2019 Bird Surveys

May and June are the months of birding on the preserve.  May brings migrant bird species traveling through the preserve to their breeding grounds in the north.  June begins the surveying and censusing of breeding bird populations found at the Edge.

In early May, we counted 120 bird species in one 24 hour period called bird-a-thon.  The day we chose to count as many bird species as possible, migrants were sparse but we found many of the expected fauna during peak migration.  The spring weather and temperatures were ideal for the migrants to spread out their migration, making a fallout day hard to predict.
But the return of birds to the Edge was exciting as ever, never knowing what would show up next.  Finding 120 species in one day is a great day for any bird watcher

In early June, a 25 mile survey of breeding birds for the USGS counted 70 breeding bird species in one morning.  Another survey covering 25 stops on the Edge of Appalachia Preserve properties counted numerous individuals of 64 species.

Enjoy some of the breeding and non-breeding birds captured digitally this year.  A little eye candy of bird diversity is always good for the brain.  And now that July is here, the breeding birds are harder to find as they sing less and concentrate on caring for their young.

Blue-winged warbler, Vermivora cyanoptera

Blue-winged warbler, Vermivora cyanoptera again.

Chestnut-sided warbler, Setophaga pensylvanica

Grasshopper sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum

Grasshopper sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum again.

Mourning dove, Zenaida macroura

House wren, Troglodytes aedon

Orchard oriole, Icterus spurius

Osprey, Pandion haliaetus

Prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea

Prothonotary warbler made a dummy nest in my backyard birdhouse.

Watch for upcoming post on this prothonotary warbler who did make a real nest in a vase on my porch.

Blackburnian warbler, Setophaga fusca

Red-breasted nuthatch, Sitta canadensis

Common yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas

Red-shouldered hawk, Buteo lineatus feeding a lizard to its chicks.

Indigo bunting, Passerina cyanea

Red-headed woodpecker peeking out of hole in tree.

Red-headed woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus

Swainson's thrush, Catharus ustulatus

Eastern kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus

Worm-eating warbler, Helmitherosvermivorum

Rough-winged swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripemmis Photo by: Rich McCarty

These surveys are wonderful reminders of the numerous habitats and vast numbers of animals protected on this large, privately owned nature preserve.  The Edge of Appalachia Preserve is one of Ohio's best places to find eastern forest and field birds.  Links on the top of this webpage has info to trails open to the public where you can enjoy these, and many more bird species.

Posted by: Mark Zloba (Thanks to my friend who lent me her Sigma zoom lens to hunt these birds for photos!)

A Big Thanks to the West Union High School FFA and BETA

FFA and BETA club members from West Union High School help work on EOA trails. Photo by: Donnie McCarty

Every year students that are members of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and BETA Club visit the preserve for an end of the year work project.  They volunteer their services and lend their hands and backs to make much needed improvements to the preserve.  They have: cut trees out of prairies to help keep the prairies exposed to the sun, picked up trash form illegal dump sites, improved trails by building boardwalks and have even helped pull invasive garlic mustard taking over the bottom land forests of Ohio Brush Creek.

Photo by: Donnie McCarty

This year, the crew arrived early in the morning with smiles on their faces and good attitudes in their brains, which always makes for a pleasant workday.  In fact, although they worked hard on this long, hot day, I never heard one complaint from any of the participants!  And these are teenagers!!
They helped us remove old boardwalks from the retired portion of the Buzzardsroost trail, and carry all the old wood out of the forest.  A job that would have taken 4 of us many days to accomplish.

Photo by: Donnie McCarty

Thankfully, although crowbars were prying, hammers were swinging and nails were exposed, no one got "too" injured.  A few minor scrapes were expected.  But these incredibly hard workers disassembled three boardwalks and marched the remains out of the forest with the precision and organization of an ant colony moving its mound.  I was impressed.

Photo by: Donnie McCarty

After lunch, the team proceeded to carry the same wood they removed earlier, BACK into the forest on the new Buzzardsroost trail to build temporary boardwalks over muddy spots.  Again, no complaints for the group!  This trail becomes unbelievably muddy in the spring, and these wooded tracks will help hikers manage the slick spots.  Along with some fresh gravel placed along the trail, these students helped us improve at least 400 feet of muddy areas.

I cannot say enough about the work ethic of these students.  They worked hard all day, and although it was not easy, they kept on pushing.  Thank you to all who participated, including their teachers Donnie McCarty and Tess Holloway.

Posted by: Mark Zloba

Where have all the bats gone?

A friend of the preserve, who happens to be a barge captain, asked an interesting question last year.  “Where have all the bats gone?”  He has enjoyed watching bats flying while piloting his vessel at dusk along the Ohio River every night in summers for over 25 years.  The numbers of bats he was used to seeing has dropped so significantly that it has prompted his good question.

Ohio River valley is a great place to watch bats hunting at dusk.

We have all seen movies where an unknown virus appears and quickly spreads throughout the world, quarantining individuals while scientists rush to find its origin and a cure.  A very similar scenario has been occurring under our noses (or bats noses) for the past 10 years, but this scenario is not science fiction.

