It feels good to save a life...

Some days are better than others.

While this phrase holds true with most things in life, it is definitely true for herping. Looking for reptiles can have some pretty extreme highs and lows. Today, Ben and I went out to road cruise for snakes. If you aren't familiar with road cruising, it consists of carefully driving roads in good habitat, looking for reptiles that may be crossing the road. Often this is done at night, but in the fall in Ohio, snakes like to come out onto the roads as they warm up after a cool night. This opens up all the opportunities for them to be killed by vehicles, both accidentally, and intentionally. So we road cruise in the fall, not only to see some really cool critters, but to hopefully save the lives of some of them that may not otherwise have a chance.

Today was rough. Although we found an astonishing 77 snakes total in about 4.5 hours, we only had a 55% success rate. Today we found LOTS of dead snakes. The area we selected is home to 3 species of endangered snakes. Often, we don't see any of the three, but today, we found 5 endangered Kirtland's Snakes (Clonophis kirtlandii) and unfortunately all 5 were dead. Some were flattened and had been there for a while, but several may have been saved if we had gone yesterday too. We found 16 Eastern Garter Snakes... dead. 10 Dekay's Brown Snakes... dead. Red-bellied Snake? Dead. Northern Water Snakes... yep, also dead. Perhaps, the most crushing moment of the day was towards the end of the afternoon, when I was already feeling tired and ready to go home as we cruised one final road. I pulled a live Dekay's off the road on my side of the car while Ben mentioned that I might not want to see what was on his side. I went to see what he found, and he was right. I did not want to see my lifer Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis) with fresh fatal wounds. Perhaps if we had cruised that stretch of road even an hour prior I might have ended the day with a huge victory rather than immediate sadness.

A Kirtland's Snake (Clonophis kirtlandii) that I found in 2014.

Sometimes it is difficult for me to see past the dead snakes and enjoy the day, but I try hard to see the bright side. A 55% success rate means that 42 of the snakes we found were saved from the road! Although the lows were extremely low with endangered species and life snakes, if felt great to see so many live snakes slithering into the grass OFF the road! As we cruised along slowly on gravel roads, we would stop for any snake and many sticks that looked a bit snake-like. In some areas, I would get out and walk along the road while Ben followed in my Prius. One of my best finds while I was walking was this very young Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata)... one of my favorites!

Red-bellied Snake 

Red-bellied Snake

Diversity of the living snakes was low, but individual counts were high! We found 19 Dekay's Brown Snakes (Storeria dekayi) ranging from 5-13" long. Here are a few of the cute little snakes:

Dekay's Brown Snake

We also encouraged 21 Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) from the road. Immediately after my defeat in seeing the Green Snake, I spotted a live snake in the road. We stopped and I jumped out, exclaiming that it looked dark. Once I got close enough to see, it was all black! Melanistic Garter Snakes aren't common, and especially not in this region of Ohio. This little one was especially beautiful and unique since it had a pink chin. Melanism is essentially the opposite of albino. Melanistic animals have an excess of the dark pigment, Melanin. Moving this gorgeous animal far from the road was definitely a highlight of the day.

Eastern Garter Snakes vary a lot in color and pattern. Check out a few of today's finds!

Melanistic Eastern Garter Snake

Melanistic Eastern Garter Snake

Eastern Garter Snake

In all it was a good day to be out helping the wildlife!

Birding in Ohio Part I: My Birding Story

As a young child, my mother instilled in me the values of nature and appreciating time outdoors. She was not a birder, per se, but she loved birds and all wildlife and would always point out Red-tailed Hawks or Great Blue Herons. She gave me my first bird guides and she regularly filled the bird feeders in the middle of her native flower gardens. For many years, I would sit on the back of the couch against the window and watch the birds come to the feeders.

I was never very concerned with identifying every one until ten years ago, when on a small island in Lake Erie, I took my first college course of Field Ornithology. The week-long intensive class was my first real taste of taking notes in the field and using binoculars to look at birds. To put it simply, my life was changed, although it took several more years for me to realize it. I vividly remember the first Yellow-billed Cuckoo I ever saw and the first Northern Flickers. Over the next three years, I started noticing birds everywhere I went. Kayaking at Pleasant Hill, I saw Osprey. Hiking at Mohican State Park, I noticed Scarlet Tanagers. Attending a conference in Cincinnati, I found Peregrine Falcons nesting across from the hotel. Driving to classes, Wild Turkeys roamed the corn fields.

The first bird I ever banded. Stone Lab, 2008.

