2017 Archives - Page 2 of 2

This spring I had a wonderful opportunity to film a pair of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) that had set up shop and was nesting in a small cattail wetland on private property. When I arrived I was able to quickly ascertain the best vantage point of the nest from a nearby grassy hill overlooking the wetland. I set up my longest lens on a tripod and hid myself in the tall grass with a great vantage point to observe the coming and going of the pair of cranes.

In wildlife photography it is important to remain at a respectful distance if you want to capture nature behaviors and not disturb their normal daily activities. So I settled in for a long wait in hopes of capturing some images of this pair of endangered birds. The Whooping Crane is a five foot tall bird with snow white plumage and a deep red cap and black wing tips. It is the tallest bird in North America and also one of the rarest birds in North America.

Due to over hunting and lack of regulations (laws) Whooping Cranes were nearly driven into extinction with only about 20 individual birds left in the 1940’s. This is another classic example of how people have gone too far and also their misunderstanding of nature. But thanks to strong laws enacted to protect and preserve these birds along with a captive breeding program combined with a unique program to teach the young cranes to migrate by following a human-powered ultra-light aircraft we now have about 250 Whooping Cranes in the wild in the eastern half of the country. Another 250 or so Whoopers are also found in the western half of the country.

While capturing some images and high definition video of the Whooping Cranes, I was entertained by all the wildlife in the wetland. As one point, one of the cranes had flown off and was gone for a while. When it returned it first landed a fair distance from the nest and started to slowly walk back towards the nest. As it moved across the wetland, something amazing happened. All of the Red-winged Blackbirds that are also nesting in the wetland started to dive bomb the crane.

Filming the attacks of the red-wings made me laugh. Here is the tallest most stately and rare bird in North America being picked on by a pesky tiny common bird. The Red-wings would land on the back of the crane and peck at its feathers. The crane would make some evasive maneuvers but nothing seemed to stop the attacks. When the crane had walked far enough to get out of one Red-wings territory the neighboring Red-wing would take over and continue the assault. Meanwhile all I could hear in my head was the old comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s saying “I don’t get no respect”. This is what I imagine the crane was thinking as it endured the onslaught of blackbirds.

I also started thinking of the black-birds as bullies. When you think of a bully, a large dim-witted person comes to mind. Someone with more brawn and brains. Or perhaps these days’ cyber bullies seem to be more common. Someone who hides behind their computer screen and keyboard and lashes out at people in a pathetic attempt to make themselves feel better about their own failures.

However there really aren’t any bullies in the natural world. To look at the Blackbirds attacking the Whooping Cranes as a bully isn’t correct. The Black-birds aren’t doing this to inflict needless pain or suffering as a bully would do. They are actually trying to protect their young babies by driving off the Whooper. You see, the Whooping Crane, along with Sandhill Cranes, Great Blue Herons and other large birds will take Red-winged Blackbird eggs and babies right out of their nest and eat them. So there is a very real threat represented by the crane towards the Red-wings. So it is in the Red-wings best interest to help the crane to move along when walking through the wetland.

Unfortunately the Whooping Crane eggs were taken by a Raccoon thus ending the nesting. This is more than just a tragic ending for these birds but it’s a real setback for the overall population of the cranes in the eastern half of the country. Every failed nesting attempt by the Whooping Cranes strikes at the heart of the recovery of our tallest bird in North America. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.

There are many differences between Bison and Buffalo. For one, Bison are adapted to harsh cold winters with lots of snow. Neither the Water Buffalo nor Cape Buffalo could survive these wintery conditions. Bison have huge heads with thick fur a mop top and full beards, where Buffalo are beardless and don’t have much fur.

Another defining characteristic is, Bison have a large hump at their shoulder, which Buffalo don’t. The hump is a mass of muscle that moves the gigantic head of the Bison. The muscle is used when males fight for dominance in the breeding season. Males will spar by striking their massive heads and horns together and pushing against one another. The bigger and heavier male is usually the winner.

They also use the large shoulder muscle to power the head to act like a snowplow in winter. They sweep their head back and forth moving several feet of snow to the sides to expose dried grass below. During winter all their food is covered in a thick blanket of snow and the only way they can gain access is to push the snow to the sides.

