Hubbard Fellowship Blog – LeConte’s Bonanza

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This post was written by Evan Barrientos, one of our Hubbard Fellows.  Evan is a talented writer and photographer and I encourage you to check out his personal blog. If you would like to see more of his photographs, you can follow him on Facebook.

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LeConte’s Sparrows are one of the most secretive sparrows in North America. Until this October I had only caught glimpses of two before. But last fall it seemed that while migrating through Nebraska these birds drop their reclusive habits and adopt the friendliness of rural Nebraskans. Two hundred yards from my house is a wetland that was restored by The Nature Conservancy, and as I birded it last October I was stunned to repeatedly find multiple LeConte’s Sparrows feeding in the tall wetland vegetation. Not only were they numerous (up to 7 at a time!) but they were also curious and approached me! As far as I know, LeConte’s Sparrows are not known for doing that. I took many walks reveling in this rare bird bonanza and even was even able to record a few videos of this gorgeous wetland recluse. I always wondered why this species had an orange coloration, but after seeing them in dry, yellow cattails bathed in the golden light of sunset I finally understood.

LeConte’s Sparrows breed in wet meadows of central Canada and the northern edge of midwestern U.S. Their remote location and preference to remain under cover of dense vegetation make them a notoriously difficult species to observe. In fact, their nest wasn’t documented until 100 years after the bird was first seen by Europeans. Each fall they discreetly migrate south through the U.S., occasionally delighting birdwatchers by exposing themselves, until reaching southeastern U.S., where they spend the winter. I look forward to seeing if they’re as friendly on their return trip in spring!

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The restored wetland where I found several LeConte’s Sparrows last October.

An Aquatic Stick Insect

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While my wife Kim and I were at the Niobrara Valley Preserve for several days in December, we spotted a small creature neither of us had seen before.  We were walking along the edge of the river (hoping to see more otters, of course) and stopped to look at a small school of minnows near a patch of ice along the riverbank.  As my eyes wandered away from the minnows, I was startled to see what looked like a walking stick insect swimming slowly through the water.  Kim and I watched it for a few minutes and even pulled it out of the water to examine it briefly.  It was swimming slowly, but steadily, and seemed very at home in the water.  Up close, we could see that it wasn’t actually a walking stick, but it sure did look similar.

Water stick insect (Ranatra). The Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve.

Water stick insect (Ranatra). The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve.

Later, a quick google search revealed that we’d seen a water stick-insect (genus Ranatra), also known as a water scorpion.  Water stick-insects are predatory insects that are apparently active throughout the winter.  What look like long mouth parts on the front of the insect are actually long strong front legs used for capturing and holding prey.  The long pipes extending from their tail are used for breathing.

Walking stick insect on silky prairie clover in the east bison pasture of the Niobrara Valley Preserve.

I photographed this walking stick insect about a mile from where we saw the water stick-insect.  This one is on silky prairie clover in the sandhills prairie portion of the Niobrara Valley Preserve.  Can you see how I thought the water stick might have been this instead?

While the water stick-insect does resemble the terrestrial walking stick insect in many ways, the two are not at all closely related.  They are both insects, of course, but that’s as close as they get, taxonomically.  They are not only in different insect families, but completely different insect orders as well.  In fact, they are more closely related to assassin bugs and ambush bugs, and use a similar strategy for subduing and eating their food.  All three pierce their prey with sharp beaks and inject saliva that both paralyzes and liquefies the inside of the hapless creature.  Water stick-insects feed on insects, but also tadpoles and small fish.

 

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