The other night, I was driving home after dark, and ahead of me, I could see small figures on the road. I realized there were four to five young raccoons (Procyon lotor), likely following mom. I slammed on my brakes, started honking my horn, and threw on my hazards. The two cars behind me swerved around, thank goodness, but there was no way I was going to plow through a family of raccoons.

Once the card had passed, the road was empty, and I pulled over to assess the situation. Most of the raccoons were gone. One was lying still in the middle of the road, likely deceased, but I still used a shopping bag to move it off the road. Another was closer to the shoulder and crying, obviously injured. I don't know if it had crawled to that location after being hit, or if it was hit by one of the cars that passed me while trying to escape. I moved it off, too, VERY CAREFULLY with the bag, which I threw away later.

A young man going in the opposite direction stopped to offer assistance. I explained there wasn't much we could do at this point. He wanted to help, so I said if the living one was still there in the morning, he could see if the wildlife rehabilitator two towns over would take it.  Most rehabilitations don't take raccoons, but it was worth a shot.

That was always the worst thing when I would answer the phone to a distressed person in a similar situation to the one I was in. You want to help, but the only thing you can do is let nature take its course. It is such a helpless feeling. I managed to save a few raccoons by putting myself at risk of being rear-ended, but I had little hope for the two I moved off the road.

Should I not have stopped my car? I feel like I did the right thing, but I would also probably be singing a different tune had I caused an accident. What I saw in front of me were young lives; I can't take that lightly.

I found it ironic that I would take such a risk for raccoons, which are definitely not high on my list of animals that need protecting. They are aggressive, not afraid of humans, carry all the diseases, and are cruel hunters. There's a reason very few rehabilitators will take them, and even then, only the babies. You cannot safely (for the human or the animal) rehabilitate an adult raccoon.

They do serve their purpose. Believe it or not, the messes they make at the trash cans at the Zoo every night are them being nature's clean-up crew. They don't know that the leftover KFC is not the same as a bird carcass in the wild. They also eat a lot of pests.

They do not, as you may have heard, wash their food. They eat lots of aquatic animals and use their ultra-sensitive hands to feel around in the water and mud to find a snack. If they do take food and place it in water, it is this instinct to look for food in water. However, these sensitive hands also let them open doors, unhook latches, and pull prey, usually chickens and waterfowl, through fences. I've lost more than one feathered friend to these dexterous bandits. 

I guess the question will always come back to, "to break or not to break." That is something each person must decide for themselves. If you are driving behind me, though, be prepared to stop.

Microtus ochrogaster

My parents visited recently, and we went for a walk on Konza Prairie. I was looking for wildflowers and migrating birds, but I encountered something I had not expected. Not even 20 feet from the parking lot, a small rodent was munching on some vegetation. I quickly grabbed for my phone, but I wasn’t faster than two college students who stormed by me and scared off the critter. I took a mental photo, and later at home, I perused my mammals guide to narrow it down. I finally figured out it was a prairie vole!

Prairie voles are normally crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), so I was lucky to see one around 10 in the morning. As their name suggests, they inhabit prairies, grasslands, and agricultural fields. As I witnessed, they eat vegetation in the spring and summer and roots in the colder months.

Next time I am on the Konza, I’m going to have to look for more vole signs. Apparently, they leave little runways in the grass, as well as tunnel underground. I’ve seen vole tunnels before. My parent’s yard is habitat for meadow voles, but I never got to see one in person! I’m not sure if my parents had before, either. They were surprised at how big it was and how cute! Maybe they will stop complaining about the voles in their yard now.

Toxicoscordion nuttallii

I had the opportunity to venture out to the Konza Prairie this past weekend to look for wildflowers, and the most numerous was the Nuttall’s Death-camus. As its name suggests, all parts of the plant are toxic to plants and livestock. It is a bulb that resembles an onion a bit, which is what might create problems. It is also called a death onion.

The Death-camus is one of the first plants to sprout in the spring. It apparently blooms in May and June, but these may have gotten an early start due to the sporadic unseasonably warm weather this spring. It is a prairie flower found across the grasslands of North America.

There is one species that seeks it out, the moth Eupithecia zygadeniata. The larvae eat the flowers, and scientists believe this helps control the plant’s spread.

It’s a beautiful flower, and seeing numerous flowers blooming across the prairie was quite stunning. Knowing what it is, now, I will be giving it a wide berth.

​Poecile atricapillus
 
I group Black-capped Chickadees in the “common birds we didn’t have in California” category along with Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, and Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds. You see them on bird-themed home décor and Christmas cards, but they were a mystery to me. I even paid extra for a wildlife-themed license plate that has a Chickadee on it, but I still didn’t know much about them.

I do now!

