Barred owl

by Roland D. Hallee

Last Thursday night my wife woke me from a sound sleep to listen to something outside our camp. Well, being somewhat groggy, I didn’t hear anything, and went back to sleep. It wasn’t long afterwards that she woke me again.

“Can’t you hear that?” she inquired sounding a little frustrated – You see, my wife tells me I’m going deaf.

I sat up, and listened attentively. “OK, I hear it, it’s a Barred Owl,” I told her.

She persisted. “Listen carefully.”

What I then heard made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was at least two, maybe three, barred owls caterwauling to each other. This was at about 11 p.m. I had heard Barred Owls behind camp a thousand times, but never anything like this. It was almost as intriguing as listening to loons calling to each other.

The “who cooks for you, who cooks for you all” call was unmistakable. But, I think it was a strange time of year for them to engage in this activity. This is usually done during the spring courtship, when one will vocalize to its mate, and vice versa. There were times when it was so loud and sustained, it almost sounded like a barking dog.

These calls are most heard at night or in twilight, and especially during the breeding season. However, calls can be heard year round since these birds do not migrate. They are very territorial, and will chase away intruders with loud hoots. These vocalizations become more frequent during the mating season, where female birds make invitation calls to mate with males.

Scientists, however, have debated that the calls of Barred Owls are much more diverse than we think. The research indicates that more needs to be known about the Barred Owls before they can deduce more about its behaviors in and out of the breeding season. Owls in general can be a difficult species of bird to study since they are mainly nocturnal and are not incredibly active until the breeding season.

Barred Owls, Strix varia, are easiest to find when they are active at night, but they are easier to hear than to see. From a distance, their calls can sound like a barking dog. They prefer mature forests, and their main diet is small mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

Since the 1960s, Barred Owls have expanded their range to the Pacific Coast where they are considered invasive. That is because it is believed they are partly to blame for the recent decline of the northern Spotted Owl, which is native to British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California. When Barred Owls and Spotted Owls occupy the same space, the Barred Owl is more aggressive and will out-compete the Spotted Owl. Barred Owls have even been known to kill Spotted Owls. Interbreeding is also suspected.

In 2007, White House officials announced a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to shoot Barred Owls in order to reduce the threat to the Spotted Owls. If implemented, it was estimated 2,150 to 2,850 Barred Owls should be taken over a five to 10 year period. It is feared that increased populations of Barred Owls could eventually render the Spotted Owl extinct. Environmentalists fear increased blame on Barred Owls for declining Spotted Owl numbers will result in less attention being paid to territorial protections and resumption of logging in protected Spotted Owl habitat.

According to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, the experiment is ongoing and results are still being studied.

An adult Barred Owl can be anywhere from 16 – 25 inches long and weigh 1.1 to 2.3 pounds, with a wingspan of 38-49 inches. The Barred Owl is the only true owl of the eastern United States which has brown eyes. All others have yellow eyes.

The upper parts are a gray/brown, the underparts are light with markings. The chest is barred horizontally while the belly is striped vertically. The legs and feet are covered with feathers to the talons, and the head is round with no ear tufts.

Even though they are primarily nocturnal, they generally hunt near dawn or dusk, swooping down from a high perch, to take their prey.

We haven’t heard them in over a week, but I know they are still out there. I can’t wait for the next concert.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What Red Sox player was hit by a pitch an American League record 35 times in the 1986 season: Carl Yazstremski, Don Baylor, or Jim Rice?

Answer can be found here.

Giant Water Bug

by Roland D. Hallee

While I was playing cornhole last Friday night, I was interrupted while in the process of preparing for my next toss. It was pointed out to me that something was attached to the leg of my pants.

It was approximately two to three inches long, black/brown – at least in the evening light. Someone said it was a cicadae, but I knew better. I wasn’t sure what it was.

We sent it on its way.

Research told me it was a giant water bug,

Belostomatidae is a family of freshwater insects known as giant water bugs or colloquially as toe-biters, Indian toe-biters, electric-light bugs, alligator ticks, or alligator fleas (in Florida). They are the largest insects in the order. There are about 170 species found in freshwater habitats worldwide.

These predators are typically encountered in freshwater ponds, marshes and slow-flowing streams. They can grow to up to 4.5 inches and nearly reach the length of some of the largest beetles in the world. Giant water bugs are a popular food in parts of Asia.

They have a flattened, egg-shaped body, and usually the legs are flattened. The head features two large compound eyes, but lacks the eye-like spot. Short antennae are tucked in grooves behind the eyes. A short breathing tube can be retracted into its abdomen. Adults cannot breathe under water, so must periodically place the breathing tube at the surface for air (similar to a snorkel).

