BULLSNAKE! And Emiquon, Too!

Right, time to finish up that Mason/Fulton County trip I did a few weeks ago.  You can read about the part where we visited Revis Hill Prairie here.  We stopped to eat lunch afterwards, at Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge.  This gave us a good idea exactly how flooded the river was, as  the lake was considerably higher than the last time I was there.

A few Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) slept in the middle of the lake as we sat eating our lunch.

A couple of Northern Shovelers (Anas clyptea) flew by, too, showing off all their colors.

Several Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta) sat in the muddy water.  This lake, I've been told, used to be much fuller of fish and more scenic before the government put a levee across the middle.  That and the introduction of Asian carp to these waters seems to have worsened the water quality.   Still, even in a reduced state it's an appreciable place for nature.

Several American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erthrorhynchos) sat out on sandbars, and one flew right over our heads.  The majority of people with me weren't birdwatchers, but pelicans are a bird everyone can appreciate, given their size and bill.

The pelican landed just behind us in a small bay, where it posed for photos.  After this, we went over to Sand Ridge State Forest and into the desert of H.A. Gleason State Nature Preserve.

Two of the four of us had never been to H.A. Gleason, so we trekked over the sands.

The breeze had kicked up, and we walked through the dry grasses as they blew in the wind, north towards a tall dune named the Devil's Neck.  I call this grass patch the "Devil's Prairie" as I always end up with ticks when crossing it.

Once on the Devil's Neck, we found a few small members of the Mustard family, inlcluding this Draba reptans, but one a bit rarer than the rest:

The famous Silvery Bladderpod (Lesquerella ludoviciana) while in bud, was not in flower (at the time, though on a second visit later...)

I love the giant sandbox that is this part of Mason County.

Now, I'm not going to say exactly where this tree is, but it is in the vicinity of our previous locations.  The reason for this is simple- snakes like this are often taken from the wild.  As a result, I will say that this is in Mason County, but no more than that.

I had walked ahead of the group, looking on the ground for snakes.  Someone called out "Snake!" and I immediately ran back to see it.  We had discussed the possibility that there might be some Racers in the vicinity, but as soon as I saw it, I happily screamed. "Bullsnake!"  (Pituophis catenifer sayi).

Bullsnakes are the largest snake species in Illinois, and while this wasn't a big one, it was about three and a half to four feet long.  They are most often seen in Illinois on the "Kankakee Sands", south of Chicago along the state's northeastern border with Indiana.  The Mason County population is similar, but far less photographed by herpers. This snake resides in the sand-prairie regions of Illinois, and avoids the black-soil former prairie areas throughout most of Illinois.

This was a beautifully-patterned snake. Unfortunately, I don't have a clear photo, and they get the name Bullsnake for their aggressive-if-handled temperament.  I let the snake climb higher in the tree, and both it and I were happier for it.

In the same area, we found some Corydalis flavula, a favorite of mine that I don't see near home.

A member or two of our group had never seen a wild Bald Eagle before, so I decided to show them a nest I'd found.  As we approached, the Bald Eagle flew off of the nest.  It wasn't a great look, but they did finally see a wild Bald Eagle!

We then went off to Emiquon, and realized quickly that while the levee-protected Thompson Lake wasn't very high, the surrounding area's floodwaters were far higher than usual!

We started watching fish in the shallows, including this Shortnose Gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) below.  Obviously, I've tweaked the photo so that you can see the gar.  I had never seen a gar in the wild before, and it was quite fun to watch as it cruised along the water's surface.

Far off in the distance, we spotted an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  flying past.  It dove for a fish just after this photo was taken.  Ospreys may be State-endangered, but here they're an easy bird to see.

At the Emiquon Visitor's Center, several Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) (named for Savannah, Georgia) hopped about in the grass on the edge of the wetland.

We saw several other interesting birds, some or all of which will be mentioned in the future.  After a brief drive-about, we took a photo of the lake and left for home, stopping at Dairy Queen on the way.  It was a fine end to a long day of exploring.  Little did I know I'd be back the next weekend...

Strange Animals of Australia!

I don't usually write posts about things I haven't seen, and especially things I will probably never see. That being said, I was reading a bit about Australian wildlife, and I found it quite entertaining! I know the standard rule about Australian wildlife is that everything wants to kill you. However, there's a second rule that isn't discussed as often. One of the more fascinating parts of Australian wildlife is that extinction is temporary. That isn't true, of course, but some Australian animals have a way of reappearing after decades not matched by anything else on the planet.

