Look At Me!

It would be hard not to notice the big personality that male red-winged blackbirds have, with their flashy shoulders and loud, constant calls.  

They crave standing out in the crowd, and love perching on elevated vantage points where they can SEE, and BE SEEN.  

Not much slips past them as the take commanding positions overlooking their domains, and letting everyone else in the vicinity know that it IS their domain.

They are unaware of how little they are, compared to most other creatures on the earth.  They simply feel that everything is theirs and they will tell you all about it, especially if you get too close.

These photos were taken in the spring, when the males are rounding up females to mate with.  

They are clearly saying, "NOTICE MEEE!"

Their scientific name is Agelaius phoeniceus.  The first part indicates belonging to a flock of birds, and the second part means "red".  There you have it!

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfishers have been on my bucket list for a long time.  They are such fast birds, racing up and down the river banks, that I had never gotten one on film.  I've had three confirmed sightings that I can recall, but they've but they all darted away before I could even raise my camera.

But now I have finally photographed one.  All I have to share with you is this photo:

Kingfishers view their pray from perches above the water

That is a kingfisher.  You can tell from the silhouette.  It has an over-large head with a crest, long pointed beak, and a kind of protruding, barrel chest.  It has a wide band of white around its neck - hence the term "belted".  It alighted on this channel buoy down from Lock & Dam 14, and was off again in a flash.

Interesting facts:

• They burrow in the ground
• They regurgitate pellets, similar to owls
• Females are more brightly-colored than males

Their scientific name is Megaceryle alcyon.  Remind you of any words you already know?  Mega, of course, means huge. Here's the rest of the story.

"Ceryle" comes from Ceyx, a minor god in Greek mythology,  He was married to Alcyon, who lends her name to this bird species as well.  They angered Zeus by calling each other by the pet names of Zeus and Hera.  Zeus blasted Ceyx's boat at sea.  When Alcyon heard of her husband's death, she cast herself into the ocean.  Other gods took pity on them and turned them into the mythological halcyon birds, who built floating nests on the sea during the two weeks period of calm at the winter solstices.

When you break halcyon down further, "hal" is related to the sea and salt, as in halite (rock salt), while "kyon" is related to the idea of conception.

Echinacea

Here's a purple cone flower on its way out.  

This flower was used for many medicinal purposed by native people here in North America, and is used today as well.  Many people know it by the name "echinacea".  

This name apparently comes from the Greek word, "echino" which means "sea urchin".  You can see the spines on the head of the flower.

I love it's healthy, healing properties, but I also love how beautiful it is!

Thinleaf Sunflower

Have you ever heard of thinleaf sunflowers?  I had never heard of them, until today.  However, I've SEEN them dozens of times.  

Here's a picture:

See the thinner, sharply pointed leaves?

These sunflowers are also called "ten-petal sunflowers", although they can actually have 8 - 12 petals.  They are woodland flowers, and I found these in western Illinois.

Butterflies seek out this plant to lay their eggs, and muskrats favor this plant as well.  

The species name is Helianthus decapetalus.  Isn't that perfect?  Helianthus comes from Helios, god of the sun (that equates with Hyperion of Green mythology), and decapetalus represents the ten petals. 

Gobble Gobble

I was on the trail the other day, in a nearby forest, which led me to a meadow.  (These things happen.)  I crossed the meadow and found myself near a roadway.  I decided to walk along the road for a little way and just see what I could see.  As I began to top a little rise, I found these gobblers.

Run for the Forest!  Run!!!

They were out grazing.  Not on grass - they were looking for insects and nuts and such other delicacies as wild turkeys like to eat.  (Think "snails".)  There were four adults - probably hens - and five young ones.

I was thrilled to see them, although they dashed for the woods as fast as their meaty legs would carry them.

I circled back around the clump of brush they had headed into, but for the life of me, I could not find them again.  They are wary birds and were probably just standing there, magnificently camouflaged, and laughing at me.  (Happens to me all the time.)

Word has it that their common name, "turkey", comes from - you guessed it - the country of Turkey!  Ding!  Ding!  Ding!

It's a long story, but here's the short version.  When Europeans first saw this native American bird, it reminded them of a different but similar bird that they had seen in Europe, which had been imported either from or through the country of Turkey.  At least that's the story in the 'hood.

Arrowhead

This is the arrowhead plant, as it is commonly called, due to its arrow-shaped leaves.  It likes to grow in wet, marshy ground, and in shallow water.

