Maya: Animal Friends' Home to Home Adoption Program

Maya is an 11-year-old Golden Retriever with a very kind heart.  Although she is a senior girl, she is still in great health and has a lot of energy to share. She would happily go for a couple walks each day and then sit and enjoy some cuddles with her people. Maya has done very well sharing a home with cats and small children for years –  even sharing her bed with a feline sibling from time to time!

Maya tends to get nervous during thunderstorms, but as long as she has a trusted human companion nearby, she does much better. And, as is common with her breed, it's important to keep her ears clean. Although she isn't much for runs anymore, Maya enjoys playing fetch or splashing around in the water. Her current family is hoping to find her a home where she will get all the love and attention she deserves.

Update: Maya has found a new family to call her own!

Nature: Birders thrilled to see Mississippi kites flying in Ohio

A young Mississippi kite flexes its wings in its nest in Ross County/Jim McCormac

Columbus Dispatch

August 5, 2018

NATURE
Jim McCormac

The summer of 2007 brought exciting news to Ohio’s bird watchers. Birder Rick Perkins had discovered Mississippi kites frequenting a Hocking County golf course. He was there to play a round of golf, and scored an exceptional birdie.

Mississippi kites were then considered rare vagrants to Ohio, and they didn’t usually stick around. If you weren’t there when the kite appeared, you missed it.

The kites Perkins saw at the golf course did linger, and became so reliable that people could visit and expect to see the birds.

As the summer went on, it became clear that the flyweight raptors had a nest nearby. Attempts to find it were unsuccessful, but in late summer a juvenile kite appeared. The begging youngster sat atop tall snags and was stuffed with cicadas and dragonflies by its parents.

The still downy youngster was obviously raised locally — the first documented Ohio nesting on record

Our first confirmed record of a Mississippi kite dates only to 1978, when a bird was seen passing over Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus. Records increased steadily through the years, and by the 2000s birds were being reported almost every year.

As it turns out, the 2007 Hocking County kite nest was the vanguard of a small tide of kites. More nesting sites were found in Hocking County, and likely breeding reports came from Athens County. Summering birds have since appeared in southern Ohio haunts from Marietta to Portsmouth, and at least some of them must be nesting.

A few years ago, Mississippi kites turned up near Chillicothe, and they’ve been back every year since. Finally, a nest was located this summer and, a few weeks ago, one chick hatched. That’s the bird in the photo above.

I visited this nest July 26 and spent several hours photographing the birds. The juvenile was nearly adult-sized and active, often jumping about the nest and flapping its wings. By now, the youngster is out and free-flying.

Mississippi kites are elegant raptors and excellent aeronauts. Although not much smaller than a peregrine falcon (wingspan nearly 3 feet, length more than a foot), the kite weighs only 10 ounces. The comparatively hefty falcon weighs 2½ times that.

Because of their light weight, long, pointed wings and rudderlike tail, kites are extraordinary aerialists capable of embarrassing even the most skilled stunt pilot.

Although they’ll capture small birds and other vertebrates, the kites’ summertime bread and butter is large insects. It’s amazing to watch a kite wafting languidly about high in the air, seemingly sky-loafing

When it spots a dragonfly or cicada far below, the bird will suddenly drop like a meteor. Seconds later, it deftly snags the bug from the air with a lunge of its sharp talons.

Most Mississippi kites breed in the southern Great Plains and Gulf and south Atlantic states. They prefer older-growth bottomland forests. Scattered outposts occur to the north, but in recent years kites have been on a roll, nesting in many new northern areas. Breeders have been reported as far north as New Hampshire.

Why the sudden range expansion? The answer is unclear, but might relate to forest recovery. As eastern forests rebound after the extensive deforestation that occurred from the mid-1800s into the early 20th century, the kites might be reclaiming former haunts.

Come fall, Mississippi kites migrate thousands of miles southward, disappearing into the Amazonian basin of South America. Very little is known about them on the wintering grounds.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.

Hues of Soft Pink

The Eole

created by Clelia Bettua,

is a large, semi-circular wind vane with a diameter of 20 metres

by the lakeside at Ouchy Port.

It follows the prevailing wind direction

and four monoliths located at a distance of 150 metres

enable this work of art to be read.

You can check the direction of the wind by combining the semi-circle of the vane

with the semi-circles carved into the stone.

The wind blowing when this photo was taken

is simply called 'Le Vent'.

It's a south-westerly wind, very common in the summer.

Coming into port at sunset.

Three birds in a row

perched at the very top of these masts.

