Tag: northern-indiana-wildlife

Orange Jewelweed

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Ruby-Throated hummingbird

A Ruby-Throated hummingbird hovers at the flower of a Jewelweed plant. The bird picks up pollen on the top of its’ beak and face as it laps up nectar from inside the bloom.

September 10, 2018 – The remarkable native plant Orange Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) goes by many names like spotted, common, spotted touch-me-not and orange balsam. The Jewelweed grows in most counties in Illinois and prefers moist and partly shaded areas. It thrives in low marshy ground, along creeks and trails and the damp areas in and along the forest edge. Appearing like hundreds of tiny silvered-glass mirrors glistening in the morning light, the delicate droplets of condensation that cover the leafs and flowers of a large patch of Orange Jewelweed will cause any traveler to stop and take notice. Blooming from mid-summer until a hard frost the showy flowers of the Jewelweed, with their red-orange speckles and a beautifully curved spur, attract butterflies, bees and other small insects that are in-search of that glorious nectar.

Orange Jewelweed

The flowers of the Orange Jewelweed attract many type of insects like this Viceroy butterfly
and the small Sweat bee on the flowers drooping petal.

It is not unusual to see high numbers of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, one of the main pollinators of the Jewelweed, busily going from flower to flower through the thick growth of the yellow bounty. When it comes to the season for the Orange Jewelweed to bloom Hummingbirds will certainly be seen in these semi-shaded areas perched at the tip of a long tree branch extending out and over the nectar rich plants. The tiny birds will commandeer a small sapling or tall bush surrounded by the Jewelweed while they vigorously guard their claimed part of the patch. Directly from our planets botanical pharmacy and well-known for generations by the Native Americans, the sap and leaves from the Jewelweed plant have apparent medicinal uses. Jewelweed can be used as a topical ointment for poison ivy, oak and the itching and pain caused by hives, stinging nettle, insect bites and other skin irritations. The sap has also been used as a successful to

Reference:

“Orange Jewelweed (Impatiens Capensis).” Touch-Me-Not family (Balsaminaceae) www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/or_jewelweed.htm.

“For Your Garden – June 2015.” Education, www.dnr.illinois.gov/education/Pages/FYGJun2015.aspx.

“Impatiens Capensis.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Sept. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens_capensis.

“Plant of the Week.” Johnston Ridge Observatory | US Forest Service, www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/impatiens_capensis.shtml.

pical anti-fungal treatment.

The Woodchuck

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Woodchuck

Woodchuck eating acorn from a White oak.

August 7, 2018 – The end of the time of plenty is only a few months away for the Woodchuck, when deep in its’ dark and silent burrow, as those cold winds of the northern latitudes push the chill south, it will curl up in a soft grass lined bed and slip into a winter hibernation. During this time of inactivity the Woodchucks body temperature will drop along with its’ heart rate and breathing. The heart will only beat four times a minute and the Woodchuck will take one breath about every six minutes. The continuous foraging into late summer on insects, grasses, flowers, fruits and acorns will bulk up fat reserves of this stocky rodent for its’ amazing underground sleep in its’ special hibernation burrow. The Woodchucks hibernation burrow is usually constructed in a wooded area away from its’ summer burrow and is designed to get the large mammal safely through those cold and lean months of winter.

Sandhill Cranes Migration

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Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

August 20, 2018 – Only a month from now the astronomical event known as the autumnal equinox will signal the official change from those lazy days of summer to the cool nights and colorful days of inspiration, reflection and the fall migration of the Sandhill cranes. There are small numbers of Sandhill cranes in areas of Northern Illinois and Northern Indiana that have been here through the summer and a few pair of the great birds that have successfully nested. Soon though, there will be a big push from points north as much cooler temperatures become apparent in Canada and the Upper Midwest. The spectacular migration will fill the eyes and ears of the fortunate with the amazing sights and sounds of hundreds of southbound Sandhill cranes heading for their staging areas of the Midwest. The cranes will amass in flocks of thousands where they will spend their days feeding, resting and dancing over the next few months. A well known and wonderful place to view the concentrations of Sandhill cranes is a little over fifty miles east of Kankakee at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area in Indiana. By late December, as winter tightens its’ grip, most of the Sandhill cranes will have continued south where food can easily be found in the unfrozen fields and marshes of a much more tolerant climate of the southern United States.

Bachelor Groups

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White-tailed Bucks

White-tailed Bucks

July 30, 2018 – Small herds of White-tailed bucks called bachelor groups are being seen throughout the area most often near a good food source. The photo shows three of the four mature deer that were spotted east of Momence recently, the forth buck had moved farther out in the beans and is out of the frame. These late summer bucks have antlers that are still growing and still covered in velvet. Soon their growing season will end, the velvet that is covering the antlers will dry up and wear away and the antlers will become hardened and fully developed. The bucks will become more aggressive trying to establish dominance, the group will quickly dis-band and the bucks will go their own way as the days grow shorter, temperatures drop and the rut, the mating season, grows near.