This plant is a member of the sagittaria genus, named after the constellation sagittarius - the archer.

Arrowhead is also called duck potato, and wapato.  Wapato is a Cree or Ojibwe word.

It has edible tubers.  In fact,  we learn from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, edited by Bernard DeVoto, that the corps of discovery was introduced to wapato as an important food source in late 1805 by the native people living on the Deschutes River.

Another name for this plant is said to be katniss, although I could find no trustworthy source to back up this claim.  Katniss is the heroine of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Katniss' father tells her that as long as she can find "herself" - meaning the katniss or arrowhead plant, she will never go hungry.

As fall swiftly descends, our local varieties are beginning to fade and wither, but they are still beautiful!

Downy Gentians

Look at these beauties!

I found these lovely flowers while walking out at Scott County Park last Saturday, on the Glynn's Creek Trail.    The trail is mostly through woods, but one glorious stretch takes you past a tall grass prairie, and there they were.

Their lovely purple blossoms caught my eye immediately.  They were tucked away everywhere in the tall grasses, and I went from blossom to blossom like a kid in a candy store, delighting over each one.  They were so pretty!

I particularly loved over the whorled, two-tone petals on the not-yet-fully-opened blossoms.

These downy gentians (so-called due to the tiny hairs on their stems) are sometimes called prairie gentians.  They are among the last flowers to bloom in the late summer, but as I think anyone would agree, they are well worth the wait!

The white and green stripes inside the blossoms helped me identify them. although it was hard to get a look inside as the bees were very busy collecting their pollen!

The name "gentian" comes the name of the ancient Ilyrian king, Gentius, who ruled beginning in 181 BC.  He was said to have used this plant to treat a sickness among his people.

Turkey Vultures

Turkey vultures are hawk-like birds who ride thermal waves in the sky, often in small groups.  They have darker underbellies than hawks, and have a more wobbly flight.

Turkey vultures have a bald head that is dark pink or red in appearance, with a white-tipped beak.  The appearance of their head, being similar to that of a wild turkey, gives them their common name.

While sometimes called buzzards or carrion crows, these are misnomers.  Their scientific name is quite grand:  Cathartes aura.  Loosely translated, this means "purifying bird".  This is related to the fact that they eat carrion, which otherwise would stink up the world in a big way.

This one was spotted above Nahant Marsh, soaring around in a circle.  Evidently something already dead had caught its eye - or rather its nose, for that is how turkey vultures most often identify their next meal.

House Sparrow

House Sparrows.  Yep, they're an invasive species, but still interesting.

Fun Fact #1:  According to allaboutbirds.com, house sparrows were first introduced to the United States in 1851, in Brooklyn, New York.  Click here to read about that:   http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/house_sparrow/lifehistory .

Fun Fact #2:  The larger the black patch on a male house sparrow's throat, the more dominant he is in the pecking order of the flock.

Fun Fact #3:  The scientific name for the house sparrow is Passer domesticus.  Passer refers to a small, active bird, and domesticus means "belonging to the house".

House sparrows are extremely common in the lower 48, and are different than our native North American sparrows, such as the song sparrow and the white-throated sparrow.  If you look through a field guide at the sparrows depicted there, you will see the difference in body shapes between these two branches of the sparrow family.

A Marsh Mallow

You might know the halberd-leaved rose mallow as a hibiscus, because that is what it is - Hibiscus laevis.

I photographed these at Nahant Marsh, which is the perfect place for them since they like sunny conditions and wet soil.

I first learned of their proper name from Nahant Marsh's Facebook page.  Check out there photo of this plant here:  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151552422863344&set=a.10151015943813344.408969.135482933343&type=1&theater

These wildflowers are native perennials, and vary in color.  Those shown here are faintly pink, with a deep pink center.  The blossoms are five inches across or more.

The leaf shape is reminiscent of a handled broad-axe - hence the name "halberd".

Note the large, halberd-shaped leaf to the right of the blossom.

And I just have to throw this in - we get the word "mauve" from French, where it refers to the particular tints of the mallow plant.

Among all the creatures that benefit from it (there is even a particular rose mallow bee), I was pleased to read that the rare and elusive bobwhite eats the seeds of this plant.  (Shout out to my bobwhite wood badge friends!)

