Newsletter title

April 2012

In This Edition

Road Clean-up, Cookout, and Hike—May 19

—Dennis Bires

Tallgrass Docents will not want to miss this year’s Road Clean-up, Cookout, and Hike on Saturday, May 19, at the Preserve, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Meet at the Visitor’s Center at 10:00 for equipment and assignments, or just start on litter pick-up at a county road location of your choice.

At noon, be at the Foreman’s (Stucco) House for our annual Cookout. Food and beverages will be provided.

Then, at about 1:30 we will caravan by car to a group hike location on the Tallgrass Preserve. The hike will be off-trail, but not strenuous. Be ready for possible muddy spots and rocky ground. The hike will conclude by 4:00 p.m.

Planting Moon

—John Joseph Mathews

The planting moon corresponds with the month of April and is the shortest name in the Osage calendar. They say simply, Wah-Pee, and that includes all the rather involved ceremonies of planting and growth: the collection and care of wild lily roots, the gathering of wild onions, and the preparation of the symbolic robes for the children.

All this is woman’s work, the female children of the earth planning with Mother Earth and the Moon Woman for the coming of the fruits of the earth; preparing for the nuptials of ageless earth and Grandfather the Sun and all his male manifestations. Certain ceremonies were performed and songs were sung, and often, as they sang their planting songs, the April rains would slant from the sky with a solitary cloud as their source, while the sun, still present, made the raindrops sparkle with life.

Old Ee-Nah-Apee told me one time in her slow, broken English: My son,…

[Excerpt from Chapter IV of Mathews’ book Talking To The Moon, available at the Visitor’s Center of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.]

Docent Reorientation, Part II

—Andrew Donovan-Shead

In the second part of the short series of talking pictures from the 2012 Docent Reorientation we hear from Nancy Hatfield, The Nature Conservancy Director of Philanthropy for Oklahoma. Click on the video above.

This month we hear Bob Hamilton, Director of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, talk about management of the bison; if he looks a bit pixilated, it’s not due to what he’s sipping from the Styrofoam cup but to the fact that I had to reduce the resolution of the video in order fit his fifty minutes into less than 500 Mbytes of free upload. Next month in Part III we will hear and see him speak about fire. This month you get the uncut Bob Hamilton, except for the join where I had to change batteries in my camera.

American Burying Beetle

—Jay Pruett

Recently, scientists from around the country met at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve to discuss the latest research with regard to the American Burying Beetle, an officially-listed Endangered Species in the U.S. This attractive insect was once found in most of the eastern half of the United States, but is now only found in a narrow swath from northeast Texas, through eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, along with an island off Rhode Island. One of the largest populations known has been found at the The Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve—one reason the meeting was held there.

American Burying Beetle

The scientists discussed what had been learned about the biology and ecology of the American Burying Beetle in the last few years and how that information can be used to guide conservation of the species and its habitat. Much research is conducted each year on The Nature Conservancy’s preserve and the results show that the beetle needs periodic fire in its habitat, but not too much grazing. Habitat fragmentation, lights and vibrations from machinery might all contribute to population declines.

American Burying Beetle

American Burying Beetles get their name from the fact that they find by scent and then bury carcasses of small dead animals such as birds and mammals. A pair stays with the carcass underground and cares for their young , which hatch from eggs that have been laid near the carcass. They are active in the summer, but hibernate underground during the winter. There are other types of burying beetles, which are not endangered, in both the U.S., including Oklahoma, and around the world.

[I see in the first picture that these beetles are interesting to what looks like a tick on it’s head. Ed.]

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

—George Pierson

Pipevine Swallowtail

The pipevine swallowtail is one of the most common butterflies in the South. In the southern part of their range they fly year around. In the northern part of their range, including Oklahoma, they fly from spring to fall. They are rapid flyers and tend to flutter their wings even when perched. Males patrol the tops of hills (hilltopping) in search of females.