***

I shall be away for about a week to go up into the mountains

to attend my son's August wedding!

Monarch from egg to butterfly: A pictorial transformation

One of the world's most iconic butterflies, the monarch, Danaus plexippus. These conspicuous insects are revered by large numbers of people, and recent conservation efforts to help declining populations of the migratory eastern populations seem to be bearing fruit. Scores of people are helping by either planting milkweed, or raising and releasing butterflies. Loss of habitat and host plants is a huge factor in the monarch's decline, with increasingly environmentally-unfriendly agricultural practices probably playing the largest role.

The butterfly in this photo is seeking nectar at swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, which is also a favored host plant. Monarchs will lay eggs on nearly all of Ohio's 15 species in the milkweed subfamily, though.

Butterflies have a four-part life cycle, and phase one of the monarch's begins with a tiny egg deposited on the underside of a host plant's leaf. I shot this egg last weekend in Greene County, Ohio. A female was ovipositing on honey vine, Cynanchum laeve, right outside the Midwest Native Plant Conference, so I briefly borrowed an egg for photo purposes. Honey vine is a native albeit somewhat weedy member of the milkweed family, and monarchs frequently use it as a host plant. This egg is hot off the presses; in about four days a tiny caterpillar will emerge.

After the caterpillar eats its way to maturity (takes about two weeks) on milkweed foliage, it finds a sheltered spot to morph into a miraculous chamber of transformation, the chrysalis. Just before commencing the transformational process, the caterpillar attaches itself via a sturdy pedicel and curls into a J-shape.

Few butterfly chrysali are as showy as that of the monarch. This is a very fresh chrysalis, and it looks like a jeweled and gilded piece of art. An incredible reorganization of tissues takes place within, with the caterpillar changing to a creature very dissimilar in appearance.

After about ten days, the caterpillar has reassembled itself as a butterfly, and is ready to emerge from the chrysalis. This image was taken shortly before the butterfly popped free.

NOTE: Barb Huebner was kind enough to give me five monarch chrysali in various stages of development, so I could make photos of the emergence process. This is one of them. Barb raises scores of monarchs, all of which are released back to the wild. She gets the caterpillar livestock from milkweeds growing wild in her Columbus, Ohio yard. By raising caterpillars in a protected environment, survivorship soars as the caterpillars are removed from the risk of being killed by various predators, many of which are other insects. Her work and similar efforts by legions of others is almost certainly bolstering monarch populations.

If you want to catch the entire eclosion (emergence from the chrysalis) process, you've got to pay nonstop attention once the chrysalis looks like it does in the previous photo. Here, two fissures appear in the chrysalis, forming a V-shape.

Now we can clearly see the teardrop-shaped escape hatch with its two gold dots at the base being pushing outward by the emerging butterfly. The butterfly's head is at the bottom, and you can see its proboscis, or tongue, extending upwards into the chrysalis.

Things happen very fast at this point, and I was popping off shots every few seconds.

A few seconds later and the butterfly has squeezed considerably more of its bulk from the case. Two think whitish cords can be seen emerging from either side, below its head. These are the trachea - hollow tubes that conduct oxygen into the pupal case. They are no longer needed once the butterfly has freed itself of the confines of the chrysalis.

The butterfly's wet and folded wings begin to emerge, as do the legs and its entire body. Its head is facing right at the camera, and its abdomen is horizontal and facing away from the camera.

Just a few more seconds and the butterfly has dropped free and is hanging upside down on the spent chrysalis. It is rapidly pumping liquid from its swollen abdomen into the wings, causing them to expand and eventually harden.

We can see the tip of massive abdomen, which immediately post-emergence is greatly swollen. Once the butterfly has thoroughly filled its wing veins with liquid from the abdomen, it will purge excess abdominal fluid. Several globs of greenish liquid will be expelled, after which the abdomen will be much more slender.

The butterfly quickly commences to climb up the side of the former chrysalis. Its already powerful legs allow it to cling with great tenacity. At this point the butterfly is damp, soft, utterly unprepared for flight, and quite vulnerable.

After a half-hour or so from the time of emergence, our monarch looks like this. It still isn't ready for its inaugural flight, but it will be within a few hours. This one was safely liberated and will hopefully make the fantastic several thousand mile flight to the oyamel fir forests of central Mexico. There it will join millions of other overwintering butterflies, and they will commence the annual invasion of the U.S. and Canada early the following spring.