Dragons & Damsels

I found this stunning little creature last Friday.  At first I thought it was a black butterfly, and fumbled with my camera to get a picture of it before it fluttered away. Much to my surprise, when I got home and put the pictures on the computer, I saw that this was a dragonfly.  Or so I thought.

Calopteryx maculata, resting on a poison ivy leaf.

When I researched a black-winged dragonfly, I was let to understand that this ebony beauty was really a damselfly.  Isn't that a great name?!  I picture a beautiful lady with sparkling, flowing scarves and a wind-billowed, shimmering dress standing on a castle rampart with her hair streaming behind her.

So what is the difference between a dragonfly and a damselfly?

Well, the biggest difference that I think would help a person identify them in the field is the way they hold their wings at rest.  Both dragonflies and damselflies have two pairs of wings.  However, a dragonfly will rest with his two pairs outstretched, and a damselfly holds hers upright, like a butterfly at rest.  (Hency my mistaken initial identification.)

Here is a dragonfly (below).  You can see how his wings are outstretched as he rests on the stalk of grass.

Libellula luctuosa, resting on tall grasses near a lake shore.

The damselfly (in the first photo) is an ebony jewelwing, and what an apt name.  It is lovely and shiny.  This one picture is a male.  The bodies of the males are more of a metallic green, and the females are more brown.  Their scientific name is Calopteryx maculata.  Calopteryx is from the Greek, meaning beautiful wing.  Maculata refers to the white spot the females have on the tips of their wings.

The dragonfly (second photo) is a male widow skimmer.  The males have white coloring at mid-wing, whereas the females do not.  His scientific name is Libellula luctuosa.  I had a hard time finding the etymology of Libellula, but it may be related to the Latin word for booklet.  Luctuosa has reference to mourning, and may be related to the black coloring on both the male and female.

Ironweed

Ironweed is a plant I had never seen or heard of before, until I ran into it on the banks of the Mississippi River.  I was drawn to its deep purple blossoms.

This is prairie ironweed, as opposed to the similar tall ironweed.

Ironweed apparently takes its common name from its strong stem, and perhaps also from the rusty color of its faded blooms.

Its scientific name is Veronia fasciculata.  Veronia comes from the name of noted botanist William Vernon.  Fasciculata refers to the way the flowers are clumped closely together.  In tall ironweed the blooms spread out more widely.

This is a native plant, and is sometimes used in domestic flowerbeds.

The Buzz on Bergamot

Today's post is about bergamot - a lovely, lavender wildflower - also known as bee balm.  It grows along wood lines and in abandoned meadows in large groupings, growing to 4 1/2 feet or taller.  It has many medicinal uses.

The name "bergamot" is an unusual name, and led me on a merry chase back as far as 550 B.C. to ferret out its etymology.

This native wildflower is a member of the mint family, and has a lovely and unique fragrance.  The fragrance reminded its namers of the similar smell of a completely unrelated plant - the bergamot orange.  And so our story begins.

The bergamot orange grows chiefly in southern Italy.  The fruit is the size of an orange, but it is greenish-yellow in color.  It has a bitter taste, so people don't generally eat it outright or juice it.  However, it is grown for its essential oils.  The unique aroma is, according to Wikipedia, evident in Earl Grey tea - much-loved by the famed Captain Jean-Luc Picard, of the starship Enterprise.

Back to my main theme.  The bergamot orange takes its name from the town of Bergamo, Italy, where - presumably - many of these oranges grow.

So how did the town of Bergamo get its name?  Let me tell you.  Bergamo comes from the Roman name of Bergomum.  And before it was latinized as Bergomum, it was called Berghem by the ancient celts who settled there.

And Berghem?  Berghem comes from the Old English (and prior to that the Proto-Germanic) "berg", meaning "mountain", and "hem" meaning "dwelling place".  Thus we have the origin for the name of this wildflower that grows innocuously on the Illinois savannas.  Who knew that such a little flower could have such a loaded name?

The Bluebird of Happiness That Wasn't

I was on a mission.  Hyperion & I were on a gator in the back forty at Loud Thunder, transporting critical fire-starting materials to our fellow campers. Suddenly we crossed paths with a stunning bird!  He sped into view and lit on the ground in front of us, looking for water in an old puddle.

"Look, it's a blue bird!" Hyperion shouted over the noise of the gator.

"Stop!  Stop!" I yelled, scrambling for my camera.  I had never photographed a bluebird before!

