raccoons will breed from now through March. Pileated woodpeckers will begin to drum to establish territories.
May you always hear the whisper of wings?
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Fall Moves into the Mountains
Summer is no more than a glimpse in the rear view mirror of fall now.
The birds continue to gather for migration, leaving backyard feeding stations and trees void of their gregarious chatter and song that was so obvious just three short months ago.
A growing population of Monarch butterflies are moving through the Valley in their fall migration. This is one of the best populations in the past decade. This is the "Methuselah generation." In late summer, aunique generation of Monarch butterflies is hatched. Unlike their parents, grandparents, all of whom had ephemeral lives measured only in weeks, the migratory butterflies survive seven or eight months.
This generation performs the incredible feat of flying from Canada and the United States to the center of Mexico to winter. This same generation will begin the trek north next spring. Once they reach the United States next spring, a kind of relay race begins. Their short-lived offspring lives only four or five
weeks. They continue the trek northward over several generations. Old feathered friends slip away under the cloak of darkness to avoid predators in the daytime sky. Many songbirds migrate at night, landing in early morning to rest and feed before continuing on their southward journey.
On the mountaintop there is a flock of flickers debugging the front yard, and down on McCoy Cove Road, the robins are congregating. Some will move farther south around the Atlanta area, but others will winter in the Valley. Overhead, there are at least a half dozen broadwing hawks riding the warm air currents of the
Valley. All of them are restless with the fall urge to move.
September's chill is beginning to reach over into the daylight hours, quickening the pulse of humans and wild critters alike. There is renewed vigor in the air. For insects the fires are beginning to burn prettylow. The first frost will thin their numbers out tremendously. On a balmy August night the tree crickets
fiddle around 160 notes a minute, and now they are down to about 40. As fall's chill deepens, theslowdown in the insect trickle to a close for another season. A few katydids and crickets will survive the first frosts, and proclaim their good fortune weakly, but by late October they will fall silent.
Then there will come the long, deep annual quiet until another spring breaks the silence that is so intense that one can hear a snow flake falling in the night, and an owl a half mile away proclaiming its territory.
Fall officially arrives on Friday, September 22, with early wintering sparrows landing in the Valley. When the autumnal equinox arrives, the sun crosses the equator and the lengths of day and night are equal.
Fawns have lost their spots, adult white tail bucks are rubbing the velvet off their antlers in anticipation of another rut season, and persimmons are starting to ripen. Acorns are falling like shots from the skyand squirrels are busy bury as many of them as they can. Snakes begin their winter dormancy, and bittersweet starts to ripen. Black gum, bittersweet and dogwood are showing rich fall colors.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
The birds continue to gather for migration, leaving backyard feeding stations and trees void of their gregarious chatter and song that was so obvious just three short months ago.
A growing population of Monarch butterflies are moving through the Valley in their fall migration. This is one of the best populations in the past decade. This is the "Methuselah generation." In late summer, aunique generation of Monarch butterflies is hatched. Unlike their parents, grandparents, all of whom had ephemeral lives measured only in weeks, the migratory butterflies survive seven or eight months.
This generation performs the incredible feat of flying from Canada and the United States to the center of Mexico to winter. This same generation will begin the trek north next spring. Once they reach the United States next spring, a kind of relay race begins. Their short-lived offspring lives only four or five
weeks. They continue the trek northward over several generations. Old feathered friends slip away under the cloak of darkness to avoid predators in the daytime sky. Many songbirds migrate at night, landing in early morning to rest and feed before continuing on their southward journey.
On the mountaintop there is a flock of flickers debugging the front yard, and down on McCoy Cove Road, the robins are congregating. Some will move farther south around the Atlanta area, but others will winter in the Valley. Overhead, there are at least a half dozen broadwing hawks riding the warm air currents of the
Valley. All of them are restless with the fall urge to move.