The horns are another difference between Buffalo and Bison. The horns of Buffalo are much longer (upwards of several feet) than the horns of the Bison. The Bison’s horns are shorter, point pointed and often curved upwards.

I was thinking about all of this recently while leading a photo tour to Yellowstone in winter. By far the most common animal we saw while touring the back country of Americas first National Park was the American Bison. Many herds inhabit the park and we where treated to many opportunities to capture some amazing images of this gigantic animal.

My personal favorite is when the bison get close to the hot springs or geysers and become encrusted in snow and ice. A similar condition occurs when it snows. The bison get covered with snow. They are so well insulated that the snow doesn’t melt, so if they don’t shake it off, they walk around covered in a blanket of snow.

One day, deep in the interior of the park, we came across a small herd of Bison. Several large males where with a group of females. This is fairly unusual because during the non-breeding season the males are often off by themselves or in small bachelor herds. More so, the herd seemed like they were a bit gitty or happy. The entire group looked like they had springs in their feet. They would jump and bounce around then start running.

My group of photographers got into position to capture some images while the herd of bison started moving our way. It is always amazing to watch these kinds of animals and their behaviors through a long lens because it looks like you are right in the thick of things.

Suddenly the herd looked like they started to frolic in the snow, jumping and trotting. Several of them would turn sideways while running. In all honesty it looked like they were having so much fun. Normally you see the Bison in a real-life struggle for life. Most of the time they are just plowing through the snow to get to the grass beneath.

Everyone was capturing some amazing images when the Bison got to close, and we had to retreat to the safety of our gigantic big wheel trucks. The Bison herd passed us, and we all celebrated the satisfaction of obtaining some amazing images of the American Bison in winter. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.

Every now and then I’m surprised at something in nature. I get a little thrill when seeing something for the first time or learning something new. Recently I was out photographing Red-necked Grebes and their cute zebra-striped babies when I came across several very chatty Marsh Wrens (Cistothorus palustris) in a large cattail stand.

I’ve seen and photographed Marsh Wrens in the past so this wasn’t new but what I found interesting was the nests. The Marsh Wren is a small brown wren with darker wings and back. A dark cap on the head and a thin white line extending through their eye. They have a long thin bill which is slightly down-curved. They have a long tail which is often cocked upward pointing the tail straight upward or over their back.

The males claim a small territory (quarter acre) in a cattail stand and starts to build a nest. He weaves a very tightly woven nest made of a combination of dried and fresh cattail leaves. The nest is anchored at several points to a combination of last year’s dried cattail stems along with new shoots. The nest is not just a simple cup nest. No the Marsh Wren male constructs a nest with a full dome over the top and an entrance on the side. The entire nest is ball-shaped, about 12 inches tall with surprisingly thick and sturdy walls. The nest is well hidden inside the thick stand of cattails.

If that is not cool enough, the male will build five to six of these amazing nests within his territory. Each nest takes upwards of a week to complete. After constructing all of these marvelous nests, he starts to sing from the tops of the cattails to attract a female. The male sings a gurgling thrill that sounds more like an insect than a bird. It is a very unique call that once you hear it you won’t forget it.

If he attracts a female he will take her around to all of the different nests he has constructed. He will escort her to the entrance of each nest while she goes inside to inspect his construction skills. She will make the final decision on which nest she will use. Then she goes to work lining the interior of the nest cavity with soft warm plant material.

Sometimes the female doesn’t like any of the male’s nests so she will set out to build her own nest within his territory. Either way, once the female is settled into a nest and starts laying eggs, the male will continue singing his attractant song and try to persuade a second female to nest. The male may have upwards of three females in his territory using his domed nests all at the same time.

Before you start judging the male Marsh Wren and think that his is a no-good rotten scoundrel, recent studies show that only 30-40 percent of the female’s offspring in his territory are genetically related to the male that is holding the territory. After the female sets up her nest, she often goes outside of the male’s territory and solicits copulations from neighboring males before returning to her nest. Seems that both sexes are promiscuous.

So recently when I found an active Marsh Wren nest, I set up to photograph the female feeding the babies. It was so exciting to see the female hunting around the cattail stand snatching up all sorts of insects. She would stuff her beak full of all sorts of insects and come rushing back to the nest. She would approach the nest from the side and straddle two cattail stems before slipping inside the nest cavity to feed her babies.