I jotted notes here and there, and studied my National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America endlessly. Still, I never made the connection of going out into the field, with my binoculars just to bird. I spent my time outside of classes working and volunteering at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary where I helped in the clinic to care for injured native birds, and I fed the educational birds. I later started helping with programs and educating the public on why you should care about birds and not poison mice. When I wasn't there, I was reading scientific journals on field ornithology and taking online bird courses for fun through Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology, outside of my regular coursework.

Doing an educational program with Peregrine Falcon, Legacy. Ohio Bird Sanctuary, 2009.

In January 2012, I signed up for a semester long Ornithology course as a break in between student teaching and learning about physical and medical management, teaching phonics, and classroom behavioral management techniques for my special education degree. On the first day of class, my professor asked me what my life list was during the class introductions. A little embarrassed, I didn't know what he was talking about. Instead he asked what the most recent interesting bird I had seen was, and I excitedly replied that I had seen a Bald Eagle the previous weekend! The following week, a graduate student came in to give a presentation on how we could all be citizen scientists by using eBird. I set up my account that afternoon and retroactively entered my list from our first field trip a few days prior.

That day was the official start of my new life. Prior to then, I never cared to make friends in college. I was just there to study. Period. But now, I wanted to go birding on the weekends, I wanted to know what other birders were seeing on campus and around town, and I wanted to spend time with people who had my same interest in birds. I quickly made friends with one of my classmates, who seemed to be one of the only other students that was serious about birds, and not just in the class to get a credit. I also made friends with two graduate students who helped with the weekly field trips. Josh Haughawout taught me all the basics of field identification and Mark Rozmarynowycz introduced me to think about rarities and when and where they might be likely. Some of it came naturally. I had studied the field guide so much before I ever started birding, that it was nearly memorized. The first time I saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, I didn't know what it was called, but I remembered seeing it in the book and knew exactly which page to turn to. Within a few months, I had a Life List of over 150 species. I changed my major to Ecology and Conservation Biology; I was in a year list competition with my professor; and I had dumped my boyfriend of 6 years who wasn't a birder. (Although that wasn't the only reason. Haha.) I've never looked back, except to regret that I didn't discover birding even earlier.

Birding Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge with Josh and Mark. 2013.

Now, if you're a birder, I'm sure you remember what those first few months and years were like, when EVERYTHING you saw was a new life bird. Every single time you went outside, it was like Christmas morning... only better. It was easy to get new birds right on campus, and in the Bowling Green City Parks. Trips to Magee Marsh and Oak Openings Preserve Metro Park were weekend treats that I looked forward to all week. I was lucky to be located within 30-45 minutes from such fantastic birding locations. However, on April 24, 2012, the game was changed. My friends and I were invited by Ethan Kistler to tag along on a 2 hour drive to chase a breeding plumage Pacific Loon. One week later, I experienced May 1st at Magee Marsh. Finals week opened our schedules to visiting Magee Marsh again May 2nd. And the 4th... and the 8th. 19 Lifers over those few days included the brilliantly colored Blackburnian Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Parula, and Canada Warbler, in addition to the equally stunning Surf Scoter, Eastern Whip-poor-will, White-eyed Vireo, and Lincoln's Sparrow.

Overcoming a Cavernous Fear

"Today I went into a cave."

That is a sentence I never imagined being able to say again.

As a young child, I loved caves. With my family and girl scout troop, I visited caves all over Ohio and Kentucky. When I was 10 years old, a family friend was visiting from out of state and we took him to Olentangy Caverns, here in Central Ohio. I won't go into too much detail, but towards the end of our visit, the lights went off in the cave. My family, our friend, and I were trapped in the cave; locked in with the lights off. There was no warning over the intercom that they were closing; no inspection by employees to make sure all guests were out. They closed up and went home. Finally, as the gift shop attendant was heading home she saw our vehicle in the lot. She searched the other attractions, before finally checking the cave.

Needless to say, I hated caves after that. Just the talk of a cave, or a photo, or a sign for a cave would make my heart race. 15 years after the incident, I was in Guatemala. The farm where I was staying had a cave on the property with a colony of White-collared Swifts. With a natural opening, and a lot of motivation to see the swifts, I decided to brave the cave. The swifts were spectacular but the experience was not good. The person leading me through the cave decided she wanted me to see the underground river, although I wasn't interested. I was hopping over rocks with gaps between and I had no idea how deep they went. I didn't have a flashlight and it was dark. I slipped and fell at one point, and nearly threw up by the time I got out. My knees were giving out, and I could hardly make it back to the cabin. I vowed that I would try a cave again in another 15 years. Maybe.

