Zoo babies (and more)

Speaking of flexible summer days, today we dropped everything and headed over meet the new river otter pups just introduced on exhibit. Actually, our zoo has several babies this year, including a camel calf we did not get to see, and river otter pups and grizzly bear cubs, all of which were very entertaining while we were there. We had a chance to see the otter pups nursing, swimming playfully, and even tumbling down the slide in a head-over-tails ball of baby otters. We also watched them them follow and perfectly mimic their mother's every move in what could only have been a river otter's version of home (zoo) schooling. The lesson included swimming, looking for food, and waste elimination, and it looked quite a bit like follow the leader. One of them must have stepped out of line, though, because we actually saw his mother drag him by the scruff, under water, across the entire exhibit, then haul him out of the water onto the shore (he's as big as she is, mind you), and sit on him. We didn't see what got him into that trouble, but I think he's not likely to do it again.

The grizzly cubs were equally as precious. The three brothers were brought to the zoo late last year after their mother was killed by a poacher (story here), and they are immensely fun to watch. While we were there they swam, chased each other, and tumbled over and over a log that was in their pool. It was as though they were daring each other to be increasingly brave. There were other animals that we greatly enjoyed this trip, too, like the giraffe drinking from a spigot, the ostrich eyeing us warily from the shade, the penguins (of course), the polar bear who was just a glass width away, and some hoppity kangaroos. We ate lunch in the shade of a powerless carousel (the power still out in parts of the zoo from last week's storms), and even happened to spy some non-resident birds: black-capped night herons (adult and juveniles), and a red bellied woodpecker. Wildlife at the zoo, just imagine that.

We have gotten pretty good at spotting interesting wildlife, actually. I am a naturalist at heart, much of my college learning being focused on animals, their behavior, evolution, adaptations, and habitats, and Calvin has long taken part in seeking, finding, and quietly observing nature with me. Recently we have started to talk more in depth about what differentiates various types of life, like plants from animals, or mammals from amphibians, reptiles, or birds. A few weeks ago, partly following suggestions in BFSU, we talked at length about energy as the driving force behind life and about speciation, which really added to our enjoyment of all critter sightings while we were hiking on vacation, and the same can be said about today's sightings, both wild and not-so-wild (and one green heron sighting back in our own yard). Which means, I guess, that this only seemed like just another trip to the zoo, and that, in fact, brings me back around to what I was saying yesterday about learning and life fitting quite nicely together, quod erat demonstrandum.

Or, put more simply, we had a great time at the zoo today.

Baby river otters!

Little bumbles

Black-capped night heron being sneaky in the vulture enclosure

Black-capped night heron juveniles being sneaky (and avoiding their parents) in the ostrich and kudu enclosure

Animal watching...

People watching...

Grizzly cubs (including the little guy above)

Young polar bear

Adult polar bear

Sadly, a powerless carousel
American bison

Peacock

Little boy on an elephant sculpture

Red bellied woodpecker (from very, very far away, and very, very cropped in, but he's there)

Green heron flying over our yard at home

Vacation, part 2

We're now relaxing in Harbor Springs. Enjoying the company of well-loved family, playing putt putt in Petoskey, driving the Tunnel of Trees, swimming the surf of Sturgeon Bay, hiking the nature preserve behind the brewery-to-be (and why couldn't it have been in time for our trip???), and boogie boarding the waves of Little Traverse Bay from Petoskey State Park. It stormed over night last night, which is why we had such monstrous waves today, but we've had nothing but enjoyable weather during our waking hours. This is what summer should be.

Pirate's Cove, in Petoskey

Back up in Wilderness State Park for a swim in our favorite spot—Sturgeon Bay

Hiking Spring Lake Park and Round Lake Nature Preserve, in Petoskey

Eastern Garter Snake

Brown Snake

Eastern Kingbird (and nest)

Mute Swan (invasive species)

Ring-billed Gull, watching us swim in Petoskey State Park

Camping Michigan, 2012

Although we are still on vacation, enjoying beautiful Northern Michigan away from the heat at home, we have come to the end of our first real camping trip, and enthused enough to label the trip with a year, because we are already planning an even longer trip for next summer.

