Fox Squirrels
I find the variations or diversity in nature to be the special ingredient underpinning the strength of Mother Nature. This was abundantly clear last week when I was in Florida for a very specific variation of the Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger). I was in search of the Sherman’s Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger shermani) that only occurs in a handful of places in Florida and a couple other states. The Sherman’s Fox Squirrel is a subspecies of the more common and widespread Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger). The Fox Squirrel is the largest of the tree squirrels found in North America. They measure 20 to 30 inches from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail and weigh in at around 2-3 pounds. Fox squirrels are found throughout the eastern half of the United States, but there are several subspecies of this squirrel, and I was in Florida in search of the Sherman’s subspecies. This large and unusual looking squirrel requires stands of Longleaf Pine trees that has a scattering of oaks. This squirrel feeds on pine and oak seeds, so they are highly tied to a specific habitat. This squirrel feeds on pine and oak seeds, so they are highly tied to a specific habitat. Just the overall appearance of this squirrel makes it worth going out of your way to see it. It has a black head, forelegs and back. It has bright white ears and tip of nose making them stand out on the black head. The belly is tan to cream color, and it has a huge fuzzy tail that can be black to silver. Of course, in order to find one of these super shy and secretive squirrels, I did a lot of internet searches to learn of possible locations where I could find and photograph one. After sitting up late into the night, I made a list of possible locations. In the morning, I started making some calls. Most of the places were state and county parks. I called all of them. Only one had staff that picked up the phone. They told me yes, they have a couple of these squirrels. I dropped the phone and started driving. Upon arrival, I was given a map and location. It was a five-mile hike out to the location, so I packed up water, snacks, and camera gear and headed out. When I arrived in the area, I could see evidence of a Sherman’s Fox Squirrel eating the large cones produced by the Longleaf Pine trees but no squirrels. I was exhausted by the time I got back to my truck. The search continued. While driving through central Florida I stopped at another state park that had the right habitat. I drove in and talked to the staff who basically laughed in my face and said “good luck buddy” they are hard to find and super shy. The same thing happened at the next several parks that I stopped at. Next, I drove 1.5 hours south to a natural preserve that someone on Facebook had posted seeing one there. Upon arrival, the habitat wasn’t right. I drove down the road a little further and saw someone in their driveway. I risked it and drove onto their property. The homeowner wasn’t too pleased to see me. He said we don’t get many people out in the country. I inquired about the squirrels, and he said he had never seen one in the area. I was off again. I made a couple more phone calls and sent a few text messages to friends who know wildlife well and live in Florida. I got a few replies but no solid leads. The search continued like this for 3 days. Just when I got a promising lead, it never panned out. It was getting very frustrating, and I was beginning to think I wouldn’t be able to find one. A friend who was born and raised in Florida knew of the species and said the only place he had ever seen one was along a very rural road in the middle of nowhere. I had run out of leads and thought it was worth a try. One morning around 10 am I rolled up in the general area that my friend told me about. I had little to no hope of seeing one when all of a sudden, I saw one about 50 feet off the road heading towards a fence. I pulled the truck over and got out. I was able to grab a few images of the fleeing squirrel. It sat on the fence long enough to capture a few more. It jumped to a tree allowing for a couple more images. I came back a couple times over the next couple days and managed to capture a few more images. It was amazing. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram and Facebook. He can be contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.