Sam: Animal Friends' Home to Home Adoption Program

Sam is a handsome 7-year-old American Bulldog who is looking to share his sweet personality and affection with a new family. After a recent change in their living situation, Sam’s current family has made the difficult decision to begin searching for a new home that can give this sweet pup the attention and love that he deserves.

While Sam is a bit of a couch potato and enjoys a nice relaxing day, he also enjoys playing with humans and other canine companions. Simply put, Sam can give you the best of both worlds! And, this smart pup knows sit, stay, paw and come and is eager to learn more.

When it comes to manners, Sam is quite the gentleman, although he will occasionally bark when meeting new friends. And, with a little time to warm up (and a few treats!) Sam melts the heart of everyone he meets. Whether it is a neighbor, friend or family member, this pooch is sure to make a positive impression wherever he goes.

If you are seeking a cuddly, fun loving, four-legged family member, Sam could be the perfect fit for you!

To set up a meet and greet with Sam you can contact his current family at salimjackson77@gmail.com.

Northern Fulmar

Northern Fulmars Fully Out to Sea

Northern Fulmar Light Morph

The Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) is a pelagic species found in our waters.  It is found in the northern hemisphere in the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and around the Arctic islands.  It spends its whole life at sea except when it comes to sea islands and cliffs to breed.  It is a member of the Procellariidae family (shearwaters and petrels).  Its tubenose is a distinctive feature of this family.  Notice in the photo above how the nostril is tubular and sits on the dorsal aspect of the beak.  It has salt glands embedded in the flesh above its eyes which excrete excessive salt from its system through these tubular nostrils.  Because of its diet of fish, squid, offal, carrion, marine worms, and crustaceans it needs to excrete salt to maintain a balanced system.  

Northern Fulmars look like stalky gulls.  They are gray above and white below, as seen in the photo above.  The gray is found on the wings, back and tail.  The head and underside are white.  They often show a dark smudge along the eye line.  Their bill is yellow and the feet and legs are gray.  The wings are long and narrow enabling them them to fly in interesting manoeuvres in unpredictable winds.  This species occurs in three morphs; light, intermediate and dark.  The photo above shows a light morph.  See below for a dark morph.  The percentage of dark morphs in a light population depends on the geographical location.  The dark morph is wholly gray with a dark smudge around the eye.  Dark morphs can also be dark brown or brownish gray.  The intermediate morph can be any shade between dark brown and white.  The Northern Fulmar is 48 cm (19 in) long with a wingspan of 107 cm (42 in).

Northern Fulmar Dark Morph

 While on a pelagic trip off Grand Manan we saw about 8 Northern Fulmars with more than one dark morph.  They were quite tame and came up close to the boat.  They have an interesting 'pigeon look' about their heads.  They move south in winter to our waters and those off New England; also off the west coast of Canada south to Mexico.  Their population is stable and possibly increasing in the Atlantic area.  The many birds we saw were probably non-breeders.  

Northern Fulmar Light Morph

Northern Fulmars are monogamous and rejoin their mates each year at the same nesting site for breeding.  Their nest is a slight depression on the ground into which the female lays a single white egg marked with red blotches.  Incubation lasts 52 -53 days and the young one fledges in 49-58 days.  That is a long nesting season!  This species is mostly silent but they do make a variety of croaks and groans on the nesting grounds.  

Northern Fulmar with Herring Gull

Fulmars do not breed until they are 8 to 10 years old.  They are one of the longest-lived birds.  Several birds were banded in Scotland in 1951 and were still breeding in 1990!  They were probably at least 50 years old!  

Our Atlantic population appears to be stable but it could be threatened by oil spills, the plastic refuse floating on/in the ocean, predators and pollution.  Just imaging these individuals living for over 50 years migrating along our coasts from the far north to our waters and southward for all those years.  What a knowledge of oceans currents, feeding areas, climate, geography etc. they must have.

The Coolness of Water

During these days of extreme heat in this part of the world,

it always feels so refreshing to contemplate water.

It doesn't matter if it's the sea or a stream, a lake or a small pond.

Going down to the lake always makes me feel good, 

especially in the calmness of the early mornings

or in the early evenings before sunset.

Sailing boats add to our feeling of peace as they glide along

and the early evening lighting, 

which is often called the Blue Hour,

is particularly beautiful.

***

After posting almost every day during the month of July,

it felt very strange not to continue to do this in August!

However, 

lots of events are taking place this month and I won't always be at home.

I will be doing one more posting over the weekend and then I am going away for a few days.

I hope you are keeping cool if you're visiting from this part of Europe!