My friend Ruth standing in a natural beam
of light in the cave 

I had Ruth take my picture, knowing my family
wouldn't believe I went into a cave.

Fast forward 19 years from the originial incident to today... Ben and I were planning to visit Cedar Bog in Urbana, Ohio when we started driving through some rain. Since we were already nearly halfway there, I did a quick google search to find something to do in the area besides hiking all day in the rain. "Ohio Caverns" popped up on the list under Cedar Bog, a canoe livery, a berry farm that wasn't open, and.... the "World's Largest Loaf of Bread." At first I was joking. I said, "we could go visit a cave." But when I said it, I didn't immediately feel my chest tighten. My heart didn't start racing and my palms didn't get sweaty. I decided that I was willing to give it a try, but it had to be now. I didn't want to plan to come back another day and have days or weeks to talk myself out of it.

The weather cleared up so we hiked at Cedar Bog. I didn't think about the cave any over the next few hours while I enjoyed the beautiful scenery and wildlife. Afterwards, Ben mentioned the cave again, and I said, "okay." This time I did start to feel anxious. I didn't want to talk about it before hand, I just wanted to book the soonest tour and get it over with. We met in front of a water tower for the 2:15 tour. It was 2:13 when the guides arrived and it seemed like hours before 2:15 finally came. We started the tour by walking down a long winding ramp to the entrance. Ben was asking if I was okay... asking if we should tell the guide about my fear... asking if I wanted to be in the front or back of the group... asking if I wanted to hold his hand. I could barely hear or focus on the questions with ringing ears. I didn't want to talk about it or think about it. I just wanted to get inside and get it over with.

We arrived at the door. It was a locked metal door with a key pad to get in. At that moment I knew if I went inside, I would have to finish the tour. I wouldn't be able to just turn around and leave. Tears filled my eyes and I swallowed hard. I wanted to turn around and run, but I looked back at the kid behind me who had just said he had never been in a cave before. I remembered how much I loved caves at that age. I didn't want to cause a scene and ruin his experience, so I kept going.

I went inside.

We walked about 50 feet in before the guide stopped us to start talking about the cave system. I was already crying but trying to take deep breaths and convince myself that I was going to be okay. It was going to be fine. I couldn't hear much of what the guide was saying even though she was immediately next to me. And then I heard the words. "Now I'll show you what it's like without the lights." She explained that it would be dark and your eyes wouldn't be able to adjust to the darkness. I had heard these exact words before, over 20 years ago on previous tours in other caves. I remembered these words 19 years ago when we were trapped in the cave. And now I was hearing them again. I tried hard to keep breathing. She flipped the switch and the lights went out. I took a breath and thought everything would be alright... and then I was sobbing. I couldn't do this. I heard the guide quickly say she didn't like the dark and the lights came back on. I wanted to ask to leave but I couldn't speak. I also realized I had survived that second and a half and I wanted to keep going.

For the next 20 minutes or so, I walked through the cave. I was still crying at times but feeling less and less anxious. Every corner we turned was another amazingly beautiful natural feature of the cave. Before long, I wasn't feeling anxious at all! I was taking photos with my phone and actually enjoying my surroundings. By the time the hour-long tour ended, it hadn't seemed like an hour at all!

As we exited the cave, I was climbing the stairs to exit and it hit me again. I vividly remembered holding my sister's hand as we ran up the stairs together exiting the cave 19 years ago after the lights finally came back on, and the gift shop attendant led us to the door. I quickened my pace and climbed the 60 stairs today to get out of the stairwell. I reached the top out of breath and my legs were feeling it. But I did it! I went in the cave. I enjoyed the cave. I survived. And guess what? I might go into a cave again. It's not my favorite thing anymore; I won't be planning trips around visiting special caves, but at least I know I can do it.

After thinking about it all evening, I decided to share my fear and share my story with my friends. I hope that it can help even one person decide to take a step towards conquering their anxiety or fear. Not immediately, but when the time is right. For me, for some unknown reason, my time was today. It took me nearly 20 years to be ready to face my fear again and force my anxiety away long enough to make it through that doorway. But even after getting through the cave, reliving 19 years ago and even reliving my expeirence today had me crying the entire time I was typing this post. It'll be a long road, but I am proud to say, "today I went in a cave."

Please enjoy some of the beautiful features of the Ohio Caverns that I visited today.