Their hind legs have two claws. The frontal legs are modified into raptorial appendages that they use to grab their prey. Once caught, the prey are stabbed with their proboscis and a powerful saliva is injected, allowing the bug to suck out the liquefied remains. Wing pads can be seen from the dorsal view. They have a greatly reduced flight apparatus and are flightless.

The giant water bugs are aggressive predators that stalk, capture, and feed on fish, amphibians, as well as aquatic invertebrates such as snails and crustaceans. The largest species have also been found to capture and feed on baby turtles and water snakes. They often lie motionless at the bottom of a body of water, attached to various objects, where they wait for prey to come near. They then strike, injecting a venomous digestive saliva with their rostrum. Although their bite is excruciatingly painful, it is of no medical significance. Occasionally, when encountered by a larger animal or a human, they have been known to “play dead” and most species can emit a fluid from their anus. Due to this, they are assumed dead by humans only to later “come alive” with painful results.

These water bugs show paternal care and these aspects have been studied extensively. In species of the subfamily, the eggs are typically laid on the male’s wings and carried until they hatch. The male cannot mate during this period. The males invest considerable time and energy in reproduction and females take the role of actively finding males to mate. This role reversal matches the predictions of R. L. Trivers’ parental investment theory where the eggs are laid on emergent vegetation and guarded by the male.

In some areas of Asia, they are considered a delicacy, and can be found for sale in markets. This is mainly in South and Southeast Asia. In South and Southeast Asia they are often collected for this purpose using large floating traps on ponds, set with black lights to attract the bugs. Adults fly at night, like many aquatic insects, and are attracted to lights during the breeding season.

I don’t know where it came from, or where it went, I don’t know why it chose me among the dozen and half people who were there that night.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

In what year did the Patriots move from Boston to Foxborough and changed their name to the New England Patriots?

Answer can be found here.

Left, Northern ringneck snake. Right, Northern ringneck snake
under side.

by Roland D. Hallee

A friend of mine, who lives in Sidney, sent a text message with the photo of a snake he found under his wood pile. He said he had never seen one before. Neither have I. The snake was black with a bright yellow ring around its neck. What he found is fairly common.

Diadophis punctatus, commonly known as the ring-necked snake or ringneck snake, is a harmless species of snake found throughout much of the United States, central Mexico, and south-eastern Canada. Ring-necked snakes are secretive, nocturnal snakes, so are rarely seen during the day time. They are best known for their unique defense posture of curling up their tails, exposing their bright red-orange posterior, ventral surface when threatened.

Ring-necked snakes are believed to be fairly abundant throughout most of their range, though no scientific evaluation supports this hypothesis. Scientific research is lacking for the ring-necked snake, and more in-depth investigations are greatly needed.

Ring-necked snakes are fairly similar in morphology throughout much of their distribution. Its dorsal coloration is solid olive, brown, bluish-gray to smoky black, broken only by a distinct yellow, red, or yellow-orange neck band.

Size also varies across the species’ distribution. Typically, adults measure 10–15 inches in length,

Ring-necked snakes have smooth scales with 15–17 scale rows at midbody. Males typically have small tubercles on their scales just anterior to the vent, which are usually absent in females.

Ring-necked snakes usually mate in the spring.

Ring-necked snakes are fairly common throughout much of the United States extending into southeastern Canada and central Mexico. Eastern populations cover the entire Eastern seaboard from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, in Canada, continuous through the Gulf Coast of Texas. Distribution moves inland into northern Minnesota, continuing diagonally through the U.S. to include all of Iowa, eastern Nebraska, and most of Kansas. In the western U.S., the distribution is significantly less continuous, with spotty, distinct population segments through most of the Pacific Northwest. Populations extend from south-central Washington continuing along the extreme West Coast into Mexico. Population segments extend inland into western Idaho, through southern Nevada, into central Utah, and continuing south through Arizona and central Mexico.

Ring-necked snakes occur in a wide variety of habitats. Preference seems to be determined by areas with abundant cover and denning locations. Northern and western subspecies are found within open woodlands near rocky hillsides, or in wetter environments with abundant cover or woody debris.

Since it is a woodland reptile, it can also commonly be found under wood or scraps. Because of hot weather, they tend to make holes and burrows, or they hide under rocks or any suitable material. They are normally found in flatland forests. Though they prefer to remain away from human-made structures, ring-neck snakes are not afraid to utilize urbanized areas as refuge from predators.

