Capital Giraffe – adventures of a washingtonian – Page 3

On the Move Again

September 17th, 2019

Birds’ fall migration is underway, folks! Birds all over the world are travelling long distances to get to their winter homes. It is a very exciting time of year!

Some birds travel during the day and some travel at night. Night travel seems like it would be too grueling to be a good idea, doesn’t it? But birds who choose to travel after the sun goes down have their reasons.

The sky is calmer at night, so a bird has less turbulence to battle if it chooses to fly after the sun goes down. Additionally, the night sky is cooler, so a migrating bird can work hard flying long distances without becoming too hot.

Predatory birds, like eagles and hawks, are less of a threat for small birds at night.

Birds who migrate at night use the stars to help find their way south.

There was a full moon on Friday night. Hector and I decided to keep an eye on it. We were hoping we might see the silhouettes of birds as they flew between the moon and us. We got lucky and saw a group fly by at about midnight. We could not tell what kind of birds they were, but it was pretty cool nonetheless.

Another strategy for seeing birds who migrate at night is to wake up early and get to a good birding location first thing in the morning. As the sun rises, many birds will come down to rest after a long, hard night of flying. Hector and I plan to meet near Rock Creek Park’s Nature Center before the sun rises tomorrow morning. We hope to get lucky and see some migratory birds before they settle down to sleep the day away. Wish us luck!

XOXO,
Bernice
Let’s Talk About Molting

September 10th, 2019

When an organism molts, it sheds its skin, feathers, hair or shell. Different creatures molt for different reasons but if one molts, the process is part of its regular life cycle, not a catastrophic event.

Crabs molt in order to grow. A crab sheds its rigid shell and grows quickly while its new, soft shell is still flexible enough to expand in. Once the crab’s new shell hardens, the crab stops growing. The crab will need to molt again in order to grow again. Dragonfly nymphs are another example of organisms who molt in order to grow.

Birds molt for different reasons. When the nesting season is over and it is time to fly south for the winter, a migratory bird needs new, undamaged feathers for its long journey. It therefore molts. The bird’s old, worn-out feathers fall out and new feathers grow in their place.

Many birds also molt in the spring. Some male birds shed their regular plumage for fancy, mate-attracting plumage to wear during the breeding season.

NuNu has drawn a male scarlet tanager three times for this week’s post. On the left you can see the bird wearing his breeding plumage, which is bright red. In the center you can see his mottled, half-scarlet, half-yellow, mid-molt plumage. On the right you see him in his brownish-yellow basic plumage. The scarlet tanager will molt again in the spring before the breeding season and his feathers will once again be a lovely scarlet color.
Summer’s Last Hurrah

September 3rd, 2019

My mom, dad, sister, Hector and I all went to Assateague Island for Labor Day weekend. I love visiting the barrier island. It is most famous for its wild horses, but there are a lot of birds there too. And, of course, going to the beach is always divine. I love to walk on the sand and to swim in the ocean.

My particular birding wish for the weekend was to see an American oystercatcher. As the name implies, American oystercatchers eat oysters (and other shellfish like clams and muscles). One might think one can see these birds on the beach any old time, but they do not hang out by the water 24 hours a day. They come to hunt specifically when the tide is low because that is when shellfish are exposed and therefore harvestable.

As it turned out, my whole family wanted to see American oystercatchers too, so we decided to gather on the beach for low tide in the late afternoon. And guess what? We got lucky! There were a few American oystercatchers foraging in the wet sand, looking for their suppers. It was thrilling!

Did you do anything special for Labor Day weekend?

XOXO,
Bernice

PS: American oystercatchers and oysters go hand-in-hand, so I figured I’d include a link to a very interesting ten-minute video from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation called The Incredible Oyster Reef. It’s wonderfully informative, covering both the life cycle of oysters themselves and the larger picture of the role they play in the ecosystem. If you have the time, be sure to check it out!
A Mockingbird Can Sound Like Anything

August 27th, 2019

I sometimes find myself impersonating my mother when I babysit my sister. I will look over the pretend frames of pretend spectacles in the same way my mother looks over her real ones and I will say “that’s not very good listening, Louisa,” or “no dessert until you finish your acacia leaves, Louisa.” I try to imitate the patient tone of voice my mother uses when she utters these oft-repeated phrases. I confess my impersonation of my mother is not very good. I am not a talented mimic.

But do you know who are fantastic mimics? Northern mockingbirds. And they don’t limit their efforts to the avian world; mockingbirds imitate a wide variety of creatures. The poet Randall Jarrell wrote “A mockingbird can sound like anything.” These intelligent birds continue learning to make new sounds their whole lives and some will learn to do hundreds of impressions.

The talents of northern mockingbirds have long been appreciated by humans; so much so that these birds were once prized pets. Thomas Jefferson owned a few. Caging migratory birds is no longer legal, but over 100 years ago captured mockingbirds came with hefty price tags.

I don’t hear northern mockingbirds in my garden frequently, but they do live in these parts year-round, so sometimes my ears get lucky. Do you have mockingbirds where you live?

XOXO,
Bernice
One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure

August 20th, 2019

Rumor has it that Washington, D.C. was built on a swamp. This is, in fact, a myth. I assume the weather here helps perpetuate the falsehood. D.C. summers are hot, humid, and mosquito-filled.

Mosquitoes seem like they are good-for-nothing, don’t they? Yet little on earth fits that category. Mosquitoes, which I see as nothing but the pestilential spreaders of itchy spots, are seen as tasty treats by others.

Bats, birds, fish, frogs, turtles, and dragonflies are all examples of creatures who dine on mosquitoes. Today I am going to focus on dragonflies – agile predators who love a good mosquito-filled meal.

