Catching Up

I meant to update yesterday, but when I woke up, I knew it wasn't going to happen. And that is because I woke up with a slight fever, a stuffy nose, a headache, a sore throat, and a very congested-sounding cough.

But I've never felt right about calling in sick. So I dragged myself out of bed and then dragged myself to work. I made it in before our receptionist-type-person did, so I flipped on all the lights, all the while coughing and sneezing. I made it in to my office (not really my office. I'm borrowing the future ORP's office, and I just may be the future ORP) and found Curtis. He looked at me (I must have looked somewhat bedraggled) and laughed. You see, it appears that everyone who works here, with the exception of Curtis, hates mornings. Apparently you shouldn't even talk to the refuge manager for at least 2 hours after he gets here. Curtis, however, is annoyingly bright eyed and bushy tailed.

So he chuckles, and I glare and tell him not to laugh because I don't feel well. And then go into a coughing fit. After realizing that I'm serious, Curtis sends me home. Fine with me. I spent most of the day in bed, medicating and forcing the fluids. All the stuff you're supposed to do with a cold.

This morning, I have no fever. But I am dizzy and disoriented. Sigh - gotta love colds. *cough*

But let's move on to more fun topics. Last Friday, Shelby brought me another present. But, unlike the tiny horned lizard of last time, this time it's a young Kansas glossy snake. He found it under a can with a bunch of crickets (one of those said crickets appeared to be a big bulge in the snake's belly - totally cool!). This glossy snake, however, was not nearly as laid back as the two adults I have played with. When Shelby brought it in, he was firmly holding the snake right behind the head. He told me that the snake actually struck out at him, so he wasn't taking any chances. He transferred the snake to me and after giving the snake a firm lecture on trust and not biting the hand that holds it, I released my hold from behind it's head.

Ballsy. I know.

But, while the snake wasn't exactly fond of being where he was, he didn't bite me, or act like he was going to. He was very small! Probably only 8 - 10 inches at the most. Shelby and I decided we would keep him until Curtis could play with him on Monday. We knew the snake would be fine - after all, he had just eaten. Shelby got a container ready (with dirt and dead leaves so the snake could hide) and put the snake in his new home. It was then that the snake and I started having problems. He would strike at me while in the cage. Sure his nose would hit the hard, plastic wall - but he sure discouraged me from picking him up again. He did this all weekend whenever he thought I came too close. My mother and grandmother came up for a visit that weekend as well. To visit me, of course, but to also go on my pelican tour - which we will get to later.

The snake, affectionately named "Punkin" at this point, struck out at them too. So disappointing. I get the one glossy snake with an attitude problem. Don't they like being held in captivity?? I didn't even get to take very good pictures!

But then, a friend of mine came to see me on Sunday. I show him the cantankerous Punkin, and as easy as easy can be, my friend reaches in and pulls the snake out of the cage. Punkin looks at him like, "Oh. You didn't buy my bluff? Alright, whatever." And that was it! Well. Now that I knew the snake was all strike and no venom (so to speak), he was taken out of his cage several more times before Curtis got ahold of him on Monday. So, as you might expect, Punkin also got several photo sessions with my camera.





On Wednesday, Curtis set him free to go terrorize crickets. Which is fine with me. Last Thursday morning - early Thursday morning - I was woken by the loudest cricket known to man. Maybe he was that loud because he was a meager 2 feet away from my bed, under a discarded shirt. I looked at the clock - 4:30 in the a. of m. I sighed and lay back on my pillows. I willed my mind to be in awe of the fact that this beast was making all that racket just with his back legs. I tried to get my head to remember the specifics of the cricket's circadian rhythm (the biological rhythm for the physiological processes of all living beings - can be modulated by temperature and sunlight.) But in the end, I couldn't do it. I threw the monster outside. Grumbling the whole time. May he get eaten by a young KS glossy snake!