The diet of the ring-necked snake consists primarily of smaller salamanders, earthworms, and slugs, but they also sometimes eat lizards, frogs, and some juvenile snakes of other species. The frequency at which prey species are chosen is dependent on their availability within the habitat. Ring-necked snakes use a combination of constriction and venom to secure their prey. In a study analyzing the dietary habits of this species, age, amount of food consumed, and temperature were conditions that highly affected digestion. The snakes do not have a true venom gland, but they do have a structure called the Duvernoy’s gland derived from the same tissue. The venom is produced in the Duvernoy’s gland located directly behind the eye. It then drains out of an opening at the rear of the maxillary tooth. Ring-necked snakes first strike and then secure the prey using constriction. Next, they maneuver their mouths forward, ensuring the last maxillary tooth punctures the skin and allowing the venom to enter the prey’s tissue. The secretion significantly affects the righting response of the prey. Ring-necked snakes are rarely aggressive toward larger predators, suggesting their venom evolved as a feeding strategy rather than a defense mechanism. Rather than trying to bite a predator, the snake winds up its tail into a corkscrew, exposing its brightly colored belly.

Ring-necked snakes are primarily nocturnal or can be found at twilight, though some day time activity has been observed. Individuals are sometimes found during the day, especially on cloudy days, sunning themselves to gain heat. Yet, most individuals lie directly under surface objects warmed in the sun and use conduction with that object to gain heat. Though ring-necked snakes are highly secretive, they do display some social structure, but the exact social hierarchies have never been evaluated. Many populations have been identified to have large colonies of more than 100 individuals, and some reports indicate some smaller colonies occupy the same microhabitats.

If you should see one, it’s harmless to humans.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who were the Boston Red Sox’ “Gold Dust Twins” in the 1970s?

Answer can be found here.

pileated woodpecker (left), ivory-billed woodpecker (right)

by Roland D. Hallee

You catch a fast-moving, swooping bird navigate through the thick forest of trees. It looks more like a shadow. What was that? It lands on the trunk of a nearby tree, and begins a slow, rolling whacking sound against the bark of that dead tree. You look closer, it’s a pileated woodpecker.

Although very common in the eastern United States, it can sometimes be quite elusive. You don’t generally see them often, because they prefer the protection of dense deciduous or coniferous forests.

The pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, lives in Canada from British Columbia east to Nova Scotia. It can be found in most areas of the eastern United States, and west from Washington state south to California and east to Idaho and North Dakota.

Their numbers have increased from 1966 to 2014, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding popultion of 1.9 million with 67 percent living in the U.S. and 33 percent in Canada.

The reason for the subject of this bird this week is the numerous photos that readers have been sending to this newspaper.

I have seen several of these birds around camp, and even saw one, once, sitting on an apple tree stump in my backyard, in the middle of Waterville.

The pileated woodpecker is one of the biggest forest birds on the continent. It is close in size to the crow.

They drill distinctive rectangular-shaped holes in rotten wood to get at carpenter ants and other insects. They are loud with whinnying calls. They also drum on dead trees. There flight is undulated (a bounding motion) as opposed to other birds straight flight paths.

Besides carpenter ants, pileated woodpeckers like woodboring beetle larvae, termites and other insects such as flies, spruce budworm, caterpillars, cockroaches and grasshoppers. They will also eat wild fruits and nuts. However, ants comprise 40 percent of their diet. Occasionally, you will find a pileated woodpecker at backyard feeders for seeds or suet.

Building a nest is quite a construction project that can last up to six weeks. The male begins excavating the nest cavity and does most of the work. The entrance hole is oblong rather than the circular shape of most woodpecker holes. For the finishing touches, the bird climbs all the way into the hole and chips away at it from the inside. The female begins to contribute as the nest nears completion. The cavity depth can be from 10 to 24 inches.

Of course, then you have the disagreement on how to pronounce the name. Well, in actuality, it can be pronounced two ways. You can use he soft “i” as in pill-ee-ated, or the hard “i” in pile-ee-ated. So, now we should have no more arguments about that subject.

Many people, though, confuse the pileated woodpecker with the ivory-billed woodpecker. The ivory-billed woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America, other than the imperial woodpecker of Mexico, which is feared to be extinct. The pileated is the second largest. Because of habitat destruction and, to a lesser extent, hunting, the numbers of ivory-billed woodpeckers, Campephilus principalis, have dwindled to the point where it is uncertain whether any remain, though there have been reports that they have been seen again, in Florida and Arkansas, although nothing has been substantiated. According to various sources, including the Cornell University Lab on Ornithology, almost no forests today can maintain an ivory-billed woodpecker population. Ivory-billed woodpeckers were most prominent in the southeastern U.S.

So, if you see that large woodpecker in Maine woods, you are most probably seeing a pileated woodpecker.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Which Boston Red Sox player holds the club record for intentional walks, Wade Boggs, Carl Yastrzemski, or David Ortiz?

Answer can be found here.