The Nature of Pine Point

In an effort to combine her love of nature, photography, and teaching, our Librarian, Carol Ansel, will be periodically posting information and pictures of the flora and fauna and general photo ops provided by Mother Nature around the Pine Point campus.  The newest postings will appear at the top of the page but you can follow these links to learn about particular natural history topics.

The Fledglings Are Out & About

Bird Seed Thief

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Where's Wol-do?

Great Horned Owl
Eastern Towhee
Bluebirds in the Snow
Fox Sparrow

The Fledglings Are Out & About

Several of these pictures were taken just outside the Campbell Building last week - that seemed to be the only bird feeder with any food in it, so there was a steady stream of customers. The one I was really hoping for was the red-bellied woodpecker, and he did eventually show up. It's the one that looks like it should have been named red-headed woodpecker, as the belly has only the palest blush of red - but another bird already had that name. You can see that the juvenile's head is not very red yet. Some of the pictures were taken at my house this week. My favorite might be the little puffball tufted titmouse. It sat on my deck railing, and when a parent came in sight (to the feeder) it opened its mouth and shook its wings in the typical "feed me" behavior. All these fledglings will throw up their heads and go into begging mode automatically when another bird appears above them, whether its a parent or not - the instinct just kicks in. So keep your eyes peeled around your yard, as there are "juvies" everywhere these days!

So THAT'S where all my bird seed's been going!

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

The next time you head out towards the farm pond via the path just off the gym parking lot, look down and be careful where you tread!  The small depression that you’re walking through is filled with a three-leaved plant know as Jack-in-the-Pulpit.  If you stop and take a look at the flower, you’ll see how apt the name is.  The official botanical name for this type of flower is a spathe and spadix – keep those in mind for your next Scrabble game!  In the fall you will see beautiful clumps of bright red berries replacing “Jack.”

Where's Wol-do?

(Winnie the Pooh fans will recognize Wol as Pooh's feathered companion). I've been keeping tabs on our great horned owl family every couple of days -- though we can't always see both of them, there are still two nestlings.  A couple of times I've caught a glimpse of one of the adults winging away from the nest, but until a few nights ago I hadn't discovered her roosting spot. See if you can see locate her in this next shot (the nest is just below the right-handmost vee):

Okay, here's the close-up (talk about camouflage!)

And here's a clearer shot:

Guess Whoo's Coming to Pine Point?

Today we were treated to a vist and presentation by Wind Over Wings, an organization founded by Hope Douglas, which rescues and rehabilitates raptors. Some of the bird can never be re-released into the wild because they have lost the ability to hunt for themselves, and Ms. Douglas brings them  out to the public to teach folks about these impressive birds of prey. Here's a picture of a great horned owl.

On this lovely afternoon, Ms. Roper and I decided to take a walk out behind school through the fields and the woods. As we reached the second field, I pointed out the tree which the red-tailed hawks nested in last year, but which this year (I thought!) had remained empty. As we looked, Ms. Roper noticed something moving!

When I got home, I uploaded and zoomed in on my photos, and then went to Birds of North America Online to see if I could confirm my hunch that these were, serendipitously enough, great horned owlets. I learned that a favorite nesting site for this species is an abandoned red-tailed hawk nest, and the pictures that I saw there further convinced me that we have, indeed, an active great horned owl nest. (Can't you see the resemblance in the eyes?)

"Drink your tea!" says the Eastern Towhee

In the spring and summer, you'll hear this bird before you see him. This usually shy denizen of the forest floor and shrub cover will be exhorting you to "drink your tea-ea-ea-ea!" (Or perhaps, more to the point, "Look at Me-e-e-e," in his attempt to win the hearts and feathers of a female towhee). In the winter, all you'll get from him is a cheery "Ch-wink!" -- but you're much more likely to catch sight of him then. Like the fox sparrow, the towhee often makes his appearance in our yards and under our feeders in the depths of the cold, icy, dreary winter months, when the pickins' in the leaf litter of the forest floor are mighty slim.  Another similarlity to the fox sparrow is his habit of hopping - both feet together, back and forth, back and forth - in an effort to stir up the leaf litter (or snow, in this case) and expose seeds and/or insects to eat. In fact, you may have been walking in the woods in the spring and summer and heard quite a rustling and racket on the forest floor. It's hard to believe that it's a robin-sized bird responsible for all that noise, but it's worth hanging around and waiting to see if you can catch a glimpse. He's quite a handsome bird, with his arresting orange eyes, orange flanks, white breast, and black back and wings (with a few dashing white wing feathers for accent).  His mate, while similarly partterned, sports a duller coloration, thus avoiding attention when she's sitting on her eggs and tending the nest. So listen for that cheery Ch-wink!, check out the ground under your feeders, and don't forget to drink your tea! (If you don't find a towhee at home, we've had one regualrly in the courtyard between the L/TC and the 4/5 classroom wing - he's the one who posed so nicely for these photos.)

"...Where happy little bluebirds fly..."

Maybe you've always thought of bluebirds as migrants, not to be seen in our neck of the woods during the winter months. I did too, until I saw a small flock of them on the 6th grade Alton Jones trip a few years back, merrily flitting through the leafless, snow-covered woods. It turns out that many of them do migrate, but many hardy souls also remain here all winter. Usually, you need to take a winter woods walk to see them - unless we have a snow storm. Like our friend the fox sparrow (above), bluebirds often show up around yards and houses in search of food during snowy, icy conditions. In our case, this pair showed up right outside my library office window - she waited patiently on the crook of the bird feeder hanger, while he gobbled inkberries from the bushes. Bluebirds are insect and fruit eaters, and reportedly they love freeze-dried mealworm larvae - though at my house, the chickadees gobble them right up and I've yet to see a bluebird in my yard (sigh). I guess I should just count myself lucky that we have them here on our campus! (In the spring they will nest in our bluebird boxes out in the back fields).

The fox sparrow

I always feel like it's a special treat to see this less-common sparrow, and this is just the right weather and time of year to spot him. Look for him under the feeders in the courtyard between the L/TC and the 4/5 wing. Rounder and rustier than our more common house sparrows, he also sports a gray wash between his brown head stripes. I particularly love the stripes running down his front made of little arrow shapes. You have to be looking down low in the shrubs to find him, as he's a ground feeder, hopping back and forth in an attempt to dig up his food - in this case, the overflow sunflower seeds from the hanging feeder.  For more details about him, look him up on the Birds of North America (email me for the password if you don't already have one of our handy database & password sheets at home). So you may be cursing the weather, but think of it as perfect conditions to bring this little visitor out of the woods and into your backyard!