Many bats hibernate in caves in winter.

In the early 2000’s, preserve staff started monitoring caves on the preserve.  Mostly to see what animals were utilizing caves in the winter, but also to look for new species like cave salamanders, cave orb weavers, Indiana bats etc.  While in the caves, we would count all roosting bats encountered and record species when possible while they were in their torpor (inactive state) for hibernation.  During hibernation they would slow their metabolism down to preserve energy.  Each year, we would find roughly 30-60 bats in our largest cave.  Species like little brown (Myotis lucifugus), tri-colored (Perimyotis subflavus), big brown (Eptesicus fuscus) and long-eared (Myotis septentrionalis) bats were the most common.

In 2007, it was common to see 15 bats on one wall in some of our caves. (Photo by Rich McCarty)

Bats would sometimes congregate in clumps, unfortunately making it easier to spread diseases. (Photo by Rich McCarty)

In 2007, a fungus that kills hibernating bats called Pseudogymnoascus destructans or white-nose syndrome was discovered in New York.  It spread quickly, and by 2011 in was found in Ohio.  This fungus has been linked to the deaths of an unknown number of bats, undoubtedly millions.  Because of this, and the possibility of moving the fungus spores around, we stopped entering the caves in the winter.

Map showing the spread of white-nose syndrome since 2006. Copied from whitenosesyndrome.org

The annoying fungus causes the bats to wake up more often during hibernation.  This depletes their energy reserves so much that they die before spring emergence.  Once a bat has the spores on them, they can easily carry the spores and transfer the fungus to other bats. This newly discovered fungus, origin unknown, started spreading throughout the eastern U.S. before anyone knew about it.  More than 10 years later, many bat species, like the ones mentioned above, have population densities only fractions of what they used to be.

A big brown bat Eptecicus fuscus, roosting in a crack

Bat researchers from Ohio University measuring temperature of a big brown bat in a cave entrance.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife has been re-surveying caves in Ohio to monitor the status of bats in the state.  This winter we guided them to some of the preserve’s caves previously surveyed almost 10 years ago.  Out of 4 caves visited, the crew only found one live big brown bat.  In our largest cave that used to produce the most bats, they found one dead tri-colored bat, with "white stuff" on its face.  It appears, like most of the state, White-nose syndrome has found its way here too.

Division of Wildlife employee Erin Hazelton squeezes into Fern Cave on the preserve.

After searching for bats, Erin Hazelton (ODW), exits Fern Cave.

It takes a lot of work and I'd say bravery to get into some of these cave openings.

Cave surveyor, Erin Hazelton, pictured above was excited to find an endemic isopod (Caecidotea filicispeluncea) in this cave, but did not find bats.  It used to be easy to find bats in our caves.  But this survey was a reality check.  The bats we have grown accustomed to seeing in our caves are no longer there and the decline of bats in the Eastern U.S. is happening faster than we realize. 

Unfortunately, there is no cure right now to protect bats exposed to white-nose syndrome.  The fungus is here and easily transmitted between bat roosts.  The state and federal agencies will continue to monitor and study this problem.  Time will tell whether hibernating bats will outlast this onslaught of an invading fungus.

Posted by: Mark Zloba

A Wild Winter on the Edge

February of 2019 has been a wild ride so far.  We have experienced temperature fluctuations of 67 degrees, unusually high rain amounts and constant flooding of Ohio Brush Creek.  But this is what February brings to the Edge.

In early February, temperatures reached -6F, so I hiked out to Cedar Run to see if the creek was frozen.

There has been so much rain this year that even the extreme cold temperatures could not tame and completely freeze the wild waterway.

Cedar Run, a tributary of Ohio Brush Creek.

 Enjoy this short video of Cedar Run cutting through the Lilly/Bisher dolostone in winter.

So if temperatures reach -6F, one would not expect to find a reptile or amphibian out and about, right?  Well, three days after this cold snap, it reached 60F in Adams County, Ohio with ground temperatures of 52F.  Six days after the cold snap, air temperature was still 60-62F, but the ground temperature rose to 56F.  I started wondering if this was warm enough for any reptiles to emerge from their overwintering spots.  So I went out searching...

Eastern smooth earthsnake (Virginia valeriae) found on a warm day in February!

Sure enough, after a little light raking in the leaves in some earthsnake territory, I hit the jackpot.  The ground had warmed up enough that this Eastern smooth earthsnake measuring 205 mm's had emerged, most likely to get an earthworm meal.  This snake happened to be a re-capture which I caught in the same location on October 31, 2018.  It had lost about .9 grams of weight  (5.4 to 4.5g) since October.  Amazing that this cold-blooded animal could be above ground hiding in the leaf litter when temperatures were so cold 6 days earlier.  But in this part of Ohio, the ground rarely freezes very deep, and does not stay frozen long which is beneficial to many plant and animal species.

