The Crayfish Army (with Video)

I decided to revisit Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary recently. The area has greened up since the fire, but the Chorus Frogs have vanished for the most part, going wherever it is that Chorus Frogs go after their breeding season.

This sparrow, likely a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia?) was quite content to pose for me on a nearby small tree.  Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary is ideal habitat for Henslow's Sparrows, but I did not see one.  The most interesting bird I saw is...

...A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  Yeah, there wasn't as much this trip. The sky was quite nice. In general, the area was still quite pretty, even if it is becoming overrun by an invasive species...

See those reeds along the edge of the marsh?  A large number of those are Sweet Flag,  (Acorus calamus).  This European species is taking over rather quickly along the edges of the marsh.  While it's not a particularly dangerous or problematic species to remove, Sweet Flag will be a nuisance.

Further on, I found the shell (and the rest) of a dead Painted Turtle. I don't know what killed it, but it was a rather small shell for this species.

The waterlife was the real highlight of the trip.  This Bullfrog tadpole (Lithobates catesbeianus) overwintered in the pond and is likely to become a full-grown frog this year, considering it's thicker than my thumb. Finding Bullfrog tadpoles in a pond indicates that it is permanent enough to exist year-round.  Smaller tadpoles and crayfish, by contrast, can live in pools that dry up in summer.

For examples of Crayfish, see the video above.  I've never seen so many... but  I say that in the video.  Below, if you couldn't see so well in the video, is a a section of the pond's bottom, enhanced for contrast.  Do you see all those objects in the water?

Yes, each one of those objects on the bottom of the pond is a crayfish.  The entire pond looked like this.  There must have been thousands of the little crayfish.

I took one out of the water.  I really wish there was an identification guide to the crayfish of Illinois, but I can't seem to find one online anywhere.  Also, this is my hand. These are really small crayfish.

Here's another angle of the same specimen.  As usual, if anyone can identify this species, please let me know.  Additionally, if you want to use this population for bait, you can't, as it is in a preserve.

Here's a portion of that pond full of crayfish, the army base, to extend the joke.  I walked around the edge of it, watching the crayfish for awhile, before heading upland towards some mysterious plants.

These are Wood Betony plants (Pedicularis canadensis) a species of plant that is a hemiparasite.  This means that Wood Betony steals water and a few nutrients from the plants around it.  This also means that Wood Betony is a sign of a high-quality natural area (or a high-quality replanted natural area, where this picture was taken) and is not terribly common.

Another name for this species is Canadian Lousewort.  How this plant got that name, I leave to you readers and your imaginations.

The final discovery of the day was a Purple Meadow Rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum) a species fairly common in Illinois, but one I had never seen previously.  After this, with the sun sinking, I returned to my car, considerably lightened in spirit.  Hiking gives me such joy.  I will leave you with this article I have just read, discussing how "What Hiking Does to the Brain is Pretty Amazing."  Now, perhaps, you begin to understand why I have, of late, become a frequent hiker.  At any rate,  I hope you all have a great day.