Pothos Cuttings

I started several pothos cuttings today in a 50/50 mix of perlite and peat moss. I'm using bottom watering & plastic to keep them moist and humid. The house is a little on the cold side, but I am going to see how they do.

Keep Cats Indoors

Cats Are best Kept Indoors

Domestic cats are an unnatural predator that native animals and birds are unable to coexist with. Furthermore, not just birds are affected by cat predator. Sixty to seventy of a cat's prey is small mammals, 20 to 30% birds, and 10% other animals including reptiles, amphibians, and insects (Eberhard, 1954 and "Keep Cats", 1998). In a study printed in Biological Conservation it was discovered that On average a cat depredated between 0.7 and 1.4 birds per week (Lepczyk, et. al., 2003 and "Keep Cats", 1998). Given the percentages of bird prey, that means an even greater number of damage is being done to other animals. Cats and wildlife can only coexist where cats are kept indoors. Remember, a properly cared for cat is kept indoors and causing zero damage to wildlife populations.

The American Bird Conservancy offers the following tips for trapping cats, "Many animal control agencies or shelters have humane live traps to lend to homeowners who need to trap a nuisance animal. Use bait such as sardines or tuna spread on newspaper or a paper plate, and put it in the back of the trap such that the cat must enter the trap to get the bait. Regularly check the trap, preferably every hour. A word of caution: well-fed cats can be hard to trap. You may also end up with non-target animals such as raccoons, opossums, or skunks, so avoid trapping at night." Live traps can also be purchased from farm supply stores or online with shipping as inexpensive as five dollars.

Cats that are allowed to roam outside also pose a risk to pregnant women. From the Center for Disease Control's website "Women who are thinking about becoming pregnant should be especially careful about toxoplasmosis because this disease can infect the fetus and cause a malformation or abortion ("Toxoplasma Infection and Animals"). The CDC also tells us how one can contact the disease, "Toxoplasmosis is passed to people from contaminated cat feces (stool). People can get toxoplasmosis by cleaning kitty litter or touching dirt where cats might have been, including garden soil. Toxoplasmosis can also be passed to people when they eat meat that is not cooked completely, especially pork, lamb, or deer meat" ("Toxoplasma Infection and Animals"). The CDC recommends to following procedures to prevent the disease:

• "Wash your hands thoroughly with running water and soap after contact with cat feces (stool) and after gardening."
  
• "If you are pregnant or immunocompromised, try to have another person non-pregnant or immunocompromised clean out the litter box every day."
  
• "Clean out kitty litter boxes daily (not when pregnant)."
  
• "If you are pregnant or immunocompromised, keep your cats indoors."
  
• "Avoid eating undercooked meat." "Do not feed undercooked meat to your cat."
  
• All taken from "Toxoplasma Infection and Animals" (see bibliography at the end of this article)
  

References

Eberhard, T. 1954. Food habits of Pennsylvania house cats. Journal of Wildlife Management ,18, 284-286. 

Lepczyk, Christopher A., Angela G. Mertig, and Jianguo Liu. 2003. Landowners and cat predation across rural-to-urban landscapes. Biological Conservation, 115, 191-201. (1998). 

Keep Cats Indoors.Retrieved Jan 8 2008 from http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/rouge_river/cats.html.

Toxoplasma Infection and Animals. Retrieved August 27 2008 from http://www.cdc.gov/HEALTHYPETS/diseases/toxopasmosis.htm

(2004). WHAT TO DO ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBOR’S CATS IN YOUR YARD. Retrieved Aug 8 2008 from
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/materials/cats_in_yard.pdf

Hanging Peanut Feeder

• Materials Needed
  Two 3" diameter (untreated) Wood Discs (may be cut from a 1"x6" with a jigsaw or purchased)
  One 3/4" Diameter drill bit (spade bit) and drill
  10" Square of Plastic Coated Hardware Cloth
  Coated Wire
  Staples and Staple Gun
  One Screw Eye
  One cork from a wine bottle