WBU Spring Nature Hike - Summer Residents of Blendon Woods Metro Park

WBU Nature Hike Participants at Blendon Woods Metro Park
Photo by Sheila Fagan

Today I led the last Wild Birds Unlimited sponsored nature hike for the Spring 2018 season. We went to Blendon Woods Metro Park in search of a variety of nesting species.

Summer Tanager. Photo by Anna Wittmer.

The morning started pleasantly cool and partly sunny. As the group gathered in the first parking lot near the Ranger Station, we immediately started hearing the "pit-ti-tuck" call of a Summer Tanager and an Eastern Wood-Pewee. We walked along the edge of the parking lot, looking for the Summer Tanager and quickly realized there were two! A male and female Summer Tanager flew back and forth between a few trees before finally settling on a small evergreen and bush nearby. Everyone enjoyed great looks at the male, and most of us got to see the female as well. When we had had our fill of the tanagers, along with a Wild Turkey, an Eastern Bluebird, and a Red-tailed Hawk perched on the flag post, we headed into the woods.

Red-tailed Hawk. Photo by Anna Wittmer.

We hiked the Brookside Trail through the woods and along the stream. We immediately began hearing several Red-eyed Vireos. An adult Barred Owl flew in front of us on the trail and landed on a nearby branch to preen. It looked as though it had just taken a bath, and also seemed to have wear on its feathers from nesting.

Barred Owl preening after a bath. Photo by Anna Wittmer.

As the Barred Owl cleaned its feathers, we got to witness a Red-eyed Vireo scolding the owl for being too close to a nest. We continued on the trail to get a close-up view of an Acadian Flycatcher. We quietly walked under a Northern Cardinal sitting on her nest just above the trail. With the density of leaves, we heard many more species than we were able to see, so we had discussions on telling the birds apart and birding by ear. Both Red-eyed Vireos and Yellow-throated Vireos sang, so we were able to practice differentiating those. A Great-crested Flycatcher called, and several species of woodpeckers called, including Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, and Downy Woodpecker.

Here is our full list of species: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46430177

A Wild Turkey in the parking lot. Photo by Anna Wittmer.

Today's hike was a great way to end the season. I'm really looking forward to getting back out in the field with Wild Birds Unlimited in September!

----
Anna Wittmer
Wild Bird Unlimited
6654 Sawmill Rd

Visit our store website or follow us on Facebook for information of future hikes and programs.

Wildlife Encounters in Florida

April 24, 2015

White Ibis

I just returned from a pretty amazing trip to Florida! This was my first *real* trip to Florida so it was pretty exciting for me! I have been to Florida two other times but both were visits to Disney World and attractions like the Weeki Wachee mermaid show and the Kennedy Space Station museum. Both times, I was well under 10 years old and I barely remember the trips... I definitely wasn't a birder yet, and we didn't visit any natural areas.

During this week-long trip, we drove and camped along the way through Florida to the keys. We camped at the Chassahowitzka River Campground, Lake Kissimmee State Park, and Curry Hammock State Park. We also visited Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, and the Port Orange Causeway Park.

Green Iguana

Chassahowitzka wasn't especially interesting, as far as birds and wildlife diversity. However, we did find one of only two snake species we found on the trip: a Yellow Rat Snake. He was very pretty and after finding him, Ben and I walked along the roads near the campground to look for more snakes. Our only luck was a squished Ringneck Snake. On the way back into the campground, we heard some type of critter making a pretty loud racket behind a bush. As we shined a light over, a Nine-banded Armadillo quickly ran behind a tree!! It was the first Armadillo I had ever seen, and by the next day, they were added to the top of my list of favorite mammals!

Yellow Rat Snake saved from the road.

Sunday morning, we all woke up at 4:45am to get ready to head to the Crystal River area. We had booked spots on a boat to take us out to snorkel with manatees. I had never been snorkeling, and I wasn't sure I really wanted to get in the water with manatees at all, but I did want to see a manatee. I also figured that we would be able to see some interesting birds from the water. It ended up being really fun! We took turns snorkeling to see a total of four manatees, including a mother and 2-year old baby! Afterwards, our guide took us to a protected spring where the water was crystal clear and we were able to swim down a channel and see the spring. It was beautiful and we could see some neat fish! The water was clearer than where we snorkeled with the manatees so I was a little less nervous about it, and I really enjoyed it! I also saw my first two life birds of the trip: Fish Crows and Boat-tailed Grackles!

