Nature Note #196: To the Land of the Longleaf Pine
Snow, thick and sticky, like icing sugar is tumbling from the sky, while reports of thundersnow and blizzard conditions blast through the airwaves and cover the internet in posts about snarled travel and snow days. As I watch the "snowscreen" (it's like a smokescreen, but whiter) outside, my mind imagines what the next few months will bring in terms of adventure and excitement. Soon I won't simply be a northeastern naturalist. In a few more days, I will journey south of the Mason-Dixon to work in North Carolina for the coming spring. On Sunday, I'll be among the longleafs and dogwoods, looking for new places to explore while happily avoiding the snow and ice up north.
North Carolina is home to five species that I've wanted to see for a while now, but never had the opportunity up north. Some of these species can be found in the northeast, but are localized and rare and sometimes are in restricted areas that make it difficult to engage with them properly. Others find our climate too cold and snowy to live here and so going south is the best chance to see them.
As a writer, birds are my most frequent subject at hand, but this year I'm going to try to focus my attention onto nature as a whole, focusing more on the forest, than the trees. Despite this, I'm also especially eager to see a few regionally specific birds. To be honest, I have a list of twenty birds that I want to add to my life list, but I know better than to spring a lengthy list on you!
While I'm down there, I also want to try to go herping. For those not familiar with the term, "herping" isn't a colloquialism for hiccuping and burping at the same time. Instead it refers to the search for and occasional collecting of amphibians and reptiles. It is possible to see a decent crop of reptiles and amphibians in the northeast, but the warm climate of the Carolinas offers a greater chance to find and photograph some choice species. For the purposes of this post, I will focus on three birds and two reptiles that have captured my interest and I think would make for interesting finds to report back on.
The first animal I want to see is the king rail (Rallus elegans), the largest rail species in North America with the clapper rail (R. crepitans) coming in at a close second. A shy bird, it stalks the cattails with the dexterity of an acrobat and the secrecy of a double agent. Despite their private tendencies, they will occasionally reveal themselves for long enough to show off their rich caramel hues and striped flanks.
A freshwater marsh specialist, these birds feed on invertebrates, fish, frogs, and crayfish by probing in the mud with their long bills. Getting to see such a private marsh bird for even a second would be such a treat and would be on par with seeing other retiring marsh birds like the American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) or swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana).
The second and third animals on my list are noticeably scalier and cold-blooded. I only recently learned that there are alligators living in North Carolina and according to Davidson College's herpetology website, they can be found along that state's southeast coast in rivers, canals, ponds, lakes, and tidal estuaries. More specifically, they can be found right where I'll be staying. To a normal person, this might fill you with dread or even mild excitement at the prospect of sharing a waterway with a toothy, scaly carnivore. For me, I share that feeling, but couch it with the knowledge that I have the common sense to give an animal with a bite force of over 2000 psi plenty of space and respect.
While I've only ever seen these impressive reptiles in Florida, it will be exciting to have a chance to spot one once again. Some people would want to stay away from reptiles entirely. I, however, am not "some people". The more chances I get to see some amazing wildlife in person, the better. With that in mind, the third animal I would want to see out in the Carolinian wilderness are snakes. Not just a single species, but any species of snake. While the northeast has their fair share, what I really would like to see is a venomous species of snake. This might seem alarming for some people to hear (sorry mum...), however I feel that in order to practice respect for the natural world, you should want to seek out the scary animals as well as the cute and fuzzy ones.
I'm the guy you see on the side of the road rescuing turtles and frogs from being crushed by lumbering cars or chasing cats away from the bird feeder so that the juncos and doves have a peaceful place to eat. I want to help out as much as possible and having the opportunity to share a space with an often misunderstood animal like a snake is always a treat.
It should also go without saying that, as a naturalist, I take steps to ensure that I'm not bothering wildlife too much. This is true whether I'm watching them, photographing them, or when necessary, helping them out of a sticky situation.
The last two species I will focus on are forest birds. As the title suggests, North Carolina's state tree is the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and is a key part of the landscape serving as a shelter and food plant for these last two birds. Both are tree dwellers with gripping toes and pointed beaks for extracting insects from tree bark. Only one of them goes further by repeatedly hammering its head into the bark and chiseling into the rotten heartwood of a dying tree. The bird in question is a rare species of woodpecker only found in the southeastern U.S.
No, it isn't the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)! No one has reliably seen one in North America for over 80 years and it's silly to think that we'll find one now!
I'm talking about the other one whose name is fun to say; the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis). So few birds on our continent have such vivid names,that when you hear it for the first time, you really take the time to sound it out just to make sure you heard it correctly. These birds are listed under the Endangered Species Act and are considered to be near threatened by the IUCN with their primary threat being habitat loss and degradation. While their numbers have recovered due to intensive conservation efforts, their reliance on a decreasing acreage of longleaf pine forest and need for trees with heartwood rot for nesting have made it harder for them to recover completely.
