Grasshopper on daisy
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A caterpillar that is nearly invisible on grass.  Green caterpillar on green grass at night near Parsons WV Just a pic to show the clear wedge-shaped tail of a raven. This easily separates them from the crows when flying.  Northern raven in flight showing the wedge-shaped tail Okay, I know what this sign means, but it is just too fun not to post.  No bones about it, dead fish are not welcome here at Lake Buffalo, WV The common yellowthroat is a bird I heard a lot in the Monongahela National Forest, but only saw a few times. Here is a male and female pair from the marsh at the upper end of Lake Buffalo.  Male common yellowthroat  Female common yellowthroat Flies are very common to see on daisies.  Long-legged fly on a daisy And if you look a bit more closely, crab spiders are also common on daisies.  Crab spider with only six legs on a daisy And sometimes, both are on the same flower, and we can only guess what comes next.  Somewhat camouflaged crab spider waiting for the fly to get a bit closer Wehrle's salamander (Plethodon wehrlei) is found in the forested mountain regions of the US northeast. It likes dark places during the day, often being caves, rock piles with deep interconnected crevices (known as interstices), or holes in stumps and logs. This example was spotted looking out of its den in a tree stump while mist netting bats at night.  Wehrle's salamander (Plethodon wehrlei) from the Monongahela National Forest near Durbin, WV The hoary bat is similar in many ways to the silver-haired bat, although it Is in an entirely different genus (Lasiurus vs Lasionycteris). It is a migratory tree bat with rounded ears and silver frosting on its fur and does not hibernate in caves. It does, however, have quite an extended range, being found from Canada, across the US and all the way down to South America. I caught quite a lot of these in the mountains near Monterrey, Mexico some years ago. And speaking of wide-ranging, this bat can also be found in Hawaii and the Galapagos Islands. It is often considered one of the most beautiful bats in the United States.  The hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) from the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia The silver-haired bat is a migratory tree bat, which means that it generally uses trees as habitat and isn't found in caves (much) in the winter but heads south. With black fur and silver frosting it looks quite different from the little brown and big brown bats most people have seen. Beautiful animal.  Silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) from the Monongahela National Forest These two eastern garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) were found together in the Monongahela National Forest near Durbin, WV. Note the color difference. The lower one is darker and has what appear to be blue eyes. This is an indication that this snake will soon shed its skin and then once again look more like the upper one.  Pair of eastern garter snakes from near Durbin, WV |
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Keith Christenson Wildlife Biologist Archives
September 2021
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