Roadrunner AKD
Often when we look at nature, I think we assume that everything in a critter’s life is smooth and easy. No major challenges, risks or health issues. Just a clean natural way of life devoid of all the health and stressors that we humans relate to in our lives. Once again, I think we may miss the mark when we make such assumptions. I was thinking about this the other day while editing some images from my recent photo tour in New Mexico. On one cold and sunny morning, we spotted a Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) which was actively hunting along a small stream. It would run a short distance then stop and cock its head to look around for any prey. These birds often hunt small reptiles such as lizards, but it was too cold for any lizards to be running around. I got our small group of photographers to move up and get closer to the Roadrunner. When we got closer, we were able to capture some decent images of this adult bird but right away I could see something wasn’t right. Its upper bill had grown too long and was curved and starting to hook downward. Its lower bill appeared to be ok. This Roadrunner most likely had Avian Keratin Disorder (AKD) which is a disease that causes the beak to overgrow and deform. A Roadrunner uses its speed to overtake prey such as snakes, lizards and larger insects. But once it catches up to the prey it needs to grab them with its long-pointed beak. But if the top and bottom of the birds’ bill doesn’t match up, it makes grabbing and holding prey nearly impossible. AKD was first documented in southern Alaska in the late 1990’s in Black-capped Chickadees. Since that time, it has been seen all over the United States. The unchecked growth of the bill is caused by a virus in the Picornaviridae family. AKD is a debilitating and usually deadly disease for the bird that contracts it. The over-grown bill makes it difficult to obtain food and prohibits it from preening and feather care. A bird’s beak is made up mostly of bone. The upper and lower jawbone are modified to project outwards forming the base of the bill. The outer portion of the bill is covered in a sheath of keratin. This keratin is the same protein material that makes up our hair and fingernails. Just like your hair and nails, a bird’s bill continually grows starting at the base moving towards the tip. A bird’s bill doesn’t grow very fast, but when it does, it needs to be worn or filed down to prevent it from growing too large. Everyday activities in a healthy bird’s life work to keep the bill growth in check. Don’t get me wrong, there are other factors that can cause beak deformities in birds. It is thought that environmental contaminants such as toxic chemicals, in addition, nutritional deficiencies, trauma to the bill and or genetics can all lead to bill deformity. I am talking about AKD, a disease that was first reported in the 1990’s and in 2016 the virus was identified that is believed to cause this infection. Since this is considered a “newly” identified virus, studies are still underway and there is much to learn. How the virus is spread from bird to bird is yet to be understood. At least 30 species of birds are known to be affected by AKD. As of now, it is unknown whether a bird can recover from AKD, but it is assumed that they cannot, so the outcome is not good. What is known is that birds with beak deformities, no matter the cause, have a much higher rate of mortality. Having AKD makes it difficult to eat, thus a decrease in caloric intake. The decrease in food consumption causes the bird to become weaker. In addition, the deformed beak also prevents the bird from preening and cleaning its feathers resulting in feathers that are less effective in keeping them warm and dry, which also increases the weakness, and it just spirals downward. One thing for sure is that a bird’s life isn’t smooth, easy or tranquil. Every day is a series of challenges of survival. They need to find food and also not become food for another critter. I guess the bottom line is, nothing is easy in a bird’s life. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram and Facebook. He can be contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.
Long-tailed Weasel
I really am fascinated by the “uncommon” or different kinds of critters. I really like the kind of critter that are not like other animals and stand out with a specific feature or uniqueness. Which brings me to several encounters I had with a very cool and different kind of animal on my recent photo tours in Yellowstone National Park this winter. The Long-tailed Weasel (Neogale frenata) is one of those incredibly interesting critters that you hear about but rarely see or get a chance to interact. This animal is also known as the Masked Ermine or just Ermine. It is often mistakenly called Stoat. The Stoat is the Short-tailed Weasel (Mustele erminea) and is very similar but smaller and has a shorter tail. The Long-tailed Weasel in summer is brown with a whitish belly. The tail is also brown and has a distinct black tip. But one of the things that makes this critter so cool, is they turn all white, except for the tip of the tail which remains black, during winter. To add to this coolness, the Long-tails in southern regions don’t turn white in winter and the ones in the transition zone only turn partially white. This is an example of extreme adaptation to their environment. This adaptation is called erminism. The process of changing colors is triggered by the amount of available daylight. As the days get shorter