White-tailed Fawn

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White-tailed fawn

White-tailed fawn steps into clearing

August 3, 2018 – A little White-tailed fawn stepped out of the woods into a sunny clearing as it explored its’ new world. I sit still while the fearless little fawn smelled and tasted plants. The mother soon came up the hill and into the clearing, immediately looking in my direction and giving a few warning snorts. The little fawn swiftly ran to the doe and they both vanished over the hill and into the shadows of the forest.

Turkey Vultures

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Turkey vulture

Rain soaked Turkey vulture

July 16, 2018 – After a brief but heavy morning rain a small group of soaked Turkey vultures rotate on their perches to face the direction of the emerging sun. Their nearly six foot wingspan spread and slightly cupped helps dry those wet feathers and regulate body temperatures of the vultures before they can take to the thermals and glide above the summer landscape in search of carrion.

Northern Bobwhite

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Northern Bobwhite

A male Northern Bobwhite quail

July 18, 2018 – Alert and vocal, a male Northern Bobwhite finally came into view as it cautiously but quickly moved across the sandy ground into an opening surrounded by thick green cover near Stateline road at Willow Slough this past week. The bobwhite quail has struggled since the mid sixties from habitat loss and the widespread use of pesticides. Habitat management programs involving conservation groups, state properties and private landowners has shown positive results for the bobwhite. In those areas of good quail habitat, if not actually seen, the Bobwhite quail can often be heard calling to other quail with that clear and strong song “bob-white” or “bob-bob-white”.

Black Terns

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Black Tern

Black Tern

June 10, 2018 – A small number of migrating Black terns have been reported recently at the Black Oak Bayou of the LaSalle Fish & Wildlife Area adjacent to the Kankakee river in Newton County Indiana. The Black terns could be seen flying low over the water as they hunt. With their silver wings spread wide they gracefully swooped from side to side, at times stopping to hover. The small terns would stretch their neck as they would look down towards the water to focus on the movement of a potential prey while their aerodynamic skills kept them suspended in one place. They would take insects off the water or out of the air or from a protruding limb of a submerged snag with remarkable precision.

Black Tern

Black Tern

They would glide with the sun to their back slowly working their way from east to west over the glimmering sparkles of the shallow waters of the bayou. Suddenly with a decision only they understood they would swiftly turn and fly quickly back toward the east and start over with their slow and methodical hunting technique which would repeat many times before they would find a small tree stump barely showing just above the water line to perch and rest a short time before the next hunt. The drainage of wetlands along with dangerous agricultural chemical runoff have had significant negative impacts on the nesting areas of the Black tern. Loss of migratory wetlands from drainage and pollution has added to a steep decline of the North American population of Black tern along with many other species. Overfishing of the Black terns coastal tropical winter range is also believed to have contributed to the somewhat sharp decline of this species.

Black Terns Hunting

Black Terns Hunting

The Spiny Softshell Turtle

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Spiny Softshell Turtle

Spiny Softshell Turtle

May 29, 2018 – For thousands of years these magnificence creatures have a had a place in the life and lore of the ancients. Their image hammered in stone, shaped ground and smoothed from slate and constructed into large effigy mounds by the great mound builders, the turtle is a powerful spirit animal with significant symbolism. Recently at the edge of the Kankakee river a Spiny Softshell turtle momentarily stood like a statue stretching its’ neck and raising its’ head trying to determine where those clicking sounds were coming from as my cameras shutter fired. Giving a rare close look at those spines, from which the turtle gets its’ name, they are visible on the front top edge of the shell behind the head. The Spiny Softshell turtle is common in our area and is often seen along the river bank, creeks or ponds edge basking on a log with other species of turtles. These long-snouted, surprisingly agile and extremely wary Spiny Softshell turtles can grow up to 17 inches, the female being the larger of the two. They reach sexual maturity between and 8 and 10 and can live over 50 years.

Red-breasted Mergansers

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Red-breasted Mergansers

Red-breasted Mergansers

April 30, 2018 – We get a good look at those red eyes, orange bill and those unusually long feathers on the head as a pair of female Red-breasted Mergansers pause momentarily from their search for fish, frogs and crayfish. The Red-breasted Mergansers breed from Alaska south across Canada to the Great Lakes. The mergansers winter along the east coast from the Maritime Provinces south to Florida and along the Gulf Coast. On the west coast these diving ducks spend the winter from Alaska to northern Mexico. In the Midwest we see them every year, usually in small flocks during their migration.