Directions

Cut the hardware cloth into a 10" Square and set aside. Drill a 3/4" (round) hole into one of the peices of wood. This hole will be used to add peanuts and will be closed with the wine cork. Make a pilot hole (1/8" bit should work) and inset the screw eye into this same wooden peice. The screw eye is used to hang the completed feeder.Staple the hardware cloth to the outsides of the wooden discs. Use the coated wire to weave the ends of the hardwarecloth together where they meet. I also cut off any sharp peices of hardware cloth. One could also put some aquarium sealer over particularly sharp edges for safety. Fill the feeder with peanuts, insert the wine cork, and hang the feeder!Peanuts should be unsalted and unflavored. A pound of shelled, non-salted peanuts cost between 2-3$ in grocery stores. It may be possible to find feed quality peanuts less expensively.

Results
After having built the feeder and used it, I am not sure I can any longer recommend it. The plastic is easily chewed through by squirrels. Therefore, the feeder must be designed with metal not plastic mesh if squirrels visit a property. Perhaps, a strip of plastic could be fixed over the metal edges with aquarium sealer to make sure no birds get injured. The peanuts also swell and such in response to moisture, so the idea of putting out a large quantity of peanuts in a feeder with no rain protection seems questionable to begin with. In retrospect, I have decided to abandon this feeder design but I'm leaving the article up as a critique of the design.

Keeping & Breeding House Geckos

The Tropical House Gecko is in an interesting species to observe. They are quite abundant in many areas and have traveled outside of there native habitat to completely different continents. These creatures have the ability to multiply rapidily so anyone keeping them in a year round warm enviroment should take caution to prevent escape of these lizards into non-native habitats. They are mainly active by night but many specimans will also come out into the open provided they do not detect anyone nearby(and there pretty at knowing when your near)! These lizards are very quick and are capable of running across smooth surfaces such as glass or even running upside down, if one of these lizards were to escape, a tropical fish net sold at pet supply stores will be required to capture the lizard without injuring it(there skin tears VERY easily).

Housing for the geckos can be provided by means of a 20 gallon on larger all glass aquarium. Groups of juvinilles may be housed in small 10 gallon tanks, however when groups of adults are crammed into such small quarters fights will ensue and the injures can be directly fatal or secondary infections may occur. These fights ussually will be noticed as torn skin on one or more of the geckos, if you see this happening remove the injured gecko for treatment and rest immediatly or it will continue to be attacked. Screened lids are available through mail order dealers and these are ideal for the gecko habitat as they allow ventilation which is especially critical in times when the humidity is already very high. The best housing I have found for newborns consists of a tall(6") circular plastic container with a few small holes drilled in the top with an ice pick(be very careful or you'll make too big a whole or crack the lid), the bottom is covered with a neatly cut piece of newspaper and one side of the container can be misted dialy to ensure adequte water is available.

Decorations can be eloborate or kept to a minimun. For permanent sub adult and adult cages I prefer a well dressed soil layer with one side heavily planted and the other covered with brick slabs to ensure the lizards have egg laying sites and can keep there bodies off the moist earth. I use a mixture of humus, organic top soil, and sand to form a 2" layer or so with another inch layer of pure humus on top. Underneath of this layer is a peice of fine mosquito mesh which keeps the soil from sinking down into the pea gravel layer(pea gravel is well rinsed in a strainer before being used), this pea gravel layer keeps the soil from ever standing in water an souring. Plants such as philodenrions are easy to grow in this enviroment and may be started from cuttings off of a mother plant, however it is important to plant only about one half of the tank and leave the other end as a "dry" end with pilled brick tiles ensuring the lizards can stay dry enough to not develop skin problems -- I have also noticed that the lizards will often successfully use the crevises inbetween piles of brick tiles for egg laying sites. For juvinille setups I use a more sterile approach so that I can monitor there food consumption more closly. A flourescent light will allow for plant growth and easy viewing of the terrarium by day however such lights should be set on a timer to reflect the lizard's natural life cycle and keeping the lights on continuesly would likely stress these lizards.