in fall, the weasel produces a hormone called melatonin, which suppresses melanin production and causes the new growing fur to not have its normal coloring and as a result is white. In spring the hormone process reverses, and the newly growing fur is brown. The Long-tailed Weasel is a predator, make no mistake about that. They are an aggressive hunter, constantly moving around looking for its next meal. It hunts mostly small mammals such as mice and voles but will also hunt animals up to the size of a rabbit. They are technically called an obligate carnivore which means they don’t scavenge from dead animals. They are true hunters. Occasionally they will hunt small birds, especially ground nesting species, but it’s not unheard of for these weasels to climb trees. In fact, they often climb trees when they are being pursued by larger predators such as fox, coyote and bobcats. And yes, some small predators are hunted by larger predators. The Long-tailed Weasel dens in underground burrows, inside rock piles, under tree stumps but mostly in burrows made by other animals. They do not dig their own burrows. They also don’t use a burrow for very long. They have a nomadic lifestyle that is dependent upon their prey. One of their favorite burrows are that of chipmunks. They fit right inside and often use the fur of their prey to line the nesting chamber within. They are a member of the weasel family which means they have a well-developed scent gland, which produces a very strong and musky odor that is similar to skunks. Unlike skunks, weasels can’t spray their musk but rather it rubs its scent glands over surfaces like rocks and logs, which leaves the strong odor behind. During my photo tour of Yellowstone this winter, I found 3 Long-tailed Weasels over a 3-week period. Just a side note, seeing just one is amazing. Nearly all encounters with Long-tailed Weasels are usually super quick. Often, you see one running and jumping and then it’s gone, within a matter of seconds. The first two encounters were just like that. Saw them for a split second and then disappeared. But the third encounter was slightly different. The weasel was running across the road and dove into a snowbank. And just like that it was gone, but then it popped up out of the snow and took off across the road again. This time it jumped over the snowbank at the road’s edge and ran to the base of a fallen branch where it paused for just enough time to capture a few images. As funny as it might sound, this brief but exciting encounter with the Long-tailed Weasel was one of the highlights of this year’s winter trip to Yellowstone even though we had many encounters with wolves. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram and Facebook. He can be contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.
Black Wolf
Wolves in a snowy landscape are the main subject to photograph in my winter Yellowstone Photo Tour. So, every effort is made to locate and get into a position to capture some images of these amazing creatures. This was the case last week while leading a tour in the interior of Yellowstone National Park. The park is closed to the public during winter due to the snowy winter conditions. So, in order to gain access to the interior, we get special permits and also hire a snow coach. The snow coaches are huge monster-truck-like vehicles with massive 46-inch tires and four-wheel drive. This is what is needed to navigate the snowy back country and get out alive. Even with these gigantic vehicles, we have got stuck in the past. Each morning would start early in the dark. A quick breakfast and putting on at least 3 layers of winter clothing before heading out to the snow coaches. We load up with all our photo gear and lunches and water for the day. For many days we had been tracking the wolves. We would see their tracks in the snow as the wolves moved around during the night. Each day we would pick up their trail again. We would make predictions as to where we thought they would go. What mountain would they cross or which mountain valley would they enter. We looked around where the bison were gathered because in the dead of winter, the Bison are the only prey animals that remain, and the wolves need to eat. All other prey such as deer and elk have migrated down to lower elevations where there is less snow. After many long days of finding absolutely nothing, we found some fresh wolf tracks. By the fresh tracks in the snow, I could clearly see 4 adult wolves had passed within the past four to six hours. This was definitely a good sign. We spent the rest of the day on high alert in anticipation of seeing the wolves, but nothing transpired. The next morning, right after breakfast, we loaded up and took off on the snow coaches in the dark. An hour and a half later we finally got back to the area where we saw the tracks. The sun was just peaking over the horizon, and the air temperatures were well below zero. The conditions looked perfect but where were the wolves? Nothing! Of course, we were all very disappointed because we had all envisioned a great encounter with a pack of wolves. The kind of encounter that we all dream about, but nothing transpired. We decided to push further into the park, but leaving the place that we thought would hold wolves behind was hard to do. Several miles further into the interior, we slowed down because the snow coach had to plow its way up a small hill which put the sun right in our eyes. It was difficult to see. Shading the sun from my eyes, I could make out some dark figures ahead of us. It took just a micro-second later and I could make out the outline of several black wolves. I shouted “Wolves!”