When she emerged from the nest most times she was carrying a fecal sac. Yes, you read that right, a fecal sack. These white sacks which contain the baby’s feces are carried away by the female and deposited far from the nest. This keeps the interior of the nest clean and also doesn’t give away the nest location to any predators.

I never get tired of photographing the loving and caring actions of Mother Nature. Watching the female working non-stop to feed her babies inside one of the most amazing nest structures you will ever see in nature. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author/naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be reached at his web page at www.naturesmart.com.

Recently I had a wonderful opportunity to study and photograph a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers nesting in an old tree and feeding their young. All of this happened because a reader of this column gave me a shout to share the exciting news of this cool woodpecker.

The Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythocephalus) was once a very common woodpecker. In the mid 1800’s John James Audubon stated that the Red-headed Woodpecker was the most common woodpecker in North America. He called them semi-domesticated because they weren’t afraid of people. He stated that they were camp robbers and also a pest.

According to Audubon Society, Christmas Bird Count data, between the 1950’s and the year 2010 the population of Red-headed Woodpeckers dropped dramatically. Over 80 percent of the population dies out in just over 50 years. Currently we continue to lose approximately 2 percent each year. That means within a couple decades we could see this bird become extinct if the trend continues.

The reason behind this decline is not understood. Many are quick to blame loss of habitat for their decline. While it is true that we have had a decline in mature tree habitat, no conclusive study indicates this to be the cause. I would point to the fact that the similar size, shape and habitat requirement Red-bellied Woodpecker populations are exploding across the country. If it were truly a habitat issue it should affect both species equally since they both have the same habitat requirements.

Competition with European Starlings for the nest cavity has also been implicated in the decline of the Red-heads. While no doubt competition for the nest cavity with the starling will impact the Red-heads, the population of the European Staring is also dropping across the country at the same time. Also, if the starling usurps the Red-head the woodpecker can always excavate a new cavity.

It has been proposed that Red-headed Woodpeckers are habitat specialist and require a very unique habitat called the Oak Savannah. The argument goes that as oak savannah habitat is reduced so goes the woodpecker. I would maintain that the amount of oak savannah habitat was never very large and perhaps the reason why we find Red-heads in this habitat now is because it’s the last hold out where the woodpeckers can still live. All you need to do is ask anyone over the age of 50 who grew up on a farm if they remember Red-headed Woodpeckers and they didn’t have Oak Savannah habitat.

Over the past 30 years of studying and photographing Red-headed Woodpeckers the vast majority have not been in Oak Savannah habitat. In fact the nest I was photographing recently was in a dead birch tree in a mixed deciduous forest.

There are over 200 species of woodpecker in the world and only 4 species cache food. Caching food is a process of storing nuts such as acorns in a cavity for later consumption. This might be a clue. For example the number of nut bearing trees has declined dramatically over the past 100 years. Both the number of oak trees, hickories and beech have declined and the American Chestnut is completely gone. Whether or not this is the cause of the decline is not known.

Some interesting aspects of the Red-headed Woodpecker. In nearly all of the woodpeckers species it is easy to see the difference between the male and female. Usually the male has some kind of marking on its head. However the Red-headed Woodpecker male and female look exactly the same. Even if you have these birds in your hands and you can examine them you won’t be able to tell the difference between the male and the female. This is an interesting difference between the Red-headed Woodpeckers and the rest of the woodpeckers.

Red-headed Woodpeckers are remarkable species and I always feel honored to be able to see and film this bird. If you have a nest in your yard, no matter how common the species, give me a shout. You never know, I might come visit. Until next time…

I’m often asked what is my favorite bird. This is much like asking a parent to choose which is their favorite child. I often answer this question by stating that whatever bird or animal I am studying or photographing at the time is my favorite. The truth is, they are all my favorite. I’ve yet to meet a bird or animal that I didn’t find fascinating and super cool.

However if push comes to shove, and I had to choose a favorite bird, I would single out a group of birds, not a single bird, the hummingbirds. They are an amazing group of birds that are unlike all other birds. There are more than 320 species of hummingbird. This is the second largest family of birds in the world. It is huge. What is even more interesting is, hummingbirds are only found in the New World (the America’s). They don’t have hummingbirds in Europe, Africa, Asia or any other place in the world except for the America’s.