For instance, the Night Parrot, which was recently in the news, was first found in 1861. Seen very rarely between 1861 and 1912, the Night Parrot was not seen after 1912 and presumed extinct. However, in 1979, a man spotted a flock of the birds. Until 2013, however, no one had gotten a photo of a live Night Parrot!

You wouldn't think that people would misplace the most venomous snake species on the planet for almost a century, but for ninety years (1882-1972), the Inland Taipan, the most venomous snake in the world, hid out in remote deserts in Australia. It was only rediscovered when a severed head was taken to a scientists collecting snake samples.

A third interesting example is the Parma Wallaby. This species appeared to have died out by the early 1900s. Fast forwards to New Zealand's Kawau Island, next to the capital city of Auckland, in 1965. Wallabies had been introduced to this island for hunting, and they had become invasive. Biologists studying this population discovered that there were two species of introduced wallabies, and that this second species was the Parma Wallaby! However, this story gets even better. In 1967, scientists found the first of several more populations of Parma Wallabies in the mountains of New South Wales, near the most populated regions of Australia. They'd been living there, unnoticed, for decades.

Another tale is that of the Nothomyrmecia ant, a species of ant that is considered one of the most scientifically primitive in the world- akin to a dinosaur in the entomological world. Found first in fossils, an Australian amateur entomologist stumbled across this species in Western Australia in 1931. This population was never rediscovered. A group of entomologists in 1977, on their way to go looking for it, stopped briefly at a spot 810 miles away from the original sighting, to stretch their legs. One of the entomologists, looking down, found a single Northomyrmecia ant! "Living fossils" seem quite ocmmon on this continet, too!.

The Wollemi Pine is one of the more recent discoveries in this group. A sort of "prehistoric" tree thought to have died off a long time ago, Wollemi Pines were discovered by a hiker in one spot in the rainforests of New South Wales, Australia, in 1994. The spot where Wollemi Pines were discovered is less than 150 kilometers from the largest city in Australia- Sydney. To put this into perspective. that's about the same distance that St. Louis, Missouri is from Springfield, Illinois!

Perhaps the best example of a "living fossil" is the stromatolite. Stromatolites are the hardened remains, built up over time, of mats of photosynthetic bacteria, often occurring in unusually salty water. According to evolutionary theory, stromatolites are the oldest living organisms in the world. They were first discovered as fossils in Western Australia. Living Stromatolites were then first discovered in Shark Bay, off Australia's western coast, in 1956. Since then, stromatolites have been found all over the world.

There are dozens of stories like this about Australian wildlife. If everything wasn't trying to kill me, I'd be interested in visiting. Even now, the supposedly extinct Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger, keeps getting spotted. Sooner or later, I expect it to be discovered yet again. I can't wait to hear about yet another extinct animal coming back to life when it does.

Temporary Hiatus #1

This blog is on a temporary hiatus until I get through a lot of schoolwork.  Don't worry, I'll be back in like a week and a half or so!

Black-necked Stilt photo, from a recent trip to Emiquon:

Going to Mason County for... Flowers?

I've been quite busy lately.  School is ramping up in the tail half of the semester, just as the flowers and birds come back in full.  I wish finals came in March so that we could have spring to enjoy unencumbered by exams and grades.  That being said, I got to go to Revis Hill Prairie and a few other sites in Mason County, spending a full day doing so.  It's not something I can do often, but it sure is fun to do when possible!

Our first find of the day turned out to be one of our best, as we found the State-endangered Prairie False Dandelion (Nothocalais cuspidata), a plant far more common on the Great Plains.  In Illinois, this plant is in the as far southeast of its range, and Revis is one of its most southerly outposts here.

As usual, the views from the top of the hill prairies were great, even if the majority of the landscape remained in somber winter hues.

Several different forms of Cleft Phlox (Phlox bifida), all varying in petal "cleftness" (like the one at top), bloomed throughout the hill prairie.  This was the most common spring flower present.

It's always fun introducing people to Revis Hill Prairie, and I've gotten to do it a couple times now.

Even I, however, keep finding new life here.  For instance, I was not aware of Carolina Anemones (Anemone caroliniana) as a plant species until now.  They have to be the most attractive plant species I've seen this year, though that's currently a short list.

The flower is so tiny and delicate, and yet so durable as to survive here.  It is well made!