So the pelican tours of last weekend went very well. I had a rather large crowd on Friday afternoon - ending up with a caravan of about 5 or 6 vehicles. They all seemed to enjoy themselves, or at least they told me they did. Several hours after the tour ended, my mom and grandma arrived. I took them and another pelican enthusiast from Woodward (pronounced "Woo-ard" by some in this area) on a more in-depth tour on Saturday morning. For one, I wasn't going to run out of daylight and for two, it was just the 4 of us. So I loaded us all into the manager's Tahoe, and off we went; courting adventures with pelicans.

First we went to Sand Creek Bay. We saw several pelican clusters and many other types of birds. Mom and I's favorite "other bird" was the American Avocet. They're just fun birds! They have this bill that curves upwards, and they have a very distinctive call. They are in their winter plumage right now (it normally means they're more drab. There's no chance of breeding right now, so there's no need to impress members of the opposite sex) but I still think they're lovely.

Anyway, after Sand Creek, we hit another couple of points that weren't very impressive, so I made an executive decision and took them someplace they would otherwise never get to see. It's informally called "Ron's watch point" because it's a good spot to sit and count birds. It's the very southern edge of the reservoir where it meets with the salt flats. And it takes about 20-30 minutes to get out there. You must drive down the twisty, curvy highway for approx. 10 miles, turn off on a dirt road and take it another 5 mi (or so - remember I'm no good at eye-balling these kinds of things) until you get to a gate. Open the gate and follow the wheel marks through the grass and dirt. This "road" is made very bumpy and uncomfortable by the "cotton pickin" gophers that no one up here seems to like. Follow the road until you have to turn right or left. Turn left and keep going until you can't anymore. This will put you at Ron's watch point. Previously unobserved fact: The soil of Ron's watch point isn't really soil. It's sand. Very loose sand. This will come into play in a moment.

Anyway, my passengers seemed to get a bit anxious on the way down there. To a person who hadn't been there before, it would feel like a wild goose chase (or a wild pelican chase, as it were). I kept them in suspense by telling them that I wasn't sure where I was going, that I hoped this was the right way, etc. Mom hates it when I joke that way. But they were doubting the tour guide; speaking mutinous statements and such.

But they took it all back once we got to the watch point. For there were hundreds of pelicans extremely close by on the shore line of the reservoir. I parked on the side of the spot - so all I needed to do was drive a large circle to get back on the road. More the fool I, but we'll get to that in a bit.

We took lots and lots of pictures at our spot by the truck. Then we walked down to the shoreline to take more pictures. Some of the pelicans became startled and flew off, but not all of them. Besides, watching them fly off is also wonderful - their wings make a sound similar to that made by a windmill, a kind of "whoop - whoop - whoop". It was awesome to hear.

After about a half hour, I decide it's probably time to head back. I still have traps to check and a visitor's center to open. Mom and grandma stay outside the car until I can get turned around. I start the car. I move the car. It goes about 5 feet and then no more. I check to make sure we're in 4 wheel drive. We are. I try to move the car again. No dice. Mom and grandma get me try driving in different directions at different speeds. The only thing that happened was my car burying itself deeper into the sand. At this point, the Tahoe is at a precarious angle, with the left side up, and the right side down and buried. We don't want to try anything more because of the fear we might tip the thing. So....I call Shelby on the radio. He says he's on his way, but he's at the exact other end of the refuge.

So. No food, no water, no place to sit, minimal shade, and a rapidly warming up day. Sounds like fun, no? Well, it actually wasn't bad. We watched the pelicans flying, took pictures, and chatted while standing in what little shade there was. Before long, Shelby pulls up. He gets a rope out of his own Tahoe and pulls me out. Just like that. He couldn't have made it look easier. It really made me think, "Gee. Did I give up too easily?"

There's a refuge rule. If you get stuck, you have to buy the person who pulls you out their favorite candy bar. "Snickers" Shelby tells me. Haha. So my grandmother, mother, and I bought him a whole bag of "fun size" snickers bars. I told him I was paying in advance.