Hummingbirds are one of the most easily recognized birds. They have sparkly feathers that refract sunlight like a prism. They feed upon nectar from flowers. They are fast and agile flyers. They are the only bird that can truly hover. They can fly backwards, straight up and down and if that is not enough, they do aerial somersaults.

There are 15 species of hummingbird that occur in the western half of the U.S. and Canada. Here in the eastern half of the country we only get one species, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. It’s name comes from a ruby red throat patch on the male.

So I was thrilled beyond belief when recently I was contacted about a Ruby-throated hummingbird nesting. I immediately dropped everything and went to check it out. Sure enough right next to a home, owned by the most wonderful couple who enjoy birds and nature, was a tiny hummingbird female tending her two tiny pea sized eggs.

With all hummingbird species, the female sets up her own territory separate from male. She builds her own nest and incubates the eggs all by herself. The male takes no part in caring or raising the young hummers.

The female builds a nest, constructed mostly of soft plant material such as cottonwood seed puffs and glues it all together with spider silk. She forms the cup shape with her own body. So in the end, the nest is form fit to accommodate just one bird. The problem is, the female always lays 2 eggs. Which means by the time the babies hatch and grow up the nest will need to accommodate 2 adult sized birds. This is accomplished by the fact that the nest is constructed with spider silk which allows the nest to expand as the chicks grow.

Over a month’s period of time, I visited this hummingbird nest, careful to not disturb the female in any way. Using a long lens, I could sit at a respectful distance which allowed me to capture the natural behaviors of the day to day life of the hummingbird family.

At first she spent all her time incubating. Periods of incubation lasted only 20 minutes or so before the female would zoom off to feed herself. She would be gone 5 or 10 minutes before returning to the nest to settle down to incubate again.

When the babies hatched, the impossibly tiny chicks could barely lift their heads. Their eyes are not open yet and they don’t have any feathers. Yet the mother feeds them with her long bill. This is what I call the sward swallowing act.

As the babies grew the mother stopped sitting (brooding) on the babies and it wasn’t long before the young were so large they could barely fit in the nest. The mother would come to visit the nest about once or twice per hour. Each time she returned, the chicks would open their beaks and wait for the sward swallowing act to begin. The mother would slide her long beak down the babies’ throat and regurgitate a mixture of nectar and partially digested insects. Right on schedule the babies grew up and practiced flapping their wings at the edge of the nest and the next day they were gone.

What an amazing experience and learning opportunity. Until next time…

Late summer and early fall is the best time for mushrooms. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been out and about searching high and low for all sorts of mushrooms. I find peace in the simple act of walking in the woods without a specific purpose and being happy with whatever I find.

About 25 years ago I wrote a book about how to find wild edible mushrooms. The book highlighted 6 common edible mushrooms that didn’t have poisonous look-a-likes. At the time it seemed like not many people were willing to spend the time to learn how to safely collect edible mushrooms. Now I am updating this book because it seems so many more people are interested in collecting edible mushrooms.

Finding and collecting edible mushrooms might seem like a daunting task considering that there is an estimated 5.1 million different kinds of fungi in the world. Compare that to about 10,000 species of birds and only 5,000 species of mammal. With over 5 million different kinds of fungi, no one can be an expert. It is just too much information for any one person to know it all.

First let’s talk about what is a mushroom, or more technically called a fungi. I like to make a comparison between an apple tree and fungi. The apple tree and the fungi are the living parts. The tree grows above ground compared to the fungi that grows underground or inside a fallen log. When it comes time for the apple tree to reproduce, it grows apples with the seeds inside. The apple is a vehicle to transport the seeds (within) to another location to grown another tree. When a fungi wants to reproduce it does so by sending up or sending out mushrooms. The mushroom contains all of the spores (not seeds) for the fungi to reproduce. The spores blow away on the wind to grow another fungi. So the mushroom is just like the apple, only you can’t see the tree part unless you dug it up.

Fungi are not plants. The cells which make up the two organism are fundamentally different. Plants are made up primarily of cellulose while fungi consist mostly of chitin (pronounced kitin). Chitin is also the primary component of the exoskeletons of insects and what your fingernails and hair are made of. It is more difficult to digest than cellulose.

