Nature Notes from Sue

 Greetings! Well, July is just a couple days away.  Did you know that July is the month to see the most species of moths?  In fact, the last week of July is National Moth Week.  One of my favorite places to survey moths is my old office on Oakland Mills Rd.  In fact, I went by the office a couple weeks back to look at the moths.  I was excited to see a moth I know I had never seen before.  I later identified it as the Wood Leopard Moth seen below. My excitement though was short-lived.  I looked on the Maryland Biodiversity Project  website and learned that it was a non-native species.  Unfortunately, it is a pest for fruit growers.   Many of you are familiar with the Giant Leopard Moth (which is native) in the photo below.  Both Leopard Moths certainly look similar, but can easily be identified by looking at the spot arrangement.  

The Importance of Crayfish and Other Crustaceans in MD with Emilio Concari  Date and Time: Wed, Jun 16, 2021 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM (Local Time)  Organized By: MD Natural Places Committee Event Organizers: Marc Imlay   (301) 442-5657 Lily Fountain   (301) 474-2762  Emilio will be speaking about the ecological importance of crayfish and other crustaceans within Maryland’s ecosystems. Additionally, the presentation will discuss our rare and endangered crustacean species, and how we can preserve these often underappreciated animals moving forward.  You must RSVP at this link to attend. If you have trouble with the link, email Lily Fountain that you would like to attend.  Test 2 Testing links mmmmmm

Greetings, Some of you may be intersted in this talk tomorrow night on Crayfish sponsored by the Sierra Club. The Importance of Crayfish and Other Crustaceans in MD with Emilio Concari Date and Time: Wed, Jun 16, 2021 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM (Local Time) Add to Calendar Organized By: MD Natural Places Committee Event Organizers: Marc Imlay ialm@erols.com (301) 442-5657 Lily Fountain lily.fountain@mdsierra.org (301) 474-2762 Emilio will be speaking about the ecological importance of crayfish and other crustaceans within Maryland’s ecosystems. Additionally, the presentation will discuss our rare and endangered crustacean species, and how we can preserve these often underappreciated animals moving forward. You must RSVP at this link to attend. If you have trouble with the link, email Lily Fountain that you would like to attend. https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q000001lVwLAAU&mapLinkHref=

Greetings, I think we are just starting past the peak of the cicada activity. I see no new larvae coming out from the ground. They are now flying, singing, mating and dying. This is a great time to contribute to science by helping to document them! We have 3 different species in Brood X and the Maryland Biodiversity Project (MBP) is making efforts to document them all around the state. The best way to doument them is by submitting photos through the iNaturalist app on your phone. When photographing them, be sure to take a view of the top as well as the bottom of the insect. This is easy to do since so many are dead on the ground now. All 3 species look different underneath. If you go to this link on the MBP website, "https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewChecklist.php?genus=Magicicada", you will see the 3 species at the top of the list. You can click on each one to see their photos and how they look different. The one called Cassin's 17-Year Cicada, is ...

Greetings, Well June is here and with that, many young birds and other animals are in your yard! Before you head out to mow or weedeat, please take the time to look for young birds and animals on the ground. Box Turtles love to come to lay their eggs in nice soft mulch beds. This means they must cross your lawn. Young birds that can only fly a few feet when they first fledge, may be on the ground as well. It only takes a few minutes to take a quick look for animals so you don't mow over them. In my own yard yesterday, I found these two baby rabbits in my strawberry patch that just left their nest. I have been watching the nest for a couple weeks since I first discovered it. Mama rabbit comes around to tend to the babies around dawn and dusk every day. Now that the babies are on the move, I will be extra careful with any maintenance. Another note, PLEASE keep cats inside. Awkward baby birds are an easy target for cats. Cats are not a natural predator on birds. In my...

Greetings, Saturday night I was out conducting my first moth survey of the season in Talbott County. The habitat was a deciduous forest. The largest moths we have in Maryland are in the "Giant Silkmoth" family. We saw the Polyphemus Moth and the Luna Moth on Saturday. The caterpillars of both species feed on a variety of deciduous trees and are common around the state. They are big and beautiful! Polyphemus Moth Luna Moth When I conduct moth surveys, I attach 2 ropes between two trees. One rope I hang a white sheet on and the other I hang a black light so that it shines on the sheet. Black lights are really good for attracting nocturnal insects. The insects will land on the sheet and then I photograph them. This is something you can do in your own backyard! I contribute my observations to the Maryland Biodiversity Project. There are over 2600 moth species already documented around the state!

Greetings, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post this photo of a Turkey Vulture in the early morning sun at Triadelphia Reservoir early this morning. Many of you have probably noticed this bird on a light post or sign along the highway perching with the wings spread out and wondered, why? The main reasons are thermoregulation and drying. At night, this bird actually lowers its body temperature. Spreading the wings in the early morning sun can help the bird warm up as well as dry the dew from its feathers. Do you know where any of these birds are nesting? If so, please let me know! This one is a hard one to document in the Breeding Bird Atlas. They nest in rock crevices, tree hollows and stumps, abandoned barns and sheds, etc.