. My small group jumped to attention and readied their camera gear. The snow coach made its way to the top of the hill and stopped. We all got out and were immediately slapped with sub-zero air temperature but thankfully there was no wind. We could see two wolves had passed in front of us and were walking away from us now. Turning around we could see two more wolves coming up the hillside heading right in our direction. We all started capturing some images of the wolves making their way through the deep snow. One of the black wolves walked past us in a wide arch then suddenly sat down about 180 yards away, facing right at us and started to howl. I couldn’t believe our luck; the black wolf’s fur was covered with frost from the long cold night and now was howling right in front of us. What a perfect picture! The wolves continued walking through the snow and walked over the ridge and out of sight. It was only then did everyone start to breathe again and we all gathered together congratulate each other on such an amazing encounter. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram and Facebook. He can be contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.
Northern Pygmy Owl
Stone cold killer predators come in all shapes and sizes in the natural world. However, I think we often think of large menacing critters with long sharp claws and razor-sharp teeth as predators and don’t give a second thought to small predators. Some of these small predators are often cute and adorable. That’s what makes them so cool. I was thinking about this a week or so ago while I was photographing and adorable tiny owl. But behind the beautiful feathers lies the heart of a predator. The Northern Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium californicum) is a tiny owl that is native to western North America. As its name implies, it is a tiny owl, only 6-7 inches tall and weighs about 2-3 ounces. By comparison, the very familiar American Robin is 10 inches tall and weighs about the same as the Pygmy Owl. I arrived in Yellowstone National Park a couple days before I was scheduled to lead a winter photo tour. I had a couple days to meet up with some other photo guides and get caught up on the latest info about the wolves in the park, but everyone was talking about the Northern Pygmy Owls that seemed to be popping up throughout the park. So, on the second day I spotted one of the tiny owls up on a mountain side. I grabbed my longest lens and tripod and started climbing up the mountain side. The snow was only a foot or so deep, so it wasn’t too bad, but the elevation was over 7,000 feet and I wasn’t acclimated yet. So, I had to stop many times to catch my breath, look around to get my bearings and keep climbing. Every now and then I would stop and visually relocate the owl. When I finally reached the area just below the owl, I was breathing so heavily that I couldn’t take any pictures. Several minutes later, I was able to slow down my breathing and focus my camera. What I saw in my viewfinder was the cutest, tiniest, owl with bright yellow eyes. Northern Pygmy Owls are daytime hunters and mainly prey on small songbirds such as Chickadees. The pygmy owl is a cavity nesting bird, taking over old woodpecker cavities. They have a relatively short lifespan with average birds lasting only three to four years. The perch the owl was on didn’t look very good and it was very high up in a tree, so I really didn’t take many pictures. Suddenly the owl took off and went to another tree that was even higher. I thought how am I going to capture some images of this tiny killer. By the time I worked my way over to the new tree the owl flew again. This time it flew down the mountain. I was happy to be going down and not up this time. By the time I got near the owl again I was able to capture some images. These images were good because, even though the owl was near the top of a tall tree, I was much closer to being eye-level with the bird because I was higher up on the mountain and the tree was lower. I thought perhaps this might be the best image I can get with this bird. I stood there just enjoying the moment looking around at the snow-covered mountains all around me, then the owl flew once again. This time the owl was flying directly towards me. It swooped up and landed in a small cedar tree not 35 to 40 feet away and was at my eye level. I swung my camera around, framed up the picture and pushed the shutter release button. I could see through the viewfinder on my camera that this was going to be a wonderful image. The owl stayed there for several minutes actively hunting. Its head was swiveling around from side to side as it looked for something to prey upon. Small snowflakes were gently falling, and the air was cold. Once again, the owl took off and landed in another tree much further away. I was thrilled knowing that I had captured a stunning image of a marvelous predator. I turned and picked up my tripod and camera and started the hike down the mountain back to my truck. The snow was falling steadily now, and by the time I got back to my truck I was covered with snow. I packed up my photo gear and climbed in and fired up the engine. It was such a great feeling of satisfaction to spend some time with such a cool little killer. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram and Facebook. He can be contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.