The bird hopped down the trail in front of us a couple of times and then soared into the treetops.

With our naked eyes, we thought it was a bluebird.  It certainly was blue. However, upon examining this digital image, I realized that no - this was not an Eastern bluebird!  They have brown breasts.  So what was it?  I noted the two-toned beak, with the upper beak actually curving, and the deeper bluish-purple on the head.  Purple is not a common bird color in the Illinois woodlands.  I soon discovered that this was an indigo bunting!

This one is a male.  The females are always brown.  The scientific name is Passerina cyanea.  A passerine is a sparrow or a sparrow-like bird.  Cyanea comes from Greek, meaning "dark blue" - you know, like the color cyan.  Indigo comes from another Greek word that stands for "dye from India".

So, in the end, this wasn't my bluebird of happiness.  Instead, it was my indigo bunting of happiness - a lovely jewel in the crown of my conclave weekend.

Mystery Solved

I have been wondering what this plant was for a while now:

Do you know it?

Every time I have seen it, I have photographed it, and then searched my field guides for it.  I tried googling it by putting in key words representing its most outstanding features.  No luck - until last week.

It's elderberry!

Most photos I've found on this plant online focuses on the white blossoms, rather than the beautiful, net-like appearance of its stalks and stems.

Elderberry a native plant, and is common in Iowa and Illinois.  It is an important food source for songbirds.  Deer, squirrels and mice also eat it.  Its scientific name is Sambucus.  While the plant can be poisonous, people do use the berries for food and to make drinks.  The wood has been used around the world to make musical instruments.

Elderberry has an amazing history, and I can't resist sharing with you a link to a super-informative online paper about elderberry for your further reading pleasure.  It was written by Charles E. Voigt, entitled "Elderberry, Herb of the Year 2013".  Here's the link:  http://jhawkins54.typepad.com/files/elderberry-hoy-document.pdf .

In his section on the history and lore of the plant, Voight states the following on the fascinating etymology of the name:

"Elderberry has been involved with human history for hundreds of years. Sambucus comes
from the Greek word “sambuke,” a musical instrument made of elder wood, whose music was
believed to heal the spirit. (In Europe, Elderberry wood was used for making musical
instruments.) The common name “elder” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “ellen”, meaning firekindler, because of the dry, pithy stems."

Mentha Spicata

Hyperion and I were out walking along the river the other day when he stopped and turned to me.  "I just love that smell," he said.  "It smells like mint."  I could smell it too, and so we looked around to see where it might be coming from.  There at our feet were several beautiful bunches of spearmint.

I plucked a bit of leaf and crushed it between my fingers.  Sure enough - the minty smell burst forth bigger than ever.

I've never found mint growing wild like this, but I have known it was out there.  I just don't know if this mint grew there from an errant seed from someone's garden-variety mint, or if it was a naturally occurring variety.  I've researched the plant a little but haven't been able to come to any conclusions.  

The scientific name is Mentha spicata, and the word mentha originally comes from the Greek minthe.  The term spicata refers to the spikes on the leaves.  

In Greek mythology, Minthe was changed into the plant that now bears her name in order to keep her from improper relations with Hade, god of the underworld.  This connection with the underworld is also evident in the use of mint in ancient burials rights.

Coots

Up until I started photographing wildlife, I hadn't ever really seen or noticed coots.  I've come to know them as very shy birds who hustle away from me the moment they notice my presence.  Most of my photos show them paddling away for dear life, their wake a widening "V" behind them.  They are friendly with other birds, however, and hang out in mixed flocks.

Now and then I get lucky, and manage to photograph more than just their fleeing forms.

I found this one (below), trying to hide in the reeds at Pigeon Creek.  He had undoubtedly been there as I passed by him on my way up the trail, but an active muskrat and some new birds closer to shore grabbed my attention.  I didn't notice him until my return trip along the path.

When I did finally notice him, he held very still - like a child caught in a cookie jar - and pretended not to see me.

I recently saw my first coot on land.  It wasn't until I had zoomed in on him that I realized what odd feet coots have!  They are "lobed" and massive - not like duck feet at all.  Here is a picture to show you what I mean:

This is a mature coot - not a baby that has yet to "grow into" his feet.

The coot is dark grey with an even darker head.  They have white bills, which make them pretty distinctive.  If you get close to them, you will see that they have a red patch at the base of their bills (on their foreheads), and they have the appearance of red eyes.

