Turkey Season

To kick off the start of PA turkey hunting season, here is a photo of a turkey recently taken in Berks County.  The photo was submitted by Mary Wolfinger.  Some interesting turkey facts for you--  1) Turkeys sleep in trees at night.  2) Despite popular belief, turkeys are able to fly for short distances.  3) The male turkey's gobble can be heard up to a mile away. 4) Benjamin Franklin nominated the turkey as the national bird in 1774.  Franklin's nomination speech: "He is besides, though a little vain and silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a Red Coat on."

Nesting Robins

Check under your decks for nesting birds!  This photo was taken today of an American Robin building its nest between the cross beams of our back deck.  The American Robin is the best-known and largest of the thrushes.  It feasts on earthworms, so this wet weather helps to create a feast fit for a robin. The photo below was submitted by Linda Kolka.  Thanks for sharing, Linda!

American Toads!

American Toads are some of the most common toads in PA.  They are often seen near water sources during mating season which is early spring.  They range from 2 to 3.5 inches in length and have a distinct wart or two on their dorsal (back) side.  Toads and frogs are different in the toad has the ability to live further away from water than the frog does.  The picture below was submitted by Rich Kolka of Coventry Lake.

American Toad in a local driveway.

Ticks everywhere!

Spring is the time for bulbs blossoming, rain storms and TICKS!  Ticks love the wet moisture that is associated with the early spring time.  To dispel some myths, ticks do NOT float with the wind, live in trees, jump or fly.  If you see one of these characteristics, it is not a tick.  Ticks are found in high grasses.  (see photo)There are two types of ticks, one is the hard type of tick that crunches when you smash it and two is the soft bodied tick.  The hard bodied tick is more common in our area of PA. This would include the deer tick that is known to carry Lyme disease.  How do you avoid a tick bite?  Stay inside, now that is not possible so you can use an insect repellent that has a minimum of 33% deet.  It has been shown to ward off a high percentage of ticks.  You could also try a permethrin repellent.  You spray this repellent on your clothes and it will last for 6 weeks even through washing it.  It has been 100% successful in tests done by the Ohio State University.  The tick crawls across the fabric sprayed and falls off and dies within seconds. 

Tick in "questing" position in grass
photo from entomology.ucdavis.edu

Clockwise from top, female, male, larva, nymph
photo from tickinfo.com

Bald Eagle in Exeter!

A follower of this blog has submitted her Bald eagle pic.  Jessica McGee took this photo in March in Exeter township.  The bald eagle is capable of flying up to 30 MPH.  Sitings of the eagle have also been reported in Birchrunville today at 7:15 AM.  Could this be the same eagle? 

American Crows: How Smart Are They?

Most of us know what an American Crow looks like.  However did you know that the American Crow is very unique in its brain function?  Studies have shown the crows ability to count and solve puzzles and retain information.  The crows will often travel in a flock.  The crows will often take turns on sentry duty while other crows eat anything they can find.  The one on sentry duty will serve as a lookout for any trouble.  The crow picture is below courtesy of google images.

Great Blue Heron

A great blue heron was seen at Coventry Lake today.  The bird is very large and has a blue/gray tint on its dorsal side and is often seen around water.It has a white fore neck with black streaks with a yellowish bill.  The black stripe extends above its eye.  The bird is found year round whever water is ice free.  The great blue heron's picture is below.  This picture is courtesy of Bing images.

 

More Bald Eagle Pics

Here are some more pictures of the bald eagle from our local photographer Bob Cassidy.  The one picture shows the eagle attacking another bird!  Awesome. 

Bald Eagle sitting on a tree at Coventry Lake

Eagle attacking!

Hearing Sounds???

Do you live near water?  Maybe the Schuylkill River or a lake like Coventry Lake?  Do you hear strange sounds during the hours of sunset?  If you answered yes to these questions than you are probably hearing the spring peeper.  It almost sounds like a bird.  The picture is below and if you want to hear a sound simply type in this address:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhBsNqF7Hkk
If you can't get on youtube try this link instead: http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=AR0014

Bald Eagle Spotted!

It's no April Fool's-- there was a bald eagle spotted on Coventry Lake on April 1, 2011.  Coventry Lake resident and nature photographer, Bob Cassidy, captured some pictures of the eagle on our lake.  The eagle in the picture is an adult.  The juvenile eagle would be darker in color with patches of white on its wings.  Often bald eagles are seen in pairs, so keep your eyes open!  There are only 100 nesting sites in Pennsylvania.  Amazing!