Fun with Traps

Because of my adventures with children all last week (I've already gotten one thank-you note!), my mammal traps and the drift fences stayed closed. At the beginning of this week, I found myself dragging my feet in opening them back up. 77 traps yielding 2 Kangaroo Rats over a month of baiting, checking, setting up, and closing...what can I say? My motivation was flagging. But, I went ahead and moved some traps around and set most of them up with new bait. I think next week I'll start taking some down. After all, I don't want to spend my last week here cleaning 77 traps. That's going to be quite a chore!

But I digress. I set up the north drift fence (remember? the one in the prairie with the ant problems but without the spiders?) and my traps on Tuesday. The drift fence had not one but two black widows that had to be dealt with. Before you start calling me Arnold Swartz-spider-killer, I "dealt with them" by squealing, shuddering, and shoo-ing them off with my boot. I couldn't kill one because it had built its web over the opening of the pit fall trap (a bucket in the ground), so there was no ground to crush her upon. The other one - don't ask me why I didn't kill her. I don't really understand it myself. Maybe I'm afraid I'll try it and she'll out-move me and crawl up my leg and kill me.

Sigh. So that's fun.

But it yielded results. You may remember that once upon a time I had mammal traps located in the place where the North Drift Fence was, because a Kangaroo rat had been caught in one of the funnel traps. But then, I caught nothing in those traps but a snake, so I moved them. Yesterday, what should I find in that drift fence but a Kangaroo Rat! It was a little boy too - my first male. I went ahead and did all my stuff to him. Measured, weighed, photographed, and, yes, even painted his toe nails. But it's a very masculine red-copper color. He was around 10 inches and weighed a meager 67 grams. That makes him the lightest K. Rat I've caught thus far.



(That last picture should be captioned "Please ma'am. Won't you let me go?")

But I'm not done yet. After I released him, I moved on to check my mammal traps. I went to the area called "the Hunter's 80". This is the area where I catch that female K. Rat time after time after time after time (literally). Well, as it had been a week, I had wondered if perhaps she had moved on. However, there was a girl K. rat in one of my mammal traps. I couldn't find any nail polish on her, so I'm going to have to treat her as new, but I suspect that she is my diva who has let me catch her 4 times before. One interesting difference though. When I caught her the first time, she weighed 100 grams. When I caught her (?) on Wednesday, she only weight 75 grams. So maybe she really is different. I marked her and let her go and continued with checking the traps. But not before I took pictures of her (she's showing us her coy side...)

Thus far in my traps I have caught a KS glossy snake, a red-sided garter snake, cotton rats, deer mice, Hispid Pocket mice, a fence lizard, a Great Plains frog, a female sparrow, and the odd Kangaroo rat or two. Pretty distinguished list, I think, but it had one very obvious thing missing. Well, Wednesday morning that slot was also filled because I found a Box Turtle in one of my 15 inch mammal traps. When I picked up the closed trap, I heard a loud thud and a hiss. So I knew it wasn't a mammal. I kinda jostled the trap to get whatever was in there down to the back of the trap. Haha. That probably didn't endear me to the turtle either. I slid him out of the trap and waited a minute or two for him to show his legs and head. But alas, he was more stubborn than I, so I took pictures of his (tightly) closed shell.

A box turtle is called such because he can completely close up his shell - like a box - with no openings. He can do this because of a hinge on his lower shell which he is able to manipulate. At this point, there is no opening into his soft (yummy to some carnivores) parts. Mmmm - Turtle Soup!

Thursday was also a fun day for traps. I caught the same Kangaroo Rat from the previous day. I weighed her again - and she came in at 73 grams - still much lighter than she used to be. So I've either caught her 6 times now or only twice. Who knows? I suppose this is where the more tough-skinned biologists would tell me "That's what you get for not ear tagging!". But if I had ear-tagged, there would be a good chance for no recapture, because K. rats marked with ear tags have a higher mortality rate than those marked by other methods. And don't even get me started on toe clipping!