Crystal River

Ben with a Green Tree Frog that he found on the boat

Later that day after some resting and food, we drove on to camp at Lake Kissimmee State Park. Here, we found our second, and last live snake of the trip, a Southern Ringneck Snake. We were hoping that by picking the right habitat, we would find a Pygmy Rattlesnake, but we'll have to try again next time! Birding was nice at this campground. Northern Parulas were pretty abundant and a beautiful Summer Tanager sang and followed us around! At night, the bathhouse was covered in Mediterranean Geckos looking for insects near the lights! The next morning as we birded while looking for a dumpster, Ben and I spotted two Barred Owls hunting for frogs above a small pond!

A Barred Owl hunts for frogs

Limpkin at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Ben Warner

Once we arrived in the keys, we set up camp at Curry Hammock State Park on Little Crawl Key. From our campsite, we took several early morning bird walks along the beach and mangrove trails. This yielded serveral life birds for both Ben and me, including Gray Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo, and White-crowned Pigeon!

Ruddy Turnstones

Along the beach, we enjoyed observing the Ruddy Turnstones foraging in detritus and the Reddish Egret foraging in the shallow waters. One interesting encounter was a Great White Heron attempting to eat an invasive Lionfish. During the drive to Florida, I looked through a book of reptiles and amphibians of the state, and hoped I would see a Curly-tailed Lizard, even though they aren't native.

Curly-tailed Lizard

One day, as I was walking to the shower house, I spotted on one the wooden ramp leading to the showers! I was so excited that I sat near it and waited for Ben to finish in the shower so I could share it with him. Thankfully, it stuck around so I could come back with my camera.

Reddish Egret

A Reddish Egret shades the water to spot prey

On April 21st, we drove to Key West to eat Key Lime Pie and visit the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. When we first arrived, Ben and I went birding while the kids swam. It was HOT but we managed to see some great birds, both local and some passing through. My favorite were the Gray Kingbirds and Blue Grosbeaks! After we were too hot to continue birding, we decided to go snorkeling around some rocks. I absolutely loved seeing the colorful fish and interesting corals on the rocks. The most memorable were the Sergeant Major, or Damsel Fish and the Blue Parrotfish.

Birding Fort ZT Historic State Park 

The next day, back at Curry Hammock State Park, we went swimming. As we waded through the water, we spotted the most gorgeous young Spotted Eagle Ray! We quickly went back to the campsite to get snorkeling gear to see what else we might find in the water. We enjoyed more colorful fishes and interesting Cassiopia, or Upside-down Jellyfish. Unfortunately, I also got to experience the sting of the Cassiopia.

The view from behind our campsite at Curry Hammock State Park

On our way home, we stopped at the Port Orange Causeway Park. Here we got to watch an American Oystercatcher with babies feeding on a Horseshoe Crab. We also got this family photo. Much thanks to Matt and Kelsey for inviting us along on their roadtrip!

Below is a complete list of critters that we were able to identify!

Birds (*Life Birds)
*Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Wild Turkey
Wood Stork
Magnificent Frigatebird
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great White Heron (White morph of GBHE)

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Cattle Egret
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Swallow-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Purple Gallinule
Common Gallinule
Limpkin
Sandhill Crane
Black-necked Stilt
*American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover

Black-bellied Plover

Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
*Least Tern
Caspian Tern
Royal Tenr
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
*White-crowned Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
*Common Ground-Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Common Nighthawk
*Chuck-will's-widow
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
*Monk Parakeet
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
*Gray Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
*Black-whiskered Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
*Fish Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray-cheeked Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
*Common Myna
European Starling
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
*Prairie Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
*Boat-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow

Reptiles/Amphibians
Yellow Rat Snake
Southern Ringneck Snake
Oak Toad

Cuban Tree Frog

Fowler's Toad
Narrow-mouthed Frog
Florida Cricket Frog
Cuban Treefrog
Green Treefrog
Squirrel Treefrog
Pinewoods Treefrog
Cuban Brown Anole
Curly-tailed Lizard
Green Iguana
Six-lined Racerunner
Mediterranean Gecko
Southeastern Five-lined Skink
Broad-headed Skink
Gopher Tortoise

Fish/Mollusks/Crustaceans
Spotted Eagle Ray

Blue Land Crab

Bermuda Chub
Sergeant Major
Blue Parrotfish
Atlantic Needlefish
Cassiopea Jellyfish (Upside-down Jellyfish)
Conch
Atlantic Blue Crab
Blue Land Crab
Caribbean Hermit Crab
Marine Hermit Crab
Barnacles

Mammals
Manatee
Nine-banded Armadillo
Key Deer (endangered subspecies of White-tailed Deer)
White-tailed Deer