Both sexes have a single row of light blue-green spots on the upper side of the fore and hind wings. Males have an iridescent light blue-green cast on the hindwing. This is much reduced in the females.

Both sexes have a single row of seven orange spots in the shape of a C on the underside of the hindwing.

Pipevine Swallowtail

Larval host plants include various species of Pipevine (genus aristolochia). Compounds in their diet of pipevine render them poisonous, so predators have learned to avoid them. Other species of butterflies, including black swallowtails, spicebush swallowtails, red spotted purples, and others have evolved to mimic the pipevine swallowtail to gain the same protection. Nectar plants include many species common to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, including thistle, milkweed and coneflowers.

Follow this link to the Butterfly of the Month in the species section of the Docent web-site, for more pictures with descriptive captions.

Pipevine Swallowtail

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

—Nicholas Del Grosso

It’s a treat to see one of these woodpeckers in the open woods. It is an unmistakable bird. The striking red, blackish-blue and white plumage make this an easy bird to spot in any season. Both the male and female Red-heads look alike. This is a bird of deciduous woodlands, on the Tallgrass Prairie you tend to spot this bird along wooded creek bottoms, I have never been disappointed when I hike the trails by Sand Creek, there are always one or two that can be spotted there early in the morning or late in the afternoon. They like open woodlands and are attracted to burns. In fact the Sand Creek Trail was one of several sites I used a few years ago when I participated in Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of Forested Areas to collect data on the Red-headed Woodpecker. This bird is a medium woodpecker, about 7½ to 9 inches in length with a 16½ inch wingspan. It ranges across southern Canada and the east-central United States. In Oklahoma this bird can be found statewide. Not only is it a superstar plumage wise, it was also originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work Systema Naturae. The Greek words erythos (red) and kephalos (head) described this bird perfectly.

Red-headed Woodpecker

The Red-headed Woodpecker is omnivorous, it has a varied diet of insects, seeds, fruits, berries, nuts and occasionally it will even eat the eggs of other small cavity nesting birds. The majority of its diet is plant matter. In Oklahoma this bird is a resident of its range year round.

This bird has a unique foraging style among woodpeckers. It is less likely to drill for food; rather you usually spot this bird flying down to the ground to capture insects or hawking insects in the air and returning to it’s perch. It also stores food for later use either by wedging live beetles or grasshoppers into cracks in trees or using tree cavities to store acorns for winter.

There is little data available about the formation or duration of pair bonds. These birds are thought to be monogamous, but polygamy may occur. Some studies have documented pairs staying together over several seasons. The oldest known wild Red-headed Woodpecker lived at least 9 years and 11 months. On a species level about 62-percent survive annually.

Red-headed Woodpecker

The nesting season for Red-heads is from May through July; sometimes they will start breeding as early as April. Occasionally they will even double brood. The male and female will excavate the nest, however the male does most of the drilling, and the nest cavity is 20 to 60 cm deep and has an entrance of 5-6 cm in diameter. The nest sites range from natural holes, to the eaves of buildings, fence posts and utility poles. But they really prefer dead trees.

The female will lay between 4 to 7 eggs and both sexes will incubate the eggs, with the male doing the night sitting. The eggs hatch between 12-14 days and the chicks are naked and blind. Their eyes will not open for another 12 to 13 days. Both parents brood and feed the chicks and they will leave the cavity at 24 to 31 days of age. They will continue to stay near the nest until they are chased away by the parents after several weeks. The chicks are capable of breeding the next summer.

Red-headed Woodpeckers use a variety of vocalizations and drumming to communicate. These noises are used in territorial encounters, courtship, and communication between mated pairs. Hear the sounds of the Red-headed Woodpecker by following this link→.

Red-headed Woodpeckers are susceptible to predation from raptors, including Cooper’s Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, Eastern Screech Owls and Red Foxes. Eggs and chicks are also on the menu and are predated on by snakes, raccoons and flying squirrels. When confronted with an approaching predator the adult Red-headed Woodpecker will respond with a churring call.

