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Readers of this blog know that I have a fondness for woodpeckers. This week, we have been treated to a few sightings of my favorite, the Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus.

For several days, we heard the unmistakable sound of these large birds hammering on trees throughout the northern side of the preserve. The sound has often been likened to a tree getting chopped down or the hammering sound of a construction project.

We heard them on multiple hikes, but I only finally caught a glimpse today down at the southern edge of the preserve. I initially mistook it for an owl, but the flight pattern soon triggered the correct identification.

It is likely this was the same (or one of a mated pair) that I heard in the northern portion of the forest. According to a study conducted on this species in the Pacific Northwest, the average home range is on the order of 400-600 hectares.

These birds are notorious predators of ant colonies located in dead hardwood trees. They are not easily mistaken for other woodpeckers as they are roughly twice the size of the next largest species. For reference, Pileated Woodpeckers are about the size of a Crow.

So, when you are out and about enjoying the trails, keep an ear out for the sound of a hammer. Maybe you’ll be treated to a glimpse of one of these awesome critters.

Photo from Wikipedia. I am desperately trying to get a photo of one on the grounds. If you have one you would like to share, please email it to me.

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.”

The above quote was first said by Baba Dioum, a Senegalese conservationist, in1968. It was addressed to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, convening in New Delhi. Since then, it has been repeated by multiple generations of environmental educators.

Hikes are often very productive right after a significant rain event. The wet weather often sets the critters in motion, so get on your rain boots and let’s see what kind of critters we can find. Who knows what we may run into?

These are not the Periodical Cicadas that spend long periods of time underground as larvae and emerge en masse. Annual Cicadas are present every year. While they do spend multiple years underground developing, the generations overlap, and so we always have some adults flying and singing every year.

Like many insects, the males are the ones to “sing” in hopes of attracting a mate. Unfortunately, this behavior can also spell their doom, as it allows predators (such as birds of prey) to find them.

These little buggers are completely harmless, even if they are somewhat intimidating.

A Northern Red Oak Quercus rubra in front of Loblolly Pine Trees Pinus taeda.This is a bit of a symbolic picture, as the younger Oak grows up under the pioneering Pines. Fields evolve into Hickory Oak (“Climax”) forests through a series of steps, with Pines being one of the first tree species to typically colonize an old field, and Oaks being the late comers, but eventual dominators, of the forest ecosystem.

A Black Rat Snake Pantherophis obselota obselota.  Black Rat Snakes are our largest commonly found snake, and are noteworthy for being found living close to humans. These are harmless and beneficial predators of rodents and birds.

As you may surmise from this photo, they are exceptional climbers and quite acrobatic. Indeed, these snakes are often seen in bird houses, the rafters of out-buildings, and in trees in the suburbs.

They can be intimidating by virtue of their size (adults may reach seven feet in length), but given their space, they will go the other way.

I hesitate to identify the caterpillars in question with too much certainty. I am fairly sure they are members of the Datana genus, though I haven’t been able to locate a helpful dichotomous key. If you forced me to guess species, I would timidly offer major.

This is the best “close-up” I could manage to carve out. These are rather tiny things to photograph! This arched posturing was something they would do when I would approach, I assume it is meant to be intimidating or otherwise off putting. Presumably, this behavior is fine tuned for birds though. Perhaps they find it terrifying or disgusting. I found it cute (though not appetizing, so win-win).

Here are some that I found on a Flowering Dogwood Cornus floridana today. I am less certain about their identification, though I would guess they are also Datanas. It is possible that these are simply older/younger individuals of the same species I found yesterday.

I knew posting all of my horrific “photography” would pay dividends, and now I have a nifty camera to chase animals through the forest with. Mission accomplished.

This is a close up of a berry from a Flowering Dogwood Tree Cornus floridana. These bright red berries are a familiar sight during the late summer and early autumn. They are a favorite of White Tailed Deer Odocoiulus virginiana.

The Muscadine vines Vitis rotundifolia are full of grapes at the moment. Deep purple (da da da….come on, you have the song in your head now too) fruit are all over the forest, feeding a plethora of wildlife species. Here I attempted to capture a swath of vines ripe with fruit. The blurry green blobs are leaves, and the small dark blobs are grapes. Sorry, I am doing my best to get better.