This year's trip was three night's long, spent with friends in Wilderness State Park in a camp site that was nestled between the lake and the pine forest. It was beautiful and peaceful, and even had pretty clean bathrooms and showers, and the weekend was practically charmed. We slept in tents, we cooked over a propane stove and over a fire, we listened to the waves at night, or the wind in the trees, and we swam in the lake at almost every free moment.

We also took the boat to Mackinac Island for a day. We brought our bikes with us and biked the eight miles around the Island, stopping many times to explore and play, and half way around to eat lunch with the sea gulls. We visited the Grand Hotel (from the outside, of course), the Governor's residence (also from the outside), and Historic Fort Makcinac (also, outside), and we hiked the Island's hills to see the traditional geographic sites, like Arch Rock and Skull Cave. We took a horse-drawn taxi, we enjoyed a seafood dinner, and we brought home a box of Island fudge. We came home on almost the last boat, and watched the sun setting behind the Mackinac Bridge.

And who can go camping without a little hiking? Wilderness State Park has some beautiful hiking trails, and, armed with camera, binoculars, bug spray, and nature books, we spent an afternoon exploring one of them. One of the great things about our weekend was that the afternoons were warm, and the evenings were cool, but it never really got too hot or too cold. Of course, woods hiking requires long pants, socks, and shoes, and it left us sweaty and tired, but we were rewarded with some exhilerating wildlife sightings: Green Frogs, butterflies aplenty, moss and wildflowers, towering trees, chipmunks, squirrels, deer tracks, a Yellow-Bellied Sap Sucker, and a family of Belted Kingfishers playing together over the pond. Awesome.

We marked our final night with popcorn over the campfire, and our final morning with eggs on the campstove. After packing everything back up we took one last dip in Big Stone Bay and headed south to our favorite stop in Harbor Springs, and that is where you will find us still, hiding away from the heat wave smothering our own city back home. And so the vacation story is to be continued.

Tenting with a view of Big Stone Bay.

Pouring over nature books and taking notes.

Hiding from the few sprinkles that fell just after we set up camp.

But it doesn't say 'no seagulls'.

Splashing around in the bay.

Art we found on the beach.

Roasting our first dinner over an open fire.

Roasting our first dessert over an open fire.

Watching the sun set over Big Stone Bay.

On our way to Mackinac Island.

On the boat to Mackinac Island.

Island fudge!

Setting out on our bike trip around the island.

Mile one, we stopped to explore the stoney beach.

Nearing mile 2, we stopped to enjoy Arch Rock from the bike route.

Around mile 3.

Nearing mile 4.

Mile 4, half way around, we stopped at British Landing for lunch.

Actually an 'unposed' picture.

Back in town, outside the Grand Hotel.

Playing in the sprinkler at the Governor's Island residence.

Outside Fort Mackinac.

At Skull Cave.

Above Arch Rock.

Above Arch Rock.

Marquette with a seagull on his head.

The main street on the island.

Taking a horse drawn taxi.

Watching the sun set behind the Mackinac Bridge on the boat ride home.

Hiking Wilderness State Park: Green Frog,

Monarch Butterfly on Swamp Milkweed,

Moss,

Belted Kingfisher,

Identifying wildflowers,

strange, strange, birch tree,

Kingfishers playing,

and a chipmunk.

Cooling off in Big Stone Bay.

A game borrowed from the camp office 'book nook'.

Watching one last sunset over Big Stone Bay.

Morning on the bay.

Eggs for breakfast.

Heading out, looking a little scruffier than when we arrived.

Polo match in Bliss.

Caterpillar update, we have a butterfly!

I haven't updated on the caterpillars in a while. I should have at least posted when they pupated over a week ago, but since then they've just been hanging around in chrysalis form, and that's not overly exciting.

Monarch chrysalis 10 days after formation

Then this morning we came downstairs and found that one of them had finally darkened. The dark coloration is actually the monarch's wings, visible through the chrysalis. It occurs the day of or the day before eclosion, so this was an exciting find. We immediately moved him to a shady spot on our deck where we could keep an eye on him and still allow him to be free.