There are many kinds of dragonflies, but the ones I have been seeing with the most frequency this summer are blue dashers. Blue dashers are small – about one inch long. Even so, they are quite easy to see. Blue dashers are a beautiful, eye-catching, iridescent-blue color. And blue dashers will let you get a good look at them; they often perch and stay still for a while.

I love it when dragonflies visit my garden. They are such fun to watch! Dragonflies have four wings, which make them powerful flyers. Their fancy flight-work is impressive indeed. Have you ever seen a dragonfly hover like a helicopter?

I have three more links about dragonflies to share with you today:

The first is a fifteen-minute video from National Geographic called The Secret World of Dragonflies, which delves into the lives of these insects quite thoroughly. I found it riveting!

The second is an article from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute called
Smithsonian Scientists Unlock the Mystery of Dragonfly Migration.

And finally, here is a short, informative guide to some common-in-this-area dragonflies from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Enjoy!

XOXO,
Bernice
Turning Frowns Upside Down

August 13th, 2019

The dog days of summer are upon us, and I confess I have been feeling crabby. I’m sick of the heat and I am sick-to-death of bug bites. I itch all over. Bah!

I grumbled my various complaints to myself as I walked down Massachusetts Avenue the other day. The Capitol building was to my right, Union Station was to my left. There were too many cars about, and they were making loud noises and foul smells.

I was not happy, folks!

And then, to my surprise, I came upon a patch of Black-Eyed Susans. It was delightful and turned my frown upside down. To make matters even better, there were bees flitting this way and that, busily pollenating. I love black-eyed susans – this native flower is the best part of late summer. And I ADORE bees. I worry about bees a lot, so it was marvelous to see so many about.

Hector and I recently decided to practice expressing gratitude on a daily basis and so I stopped to say my thanks to the flowers and the insects.

“Thank you, black-eyed susans, for sharing your beauty with me. Thank you, bees, for pollenating so industriously – no one knows what we would do without you. And thank you, both of you, for cheering me up!”

XOXO,
Bernice
Let’s Talk About Woodpecker Feet

August 6th, 2019

I see downy woodpeckers on a daily basis. They seem to love my neighborhood and can be seen and heard pecking away on the trees around here all year round. I enjoy observing downy woodpeckers, but I confess I love seeing less-usual-around-here birds more, so the other day when I saw a pileated woodpecker on an old evergreen tree in my neighborhood, I was thrilled. I was able to watch it for a while as it worked the tree trunk over, diligently hunting for its dinner.

Woodpeckers have many special features to their anatomy, but I thought I would focus on their feet in my post today.

Woodpeckers have zygodactyl feet, which means they have two pairs of toes on each foot. One pair of toes faces forward. One pair faces backward. Woodpeckers are not the only birds with zygodactyl feet. Parrots are another example of birds with this type of toe arrangement.

Zygodactyl feet are great for birds who spend their time hopping up, down, and across tree trunks. The toe arrangement of this kind of foot is also good for clinging to bark while a woodpecker pecks away, looking for delicious insects to eat.
Descendants

July 30th, 2019

“You know how birds are the descendants of dinosaurs?” Hector asked me as we skulked behind some trees. We were watching a green heron fly low over the water of the Anacostia River. It landed on a splintered piece of log which was stuck in mud on the shore of Kingman Island – not far from where we stood.

“Yes?” I replied, not taking my eyes off the green heron, who was gazing intently at the water.

“I’m not sure why, but when I look at this small heron, I feel like I can see it was once a dinosaur. Do you see what I mean, Bernice?”

The green heron made its move. It struck its head into the water and when it came up again, the bird had a fish in its beak. The bird swallowed the thing whole, moving its neck and body in an ungainly way as it did so.

“Oh, you are so right! This bird looks positively prehistoric! Not that that’s based on anything properly scientific. But I do see what you mean, Hector.”
In Which I Learn a Little Something New

July 23rd, 2019

I tend to think of nests as belonging to birds, but they are not the only creatures who build them. I was reminded of that fact the other day when I saw a squirrel disappear into its nest. I hadn’t known that squirrels build nests. Live and learn!

I stopped to take a look at the squirrel’s home, which I have since learned is called a drey. This particular drey was about halfway up a big old holly tree. It looked like a big wad of leaves had somehow gotten stuck in the branches of the tree, yet there was clearly a design to the mass of foliage as the squirrel was able to go inside it.

I found a few great links on this topic, which I hope you will have time to check out. The first is a two-and-a-half-minute video from BBC Earth, which shows a mother squirrel building her drey and then it shows baby squirrels inside their home! It’s fabulous! The second link is to a New York Times piece on how squirrels build their nests. The third is an article from my hometown paper, The Washington Post, for even more about squirrels’ dreys. Enjoy!

XOXO,
Bernice
Flutter On

July 16th, 2019

My muses informed me that they LOVE BUTTERFLIES and so I will write about them again this week. I find it is best to keep one’s muses well-pleased.

I went to visit my Great-Aunt Mimi again. I am always welcome at her place. We decided to sit in her milkweed patch. Mimi has planted a lot of a type of milkweed called butterfly weed and it is in full bloom.

The plant has been put in the garden specifically for monarchs to eat during their caterpillar stage of life, but many types of butterflies are attracted to the beautiful blooms.

The day was sunny and hot and there were a lot of butterflies fluttering about. Most of them were Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, which I find particularly beautiful. I love the bit of blue on their lower backs – so fancy! I asked Mimi what she had planted to attract that specific insect to her garden.

“They’re here to drink the nectar from a lot of different flowers, but I think the tulip tree next door is probably a favorite egg-laying spot for them,” Mimi said, pointing to a large tree in her neighbor’s garden.

The butterflies flew from bloom to bloom, filling their tummies with good eats. Mimi and I admired their industriousness while we lazed away in the sun.