Today I had nothing in my mammal traps, but I did have a new creature in the drift fence. This was an Eastern Yellow Belly Racer. These guys are green on top and yellow on the belly (as you might have guessed). This guy was super nervous and struck at me several times. He also really didn't like the flash of my camera. When I let him go, he gave me no chance to get some pictures of him without it looking like he was in prison. If I had been thinking properly, I would have used my camera to video-tape how fast and smooth he moved. It's almost unreal. Snakes are just so cool!

Birding

So as some of you may have read on Monday, I was on my way out the door to do some birding on the Salt Flats with the refuge biologist, Ron, and two other bird enthusiasts - both from Tulsa. The two Tulsa-ians stayed at the bunkhouse on Sunday night, and they were both very nice, and very very enthusiastic about birds.

Me? I like birds. But I'm not nearly as excited to spend all day staring at them through binoculars in the middle of a salt desert.

Based on prior experience, I expected we would be spending the morning out there doing the bird thing, and get back to the refuge HQ by 1 or 1:30 at the latest. So I did not take my lunch. And I only put on the thinnest of coats of sunscreen.

Needless to say - big mistake.

By about 4:30 we rolled into the refuge. My skin was a very dark, scary red, and I could already feel the burn and was dreading doing anything to my skin - like take a shower. I came back into the office and sat down at the computer - with all the intention in the world to write about my day.

But then I realized that not only was I fiercely uncomfortable and extremely hungry, I was also very grouchy at having to spend another 3 - 4 hours looking at birds through binoculars than I was expecting. I was in no mood to write positively (or even fairly) about my day. So I gave it a couple of days.

Now, the sunburn (at least on my arms) is slowly turning into a tan, my nose is already peeling, and I've downloaded all the pictures I took that day. Sad to say, not many of my bird pictures turned out all that well. But don't despair. The two volunteers are also amateur photographers, with very expensive and pretty digital cameras. They have my email address and the request that they send me the pictures they took of all the fancy (and, in some cases, rare) shorebirds. So, hopefully I'll have those soon, and when I do, I will post them ASAP.

The day started out beautifully. It was cool enough to bring goosebumps to my (unsunburned) arms, and I always enjoy riding ATVs. Right off the bat we saw thousands (literally) of White Pelicans.

***Interruption*** The white pelicans are migrating through this time of year, and a lot of them stop and rest at the salt plains refuge. As a consequence, we have an annual "Pelican Celebration" I will be giving tours this weekend of some points where you can see the pelicans, but you'll be able to see them anytime the rest of this month or next. I was interviewed for the Lawton Constitution last week, and yesterday I sent out press releases to many of the OK newspapers. So look for it and come out!! *******

We couldn't get very close to the pelicans though, because they were very skittish. We followed the edge of the Salt Plains Reservoir, and stopped at various points along the way. There was huge excitement for several birds that are rarely seen in OK. The bird we got the most ecstatic about, however, was the Red Phalarope - we ended up seeing three of those birds, and only 2 have ever been documented in OK!

One thing I hadn't really given much thought to regarding the pelicans. With approximately 40,000 pelicans hanging out here for a month or so, there is an awful lot of stinky bird guano on the salt flats. We would stop to (guess what) look at birds through binoculars, and I would just be overwhelmed with the smell! I've heard it takes 2 minutes for your nose to get used to a new smell (and then you won't smell it anymore), but that theory did not hold up then! Here - take a look:


The pelicans are in the background (thousands!) and the poop, well, it's everywhere else.

Other birds that I took half way decent pictures of were Snowy Plovers, Lesser Yellow Legs, a Willit (or "won't it?", as my clever friends and family would say), and a Least Sandpiper. I'll show my pics (one for each bird, except 2 for the Least Sandpiper) in that order - but again, my digital camera is not the best for bird photography...