Fungi play one of the most important roles in all our ecosystems. Fungi are found in terrestrial, marine, and freshwater environments all over the planet. In fact it is estimated that fungi grow in every square inch of soil everywhere. Fungi spores have been found in the air several miles high.

Fungi are on the front lines in the community of decomposers. In fact without fungi, every branch and tree that has fallen in the forest would still be laying on the ground if it weren’t for the decomposing powers of the fungi. They take the large dead objects like tree trunks and start breaking them down to the point where bacterial and other organisms can take over. This is so important to recycle the nutrients locked up in the trees and return the nutrients back to the soil and thus making it available for new trees.

Finding edible mushrooms and avoiding the deadly ones is the real trick. I was reminded of this a couple days ago when photographing an edible Shaggy Mane (Coprinus comatus) mushroom on a grassy trail. Just 6 feet away was a deadly Amanita mushroom that looks ridiculously similar. If you weren’t paying full attention you might easily think they were both the edible Shaggy and pick the deadly Amanita. The results would be disastrous.

By the way everyone who has ever eaten a deadly mushroom reported that they tasted great. Unlike what you see in the movies and TV, when you eat a deadly mushroom you don’t suddenly drop over dead. In fact it is a long, drawn out process of many days and weeks. In fact the first symptoms don’t show up until 48 to 72 hours (2 to 3 days) after you ate the mushroom. This is because most of these toxins will kill your liver and the first symptoms occur when your liver starts to fail.

The only treatment for this is a liver transplant. Something I would not recommend. So this year enjoy the mushrooms but there is an old saying that goes like this. There are old mushroom hunters and there are bold mushroom hunters but there are NO old and bold mushroom hunters. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the US to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com.

There is nothing better than spending a late summer morning walking the woods in search of whatever interesting you can find. Lately I’ve been out wondering the thick cool forests looking for some mushrooms. I’ve been successful at find the mushrooms that I am seeking but I also find other interesting things.

While walking I enjoy seeing so many familiar natural objects such as squirrel nests, various mushrooms, migrating birds, colorful wildflowers, all of which I consider to be old friends and it’s always great to see old friends.

One of the more interesting things in the woods at this time of year is the Indian Pipe (Monotropa unifora). Also called the Ghost Plant or Corpse Plant, the Indian Pipe is a very unusual plant that grows late in the summer season and is found on the forest floor. Standing only 4-9 inches tall, you might over look this unique plant. But what sets the Indian Pipe apart from all other plants in the forest, it is pure white and sometimes pink.

You see, the Indian Pipe is a plant without chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the part of a plant that gives it the green color. It is also the part that takes in the sunlight and produces food for the plant. Without the green chlorophyll all plant would be white. It doesn’t make food for itself like other plants but instead gets its nourishment through a mutually beneficial fungal and tree root (mycorrhizal) relationship. Ultimately it gets nourishment from the trees. This is a very complex relationship that is still not completely understood.

Like all mycoheterotropic plants it has a specific relationship with a fungal host. In this case it is the Russulaceae group of mushrooms often just referred to as the Russula mushrooms. These are often bright red or yellow mushrooms that are so common at this time of year.

It might be that these plants have evolved away from standard chlorophyll and utilizing sunlight to make food because they grow deep in the forest under the deep dark shadow of the tall trees where sunlight is unable to penetrate.

It is a perennial plant, native to temperate regions of North America, and other northern regions across the planet. Just like other plants the Indian Pipe has a single flower on each stem. The species name, uniflora, means “one flower” describing its one bell flower per stem. After pollination the hanging flower turns upwards. The genus name Monotropa means “one turn” and describes the single turn the flower makes. After the flower turns upward the plant starts to turn black as the seeds start to mature.

It often grows in small clumps but can be seen as a single stem. The stem is waxy with tiny scale-like leaves that alternate on the stem. Of course there is no reason to have large leaves if you don’t have to collect sunlight to make food.

