Wednesday, May 31, 2017

"Those rocks aren't THAT big..." Visiting the Ozarks, Part 4 (Finale!)


Ozarks Spring 2017 Series
This is Part 4


At this point, people might be tiring of the Ozarks, and I was starting to as well.  That's why I've saved one of the best finds for last, and also because I don't want to reveal its location.  This is an Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris), and it is one of the more odd residents of the place where I found it.  Most Collared Lizards live in the southern Great Plains and the deserts of the West.  However, Missouri has microclimates in the Ozarks that resemble its habitats out west. so it lives here.  I'm just going to say that this lizard was found in an unexpected location.


Now, you might think that I'm being overly cautious in not saying where this was.  However, the Eastern Collared-Lizard is a state-listed (protected) species in Missouri, because people regularly capture these attractive lizards for the pet trade.  This has led them to vanish from much of their habitat.  I don't want to contribute to that, so I'm not going to say where I found it.


I flipped over a rock in the same place and found a Prairie Racerunner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridis) hiding underneath.  It took off a second later., and as I've mentioned before, they earn the name racerunner!  They do a slithering series of dashes that's quite fun to watch.

If they were easier to catch, I'd be worried about the Prairie Racerunners being caught for captivity in a similar fashion.  It's my opinion that they are the most attractive lizard in the eastern United States.

 Now, to return to our regularly scheduled nonsense, we stopped at Elephant Rocks State Park on the way to home.  The first rocks we saw weren't that large, hence the title of this post.  In front of the bathrooms Nathan found this moth, a Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus).  This impressive moth was the last of the many stunning moths we saw on this trip.

I did see several Great Crested Flycatchers (Myiarchus crinitus) here, which I found exciting.  I don't see these much where I live.  Yet we have plenty of flies... we could certainly use them!


Several Prairie Racerunners  may or may not have been seen there, to the point where they may or may not have been one of the most numerous animals in the spot where they may or may not have been found.  I may or may not be concerned about people trying to catch these where they may...

Ok, I give up, this is getting exhausting to write.  Herpers aren't supposed to disclose the locations of reptiles, I've found out.  Also, a herper is somebody who likes reptiles/amphibians (herptiles).  However, I hope it's vague enough if I say these lizards were EVERYWHERE!


Pencil Flower (Stylosanthes biflora) , a new plant for me, bloomed along one of the many side-trails people have made here.  There were dozens of these, all well-worn with use.  We used some of them. because the main path was literally designed so that a visually-impaired person would be able to use it. As a result, it went around the interesting rock formations we wanted to see, not up close to them.  We didn't blaze any new trails, however, and stuck only to areas where people had walked before us.


The rocks slowly got larger, with little bonsai-like oak trees growing in the cracks and dirt patches.


Fence/Prairie Lizards (Sceloporus consobrinus) like this unusually reddish one vied with Prairie Racerunners as the most common lizards.  Either way, there were more lizards here than in the average Floridan garden, and that's saying something, because Florida gardens have lots of lizards!


A few Lichen Grasshoppers (Trimerotropis saxatilis) hid in the lichens here, but there were far fewer fruticose lichens, so their ability to hide was compromised.

Massive pink granite boulders, with fifteen-foot-deep, three-foot-wide cracks between them, became the norm upon the hilltop.  We could also look out and see the Ozark hills in the distance.


Here's Tayo trying to climb up this rock.  It defeated his attempts to go on top, but I use him here for a sense of scale.  These were large, oddly-balanced rocks!


Here you can see the unusual wetlands in small sinkholes atop the rocks. Frogs had laid their eggs here some time back, and dozens of tadpoles lived on the algae in a few of the rocky pools.


The rocks do bear the vaguest resemblance to a pachyderm, and I do mean the vaguest.  Also, a pachyderm is an elephant, rhino, or hippo- some large thick-skinned mammal, of the sort that would be found in the average nature documentary.


We sat under some boulders, where a triangular window let in the sun.