You probably notice that some of the birds appear to be having some trouble with their balance. The reason is THE INSANE SPEED OF THE WIND. I've lived in Oklahoma the majority of my life, so I'm used to wind. But it was so very windy on Monday it was actually rocking our ATVs. At one point we saw a Great Egret staggering around, acting like he was drunk. It was pretty funny, even as the wind was turning the strands of my hair into little whips that attacked my increasingly red and burning face.

So the day pretty much wore on in this fashion. We followed the shoreline of the Great Salt Plains Reservoir until we couldn't go any further (blocked by woods and water, it looked like). This very far corner of the reservoir acted as a slight wind-block. This is where all the pelicans were gathered. I was finally able to get close to one to take some pictures. The reason that was, unfortunately, because he was injured. I didn't get too close to him, because I didn't want to stress him out. Ron didn't act too concerned about it, so I assume his injury is just par for the course. And indeed, when these birds are flying from Canada, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, and Minnesota, it is expected that some will not be able to make it. It's easy to realize this fact, but when you're starting it in the face, it is a bit more difficult.

It was at about this time that I realized my arms were literally burning. I was really ready to get back to the refuge. But, I was alone in that wish. We started our way back, however, which was a huge relief to me. But, more knowledgeable than I have been in the past, I knew we would stop several more times before we actually made it back to the trucks. And sure enough. We were in the middle of one of the stops, and to keep myself from thinking about the enormous sunburn I was going to have - and indeed already had - I put down the binoculars and looked for something else to keep me occupied. I found it in a rather large turtle not that far from where we were. He was slowly making his way to the reservoir, so I thought I'd drive my ATV over there and take some pictures. I pulled up to him and he pulled halfway into his shell - really uncertain about me and all the noise I was making. So I shot some pictures, then wanted to get some shots from a different angle.

So I get off the ATV, and he turns toward me - like we're facing off. I take a step towards him, and he starts walking toward me. I thought "this is a seriously aggressive turtle!" I take another small step, and he takes off at a turtle run. I hop out of the way with a squeal, and he makes it to his refuge - underneath my ATV.

Well, that's a problem! I don't want to run over the little monster, but I don't know how to get him out from under my 4-wheeler. I push and pull my ATV in the very muddy, slippery sand, and the turtle just scurries along with it. We play this game for approximately 10 minutes, until the others are ready to leave. Ron comes over, asks if I'm stuck (It did look that way). When I explained things, he grabbed the back-rack on the ATV and did what I had been doing. Aaaannd the turtle did what he had been doing. This goes on for another five minutes. Finally, Ron hops on my ATV, asks me if he's clear, and when I give him the go-ahead, backs up quickly. I think if the turtle had a middle finger he would have used it as he stalked off in the direction he had been going before he was accosted by an over-eager, sunburned biologist.

So - the million dollar question - How many biologists does it take to outsmart a turtle?

Here are the pictures in chronological order - the last one taken right before I squealed and hopped out of the way...

Disgusting Creatures

A group of people came into the visitor's center today- all high school age guys - and they hung out for quite awhile. The guy who was obviously the teacher/leader guy had been there before, and asked if Shelby was around because he had met Shelby before.

While they were hanging out, the leader guy started asking Curtis about why we couldn't shoot cattle egrets. Curtis explained to them that because they were under the Migratory Bird act, they were protected - even though they were far from endangered. The only way they could be shot is if a hunting season was made for them. The "cattle egret season" - who woulda thunk?

Anyway, the leader guy scoffs and says that definitely a season should be made for them - they're "disgusting creatures". Then he said that oft-used phrase "Rats with Wings". He complained about how "gross" they were, and likened them to starlings and grackles who were also "gross" and "disgusting creatures".

Now, far be it for me to defend these animals. I know cattle egrets are huge pests. I know all the evils of grackles and starlings (Although I feel I should point out, there are so many of them because they are very successful in doing what they do - the saying "cheaters never prosper" really doesn't apply to nature...)