In nature there is never any absolutes. There is always an exception to the rule. The Indian Pipe is one of those rule breakers and that’s one of the reason why I enjoy seeing this plant. Also, I think the large clusters of Indian Pipe are very attractive and make good photographic subjects. Until next time…

During the lazy days of summer, nothing in nature seems to be moving or doing much of anything. However, autumn feels like everything in nature is on the move or rushing to preparing for winter. Many of our regular backyard birds have already migrated. Hummingbirds are well on their way to the topics. Thousands of hawks have moved out of the northwoods and are migrating south to escape the coming winter. Meanwhile, deer, elk and moose are ready to do battle in this year’s mating season (rut).

One sure sign of the end of summer is the fields and prairies seem to be filled with a ferocious predator. A predator that is so efficient, it takes both small and large prey. Some prey is tiny by comparison to the predator while other prey is more than twice its own size. What kind of killer could this be? It’s the Argiope spider, often called the Yellow Garden Argiope.

There are several species of the Argiope spider in the northland. They all look and act similar so I will talk about them all in general. These spiders belong to a large group called the Orb Weavers. They are best known for their orb shaped webs they spin. Some of these webs are very large, measuring upwards of 3 feet in diameter. These webs are usually constructed late in the day in order to be ready for night time hunting.

The webs are almost always vertical and stretch between tall stalks of dried grass stems. Often the top of the grass stem is bent over forming an arching top to anchor the web. The spokes of the web, called the radii, radiate out from the center to the outer edge. These threads are not sticky and allow the spider to move around the web without being caught themselves.

The circular threads are sticky and ensnare any hapless insects. In the center of the web is a very unusual, tight zigzag structure, made of special webs. This is called a stabilimentum and reflects UV light and is thought to entice flying insects to check it out and thus get caught in the web. When we see this we only see a white zigzag patter of threads but to the insect is shines like a bright beacon.

The Argiope spider sits in the middle of their web, inverted, facing down. They place their extremely long legs on the radii threads to “feel” for any vibrations coming from their web. Even though they have 8 eyes their vision is not the greatest. The females are much larger than the males. A good sized female can reach 2.5 inches including their legs. The body is about 1 inch. The male is almost half the size.

Their abdomen (the biggest part of the spider) is bright yellow with black and yellow stripes and spots. Their front legs tend to be all black while the other legs are combination of black and yellow. I think they are a very attractive looking spiders. They tend to live in small colonies so once you find one web with a large spider handing in it, just turn and look around, you will see more.

These spiders don’t attack people and really don’t want anything to do with people. They spend many hours constructing their webs and even more hours waiting for something to become ensnared. Once a fly or mosquito becomes trapped in the web the spider quickly runs over to it. It will approach cautiously at first feeling with its front legs. The spider will bite the prey to inject a venom that will subdue the prey and start to liquefy the insides. If it’s hungry, it will eat right away. If not they will start to spin the prey around and around while encasing it in a thick spider silk so it can consume later.

Recently I was out filming these super cool spiders in a native prairie. I was walking down a trail and heard the wings of a dragonfly struggling. To my left I could see a large web with a dragonfly caught in the corner of the web. Before I could set up my camera the spider had already advanced and had given the dragonfly a venomous bite before retreating a short distance away.

When I got my camera set up I was able to capture the spider moving back in to start feeding. As I filmed this life and death struggle, it occurred to me that this was a predator eating a predator. Dragonflies are predators of the sky and the spider is the predator of the prairie. Life is never easy for animals in the wild. Until next time…

It’s funny how we hang on to traditions– especially ancient traditions. Take Halloween for example. Started nearly 3,500 years ago by the Celtic people near Britain, it was a special day set aside to mark the end of the harvest and acknowledge the beginning of the long dark and cold season.

To celebrate, the leaders, called “Druids” would order all fires in the village to be extinguished. A large sacrificial fire was built in the center the village. People would arrive near sunset carrying large turnips hallowed out with grotesque faces carved into them– kind of like we do with pumpkins (jack-o-lanterns). The evil looking turnips, called neeps, were filled with tallow (animal fat) and mounted on poles or sticks and ignited in flames.

The flaming neeps were carried around to frighten away the “evil ones” that come during the season of dankness. Villagers would dance and wave their neep lanterns to frighten way any evil spirits.

After the ceremony each family would carry home their flaming neep to rekindle their own hearth fire. Great care was taken to keep this new fire and its protective glow from going out all winter.

If you haven’t guessed by now, the use of turnips gave way to the pumpkin after settlers came to North America. The reason is, pumpkins are native to North America and were not know to Europeans.