Feeding these lizards, especailly a breeding colony, can be considered a full time job -- possibly with overtime involved. For newborns the best food items are probably flightless fruit flies (D. Melanogastor), this is one of the reasons I use the tall plastic food container for the young is that it is more difficult for the flies to escape in this manner and even if they do by setting this plastic food container inside the adult breeders cage any "loose" newborns can devour them off. For 3 weeks old to sub-adult geckos D. Hydei is the most practical food source, although a good supply of very small crickets and Red Flour Beetle larva will also be needed.. The adults may or may not take mealworms from an old peanut butter container lid(such as the deeper ones like Jiff) but they will not hesitate to take small crickets. All in all to raise these creatures you will probably need to breed either large numbers or crickets, fruit flies, and flour beetle larva or be prepared to at least raise the fruit flies and purchase bi-weekly shipments of 500 1/8" crickets. The fruit flies are most easily raised by purchasing a "growers kit" that comes with the flies, medium, and foam plugged glass jars.

Egg laying will often not be noticed until one day a baby gecko is found hanging underneath the rim of the aquarium's lid(this seems to be a favorite hiding spot of mine), although for some reason they may at times lay a series of eggs out in the open along the warmest end of the terrarium. In my experience egg laying often occurs in difficult to access locations such as underneath brick piles. The eggs are small but noticable, white, and do not seem to desicate easily. If you have a group of four to five lizards and are patiant enough and feed the lizards well you should have baby geckos within 6 months. I am unsure if the eggs require any given temperature ranges to hatch as my terrariums have an ultratherm heater attached to the back wall with Tommy Tape to allow themoregulation and selection of temperature ranges for egg laying sites.

Opuntia compressa

One week ago I surface sowed some Opuntia compressa in a small container of soil. The temperature is mid-80s and is constant. I am waiting to see if they germinate in time or require stratification. I've read a number of conflicting reports on this, so I am curious to see how my experiment will turn out.

More Life Under Logs

Shown here are two species I found under logs in the past week. Both might never be observed by the average person, yet both are locally common in my area.

A life under logs

This southern red backed salamander was found living under a log. Logs and rocks preserve the moisture required for these creatures to live in an otherwise dry woodland environment. Thus a foundamental problem with "yards" is even when they contain the proper canopy layer, this vital habitat of logs, rocks, and leaf litter is almost never present.

Monarch

A number of organizations had tried to promote milkweed for home, pesticide-free gardens. I've linked to one such organization.


http://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds.htm

Hummingbird Garden

I found out how nature creates a hummingbird garden today. Pokeweed was used for perches (as pictured) above a bed of Spotted Jewelweed in dappled shade.

"Wild Grapes"

Disclaimer I know just enough about the botanical world to be dangerous. You should always consult someone skilled in plant identification before consuming wild plant materials.

I've found out there are a lot of things being called "wild grapes". For my definition, I consider wild grapes to be Vitis vines that produce edible fruits. The first part of the definition rules out plants with grapevine-like leaves, such as Ampelopsis. The second part of the definition rules out anything with fruits resembeling grapes that would make me ill for eating them. Most vines that are something other than grapes have obvious features. For example, Virginia Creeper has bluish berries with multiple seeds per fruit, but they are not clustered like grapes and the vine has palmately compound leaves. Also, the seeds do not look like grape vine seeds. I believe its berries are toxic to humans. Ampelopsis flowers and fruits are also not clustered like a grape (two of the pictures above are of Ampelopsis Cordata, a native midwestern plant) and most only have one seed per fruit. Moonseed has a flat, single seed. It is toxic to humans. There may be any number of other vines resembeling grapes depending on the region. However, all of the grape species I have encountered have multiple seeds per fruit, similar leaf structure, and the clustering of fruits/flowers that help them stand out.

Common Suburban Neighbors

Ok the last one isn't really an animal, but it certainly looked like one to me!

More toad hideouts

I visited a small glade the other day. Some of the interesting things I found were toad hideouts in the small bluff.

Attracting Ruby Throat Hummingbirds

The best way I have found to see hummingbirds up close this time of year is to visit a patch of Jewelweed. If you don't have a patch near you, sow some seed in a moist place with partial shade. Forget the feeders, too messy and too much work! Ideally, a small shrub or tree would provide perches.