Our party worked our way downhill, and we found some bird hiding in a clump of bushes.  It eventually went up a bit and revealed itself to be an Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)!  This is a bird I don't feel that I see enough.  Then again, this is about as good a view as most people ever get of an Eastern Towhee- they're remarkably shy birds!

Then I found a plant I've been after for years- the Violet Wood Sorrel  (Oxalis violacea), in full bloom, at the base of the slope.  This is a "common" plant in Illinois, but it's common in areas where I don't live.  Dozens grew on the loose loess slopes. (Say that three times fast!)

We left from Revis after a bit more hiking, and on into further adventures.  However, since I am busy currently, I don't have time to write those all up now.  I leave you with one last look at Revis. I've waxed lyrical at many times about the views at Revis Hill Prairie, but they are the best I know of within an hour's drive of my residence.  What more can I say?

Car-bon-da-le! (An Eagle, A Tower, and A Strange Mushroom, Too!)

I recently went down to Carbondale (which should be pronounced Car-bon-da-ley).  After setting the business for which I had gone there, my family and I went off to a nearby lakeside park to eat lunch.  This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) decided to watch us for a bit:

I misidentified a cormorant, too, (I think?), which you can read about in my last post, here. Then I found a Midland Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon pleuralis) (I think?), which is a new subspecies for me (I think?).  I'm not too sure about any of this, except that this is a snake.

It's a beautiful specimen, I know that for certain!

After lunch, we went to Giant City State Park.  This is a place you will likely see a LOT more in future, hopefully on less gray of a day in the future:

The sandstone cliffs are supposed to be laid out like a "Giant's City" by early settlers, hence the name.

 Small water pools were everywhere after the recent rains.

At the time, some of the flowering trees were coming into bloom.  I looked about vainly for salamanders, but none were forthcoming.

The water flowed down into rocky creeks, so unlike the muddy brown waterholes I'm used to:

Here and there, a Buttercup (Ranunculus sp.) lay golden in the grasses:

Along some other places, one of the most beautiful spring flowers in Illinois, the Blue-eyed Marys (Collinsia verna), flourished by the thousands.  These are one of Illinois' few colorful annual plants, only living one year and blooming their heart out when they do it.

This marked the start of the divers Fern Rocks Nature Preserve.  Obligatory fern-covered rocks:

Below, dozens of Illinois' best spring wildflowers bloomed, including this Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis).  (Wildflowers in Illinois generally have strange names, too!)

 

Little rivulets emerged from the cracks in the rock, streaming down the cliffs:

What's so fascinating about Fern Rocks is the frequency with which I find woodland species I don't see in my area, like these Pale Corydalis (Corydalis flavula), another annual plant:

Then I found this, a mushroom that escaped out of the Seventies.  It was even brighter in real life!

My parents weren't dressed to go further on Trillium Trail, and I wasn't finding the rare French's Shooting Star plants that I was after, so we moved on to another trail, though not after another picture of Blue-eyed Marys, which I've never seen in my home county:

The French's Shooting Stars will have to wait for next year, I suppose.

The last stop of the day was at the "Giant City" itself, the Giant City trail.

Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) ( I told you, strange names!) was blooming all over the cliffsides, as was its wont.  It's supposed to look like inflated pantaloons, and it was named by English settlers, I'm assuming to insult the Dutch.

Insult of a name or not, it's still one of my favorite spring flowers.

We soon stumbled into the namesake alleys of Giant City.  The sandstone separates at right angles, and gives the place a real man-made feel that is only lost after being told what really happened.

While wandering about the alleys, I stumbled across this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), to complete a mostly unphotographed Woodpecker Shutout (all seven species of woodpeckers in Illinois seen and/or heard in one day):

Then my family found this strange nut, which I have not identified.  I don't think it's a walnut, but I'm really not sure what it is.  Any ideas?

The path looped up, and we went with it.  I heard my first Louisiana Waterthrush, though it was too far off for a photo.  I'm proud of that bird- I finally ID'd a warbler by song!

The path curved around again, leading us back to the parking lot.  We wandered out, where I saw another Louisiana Waterthrush, again too far off for photos.

One of the day's many Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe) did manage to stay still for a photo!

On our way out, we stopped at Giant City Lodge, and its observation tower, looking out over the wilderness through which we had just walked:

Overall, I had a great day, a great day in Car-bon-da-le.  (I'm calling it that from now on.)

Ebird Checklists:

Carbondale Reservoir
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S35507510

Giant City
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S35507087