And I'm not even such a bleeding heart that I don't think there should be a "cattle egret season" - population control (especially of a non-native species) is a necessity. But I see a man who is complaining about"disgusting creatures"; who generally acts disgusted and perplexed that they are even on the surface of the earth, and I take in his greasy hair underneath a nasty baseball cap, with dirty, sloppy clothes. I look at the paunch that hangs over his baggy shorts and the scraggly, sparse facial hair, and take in the slight odor of B.O. and I think, "Really? You're really gonna say that these birds are the disgusting ones?"

Beautiful Weather, Inside Work

Man, what a week it has been! It's been fun, but I really am glad it's Friday.

I haven't gotten to do much (well, any, really) biology this week. I haven't seen any wildlife.

Well. I take that back. I've seen lots of wildlife (emphasis on the wild) this week. They are an energetic species. Competitive and not given to sharing. The alliances they make with each other are not strong and have usually broken down within a day. This species is an extremely noisy one as well. Given my time studying them, I can safely say at this point, they are not calling for mates. My best hypothesis as to why they are so noisy is that, in such close confines with others of their kind, they are merely exhausting themselves staking out their territory. Also, I have noticed, much like birds on a telephone wire, they are constantly juggling for position and the best territory available.

Sure it sounds like a headache observing this wild, noisy species. However, they also show a surprising amount of warmth and a genuine eagerness to achieve and to earn approval. Their affection is given without reserve and with energy (just like everything else they take on in their lives) and they have not yet learned the definition of suspicion and mistrust. All in all, a very tiring species, but also a completely captivating and charming species.

Look at that - Jane Goodall for elementary school children. :)

Tuesday, as previously mentioned, was kindergarten and 1st grade. They were both a lot of fun. The kindergarten class, even though there were around 20, were on the whole better behaved than the 9 kindergarten children I worked with before. The 1st graders, while a bit more unruly, were also a lot of fun.

In fact, all the classes were. For the 3rd, 4th, and 6th grade classes, we played games outside. This meant lots of running and screaming and generally hysterical, hyperactive children. I had to use the voice I used at high school football games when I was captain of our dance squad. By yesterday afternoon, I didn't have much voice left. And I've picked up a few things that happen in every class.

For one, they love telling stories. It's their favorite. I have heard some of the most outrageous stories about 10 bobcats hanging out in a tree together, deer and car collisions, hunting and fishing (tall tales!), and about things that aren't even related to wildlife. It appears to be a wonderful way to show off where you've been, what you've done, how cool your life is, etc.

For two, they love stories so much that when the teacher says "time for her to go class, no more stories" they will leave their desks to come up to me so they can tell me more stories. This works really well for them, because at that point, they no longer have to raise their hand. Doesn't work so well for me, though...

For three, and this goes especially for the younger kids, it's not actually like they're picking up actual sentences I'm saying, more like keywords. Example. I was talking about habitat, specifically what they thought their habitat was. I asked them if they thought their habitat included their grandparent's house. One little girl raised her hand and said "I'm going to see them this weekend! They're really fun, and... (and so on and so forth)"

For four. I only saw this with the younger children, but they seem to have a hard time grasping concepts of inanimate things. Again, I was talking about habitat (this was with the first graders), and I asked them what they thought were some ways habitat could be destroyed. One little boy raised his hand and said "They could chop its head off!" haha. Other answers were also along the lines of killing it - one girl answered "shoot it?"

And along that line, while I am introducing myself I talk about what the refuge is and what kind of wildlife is on it. I show them pictures of said wildlife, telling them that everything they see can be found on the refuge. I showed a class of 4th graders a picture of a wood duck. It looked a little like this:

I asked them what kind of duck they thought this was. More than one student said "A Chinese Duck!" I laughed, nervously, and said no - it was actually a wood duck. Another girl raised her hand and said "It should be called a Chinese Duck - it really looks Chinese!" What can I say? I really don't see it!

