. . . And BEARS! Oh My!

 

My Friend Rebecca, who lives near a state park, spotted this young
bear in her driveway in Powhatan.

Forget movie stars or super models…the absolute coolest woman I ever met is Katie Martin.  Martin is a wildlife biologist who WORKS WITH BEARS!  I grew up at a time when careers for women were in teaching and nursing, so I was in awe of Martin when she spoke, from experience, to James River Master Naturalists about black bears in Virginia.

Martin’s job with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries goes beyond educating the public to avoid conflicts with bears.  She also traps bears to fit them with GPS collars for research, and finds foster mothers for orphaned cubs. 

 

Biologist Katie Martin shows a GPS bear collar.

 

The Bear Facts

According to Martin, bears are intelligent and inquisitive.  Females, or sows, can grow up to 250 pounds, or more, while males, called boars, average 250 to 350 pounds, but can weight even more.  Bears see in color but have poor vision.  However, their sense of smell is seven times greater than a bloodhound’s. 

Bears are usually shy, solitary creatures that are driven by their stomachs, explained Martin.  Their main focus is food.  As omnivores and opportunistic feeders, a bear’s diet is 75 percent vegetarian, consisting of acorns and nuts, wild grapes, berries such as poke berries, fruit, grasses and plants. The rest of its diet consists of insects and larvae, carrion, small mammals, fish, amphibians and termite grubs.  As opportunistic feeders, a bear will take advantage of bird feeders, pet food, livestock feed and garbage. 

Female bears become sexually mature around three years of age and only give birth every other year.   After mating in summer, she bulks up on food before hibernating around November.   Then, she gives birth to two to four cubs around January and they will emerge from the den in springtime.  The cubs will remain with her for more than a year.

Males do not hibernate but are less active in winter.  They may bed down for a while and roam or forage when temperatures warm up to the sixties.

Foster Cubs

When a sow is killed by a car or hunters, young cubs were once taken to a wildlife facility until they were old enough to be relocated.  As adults they faced a high mortality rate because not only were they suddenly placed in unfamiliar territory, they lacked a mother to teach them the ways of the wild.  Martin is now involved in a new plan for raising orphan cubs.  She places them with another mother bear that already has cubs.  Sometimes this means slipping them into the den of a hibernating sow that will then raise them along with her own cubs.  It may be a lot of extra mouths to feed, but a mother bear is very nurturing and willing to carry the extra load.  This fostering program has been successful thus far.   GPS collars help locate the den sites.

A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear

Martin educates the public and works with landowners or communities to reduce and avoid bear conflicts.  When bears are spotted in a neighborhood she advises homeowners to remove any potential food source.  Bears tend to roam in search of food and do not spend time in one place if food isn’t available.  She advises homeowners to remove bird feeders from April 1 to December 1.  Also, homeowners should avoid feeding pets outdoors or inside near a doggie door.  Remove ripe fruit from trees or the ground.  Make sure your grill is clean and free of leftover food.  Keep trash cans latched. Electric fences are effective ways to keep bears from orchards, gardens or bee hives.  If no food is available in your yard, a hungry bear will move on in search of food elsewhere.

After finding empty feeders scattered and broken, and the metal pole
bent in half, I removed my feeders for a while.

 

Bear Sightings

If you encounter a bear, stay calm and slowly back away.  Do not run and tempt it to give chase.  If hiking with others, stay together and make noise.  Keep your dog leashed at all times.  A bear suddenly approached by a barking dog can become defensive and dangerous.  Carry bear spray in remote areas.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, DGIF, has useful information and interesting videos on their website about living with black bears in Virginia.  www.DGIF.virginia.gov.  Learn about the right closure for trash cans, how to deter and prevent bear encounters, and safety tips.  And if you do have bear problems, contact Katie Martin.  She knows EVERYTHING about bears!

 

Although Rebecca's birdfeeder is electrified, "Smokey"
made several attempts to empty it before giving up
and walking away.

 

Bluebird Babies

 

          I didn’t expect this feeling of loss that hit me when I realized the bluebird nesting season was nearing the end.  After a summer of monitoring five nesting boxes in a state park, there is only one active nest left.  I remember the emotions I felt when my kids left for college eons ago, so it seems a bit ridiculous to feel empty nest syndrome now…over a bunch of birds no less.

           Last spring two friends and I committed to spending  the summer monitoring bluebird boxes.  We recorded our findings and compiled a notebook detailing nest activity for each box.  The North American Bluebird Society and Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology track monitoring efforts and bluebird population data.  Back in the 1970s, the bluebird population reached a 70 percent decline, mostly due to habitat loss and competition for nesting cavities from non native species such as house sparrows and starlings.  Today, bluebird boxes, trails and monitoring efforts have contributed to reestablishing the bluebird population. 

