Tag Archives: migration

Hubbard Fellowship Blog – LeConte’s Bonanza

Posted on by
1

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.

10162015_nebraska_8340

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!

10052015_nebraska_7722

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

Snake Season!

Posted on by
10

It’s a great time of year to see snakes.  As the weather cools in the fall, snakes are especially drawn to places where they can soak up warm sunlight during the middle part of the day.  That makes it fairly likely to see snakes (alive and dead) along roads.  In addition, many snake species overwinter together in communal winter dens – particularly in higher latitudes.  As they move from their summer feeding areas to those winter dens, they often have to cross roads and other open areas.  This puts snakes at risk from cars and predators but provides even more opportunities for interested people to see snakes that can be difficult to find during the rest of the year.

Yesterday, we spotted this beautiful young bull snake on a gravel road along the edge of one of our Platte River Prairies.  It was only about 16 or so inches long, but it did a great job of making itself look menacing when we stopped to take a closer look.

Young bull snake on gravel road along the boundary of the TNC Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.

This little bull snake was doing its very best to scare me off, but it didn’t work.  Instead it got its portrait taken.  The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.

As we approached it, the snake coiled up and flattened its head, making it look very much like a viper.  It was also wiggling the tip of its tail back and forth very quickly – a move that would have made a sound like a rattlesnake rattle in dry leaves (a great scare tactic) but wasn’t incredibly effective on the gravel.  As I moved in with my camera, the snake struck at me several times, but never came anywhere close to biting me.  Being a biologist, my response to all this was to lie down on the gravel and photograph the snake.  However, if I hadn’t known that bull snakes are basically harmless – unless you’re a small mammal or bird – I probably would have headed quickly in another direction.  The snake probably would have preferred that…

I felt badly that the snake was putting on such a great show to no avail.  Maybe I should have acted a little more frightened.  Instead, I photographed the poor snake for a few minutes and then left it alone – hopefully before I completely destroyed its self esteem.