Pumpkins are the oldest cultivated vegetable crop in North America. By the time any European explorers landed in this New World, native peoples had been growing pumpkins for nearly 11,000 years.

Native peoples are responsible for a wide variety of foods we still eat today. Some examples of these are the common bean, chili peppers, squash, amaranth, sweet potato, potato, bottle gourds and most importantly corn. Unlike corn, pumpkins have changed very little since it was first grown in primitive gardens.

Pumpkins and their seeds were traded all across Central America and the American Southwest. By about three to four thousand years ago, the use of pumpkins had made it to the plains and woodland Indians of central North America.

In the late 1700’s, Yale students were calling New Englanders “pumpkin heads” because of their heavy diet of pumpkins. Before Boston was called beantown it was called pumpkinshire. By 1845 the term pumpkin had come to mean stupid and thickheaded. Since than the word has changed to “Bumpkin”.

Pumpkins were a major source of food for the early European migrants to America. But in 1893 a New York seed salesman Peter Henderson wrote, ” The pumpkin is yet offered in large quantities for sale in our markets, but it ought to be banished from them as it has been for sometime from our garden.” By the mid-1900’s pumpkins fell out of favor and hasn’t been back except for pies and seeds.

This year when you and your family are out picking your pumpkin to carve into a jack-o-lantern, take a minute to consider the history behind this incredible edible vegetable. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author and naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on www.facebook.com and twitter.com. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com

Off in the distances I can hear the familiar scream-like call of a Blue Jay. The sound pierces through the yellow and orange autumn maple leaves on a crisp blue sky day. I sit enjoying the sunshine, calm winds and the smell of autumn in the air.

Again, I hear the Blue Jay cry, this time a bit closer. Knowing the biology of these birds, I understand it won’t be just one bird traveling alone. No, it will be a family of Blue Jays. Often two mated adult birds and several juvenile birds. Funny thing is, the Blue Jays all look exactly the same. They act the same and sound the same, so it’s impossible to tell them apart.

Looking around I can’t help but to notice all the other critters prepping for winter. Gray Squirrels are busy collecting and burying nuts and seeds. Chipmunks are stuffing their cheeks full of seeds to transport back to their underground storage chambers to eat later when snow blankets the land. Each evening my family of flying squirrels zips in out of the darkness and stock up on all the peanuts I put out for them.

After the flying squirrels land they race around grabbing one nut at a time. They are so small they can’t carry more than one peanut at a time. The run up my 80 foot tall oak tree like a bolt of lightning stopping only momentarily to launch themselves off into the dark night sky. Often times they fly over the top of my house, landing in the tall oaks in my backyard. I spend a lot of time watching and studying my flying squirrels.

While my mind drifts to thinking about my flying squirrels, the family of Blue Jays flies nearby and announces their arrival with a different call. This call is a pitch perfect imitation call of a Cooper’s Hawk which send all the smaller birds in the area fleeing in fear of their lives. If I didn’t see the Blue Jays I would have thought a Cooper’s Hawk was giving this call. But no, it was just the Blue Jays. What a remarkable bird I thought to myself.

Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) are a common bird of the eastern and central part of the country. They are so common I think they often go unnoticed by the average person. But did you know they are some of the smartest birds. They are closely related to the crows and ravens. They form a complex social system with families staying together over long periods of time. The young from last year often help raise the young from this year.

Blue Jays are credited with helping to quickly spread the growing range of oak trees after the last glacial period. The jays propensity for acorns and their habit of burring acorns for later consumption has lead to the expansion of many species of oak tree. Recent studies show that Blue Jays carry acorns further away from the parent tree than squirrels and chipmunks.

Different studies show that Blue Jays remember where they hide hundreds of acorns and retrieve a surprisingly high number of these buried nuts. The small percentage of unfounded acorns of course spout and produce new oak trees.

It was always believed that Blue Jays didn’t migrate. However thousands are seen migrating in small family units and small flocks along the upper Great Lakes each autumn. I have seen it time and time again myself. However where these birds are going is still unknown. In some smaller studies it seems that some birds will migrate in some years and not in other years. No one seems to know what is going on with the migrating jays, showing us yet again we really don’t understand nature at all. Until next time…