On the other side, the ground sloped down. Two precariously-balanced boulders on the edge threatened to imitate Raiders of the Lost Ark as we ran downslope ahead of them.  However, the analogy to that Indiana Jones escapade was inexact- the boulders remain, as far as I know, fixed in the same position, balanced on the edge of the slope, still threatening to fall down.


On the edge of the woods, we encountered a toad.  I have been told that this is a Dwarf American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus charlesmithii), which would be a new type of toad for me.


A large quarry pond reminded us of Elephant Rocks's history. Before being a state park, Elephant Rocks was a pink granite quarry. In general, the quarry added little to the beauty of the rocks, but this pond is an exception.


I did mention there were lizards here, right?  While photographing this lizard, I spotted a red shape with an unusually light, thin bill fly away- Summer Tanager!  I then heard some odd birdcalls coming from the nearby bushes, so I crept forward, towards the calls.  I'd wait, then I'd hear another one, and I 'd creep closer to my target.  I raised my camera- Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater).  Boo.  This is one of the most common birds at Elephant Rocks, so I was annoyed.


Jokes about "regular hiking time, and birdwatcher's hiking time" began about this point, and proved popular.  However, this was merely some good-natured ribbing.  I was trying to see it all, and I missed much, including a snake species I'd always wanted to see, that someone else in our group saw.


Now, I could have done without seening this.  I'd seen few invasives prior to this, but this was an unwelcomingly healthy population of Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) (a vine, unlike the bush, Amur/Asian Bush Honeysuckle, that is usually called Japanese Honeysuckle). The sickly-sweet scent reminded us why this plant grows here now- it was brought over for gardens.  Even today, some people still grow it in their gardens.  However, Japanese Honeysuckle takes over and then demolishes native landscapes, its heavy vines blocking out anything else growing in its path.


An equally unwelcome native also grew on the side of the trail- Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), shown here in flower.  I'd never seen it's flowers, though it has white berries in fall that I have seen.


An incredibly colorful bug landed on Professor Croteau's back as we ate snacks nearby.  This proved to be the last major sighting of anything until we got back to Illinois.  As we unloaded our van in the LLCC parking lot, a Common Nighthawk called and promptly flew overhead, a great Fifth Orchid for a truly amazing trip. It's taken me four blogposts, and I'm sure I haven't written half of it!  However, all good things must come to an end, and for the sake of privacy, time, and lack of further photos, I must bring this series to a close.  I can't wait until my next visit here!


Ebird Checklist:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37026176

Monday, May 29, 2017

"I don't think I'll find THAT many new birds..." Visiting the Ozarks, Part 3

Ozarks Spring 2017 Series
This is Part 3


One of the most unexpected highlights after the first hour or so of hiking in the Ozarks was the birdlife.  Almost none of the birds were migrants, save for a Veery or two I heard.  However, the breeding birds I got to see and hear were incredible. Every morning and evening at our cabins, this Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) would come out and sing.


The pond behind our cabins was simply spectacular.  It was called Beaver Pond, but there was a lack of beavers.  I'd call it Birdwatchers Pond, personally.  The birdlife here was full of birds I'm not used to seeing in Illinois.  The Indigo Bunting (which I find in Illinois) was only the tip of the iceberg.


We could see an unknown mountain as we looked out from our campground.


The turtle diversity was impressive.  We recorded Northern Map Turtles, Painted Turtles, Red-eared Sliders, and this Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)- all in the same pond!


The pond did have one downside- the grassy edges were full of ticks.  I found fifteen-odd ticks while walking around the pond to take this photo.  Thankfully, none of the ticks I found on this trip were attached.  Still, the numbers are quite alarming for me.  I never had a tick until about the age of 10, and I also had a childhood acquaintance nearly die of tick-born Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.


So, after that hike, we remained on the cabins side of the pond, but thankfully so did tons of birds.  This Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) had a nest in the eaves of my cabin.  A few oaks with dying branches near the cabins made for excellent photography spots.  Apparently, I read after the trip that there was a drought in this area a few years ago, and as a result many of the oaks in dryer spots had a number of dead branches.  All the better for photography, I say!