September's chill is beginning to reach over into the daylight hours, quickening the pulse of humans and wild critters alike. There is renewed vigor in the air. For insects the fires are beginning to burn prettylow. The first frost will thin their numbers out tremendously. On a balmy August night the tree crickets
fiddle around 160 notes a minute, and now they are down to about 40. As fall's chill deepens, theslowdown in the insect trickle to a close for another season. A few katydids and crickets will survive the first frosts, and proclaim their good fortune weakly, but by late October they will fall silent.
Then there will come the long, deep annual quiet until another spring breaks the silence that is so intense that one can hear a snow flake falling in the night, and an owl a half mile away proclaiming its territory.
Fall officially arrives on Friday, September 22, with early wintering sparrows landing in the Valley. When the autumnal equinox arrives, the sun crosses the equator and the lengths of day and night are equal.
Fawns have lost their spots, adult white tail bucks are rubbing the velvet off their antlers in anticipation of another rut season, and persimmons are starting to ripen. Acorns are falling like shots from the skyand squirrels are busy bury as many of them as they can. Snakes begin their winter dormancy, and bittersweet starts to ripen. Black gum, bittersweet and dogwood are showing rich fall colors.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
August brings subtle changes in nature in the valley
August brings a change in the light of day. The changes are subtle, but they are there at midday and at dusk. You see the light changes most clearly in the early morning hours just after dawn arrives.
It is still the light of summer, but the shadows lie differently than they did a month ago. There is a feel and a look of gathering haze.
Sunset no longer has its June clarity, and leans more toward a brassy color. Rain-washed air is more dazzling than it was in July.
Each season has its own light. Spring dawn literally sparkles with clarity. During May the middays are tinged with a subtle green to match the color of the new leaves. Fall days are golden, reflecting the season's haze. Winter's light is frosted and silvered. Winter dawns and dusks are wrapped in shades of blue light and purple. The shadows of winter are long, regardless of the time of day. The light of July and August dazzle with heat.
The sphinx moths are busy working the flower gardens now. Some folks call them hawk moths while others refer to them as hummingbird moths. They are winged marvels wearing quiet beauty of dark grays and browns and some have a dab of olive green. Each has a long sucking tube, coiled beneath its head. When it prepares to feed, it uncoils the tube and plunges it deep into the nectar of flowers. At one time it was a
hungry caterpillar attacking the tomatoes.
Goldenrod is in bloom, and mikweed is in its shed stage, sending silk parachutes carrying seeds floating on summer breezes. More sumac than usual is showing early color. The summer's drought is beginning to catch up with the season, allowing us a glimpse of the face of Autumn ahead of the calendar.
Katydids are green grasshoppers with built-in fiddles that play a somewhat monotonous three-note tune. They are in full voice every evening now. In nature, the katydid has a reputation to live up to as a prophet. Supposedly when you hear the katydid's first tune in late July, it is three months until the first frost. When one hears the katydid call during the daytime, usually in mid-August, it is supposed to be just six weeks until the first frost. There is no doubt that when the katydid begins to scratch the night with its tune,
the bloom is definitely fading from the roses of summer.
The katydid is heard at night, and the cicada plays a tune during the daytime. To some, the katydid seems to make the call, "Katydid, Katydid" over and over.
During the later part of July and throughout August until frost, katydids join a host of night criers, making the time of the year the noisiest. Only the male sings, and the female hears with ears located near her knees. It is the first frost that silences the night criers for another hear.
As August progresses,the katydid is joined by other night scratches.
Some resemble the katydid, and others are kinfolks, like crickets. All saw away at the night making sounds that only insects can make.
Joe-pye weed is in bloom and with its unfolding come the swallowtail butterflies floating lazily above the big pink heads. They land frequently to siphon nectar. The female looks like a dark shadow of a tier swallowtail. She is smoky-black with marginal yellow spotting at the bottom of the wing. There are squadrons of bumblebees accompanying the swallowtails.