Stealthcam i390

I tested the stealthcam i390 as a possible low-cost camera solution. The camera is very large and heavy. It can be locked with stealthcam's locking device or a homemade solution. The homemade solution I used requires a slim, long padlock which is placed through the hole in the camera case. A bicycle lock is then secured around the tree and the camera is secured to the bicycle lock with the padlock.
The camera's performance is nothing to write home about. It takes some time for the camera to fire up and take a photo. The camera's sensor doesn't seem to work very well either. I tested by walking, crawling, and having a live dog cross the camera. Although it does trigger for the most part, detection seems somewhat random and flaky. It also doesn't seem very easily triggered by small species, which may be a plus or minus depending on one's needs. The flash overexposes any night photos if placed anywhere near the ground or if the animal is very close. I had to tape a piece of paper over the flash to reduce this problem. The camera is sometimes setup by sunlight, but not nearly as easily/often as the Wildview 2MP camera. An example photo is attached. Finally, because the camera is so large there is a tendency for smaller species to get cut out of the photo if the camera is placed upright near ground level. At the end of the day, all of the disadvantages of the camera are just too much to deal with just to avoid having film processed. By the time I factor in gas and time, I would rather pay for film processing than deal with the frustrations of trying to force this camera to function as I'd like.

Log Hideouts

The snake's head can be seen peering out from a hole in a log on a hill side (open the picture full size to see). The other piece of wood covers a small hole approx. 2" deep that the toad is using as a hide.

Reptiles of the Marsh

Today, I took a tour with department of conservation volunteers. We found numerous turtles and two species of water snake. The two pictured are the yellow belly water snake and the diamondback water snake. Both are nonvenomous, but as they are quite large can deliver a powerful bite.

35 mm Stealth Cams

I had previously written that 35mm stealth cams have problems rewinding. Searching the web for a solution, I also found dozens of others who were experiencing this. The solution appears to be simple: leave the camera is standby. If the camera is powered off and turned back on, at least for me, it will not rewind properly even using the manual rewind function. However, if after loading the film, I never let the camera power down or turn it to the off mode, then the film will rewind properly.

Cover for Backyard Wildlife

Here's an interesting way to provide cover for backyard wildlife. This fallen tree is surrounded by thorned plants! Usually I'll see either thorned plants or an old log/tree seperately, but here they have been combined which would seem to provide better cover for small animals than either alone.

Seed Collecting

I've taken some grapevine cuttings, but I decided to try growing some from seed too. After doing some research, I've cleaned the fresh grape seeds (taken from purple fruits that had begun to dry up). Most of the seeds sank but I did have a couple of floaters which were disgarded. The cleaned seeds were placed in a moist film canister (I filled the canister with water, then dumped the water out). I plan to leave them in fridge until late winter.

I also found some black purple coneflower heads. After seperating the seeds from the chaff, I think I'll just leave these in a paper bag and see what happens next spring. I've heard from several people who grew them without stratification.

PVC Bird Houses

I've been constructing some PVC bird houses despite their cost. As you can see from the picture, I've chosen not to make entrance holes in some of them as I don't know where they are going to be placed. Most of the houses are using a 1/8" entrance hole for house wrens. The recessed floor is made from a piece of wood which is screwed into the PVC pipe. The "lid" is a PVC female adaptor that fits over the outside and a cleanout plug that can be unscrewed for maintennance. The screw eye is used along with wire to hang the house. The design details can be found in "Projects for the Birders Garden".

Birdhouse Construction

I've been busy creating birdhouses. I checked pricing on PVC and wood to see which would be the most cost efficient material for small-scale use. It seems to be about equal, unless one uses a PVC twist top as a cleanout which tend to push the cost a little higher.

I'm sure most people already own the tools to assemble birdhouses but I did not. Fortunately, the materials I needed were not expensive: 20$ for a low-end jigsaw, 10$ for a set of spade bits (to drill entrance holes), 6$ per 12" clamp (very nice to have for holding wood pieces together). The biggest surprise for me was the cost of screws! Granted it's still not much, but it seems like these little pieces of metal must involve a lot more engineering and machining than I had imagined.