           Beginning in the spring, the birds have two to four broods a season.  The female lays four to six blue eggs.  She lays one a day and when the last egg is laid, she then begins to incubate them.  Eggs hatch about 17 days after the first one is laid.  Nestlings occupy the nest from 17 to 21 days before fledging.  We removed  old nests each time a brood fledged.  No matter how many babies we saw this summer, we reacted with awe every single time we opened a box and saw babies.

We used a mirror to look down inside the box.  One friend, a film student, recorded findings for a documentaty project.

Bluebirds lay beautiful blue eggs.

 

 

 

Brand new nestlings.

 

 

New babies are all mouth!

 

 

 

 



Older babies fill up the nest. Blue feathers are evident just before fledging.

Polllinator Palooza

          There is basil and then there is AFRICAN BASIL.  Sweet basil is the best choice for pesto.  African basil is an amazing choice for pollinators.  Planting one small four-inch tall plant in spring will yield a shrubbery sized plant by mid-summer.  Although the spikes of tiny purple flowers seem insignificant, the plant is a magnet for solitary bees, bumble bees, honey bees, wasps,  butterflies, hummingbirds and moths.  In fact, you will likely see a larger variety of native bees on this plant than any other in your garden.  And it isn't invasive -- it is an annual.  I always plant one near a porch or patio so I can enjoy watching all the activity. Plant one in a large pot and you don't need to add any other plants...it will fill the pot.  African basil tolerates heat and dry weather like a champ. Next spring, plant one for the pollinators.

 

 

Up Close at Lewis Ginter

          



           Perhaps because I am nearsighted, or maybe because I love the large scale flower paintings of Georgia O'Keefe, I am compelled to photograph flowers up close.  Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a magnificent place, and focusing on all of its splendor can be sensory overload for me.  That's why when I go I have to spend most of the day, savoring the many small fragments instead of the entire place, the single flower instead of the whole plant, sometimes only a leaf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name that Bug

Question Mark butterlies can be identified by the tiny white backwards question mark on their hind wing.

 Millipede Apheloria virginiensis -- feeds on rotting vegetation. It should not be handled since it can exude cyanide as a defense mechanism.
 

Eyed Click Beetle Alaus oculatus.  When overturned, it makes a clicking sound as it flips itself over.  The large fake eye spots are a defense. Click beetles are harmless.

 

Crane Fly -- a fly, not a mosquito.  Contrary to popular belief, they do not eat mosquitos.  They only live a few days.

Wolf spider with egg sac. After laying eggs, the female wraps them in silk and carries them with her. Once they hatch, they climb aboard mom's back and she carries them for several days. 

White Tussock Moth Caterpillars feed on a variety of tree leaves.

Fishfly Chauliodes pectinicornis. Females lay eggs on plants over streams and the larvae fall into the water once they hatch. Unlike the adults which only live about a week on land, the larvae live in water for several years, feeding on insects and vegetation before pupating on land.







 

Gifts from Mother Nature

          Mother Nature is amazing.  I suspect she also likes to receive attention.  Lately I notice, when I spend time outdoors and pay careful attention to nature, I am rewarded with a gift.  Every day if I look around me, I will find that gift and it is mine to admire and appreciate.  One day my gift may be a brilliant indigo bunting eating at my feeder.  Or, it could be the appearance of a flower I’ve never seen before, or a hidden nest filled with baby birds.  The gifts are quite varied but they are consistent – I get one gift every single day but it is up to me to find it.  Mother Nature can be secretive, but she is oh so generous.

Here are a few of my gifts  from Mother Nature:

 

I have had this pot a long time.  Althought I haven't planted petunias in it for years, I begin watering the soil each spring and soon flowers appear in an assortment of colors, always different colors every year. The way seeds can germinate on their own every year -- its just like magic.

A friend and I found a newly hatched baby turtle in the middle of the road.  We took him to a pond and set him down by the water.  He literally ran toward the water and quickly dove in, his first time in water.  What instinct!

         

A rainbow on the water after a storm is a beautiful gift.

A perfect specimen.  Recently I discovered a new luna moth.  They emerge from their cocoons in late afternoon and wait for night time to hunt for a mate.  With no mouthparts for feeding, each moth only lives a few days so finding a mate and laying eggs is an urgent task. 