I'm not sure what this Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) was doing, but it held this pose for about thirty seconds before never showing up again.  This titmouse was the only one of the trip, oddly.  I'd expected to find more of them, but I wonder if they prefer moister woods than the Ozarks.


Another great bird was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).  This little humdinger loved the Beebalm plants growing abundantly nearby, and regularly fed on them.  Also, it surprised some members of our group by sitting down on a branch for a few moments.  I'm curious how they thought Hummingbirds nested and laid eggs, but I presume they hadn't thought of that.



Also abundant, the little Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) warblers called from all over the grasslands, though these shy birds were rarely seen.

However, all of these birds are regulars in my area.  The following ones are rarities for me or straight-up lifers- birds I've never seen before.


The first lifer I had was this Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis), a hawk I've always wanted to see.  I'm aware they are far more common in Southern Illinois, but even so, anywhere in Illinois this is a state-listed bird.  I'm hoping, next time, to get a better look at one- as this photo is about as much of a view as I had!  The Mississippi Kite is a species of bottomland old-growth forests... I'm not sure what it was doing over the uplands of the Ozarks, but I suspect it was migrating through the area on its way to better habitat.  It might reside down near the Black River, however.


This White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) was a sort of a lifer- I'd just head a White-eyed Vireo at Revis Hill Prairie back in Illinois (more details here), but this was my first photo and look at one in the wild.  This bird is SO shy.  I heard it near-constantly, but I only ever got this one look at it for about twenty seconds, over three days.  It always called from a nearby clump of bushes, every day.


Equally vociferous, and somewhat less shy, was this Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens).  This unusual bird is sort of  a cross between a Common Yellowthroat warbler and a Mockingbird.  It imitates other birds and nearly equals the noisiness of the Mockingbird, including the tendency to call in the middle of the night.  However, it has the Common Yellowthroat's colors, and its behavior is intermediate between the two.  It's not half so bold as a Mockingbird, but neither is it as shy as a Yellowthroat.  In looks, in habits, and in calls, this is a perfect hybrid of the two.

 (Mockingbirds are in the group of birds called thrashers or mimids.  I'm not sure why they're called thrashers, to be honest.  Mimids comes from mimic- these birds mimic other birdcalls and noises.)

At present, the Yellow-breasted Chat is a taxonomic oddity.  It's currently considered a warbler, but in habits it acts more like a thrasher. I'd categorize it as the one and only Thrash-Warbler.


At this point, a genuine warbler showed up- the Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor), one I'd been wanting to see for years. There were three birds seen on this trip I'd been wanting to see for years- Mississippi Kite, this Prairie Warbler, and one upcoming one.

This Prairie Warbler also helps to prove that more species of warblers exist, something I've come to doubt as of this spring.  Here's why:  I have seen nine species of warblers in Illinois this year.  There are thirty-six species of warblers that are regularly recorded in Illinois, and most of these are migrants only around for about two months or so. So, I've missed 3/4 of the warblers in Illinois this year.  However, this Ozarks trip got me several I've missed, so I'm up to 14 species for the year.  I really need to just bite the bullet and go to Montrose Point in Chicago, widely considered the best spot to find warblers on migration in Illinois.  I've missed spring migration, but fall migration is a thing, so...


Anyway, this Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) accurately represents what most people have done at this point, I assume -dived down to more interesting content.  Oddly, this was the only mammal we saw near the pond.  For all the deer ticks, the deer were lacking in visibility.


What wasn't lacking was lizards, as I've mentioned before.  Nathan mentioned seeing something with a blue tail and an orange head on the steps, so we went back and found this skink, probably a Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), though the ID group to which I submitted it was in doubt.


It proved to be quite fond of sunning itself on the rockwork of our cabin.


Nearby,  a second skink, presumably another Five lined Skink, rested on the wall. They hid in cracks in the wall whenever we approached too closely.