The Joe-Pye-weed is named for a Native American, Joe Pye, who used the plant to cure typhus. It is a plant of short-lived beauty. Its flowers fade quickly, and give way to the ragweed plant. Ragweed is in its glory when the early fall's breezes work as a pollinator. The sneezes start, and drive those allergic to carrying boxes of tissue with them for several weeks.
Hummingbirds are beginning to migrate so look for more and more around the feeders fattening for the trip south. Wild grapes are ripening, and snapping turtle eggs are beginning to hatch. Copperhead babies are at least a week, and some are two weeks old. Bluebirds and robins are beginning to feast on the berries of dogwoods.
May you always be blessed with the whisp of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
It is still the light of summer, but the shadows lie differently than they did a month ago. There is a feel and a look of gathering haze.
Sunset no longer has its June clarity, and leans more toward a brassy color. Rain-washed air is more dazzling than it was in July.
Each season has its own light. Spring dawn literally sparkles with clarity. During May the middays are tinged with a subtle green to match the color of the new leaves. Fall days are golden, reflecting the season's haze. Winter's light is frosted and silvered. Winter dawns and dusks are wrapped in shades of blue light and purple. The shadows of winter are long, regardless of the time of day. The light of July and August dazzle with heat.
The sphinx moths are busy working the flower gardens now. Some folks call them hawk moths while others refer to them as hummingbird moths. They are winged marvels wearing quiet beauty of dark grays and browns and some have a dab of olive green. Each has a long sucking tube, coiled beneath its head. When it prepares to feed, it uncoils the tube and plunges it deep into the nectar of flowers. At one time it was a
hungry caterpillar attacking the tomatoes.
Goldenrod is in bloom, and mikweed is in its shed stage, sending silk parachutes carrying seeds floating on summer breezes. More sumac than usual is showing early color. The summer's drought is beginning to catch up with the season, allowing us a glimpse of the face of Autumn ahead of the calendar.
Katydids are green grasshoppers with built-in fiddles that play a somewhat monotonous three-note tune. They are in full voice every evening now. In nature, the katydid has a reputation to live up to as a prophet. Supposedly when you hear the katydid's first tune in late July, it is three months until the first frost. When one hears the katydid call during the daytime, usually in mid-August, it is supposed to be just six weeks until the first frost. There is no doubt that when the katydid begins to scratch the night with its tune,
the bloom is definitely fading from the roses of summer.
The katydid is heard at night, and the cicada plays a tune during the daytime. To some, the katydid seems to make the call, "Katydid, Katydid" over and over.
During the later part of July and throughout August until frost, katydids join a host of night criers, making the time of the year the noisiest. Only the male sings, and the female hears with ears located near her knees. It is the first frost that silences the night criers for another hear.
As August progresses,the katydid is joined by other night scratches.
Some resemble the katydid, and others are kinfolks, like crickets. All saw away at the night making sounds that only insects can make.
Joe-pye weed is in bloom and with its unfolding come the swallowtail butterflies floating lazily above the big pink heads. They land frequently to siphon nectar. The female looks like a dark shadow of a tier swallowtail. She is smoky-black with marginal yellow spotting at the bottom of the wing. There are squadrons of bumblebees accompanying the swallowtails.
The Joe-Pye-weed is named for a Native American, Joe Pye, who used the plant to cure typhus. It is a plant of short-lived beauty. Its flowers fade quickly, and give way to the ragweed plant. Ragweed is in its glory when the early fall's breezes work as a pollinator. The sneezes start, and drive those allergic to carrying boxes of tissue with them for several weeks.
Hummingbirds are beginning to migrate so look for more and more around the feeders fattening for the trip south. Wild grapes are ripening, and snapping turtle eggs are beginning to hatch. Copperhead babies are at least a week, and some are two weeks old. Bluebirds and robins are beginning to feast on the berries of dogwoods.
May you always be blessed with the whisp of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
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