I went to see the gorgeous spring blooms at Reynolds Community College in Goochland and stumbled upon a killdeer sitting on her nest of eggs.  As ground nesters, she chose a spot right smack in the middle of the gravel walkway.  Fortunately killdeer chicks are precocial, meaning as soon as they hatch their eyes are open and they can walk around and peck for food, unlike other helpless baby birds that must be fed by their parents. 

Ahh, the gift of a perfect pink peony.

 

           Thank you for your gifts Mother Nature.

Mother's Day

          One reason I look forward to Mother’s Day is that for the past 10 years Salisbury Garden Club volunteers have gone downtown to a city school to teach fifth grade girls how to make fresh flower arrangements to take home to their mothers.  Volunteers bring fresh greenery from their yards.  The club provides flowers, containers, oasis and cards for the girls to write a personal message to mom.  And always, the results are beautiful … smiling faces and lovely arrangements. 

 

 

A Place for PLAY

 

          Remember good, old-fashioned play?  The kind when you were a child and made mud pies, played in a creek, climbed trees and reveled in exploring the outdoors?  Well, thanks to Charlottesville psychologist Carolyn Schuyler,  that healthy, natural outdoor play is making a comeback. 

          Schuyler and her family founded a nonprofit organization to create Wildrock, a 28-acre nature and education playground near Charlottesville. 

 

A giant bird's nest will spark a child's imagination.  Like many playground features, it is ADA accessibile.

 

Artists and volunteers are putting the finishing touches on features such as this fox den.

 

Donated materials were used to create the stage area for this amphitheater.

Volunteers are constructing an ADA accessible tree house overlooking the creek, which is also available to play in. Creek water is an important ingredient for making mud pies.

In addition to child-sized places to explore, there are rocks to climb, a trail to hike, and a pollinator meadow is being planned.

           Wildrock will soon be open for school fieldtrips during the week, group camping opportunities and many other programs.  It will be open to the public on Saturdays with advance on-line registration since parking may be limited, and donations are always appreciated. 

           To learn more about this amazing place,  visit  www.wildrock.org.

 

Sleeping Beauty

          This winter I spotted a large cocoon near the top of a birch tree outside my window.  It remained attached to a twig through wind and rain until one day, strong winds finally broke the twig.  Naturally I went outside looking for it and it must have been my lucky day.  Not only did I find it, but I also found an old cocoon with the emergence hole. 

I glued the cocoon by its penduncle to a branch by my porch.  I hope I will be lucky enough to see the moth emerge.

           These large cocoons are produced by a very large silk moth, the polyphemus moth, Antheraea polyphemus.  Caterpillars spin a cocoon connected to a twig by a sturdy silk attachment called a penduncle.  When it is time for the moth to emerge from its silk case, it must secrete an enzyme (cocoonase) to soften the end of the thick cocoon.  Then, using spurs on its thorax, the moth turns inside the cocoon in a circular pattern to create an opening. 

 

On  the left is an old cocoon showing the emergence hole created by the moth.

 

           The adult emerges in late afternoon to dry and expand its wings in preparation for an evening flight to search for a mate.  Females release pheromones to attract a male.  Once mated, the female begins laying eggs and continues to lay eggs for several nights.  These moths only produce one brood a year.  Caterpillars hatch and spend the rest of the summer eating leaves.  Oak, willow, birch, cherry and hickory are among the caterpillar host plants.  When fall arrives, they will pupate and overwinter in their sturdy cocoon.  

 

Polyphemus moth

 

           The beautiful polyphemus moth has a wingspan of four to six inches, with large eyespots.  They also  have large, feathery antennae.  With no mouthparts for feeding, they only live a few days.

First Flower of Spring

           For several years I have ventured into the woods in the chill of February in search of a unique flower.  And each year I am too late, finding only the bright green leaves that appear after the flower is gone.  Finally, my luck changed and just this week, I found the treasure I have been trying for years to photograph.

          What makes spring's first bloom so special?  Skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, besides having a foul smell, is a thermogenic plant.  It has the ability to produce enough heat to melt shallow ice or snow in the wetlands where it grows. The warmth entices early pollinators that emerge when the air temperature is still cold.  Flies and carrion beetles make perfect pollinators for a foul-smelling flower.

           Skunk cabbage is a member of the arum family.  Tiny yellow petalless flowers cover a thick spike, or spadix, which is in turn covered by a thin, mottled burgandy covering called a spathe. The spathe opens partway to allow pollinators inside.

Small yellow fowers on the spadix can be seen inside the flower's spathe.

 

 

 

 

The plant's green leaves appear as the flower begins to fade.