While looking at skinks, we found this hidden Luna Moth (Actias luna) under our deck's bench. This was initially thought to be the best moth of the trip, but it proved not to be...  However, it was one of the best, and finding a Luna Moth is always great.  They only live for a week as a moth, so finding Luna Moths is somewhat a matter of luck and somewhat a matter of timing.

The skinks reappeared, vanishing after a certain time in the morning.  Hayley spotted them fighting each other at one point, or at least biting each other.  I'm not entirely sure what they were up to.


Now, at night, the shower house attracted a huge variety of insects, including this four-inch-long Narceus millipede.  I call these Patriotic Millipedes because they are red and blue-striped.


This lifer Io Moth (Automeris io) is a female, due to its duller brown coloration.  I'd never seen an Io Moth before, so this was very exciting!  I would say that this is the best moth of the trip.


This moth that looks like bird poop is named the Beautiful Wood-nymph (Eudryas grata), which proves that the people who name moths are crazy. Mothing has taken off as a hobby in the US, and I can certainly see the appeal in the case of these unusual moths!


A Harnessed Moth (Apantesis phalerata) fell into the two groups of moths; the colorful and the camoflaged.  It is in good company with the Io and Luna moths for that.


This Lichen-like moth was the last interesting moth we saw. I'm not going to try to bring it to species- that's for mothers.  (MOTH-ers, not mothers.  Mothers is not going to catch on as a title for those whom go out looking for moths, I suspect.  Mothwatchers?)


This notice was posted on the side of the shower house.  Needless to say, it was a slight concern after the events of the Scour Trail hike!  We probably weren't cautious enough while out at night.


The last day got us a few new birds for the campgrounds, as we were "packing", including this Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea), a bird people in Illinois go nuts over. However, they seem fairly common in Missouri- this is the third one I've found in Missouri in the past month!


The third of the three lifers I really wanted to find, this Orchard Oriole  (Icterus spurius) was one of several that hung about our campground all three days.  The last one posed the best, however.  Orchard Orioles look like a Baltimore Oriole that was burned in a campfire, and they retain a sort of smoldering look to them.  I don't mean that as a detraction, but merely as a metaphor.


As we were getting supplies into the van to leave on the last day, a Green Heron (Butorides virescens) landed in our tree.  It was the last species we found at the cabins before we left.


On our drive to Taum Sauk Mountain, the highest point in Missouri, on the last day, we found not one but two Three-toed Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina triunguis) crossing the road.  I took this quick photo as a reminder that we'd found these lifer turtles.


Taum Sauk Mountain, the highest point in Missouri, (at 1772 feet) looked out over much of the rest of the Ozarks.  The glade below looked fun to explore, so I went down there.


I found some Gray Beardtongue (Penstemon canescens) here, and then noticed about twenty ticks on my legs.  The total, after much pulling, was 22. Bear in mind, I walked twenty feet into the glade, took a few photos, and then walked out once I saw some ticks on me.  That had to have been five minutes, tops.  This is why I complain about all the ticks so much!


Back on the overlook, I spotted another Ruby-throated Hummingbird, while listening to a Yellow-throated Chat declare its presence in a nearby tree.  The views behind this were spectacular, too, as we could look out over dozens of peaks.  Our cabins may have had much in the way of birdlife, but I wonder if I sat down at the overlook for the same amount of time, how much I would have seen?

At any rate, there were LOTS of birds I didn't even mention: the Whippoorwills that Hayley loved so much because they kept her up at night (and which I finally got to see in person!), the Turkey Vultures that sailed right over the pond, the Brown Thrashers fighting on the road, and so many more.  If you want to know all the birds that we saw, click the Ebird links below.

I have one last blogpost in the Ozarks, and then I have to start posting about my Kentucky trip!  This spring has been very busy (another reason for the lack of warblers), and I'll have many adventures to write about.  I've made it my motto lately that I can sleep in July... there's too much to see now!


Campgrounds:
First day:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37025497
Second day:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37025633
Third day:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37026063

Taum Sauk Mountain:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37026095