The Five Lined Skink Plestiodon (used to be Eumeces) fasciatus

While the preserve is home to over 14 species of lizard* this species is the most visible. These little beasts are often seen near gardens, rock piles, and logs. While they evolved to live in relatively undisturbed habitats like the preserve, they are also at home in your backyard and are even seen in shopping centers.They spend much of their lives sleeping (and hiding) under cover in these places. They emerge for a few primary reasons: thermoregulation (heating up), food/water, and breeding. That’s a Skink’s life.

They are typically more active in the early portion of the day, and while basking and at warm body temperatures, they can be incredibly fast. They must be fast, if they are to avoid the numerous predators that hunt them, notably birds, snakes, and larger skinks. If a predator catches them far from a hiding spot,  these lizards will often try to draw attention to their bright blue tails. These electrically colored tails are often the first thing a person notices about these lizards, and that is exactly the point.  Blue is a rare color for terrestrial organisms, and so the novelty is no doubt shocking to many predators.

If attacked, these skinks can “drop” (autonomize) their  tail. Creepily, the tail will usually continue to move and writhe about after it hits the ground and the lizard has (hopefully) managed to duck under a rock. There are scattered reports of toxins found in the tails, and accounts of cat’s and other mammals being temporarily paralyzed from eating a dropped tail (or entire animal). Bright colors (Aposomatic coloration- think Coral Snakes and Bumblebees) is often accompanied by chemical defenses, so it would not be surprising to find more data indicating toxins in their tails.

The lizards can usually regrow their tail, though this is not without consequence. Numerous species of lizard have been shown to be faster with their tails than without. And of course, it makes intuitive sense that their balance is better with a tail than without. What is also important, is the fat that is stored in their tail. Lizards work hard for their food, and losing this safety net is challenging at best.

All in all, from the Skink’s point of view, it stinks to lose your tail, but it is better than getting eaten.

Speaking of eating, Skinks are capable predators themselves. A Skink’s favorite food is whatever just crawled by and will fit in its mouth. Though this typically means insects and arachnids, it can mean frogs, snakes, and even other skinks. There are also more than one account in the literature of skinks eating nestling birds.

Skinks (technically the Family Sciidae) are a very successful (second only to Serpentes (the snakes) in terms of species richness) lineage of lizard. So, it should be no surprise that one of our local species is so ubiquitous. Four other species are within our range, one (the Ground Skink Scincella lateralis) I have documented at the Preserve. The three others are trickier.

In addition to our hero (fasciatus), there are two other species (Broad Headed Skinks Plestiodon laticeps and the Southeastern Five Lined Skink Plestiodon inexpectatus) that share our range and look exactly the same. Compound this with the fact that all three species are sexually and ontogenetically polymorphic (boys and girls of different ages are all colored differently. Sometimes that is, except when they aren’t.) and you get a headache trying to identify these creatures to species level.

There are scale counts that can be done, and all of the ones I have observed closely have keyed out as fasciatus. So, until I find otherwise, I will assume that this is our only of the three species that is found here.

What does this mean to the layperson? Next to nothing. The species are largely similar in terms of habitat, natural history, and so forth. In broad (haha) terms, the Broad Headed Skink (laticeps) is larger, more arboreal, and more likely to eat other lizards. The other two species are largely similar, which is probably where “inexpectatus” comes from- a surprised lizard nerd counting scales somewhere recognized the difference.

This type of “identical” species pattern has been observed elsewhere, as in Grey and Cope’s Grey Tree frogs (Hyla versicolor and Hyla chrysoscelis respectively). Both are identical, save for their calls- one calls at twice the rate of the other.

Sorry, I held down the nerd-throttle there. Let’s ease back on that, and give you some photos of the bug eater in question:

A juvenile.

An adult. This lizard is gravid (pregnant), note the full belly.

This species often practices nest site guarding.

*Pedantic reptile nerd footnote: Snakes (the sub-order Serpentes) are technically a type of lizard, as their ancestors originated within the Squamata order. We have documented ten species of “snake”, and four species of “lizard” Thus, technically- 14 species of lizard. Sorry, I’ll show myself out.