So, normally when I show them the pictures, I emphasize that these animals are found on the refuge. Then I get to the picture of the bobcat:I ask them what they think it is. "A cheetah!" "Lion!" "Leopard!" "Tiger!!" Haha. They don't even give me mountain lion!

The funnest thing about this week though, was while I was walking around the school, the students remembered me. Actually called me by name. Talk about validation!

Anyway, next on the "school program" agenda is working with a group of 5th graders next Friday. I may have some other projects in the works as well.

Back at the refuge, I've been working with Curtis and Shelby on moving some offices around. The ORP office (formerly Emily's job) is being moved from HQ to the visitor's center. While we're doing this, we're also de-cluttering and trying to use our space better. Curtis mentioned that HGTV would have a fit if they saw how we organized everything. Haha. Maybe we should apply to one of their shows and let them do all the work. Shelby said he killed a whole colony of fiddlebacks yesterday. He said this while I was in his office, under his desk, setting up his computer, in flip flops. Good sense of timing, no?

I have some other things to write down here, but for the moment, I need to get back to it.

Rainy Day

So far, nothing very exciting has happened today. It's Friday, and it most certainly feels like it. There's not many people here. Emily had her last day yesterday, and Curtis and Jon both have today off. And with this rainy weather, there's not much to do but inside work. It's like I'm back in school again, just watching the clock hand move like a slow decrepit old man.

Of course, I checked my traps this morning. Again, nothing very exciting. In the Northern drift fence I found yet another fence lizard. This one was a little girl - denoted by her gray coloration. No pictures because she was too quick for me! I also caught another hispid pocket mouse. He was young and small and completely cute. As Curtis is not here, and Ron has the only specimen he'll need, I happily let this little guy go. Only after he took some pictures for me, though.




As for the rest of my day, I'm going to research some more environmental education stuff. It seems a good rainy day type project for me. Especially in light of the fact that I will be doing a whole elementary school by myself next week. At the moment, though, I have only one thought. And thought is, Coffee....

Snakes, Mice, and Children

First of all, after speaking with Shelby, I have found out that what the Dove probably had was a bird pox. They have sent the bird off to be tested so we know for sure.

Secondly, also in an update type fashion, I caught another hispid pocket mouse in the same area on Wednesday morning. I did as I was asked to do last week and handed him (her?) over to Ron, but I wasn't very happy about it. I don't know what he's done with the little guy - he might already be in the Refrigerator of Death for all I know. The good thing is that Ron actually doesn't need more than the one so I can either help the circle of life along by giving them to Curtis or setting them free to get eaten without any assistance.

Before I gave up the mouse though, I took some pictures. I figured if he had to die, I could at least give him his 15 minutes of fame. He didn't really seem pacified though, as he did not do me the favor of posing. So just keep in mind that these mice are really very adorable.




In the last picture especially, you can see the distinguishing marks: The large nose, the orange(ish) color band of fur, and the 2 toned tail.

And on the Kangaroo Rat front: I have caught 2 Kangaroo rats this week. Actually I've caught one Kangaroo Rat twice this week. But if I'm really gonna be honest, I should tell you that I have caught this particular Kangaroo Rat 4 times now. Yep, either she is the stupidest K. rat ever, or she is a very misunderstood genius. You see, she may have figured out that by getting "caught" she actually gets shelter and security (no predator is going to get her in there!), and some free food. And since she didn't die the first couple of times she did this, there's really no reason to not continue doing this.

But if that were really the case, she shouldn't act so feisty whenever I'm trying to paint her toenails. So who knows? Another interesting fact is that I'm not catching her in the same traps. Every morning I find her in a different trap.

***Just talked to Curtis, and he said he's run into the same situation with a cotton rat that loved to get in the traps. They even moved it several miles away (they were tired of catching it) and about a week later they started catching it every morning again! Wily little creatures...***

So yesterday when I caught her we took some pictures. She seemed confused by this strange upset in our routine. Normally she gets caught and put in the sack. She tries to escape; I try to not get bitten. She squeaks; I paint her toenails. But yesterday before she went from the trap to the bag we took some pictures. She, like any attention loving diva, gave me all kinds of poses to choose from.


