Wildlife Observations: December 13, 2019
Ribbon snake in Bob Scott’s yard.
It’s been four weeks since my last article, and I haven’t received any observations from you, dear readers. Now I’m not angry ... just disappointed. This is a joint effort in community building, so hop to it, get outside, look around! Send me photos!
In these past three weeks, observations have been sparse — a few surprising herps, but mostly birds that migrate here in winter. I mistakenly predicted a few weeks ago that reptile observations had likely finished for the year, and then I saw a ribbon snake on a sunny 50° day in my yard.
Turning over logs resulted in sightings of several red-backed salamanders in both the Saul Wildlife Preserve in Rose Valley and the Crum Woods on different days, in both cases when the temperature was close to 50°. These amphibians will retreat deeper into the earth as temperatures trend lower.
A rufous-sided towhee showed at dusk in the Crum Woods on December 3. While these birds are year-round residents, this area lies along the northern boundary of their winter range, so it may well have been a migrant from the north. Their call mnemonic is: “drink your teaeeeee.”
Belted kingfishers have appeared along the banks of Crum Creek in the Crum Woods on multiple days.
Hooded mergansers appear to have settled in for the winter at Crum Creek Reservoir in Nether Providence. These fish-eating ducks take up winter residence at Crum Creek Reservoir most years; I’ve never observed them there in the warmer months. They are distinctive in appearance with a large white-spotted feathered crest - worthy of breaking out your binoculars.
Please continue to send your observations and photographs of wildlife species within the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District area by clicking/tapping the button below.
