Here’s a new species of snake for Pearl Creek Farm, Western Wormsnake (Carphophis vermis). These two individuals were found under a cover board we placed a couple of years ago.
Western Wormsnake
Tag Archives: Wildlife
Great day for mink-watching
It’s been several months, but we saw the mink again today.
Wild Turkeys
This is a poor photo, but it shows something Julian and I saw a couple of weeks ago. Four large gobblers wandered through the creek bottoms directly across from our house. We were sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. What a great treat!
New Species for 2014
It’s been an interesting year at Pearl Creek Farm. Plus, we also observed some new species to add to the list.
The most exciting find for me was an Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) right at the edge of our prairie. Still, it was totally expected. In fact, it was amazing it took so long. We’d been finding them on the road within sight of our house almost since we moved in. Wait until we find our first Bullsnake!
First reptile of 2014
Can someone help me identify this sparrow?
My first guess is song sparrow, but white-throated sparrows are very common here and I wonder if it is a juvenile or female. Anyone?
Also, I saw a kinglet-sized bird yesterday that appeared to have very bold black and white stripes on its head. I could find nothing that looked like it. It’s possible it was a sparrow, too, but it was very small. Any ideas?
More snow brings birds to the feeders
We are at 20oF and holding steady. At 730 this morning, I measured almost exactly 3.0″ of new snow. Most had melted by yesterday afternoon, so this is all new. At 1230 this afternoon, it looks like we got an extra 1-2″ out there. The radar shows that it’s almost over and many schools in the area are closed, including Springfield and Willard. That might be as much to do with the expected cold temperatures as the snow itself.
Quail!
Okay, really Northern Bobwhite, but nobody shouts that when you flush a covey from less than ten yards. Although we occasionally hear them calling from some distance, we see them on our place only rarely. On January 1, 2014, we flushed a covey on top of the hill (I4). I hope they like what we’ve done with the place and stick around for a while.
Comments on the Species List
During the year, we keep a list of species we’ve observed. Right now, the list is confined to vertebrates (sans fish) and plants, as that is our primary area of expertise. The vertebrates are kept on a list while the plants are kept in our head (for now).