This morning I actually caught a snake in the south drift fence. After consulting my book, I determined that I caught another Great Plains Rat Snake (it was slightly lost, seeing how I found it in the woods...). It was a very young snake though, meaning that it was very small. He, like the last rat snake I caught, was very aggressive. The first time he struck out at me I yelped and dropped the trap. Sigh. I felt like such a girl. He followed me around with his head and did a fair imitation of rattling his tail. I really liked him - but not enough to play with him! You can see from the pictures that the rat snake actually looks a bit like the glossy snake (the mask across the eyes is similar for instance) - but there are some differences. For one, the ratsnake's skin is not glossy. For two, the glossy snake's scales are smooth and the rat snake's are slightly raised or "keeled". If you look closely enough at the pictures, the scales do look a little bumpy. For three, the belly of the rat snake is not plain, but striped. You can kind of see that in the picture where he is all the way at the end of the trap. And of course, as Curtis tells me, all rat snakes seem angry at the world, and the glossy snake is very laid back. When I let him go, he did not stick around for me to get lots of amazing pictures. I got two, both of which are posted, and then he was well on his way. I followed his path for as long as I could. It's really amazing how he just disappeared! One second I knew right where he was and in the next instant, I didn't even see grass moving. I'm assuming he just coiled up in the grass to wait for me to leave, but it was kinda eerie all the same.




And lastly, I have now done two environmental education programs. Yesterday I did a program with 9 kindergartners. It felt more like 30 kindergartners! They were a lot of fun, but man did they have some energy! The program was about how to use your senses (touch, smell, sound, and sight) to find/observe/describe animals. We listened to bird sounds and picked out the different birds we heard. For our sight exercise, one child would describe a picture of a bird to the rest of the class and they would try to figure out which one he was talking about. We also talked about how animals use their senses. For instance we played a game where the "mama bats" used their sense of smell and sound to find the "baby bats" (we gave each child a scented cottonball in a satchel and blindfolded the mama bats). The touch exercise was probably the most exciting. We passed around snake skins, different furs, turtle shells, armadillo armor, and a deer's antler around and talked about the differences and the uses of the furs/shells/antler. It was a lot of fun, but very overwhelming.

When we were describing pictures of different animals, one little boy would shout "And it dies!!" after every one. Heh. Kids say the darndest things...

Today I taught a 3rd grade class about why animals either live alone or together, about why animals might make sounds, and a little bit about the predator/prey relationships. I actually had more fun teaching them. They were very inquisitive and wanted to know everything I knew. They also wanted to tell me every single wildlife story they've heard or experienced. It was a lot of fun. Haha. One student asked me why a mother bird needed a mate to have babies. Oh man! Exciting stuff, there!

The game we played was really fun. We gave each student a noise maker (there were 5 types of noise makers that were distributed) and they spread out in the playground. When I gave the signal they would try to find someone else who had their type of noisemaker (therefore being of the same species). When they found a partner they came back to home base. Then we discussed some reasons animals might make sounds (to find each other, to warn of predators, to claim territory, etc.). Then we introduced predators into the mix. So some of the "animals" died and had to go to Emily - who was our Turkey Vulture for the game. This meant that not everybody had a mate - so that brought up all kinds of discussion points. What happens when an animal can't find a mate, for example. Then we made each noisemaker a specific animal. One was an armadillo who could roll into a ball and be safe from the predators. Another was a skunk and could spray the predator to get away. The others were a possum, a porcupine, and a turtle. Each could do their different defensive type move, and try to get away from the predator, but it didn't always work. Enter lots more discussion points.

I think maybe they learned some things. But in the end, they just had a great time playing the game.

I did too. :) I'm looking forward to next week when I'll be giving programs for kindergarten through 6th grade. We'll see how well I like these after I've done 7 of them!