Wildlife Observations: March 6, 2020
Have you noticed the morning birdsong? My favorite is the “cheeseburger-cheeseburger-cheeseburger-cheese” call of the Carolina wren, which has been audible for a month now. While I enjoy waking up to the sound, early February is unseasonably early to hear it. Like the salamander sighting discussed below, the wren’s song at that time of year is a sign of a changing climate. It’s disheartening to associate pleasurable experiences like hearing morning birds and seeing a salamander with a sense of foreboding about the future of the planet. But that is the world we live in.
Common mergansers continue to show at Crum Creek Reservoir. Black vultures have been perching on the top of the Swarthmore College steam plant smokestack. I’ve seen far more black vultures this winter than in earlier years. Our region sits just within the northern edge of their winter range.
Ruby Hoffman of Swarthmore discovered a tagged freshwater mussel in Ridley Creek, at the Saul Wildlife Preserve. Photo by Julie Ellis.
Six-point white-tailed buck. Photo by Carol Williamson.
On February 4, Carol Williamson, of Ridley Township, wrote: “So happy to be able to make a report … Walking through Swarthmore on Park Avenue last Wednesday evening, I heard an eastern screech owl. It was making its trill song, not the whinny song from which it gets its name.” Carol also submitted a photograph of a handsome six-point white-tailed buck taken in the same area.
Our first bivalve sighting: Ruby Hoffman of Swarthmore discovered a tagged freshwater mussel in Ridley Creek, at the Saul Wildlife Preserve. Ruby’s mother, Julie Ellis, submitted a photograph of the mussel. Her research revealed that the tag was the work of the Partnership for the Delaware Bay Estuary, whose mission is restoring habitat and species to the Delaware Bay and its tributaries. Partnership Senior Science Director Danielle Kreeger told Julie that the organization promotes shellfish reintroduction because shellfish assist with pollutant filtration. Mussel B228 belongs to the species Elliptio complanate and was originally released upstream at Knowlton Road, below the Manchester Road bridge. Dr. Kreeger further noted that there were once six species of freshwater mussels in Ridley Creek, but that only one remains.
Northern dusky salamander. Photo by Julie Ellis.
Crane fly larva. Photo by Julie Ellis.
On a subsequent outing to the Crum Woods, Julie Ellis discovered both a crane fly larva and a northern dusky salamander under the same rock. All prior salamander sightings noted in this column have been of red-backed salamanders. I’m happy to learn of the broader biodiversity in our area.
Shirley Dodson of Swarthmore wrote: “While taking part in the Great Backyard Bird Count that began on Valentine’s Day, I was pleased to see, in or near our Swarthmore yard, at least two birds [each] of the following species: house finches, cardinals, chickadees, mourning doves, white-throated sparrows, house sparrows, downy woodpeckers, crows, starlings, tufted titmice, red-bellied woodpeckers, and blue jays. Hopefully some of these birds are couples and we’ll have lots of successful fledglings this spring!”