Monarch chrysalis, 12 days after formation, 1 hour before eclosing

When a butterfly first emerges from the chrysalis its wings are not wet, but they are folded and unusable. The butterfly must cling to the discarded shell and pump fluid from its distended abdomen into the veins of its wings to shape and strengthen them. Although it will be able to flit a few feet on wobbly wings only an hour or so after emerging, the full hardening process can take up to six hours before it will be able to fly for any real distance.

And...it's a boy! Male monarch's have two raised, black dots on their hind wings that females do not have. These dots contain the pheremones that males will use to attract females for mating.


Two hours after emerging our little guy flitted to a more sheltered location to finish strengthening. Many people who raise monarchs keep them inside enclosures during this vulnerable time and release them only after they are fully capable of flying.

We didn't have a very large enclosure, and I figured we could keep this guy safe long enough outside, but I didn't count on the thunderstorm that swept through our area just twenty minutes after this photo was taken. Some quick and inventive thinking and we had him safely back inside for the duration of the storm. Three hours later, five hours after eclosion, the sun was back out and beginning to dry the world, so we returned him to the out-of-doors. Twenty minutes later we said goodbye to our first monarch.

Now the bad news. When we started this process we had eight monarch caterpillars. The one that just left is the one we were calling fatso, which makes sense because he was obviously the fastest growing and was ahead of the others. I believe that he left as a strong, healthy adult. Unfortunately, the rest of our brood has struggled. We lost two pupae to tachinid fly parasitism. Another died while forming the chrysalis, which I believe was probably due to OE.

Following the eclosing and lift-off of fatso we have four remaining chrysalises, only one of which looks truly healthy. Two are obviously malformed, and one, which formed the latest and is several days behind the others, is showing worrying signs of either OE or fly parasitism. I continually remind myself that these are natural population controls, and that there is nothing we did to intensify the selection or bring on the troubles. At this point we are merely hoping for the best, and at least we have seen fatso off into the wide, wild, blue yonder.

Added note (6/20/12)
We have now lost three of the four remaining would-be butterflies to OE, and I believe I should have said more about this silent killer. OE is short Ophryocystis elektroscirrha. It is a protozoan parasite that infects only monarchs. OE spores are left on milkweed leaves or eggs by the adults, then consumed by the larva (caterpillar). Once the spores have been eaten the protozoa are released inside the body of the caterpillar where they divide and increase their numbers. During the pupal stage (chrysalis), the protozoa reproduce, further increasing in number, and towards the end of the pupal stage they form spores for external survival on the imago, or butterfly. 

Signs of OE depend on the severity of the infection. Mild infections can be difficult to detect, and it's highly possible that we unknowingly released an infected butterfly into the wild, but severe infections lead to deformations, weakness, or outright death. We lost one caterpillar that simply died while forming its chrysalis, another emerged too weak to hold itself up while inflating its wings, another emerged with wings that were no larger than quarters, and the last was unable to fully eclose. These we euthanized by placing in the freezer, and discarded in plastic bags in the garbage to avoid the spreading of spores.

And a last note, about the tachinid fly. This fly lays its eggs inside the caterpillar or egg. The caterpillar often progresses normally, but dies during the pupal stage when the fly also pupates, and exits the chrysalis as a small brown puparium. The upside to the tachinid fly is that it does not only parasitize monarchs, but many garden pests as well, such as gypsy moths and tent caterpillars.

Autumn splendor hike

After days upon days of chilly rain we woke this morning to a thin layer of white frost sparkling in bright sunlight. One couldn't ask for better fall hiking weather, there just isn't any better to have. We had breakfast, we layered on the clothing and donned hats and mittens, then we joined in another county park naturalist guided hike. The find of the day was a multitude of fungi—here there and everywhere—but my favorite moment was spending time with a little spring peeper. He may sing his best in the spring, but he is one beautiful frog in the fall when his color is in style. The rest of the day was less exciting, filled with winterizing the yard and gardens and getting started on a Halloween costume (which may seem late, but it's still earlier than last year).

Bracket or shelf fungus

Puffball fungus

Bracket or shelf fungus

Northern Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)