Their chicks are beautiful, with orange-tipped feathers.  I would dearly love to get a photo of one!

The word coot comes from the Dutch koet, and in modern times the word has become synonymous with a foolish person.

Here is a pleasant picture to end with, of a social group.  This one was taken by my sister Angie, when she was here visiting.  Thanks, Ang!

Photo by Angie S.

American Hogpeanut

This is just the plant you wanted to learn about today.  You will soon be seeing it again, growing all over the forest floor and twining itself around anything that can give it support.

Up until now, I have been mistaking this plant for a common violet!  It is actually an amazing entity.  It produces two different flowers, and two different seeds.

If you take a moment to look at the leaflets in this photo, you will probably be able to identify this plant when you see it again in the wild.

Each compound leaf has three leaflets with sharp tips and asymmetrical bases.  You can see a kind of bulge on the base of the leaflets in the photo above.  And the middle leaflet of the three is larger, with a longer stem.

This plant's name is a perfect example of how so much scientific information can be packed into a couple of words.  Quoting from gobotany.newenglandwild.org we learn the following:

"The genus name is from the Greek amphi (of both kinds) and carpos (fruit) and refers to the two kinds of fruit.  The seeds of the upper fruit are inedible, but those from the underground fruit are edible when boiled.  Birds feed on the seeds of both kinds of fruit.  Hogs eat the seeds of the fruit below ground, hence the plants (sic) common name."

Many thanks to my friend Bryan R. (from Wood Badge), who helped me successfully identify this plant when it was driving me crazy by being so familiar and yet so anonymous!

Pileated Woodpecker

While hiking at Wildcat Den, my friends and I were treated to the sight of a pileated woodpecker.

This thing was big, and it was loud.  We first noticed it from the sound of its pecking on a tree, but then it swooped over us and flew up the trail a little ways, making a loud set of calls. I don't remember ever hearing a call quite like it.  Up to that point we had only seen small birds, like nuthatches and black-capped chickadees, all of which this woodpecker could have eaten for lunch!  The pileated is about a foot-and-a-half long, while those littler birds are only about six inches long.  It made quite an impression!

The bird takes its name from the red, hairy-looking feathers on its head.  Pileated means "crested" and comes from the Latin "pileatus" meaning "wearing a felt cap".  (Thank you, dictionary.com !)  This word is also related to the Latin "pilus", meaning "hair".

This particular pileated woodpecker happened to be a female.  How do I know?  According to my research, the males have a red line running from their bill to their throat, and on the females, this line is black.  You can see in this picture that ours has a black line.

The moral of the story?  Get out on the trail.  You never know what you might find!

Living History

The Osage Orange takes its name from the people of the Osage Nation.  The trees grew primarily in a swath of land running from southern Oklahoma and south-western Arkansas into eastern Texas.  It was well-known to native people, who prized the wood for bow making.  In fact, one of its other names is "bodark", from the French phrase "bois d'arc", which means bow wood.

Meriwether Lewis, of Lewis & Clark fame, obtained slips of this unique tree in early 1804, right before setting out on his journey.  It was a new species to him, and he sent the slips back home to President Thomas Jefferson, with whom he had lived and for whom he had worked as a secretary for two years.  Lewis called them Osage apples.  Sometimes today they are called hedge apples.

Both Jefferson and Lewis were naturalists.  Jefferson wanted to find a water route to the Pacific for his country, but he also had an interest in the new-to-him plants and animals that the expedition would encounter.  As a result, specimens of plants and animals were sent to him from the trail as often as circumstances allowed. The first shipment was in March of 1804, and included the Osage Orange cuttings.  During the two-year expedition, whole animals were prepared with taxidermy skills and sent back, as well as furs, bones, teeth, eggs, feathers, and plants, with written descriptions and sketches.  Theirs was a scientific journey of discovery, as well as a political one.

The slips had originally come from an Osage village about 300 miles west of St. Louis.  They were obtained by Pierre Chouteau, of the great fur trading family headquartered in St. Louis.  Lewis got them from Choteau and sent them to Jefferson.  Some cuttings were sent to Bernard McMahon, a Philadelphia horticulturist.  To this day, you can go and see Osage Orange trees from these first slips, growing in the St. Peter's Episcopal Church yard, and at the University of Virginia, founded by Jefferson - pieces of living history.