As far as mounting options, I've found 7' poles at garden departments for around 10$, 6' "light duty" metal posts for around 5$, and wooden posts for free in neighborhood yards (it seems that people often pile unwanted wood and tree limbs near the street after a storm). For predator guards, I originally intended to use metal stovepipe. However, an inverted plastic bucket with the handle removed seems to be the winner in the low-cost department.

How I apply roundup

I recently needed to create a garden space from lawn. I purchased some roundup. I suppose the usual thing to do is buy an applicator. I've found this isn't required even if you wish to do large areas of lawn. From household supplies, I came up with a plastic bucket and an old, string-style mop. As long as there isn't dew still on the ground, it's very easy to see where I've "mopped" the lawn. The premixed solution was on discount, so I used this concentration. It seems to have killed the grass and weeds, at least for now.

Stump Baths

I decided to try out the stump, bird bath after reading NWF's Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife. I don't recommend trying to create the entire basin with a chisel though, unless you're really skilled with one. I ended up using a hatchet from Walmart (total cost was under 7$) to create the dimensions I wanted. I only used the chisel to create the sloping sides, making sure to leave them rough and not smooth for ease of climbing in and out.

Here's a picture of a test stump, this one was too small to use as standard bird bath dimensions seem to be 12"L x 3"D. As you can see the stumps I am using are somewhat cracked. I've patched any cracks that are near the basin with silicone sealer sold as safe for aquarium use. It's too soon to see how fast the cracks spread, and I'll also be curious to see if the silicone holds up outdoors where heating and cooling will test its durability. If it works great, if not, I'll stick some kind of a dish inside them and use ideally suited logs next time!

Today in the woods

White Tailed Deer and a skink

Weirdness

Here is a picture of a stinkhorn. It seems to have attracted several spore carriers.

KingFishers

Here are some kingfisher pictures. The top one is from the United States and the others are from Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, we found them during a boat tour at Tirimbina (low land rainforest with rivers). We were able to watch the birds go inside of the nest which was a hole in the stream bank. Here in the states, I usually notice them because they stand out as one person once said, "look at the diving blue jay", or I hear the rattle like call that is very distinctive. For a species that likes to perch in the open, you'd think I'd have better photos! Nonetheless, one of my favorite bird species to observe.

No more digital stealth cams for me

I've been able to test a low-end, digital stealth cam (Wildview 2MP) under a variety of conditions... The results are as follows: It works pretty well for me in daylight conditions, and the camera performs quite horribly after the sun goes down. Anything close to the camera after dark is so washed out it's not visible and anything in the background is almost colorless and distorted. In the dozen or so animals that should have been caught on film, none of them were really visible. The camera also appears to fire randomly both day and night, but the night pictures are so bad it's possible there is something there, who knows? It might be sort of ok for large animals that can be seen from a distance, but the camera is more or less useless for small mammals that need filmed at close range.

I don't like having to take the 35mm MC2 in for rewinding and paying for film development, but it's less expensive, and at least for me, takes a much, much higher quality photo. I've learned my lesson regarding cheapie digital cams, and there is no way I am leaving a 300$ item in a wood. 35mm processing fees for good quality photos and a 50$ device are still the best way to go for me.

Costa Rica Part II: Monkey Business

I'll describe my stay Curu, Costa Rica on the Pacific Coast.

The number of lizards here is impressive, both in species and total numbers I saw a lot of them. This is the place with the most monkeys I saw anywhere. Curu has three of the four monkey species found in the country; I saw spider, white faced capuchin, and congos. The congos were the easiest to find as they would howl at the farm equipment from trees along the road into the reserve. There were also a couple of congos who would approach the main house for food. White Faced Capuchins visited our cabin a couple of times, and a troop of them could usually be seen in the treetops on their way to or around the main house early in the morning. Other interesting finds were scarlet macaws flying overhead (heard others in the jungle), good snorkeling tours depart daily (schooling fish, eels, lobster, puffers), coati & deer (found while horseback riding), and lots of bats. Bats can be found hiding in the gift shop and at night they are quite numerous. There is one semi-tame spider monkey that lives in the attic above the eatery.