After processing this snake for a snake survey, its release was recorded the next day:

Whether it is the presence of animals like little brown skinks (Scincella lateralis) and green salamanders (Aneides aeneus), or plants like crossvine (bignonia capreolata) and  Eastern mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum), Adams County, with its warmer winters hosts many southern organisms surviving at their northernmost range.  I am no longer surprised when Jefferson salamander's mate on Christmas Day, or woodcocks display after Presidents' Day or even when Hepatica blooms after Valentine's Day.  This part of Ohio has the most frost free days in the state, and the plants and animals certainly take advantage of it.

Here are some amphibian species also found in the warm snap that followed the extreme cold snap this February:

Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) found near mating pool on Feb. 7, 2019

Red eft stage of Red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) found on Feb. 7, 2019.

Northern ravine salamander (Plethodon electromorphus) found on Feb.7, 2019.

Even though it gets cold in January and February, these animals are always days away from emerging and looking for food to get their year started.  At the same time, reminding us that spring is right around the corner and only inches deep in the soil.....waiting for that warm day.

Posted by: Mark Zloba

Ohio Brush Creek: An interesting valley

A friend took this panoramic picture of the Ohio Brush Creek (OBC) this winter.  I thought it made the creek look very mysterious, and reminded  me of how interesting this valley really is.  The OBC flows down the length of the Edge of Appalachia Preserve, and much of the preserve property borders this compelling stream.

Panoramic view of OBC.  Photo by Abe Myres

When I think about many of the unique and rare creatures on the preserve, a good number of them are found in the OBC valley.  In fact, most of the topics archived in this blog are of organisms associated with this valley.  Past blog characters like:  the unknown Amblycorypha katydid species, chuck-wills- widows, Antrostomus carolinensis, incredible firefly displays including the rare Photinus sabulosus firefly, eastern smooth earthsnakes, Virginia valeriae, and the extremely rare Lea's bog lichen, Phaeophyscia leana can all be observed within the area pictured below.

A view of OBC valley from the Eulett Center.

So why is this part of Adams County so unique?  We often give the geology of this area the credit for producing such abundant diversity on the preserve.  OBC cut through the land after the melting of the last glaciers thousands of years ago. This exposed the geology which in turn supports the immense diversity of plants. Those plants then create the different habitats which support the unique fauna.  Presently, as the land continues to change, this valley showcases windows into many rock layers like brassfield limestone, estill shale, Lilley, Bischer and Peebles dolostones, Ohio black shale and Waverly sandstone.  That is an abundant amount of rock layers that turn into different soils utilized by a wide variety of plants!

The last glaciers stopped just beyond the furthest hills in the distance.

Humans have been using this valley for at least 10,000 years.  Artifacts and earthworks found along OBC hint at its importance to humans.  Some of the first settlements in Ohio occurred nearby as  early surveyors like Nathaniel Massie traveled right up the OBC valley in 1790.  There is a long history of humans interested in the offerings of OBC.

Today, humans benefit from the OBC mainly through recreation.  Maybe so much diversity is found here because so many people with an interest in nature convene in this part of the county.  But I would say folks visit this valley mostly for the scenery.

OBC in winter.

Even in winter, the OBC valley produces interesting shows.  It the cold season, there have been more and more bald eagle sightings along OBC.  In the past 10 years, these giant birds have been found more frequently in this valley.  It used to be a big deal to see one eagle a year.  Now folks can easily see one a week if they're looking.  In December of 2018, there were nine bald eagles sitting in trees taking turns feeding on a deer carcass laying in a nearby field.

A bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus sitting above Ohio Brush Creek.

Even though some parts of the OBC can measure 45 feet deep during the dry season, it is not a river.  Its length of 60 miles makes it too short to be called "river".  But the fact that it supports many of the creatures that should be living in Ohio's waterways ranks OBC as one of the cleanest streams in Ohio.  The EPA has designated parts of it as Exceptional Warm Water Habitat.

A pink heelsplitter mussel, Potamilus alatus, shell laying on the bank of OBC.

The diversity of fish, aquatic insects and mollusks living in the creek are quite impressive,and are good evidence of the creek's high quality of health.  It is easy to walk the banks of OBC and within minutes find shells of numerous species of freshwater mussels, as seen below.  Forty-three mussel species have called OBC home at some time, and just as many fish swim its waters.  

2 minutes along OBC produces a wide variety of mussel shells like mapleleaf, plain pocketbook, deertoe, white heelsplitter, wartyback, pimpleback, fat mucket, black sandshell and fragile papershell.

Slenderhead darter, Percina phoxocephala , once rare in Ohio, fairly common in OBC due to its water quality. 

You may not see nor hear the rare flora or fauna of the Edge of Appalachia Preserve while visiting the OBC valley, but it is there.  Next time you are visiting the preserve, stop in at the Creek's Bend Picnic Shelter on Waggoner Riffle Rd.  While looking out at the Ohio Brush Creek, you should know that you are standing in the middle of one of the most naturally unique places in the state, and extremely rare species are not far from your feet.

The Ohio Brush Creek, new discoveries await.

Posted by: Mark Zloba