Red-headed Woodpecker

This is a relatively common bird on the Tallgrass Prairie Annual Christmas Bird Count. In 2011, 53 individuals were tallied, while the 14 year average was 37 individuals. Even though the Red-headed Woodpecker appears to be doing well at the Preserve, across the state of Oklahoma it has posted a 5.1-percent per year decline. A 50-percent loss has been seen range wide since 1966. Some factors contributing to this decline appear to be population declines as a result of the decline of beech trees, a common food source, habitat degradation through the harvesting of snags, clear cuts, agricultural development, channeling rivers, fire suppression, monoculture crops and the loss of small orchards. Look for this bird the next time you hike along Sand Creek, Chances are the only place you can see a Red-headed Woodpecker is in the wild, they do not often come to backyard feeders. When I was researching habitat for Cornell’s Birds of Forested Areas I was lucky enough to find a riverside grove of Blackjack Oak in Rogers County which continually hosted 12-20 birds foraging for food. The understory was savannah like with no brush and was situated along a flowing creek. It was amazing watching these birds over a three month period. It would be a terrible tragedy to loose this woodpecker. Its plumage shouts I’m here; let’s make sure it stays here.

Docent Coverage Of Season Days

—Andrew Donovan-Shead

Last year the Visitor’s Center was closed four days during March, this year we were closed for one day only. This is a big improvement. This month we are scheduled to be open every day.

Docent Coverage of Season Days

 

Other Places to Visit

Here we provide some links to other places worth visiting.

Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Visitor’s Center Latitude & Longitude

Here is the latitude and longitude of the Visitor’s Center that you can give to visitors for entry into their GPS navigation device.

Kiosk Maintenance

The manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning the touch-screen recommend use of a soft dry cloth only. This proved inadequate for smeared fingerprints. Soft-paper kitchen towels work well, slightly damp with a small drop of soft handsoap. Application of a dry kichen towel removes any residual moisture.

Over time, a matter of several weeks continuous operation, I have noticed that calibration of the touch-screen drifts away from the initial set-point. If you notice that the cursor isn’t under your finger when you touch the screen then restart the kiosk by unplugging it from the wall, waiting a few moments and then re-inserting the power plug. It will restart and recalibrate.

This link points to the complete Kiosk Maintenance Manual.

Back Issues

Some printed back issues of the Docent Newsletter, to February 2009, can be found in the two green and one blue-black zip-binders, stored in the Perspex rack by the file cabinet in the office of the Visitor’s Center.

All back issues are available electronically via the links shown below. All newsletters prior to December 2007 are available in Portable Document Format (PDF), which means that you will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to read these files. All newsletters from December 2007 onwards are in HTML format that is easily read using your web-browser.

2012January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December—2012
2011January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2011
2010January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2010
2009January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2009
2008January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2008
2007January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2007
2006—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2006
2005January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2005
2004—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2004
2003—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December—2003
2002—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2002
2001January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2001
2000January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December2000
1999January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1999
1998January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1998
1997January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1997
1996—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1996
1995—January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December1995

Selected Topics Index

This persistent index of selected topics should make finding articles of interest easier. The list will grow as I move further into the past and it will grow as I add interesting topics from each new newsletter. Iris McPherson lent me the paper copies of the newsletter from the very early years of the docent program; I ran them through a scanner equipped with a document feeder, saving them as PDF files, then added them to Back Issues section above. Let me know of any dead links that you discover. Also, please lend me any paper copies of the newsletter that are missing so that I can scan and add them to the list of back issues.

Newsletter Publication

Deadline for submission of articles for inclusion in the newsletter is the 10th of each month. Publication date is on the 15th. All docents, Nature Conservancy staff, university scientists, philosophers, and historians are welcome to submit articles and pictures about the various preserves in Oklahoma, but of course the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in particular.