These little woodpeckers are similar looking to our ubiquitous downy woodpecker (P. pubescens). However, they differ on two major field marks. Downies have a large white patch on their backs, while red-cockaded have black and white bars. Their cheeks differ as well, with downies having a bold black line running below their eye, while red-cockaded have bold white cheeks. It should be said that despite their vivid name, the red cockade for which the male bird is named is so infinitesimal that like the plain belly of the red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) or the almost nonexistent ringneck of the ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris), it is a misnomer, a quirky and ultimately useless field mark.
The last species I want to see is from one of my favorite songbird families, the nuthatches. I wrote late last year about the nuthatches I saw at Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, NY and delighted in their "devil-down-head" antics as they clambered headfirst down tree trunks and along tree branches. The southeast is home to one such species, the brown-headed nuthatch (Sitta pusilla). Another lover of the longleaf pine, it uses its needle-like beak to pry insects, grubs, and seeds away from the bark of trees. Little birds like nuthatches are a delight to watch whether on their own or in a mixed feeding flock. Hopefully I will get to see some along with the red-cockaded woodpeckers as I take a walk through the pine forests of my new home.
Having the chance to explore this new place has me both excited and a little daunted. So many questions swirl through my head as I prepared my things for my trip south.
Where is the highest vantage point?
How can I engage my audience in the most meaningful and eye-catching way?
*All photos are from Wikipedia unless marked otherwise.
North Carolina is home to five species that I've wanted to see for a while now, but never had the opportunity up north. Some of these species can be found in the northeast, but are localized and rare and sometimes are in restricted areas that make it difficult to engage with them properly. Others find our climate too cold and snowy to live here and so going south is the best chance to see them.
As a writer, birds are my most frequent subject at hand, but this year I'm going to try to focus my attention onto nature as a whole, focusing more on the forest, than the trees. Despite this, I'm also especially eager to see a few regionally specific birds. To be honest, I have a list of twenty birds that I want to add to my life list, but I know better than to spring a lengthy list on you!
While I'm down there, I also want to try to go herping. For those not familiar with the term, "herping" isn't a colloquialism for hiccuping and burping at the same time. Instead it refers to the search for and occasional collecting of amphibians and reptiles. It is possible to see a decent crop of reptiles and amphibians in the northeast, but the warm climate of the Carolinas offers a greater chance to find and photograph some choice species. For the purposes of this post, I will focus on three birds and two reptiles that have captured my interest and I think would make for interesting finds to report back on.
 |
| King Rail. Photo by Jim Rathert/MO Conservation* |
A freshwater marsh specialist, these birds feed on invertebrates, fish, frogs, and crayfish by probing in the mud with their long bills. Getting to see such a private marsh bird for even a second would be such a treat and would be on par with seeing other retiring marsh birds like the American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) or swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana).
The second and third animals on my list are noticeably scalier and cold-blooded. I only recently learned that there are alligators living in North Carolina and according to Davidson College's herpetology website, they can be found along that state's southeast coast in rivers, canals, ponds, lakes, and tidal estuaries. More specifically, they can be found right where I'll be staying. To a normal person, this might fill you with dread or even mild excitement at the prospect of sharing a waterway with a toothy, scaly carnivore. For me, I share that feeling, but couch it with the knowledge that I have the common sense to give an animal with a bite force of over 2000 psi plenty of space and respect.
 |
| American Alligator. Photo retrieved from Wikipedia* |
 |
| Northern Watersnake. Photo by Matthew M. Hayes* |
It should also go without saying that, as a naturalist, I take steps to ensure that I'm not bothering wildlife too much. This is true whether I'm watching them, photographing them, or when necessary, helping them out of a sticky situation.
The last two species I will focus on are forest birds. As the title suggests, North Carolina's state tree is the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and is a key part of the landscape serving as a shelter and food plant for these last two birds. Both are tree dwellers with gripping toes and pointed beaks for extracting insects from tree bark. Only one of them goes further by repeatedly hammering its head into the bark and chiseling into the rotten heartwood of a dying tree. The bird in question is a rare species of woodpecker only found in the southeastern U.S.
No, it isn't the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)! No one has reliably seen one in North America for over 80 years and it's silly to think that we'll find one now!
I'm talking about the other one whose name is fun to say; the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis). So few birds on our continent have such vivid names,that when you hear it for the first time, you really take the time to sound it out just to make sure you heard it correctly. These birds are listed under the Endangered Species Act and are considered to be near threatened by the IUCN with their primary threat being habitat loss and degradation. While their numbers have recovered due to intensive conservation efforts, their reliance on a decreasing acreage of longleaf pine forest and need for trees with heartwood rot for nesting have made it harder for them to recover completely.
 |
| Female downy woodpecker. Personal photo. |
 |
| Red-cockaded woodpecker male and female. Painting by Earl Lincoln Poole* |
 |
| Brown-headed nuthatch. Photo by Snowmanradio* |
Where is the highest vantage point?
How can I engage my audience in the most meaningful and eye-catching way?
What is the terminal velocity of an unladen swallow?
All jokes aside, only time will tell and I am determined to make the most of what is sure to be an amazing and life changing experience. I can't wait to get there!
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