As far as the lodging itself, the cabins are very private. There is a good deal of trees/vegetation between each cabin, so everyone has their own little space and beach. The cabins have electricity and running water/toliots. The conditions are quite basic, nothing fancy, but beds with matresses are included. A mosquitto net is recommended for the really uptight, but the cabins are *mostly* insect free ie. you won't be eaten up by mosquittos but you will see a giant insect or two. The food was really excellent, some of the best food of the trip really, no complaints there. There are a lot of trails to hike, and they do not close at a certain time if you are sleeping over. If you visit as a daily guest only, the hours of arrival must be followed as the front gate is locked and you won't be able to get in. I've attached some photos for fun.

Lending a Helping Hand

Lots of folks like to do a little something to help wild life. Here are some ideas I've gathered that are realistic things just about anyone can do to help.

• Visit a bird sanctuary or wildlife rehab center. Even a donation of a few bucks or sponsoring a single animal will make a difference. They often need supplies as well, so you may have things around your house that are useful as gifts. Sponsoring an animal often gets one special privleges, such as a backstage pass, as well.
• Create a butterfly garden. This doesn't take much space or water and requires no pesticides, as many plants suitable for butterflies are also well adapted to your local conditions. In addition to books, conservation departments and community colleges have one day courses on creating butterfly gardens.
• If there is a nearby park with a lake, I'd be willing to bet in the summer evenings you will see bats there. Ask the local parks director if you can sponsor a bat house for the property. On public land, I think it's best to locate the bat house where people won't look up into it and disturb the bats or rope off a small area around the bat house. One could also put up nest boxes instead of bat houses. In the east where there is a few acres of prairie, grass, or other open land, purple martin houses might be erected. The martin houses are not cheap for a quality one, but they will last a long time. The design should be custom made for the martins in a way that helps exclude sparrows. I've also seen the hanging gords with martins in them.
• Some people suggest that feeding animals, such as with bird feeders, is helpful. I am no expert, but I have to say I am not convinced that this is the case. I've seen more than a few hawks that have learned to wait for lunch at birdfeeders. Many birdfeeders are also placed in yards with cats/dogs. In many cases, I wonder if bird feeding is not simply luring birds into predator rich grounds. Teaching mammals to frequent human dwellings is not a good idea either. Many garages are laden with mice posions and dangerous chemicals. It is also been suggested than without the proper care, feeding stations might become a source of disease.
• Volunteer to improve habitat on public lands. Depending on your location invasive species may need removed, controlled burns may need to be conducted, or a park watch may be needed to reduce misuse of the park.

Locking up Stealth Cams

I've heard of stealth cams being stolen. I also have some concern that someone might pop out the memory card and batteries. To address these concerns, I decided to lock up my digital stealth cams. Stealth cam sells locks for 14.00, but I found I had all the supplies on hand I needed to create my own lock. I am using a bicycle chain lock around the tree trunk. I connect the chain to the stealth cam via a small padlock. This also prevents entry to the memory card and batteries. This setup new would cost around 8$ at a department store.

Blanchard's Cricket Frog

Cricket frog's are easy to find along pond shores. Notice the wartiness.

How Nocturnal?

I often find raccoon, such as this one, during the daylight hours in both in urban and rural areas. Apparently, some people believe this means such raccoons are ill (being active in the daytime). I've checked with several conservation employees and none have correlated daytime activity with ill health. Enjoy raccoons, in day and night... just don't forget to purchase quality garbage cans.

Look where you grab

Today, I found a speckled kingsnake hanging out in a tree cavity. Here are a couple of shots.

Leaping Lizards

Here is a beautiful male fence lizard I saw today.

Deer stalking

I managed to get pretty close to this guy. All good things must end though, and he eventually heard me and fled the area.

Toad transformation

I've been spotting lots of toads testing out their newly aquired hoping skills. There are still lots of tadpoles left in pools waiting to turn onto land as well. I found about 20 tads in a lake overflow this morning along with hoardes of these guys.