Great Gray Owl
Recently I was leading a couple groups to northern Minnesota to see winter finches and northern owls. On both trips we were successful in seeing a number of different winter specialty species such as Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskins, Common Redpoll, and White-winged Crossbills. We were also in search of northern owl species such as Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa). On both trips we were successful at seeing at least one Great Gray Owl. The Great Gray Owl is the tallest or longest owl species but despite their overall height, they are not the heaviest or most powerful of the owls in North America. That award would go to the Snowy Owl and to the Great Horned Owl. Both of these owls have larger and more powerful feet / talons than the Great Gray. Despite their overall size, the Great Gray Owl only weighs 2.5 pounds compared to the Great Horned Owl at 3.5 pounds and the Snowy Owl at 4.5 pounds. One evening we watched a Great Gray Owl hunting just before sunset. It would perch on impossibly small twigs at the tops of trees. It would look down intently looking and listening. I took this opportunity to educate this group about what looks like a seemingly simple behavior of looking and listening for its prey. Great Gray Owls hunt small mammals such as mice and voles. But in the far reaches of northern Minnesota, snow covers the ground during winter. So, this simple act of looking and listening doesn’t seem like a big deal. So, let’s take a closer look (pun not intended) at the simple act of a Great Gray Owl hunting. The Great Gray Owl has the largest facial disk of all owls. The facial disk is hundreds of specialized feathers on the bird’s face that act like a parabolic dish and funnel sound to the birds’ ears. In many owl species, the ears are located below and behind the eyes. They have asymmetrical ear openings which means they have one ear opening that is located low and the other is higher. This allows incoming sound to reach each ear opening at two different times. What is more interesting is that the density of feathers increases the closer to the ear opening. This would seem counter intuitive because why would you want more obstacles in the pathway to your ear openings. The larger facial disks help to pick up low frequency sounds better than high frequency sounds. This helps the bird to locate the prey under snow. But here is where we can get into trouble when we assume a few things such as the owl hearing a vole under the snow. If you have ever been outside during or right after a large snow event you most likely have experienced how everything sounds different when the landscape is covered in snow. Recent experiments show that sound doesn’t pass through snow very well. Snow muffles sound and experiments show that low frequency sounds are less impacted than high frequency sounds when traveling through snow. The larger facial disks of the Great Gray Owl help pick up low frequency sounds making them better at finding prey under deeper snow. The problem with this is, sound doesn’t travel directly through the snow either. Sound is bent and shifts as it passes through the snowpack, shifting the origins of the sound by as much as five degrees relative to the actual source of the sound. This is called an acoustic mirage. So, an owl that is perched at a distance wouldn’t be accurate in assessing the source of the sound. In order to compensate for this shift in sound, the Great Gray Owl has a unique hunting style or behavior. After it locates the prey location from its perch, it will fly off the perch in a low altitude approach to the apparent sound source. At the last moment the owl will swoop up directly above the location of the sound and briefly hover. Using its large facial disks, it once again listens before dropping down. Low frequency sounds passing directly up through the snowpack has less distortion or shifting of the sound allowing the bird to pinpoint the exact location before the bird plunges down through the snow reaching for the prey. So once again, something in nature which seems so simple turns out to be way more complicated once it is examined closer. This is just another example of the complexity of nature. Until next time… Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram and Facebook. He can be contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.