Since spring has been starting to sprung, I’ve been seeing them in the tree right outside my office window. I had painted dots on my window to prevent window collisions, but these darn male Chickadees see their reflections in the window and keep attacking themselves. They do it all the time, but when I tried to get a photo for this post, no luck. I realize they are being territorial because it is mating season, but it’s stressing me out. I’m worried they are going to hurt themselves! I’m open to ideas on how to keep them from doing this without covering my window.

Attacking their reflections aside, I really like them! Even Cornell’s “All About Birds” calls them cute because of their big heads and tiny bodies, as well as their curiosity. They also don’t have any problem living around humans.

If you live in the northern half of North America, minus the tundra, you can attract Chickadees to your backyard with suet and sunflowers. They are also insect eaters. As cavity nesters, they might also be enticed by an old-fashioned bird house.

I enjoy my Chickadee friends and will probably continue to scold the males for attacking my window. 

Question Mark Butterfly - James Steakley                                   Eastern Comma Butterfly - Aaron Carlson

Since it is technically spring, the weather is beginning to warm, flowers are starting to bloom, and I’m starting to see butterflies again.

The other day, I saw an orangish butterfly with black markings and scalloped edges. I was so excited because I knew it was a punctuation butterfly! I had never seen one before but had seen photos in my guide books. The trouble was, I saw it so briefly, I wasn’t able to get a good enough look to determine whether it was a Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) or an Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma).

The range of both butterflies includes Kansas. The Question Mark’s range is a little larger, extending further north into Canda, further west to Arizona, and further south into Mexico than that of the Comma. Both also over-winter in Kansas, although the Comma has a smaller Kansas range.

Both are about the same size, the Question Mark is slightly larger at 2 – 2.5 inches, whereas the Comma is 1.6 – 2.3 inches. The one I saw could fit in this range. They are both orange with black spots, the Question Mark being a little more red and the Comma being a little more brown. I felt like the one I saw was more reddish, but I think I still need more data.

Commas tend to prefer wet habitats such as marshes as well as deciduous forests. Question Marks also like forests, but are also found in suburbs, agricultural areas, and city parks. I saw this one at the Zoo.

Finally, let’s examine their diets. Comma host plants include nettles and hop vines, which I don’t think we have at the zoo, at least this time of year. The Question Mark lays eggs in elm trees, which we likely have. Adult Commas eat tree sap and rotting fruit, which we might have around as left over animal diets. Adult Question Marks also eat tree sap and rotting fruit, but, and I think this is the clincher, they also eat dung! I know we have plenty of that around the Zoo!
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Based on the evidence at hand, I would have to surmise that the butterfly I saw was the Question Mark, but, considering it’s name, I may always be a little bit unsure.

Some of the bulbs fighting false spring

Quercus macrocarpa
 
Burr Oaks are my new favorite Oak Tree. I was introduced to them when I moved to Kansas. They are big, branchy, and beautiful! They have large, stereotypical oak-shaped leaves, and big, round acorns with a fringed cap.

It is an eastern oak, but it is tolerant of a number of climates, allowing it to spread further north and west than any other eastern oak species. It provided aid to European/American settlers by providing wood to make wagon repairs. They should have included that in Oregon Trail: “Repair your wagon wheels with Burr Oak wood before Grandma dies of dysentery.”

The acorns provide food for a large number of species, and based on the massive size of the Eastern Fox Squirrels I see eating them in my neighborhood, I would guess they are rather nutritious.
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Their leaves are all yellowing and falling now, since they are a deciduous species. I can’t wait to see them leaf out again in spring!

Quercus agrifolia         
 
Coast Live Oaks are the oak trees of my childhood. I remember stepping on their cup-shaped, pointy leaves barefoot – ouch! And then wondering why the “oak leaves” we cut out of construction paper for our Thanksgiving crafts didn’t look anything like that tiny, spiky leaf.

My mother planted two of them, one in front of our house in the Valley and one near our patio in at our house in the other valley. Her hope was that they would grow into the large, shady trees we would see when hiking, but alas! We moved before either could get that big. I will say the one in the Valley did get that big. I saw it as an adult, and its roots were pushing up the sidewalk, and massive branches were threatening the roof. Oops!

This evergreen oak provides food and habitats for more than 270 animal species! Their acorns are smaller and more elongated than those of the Valley Oak, but Acorn woodpeckers and squirrels don’t care.

Coast Live Oaks occur throughout California into Baja California. They are adapted for fire and germinate easily, sprouting from forgotten squirrel acorn caches. They are drought-tolerant but are also found in foggy areas of the coast. Their adaptability has made them more resilient than the Valley Oak.
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Next time you are making an oak leaf craft, cut out a tiny leaf with pointy spikes in honor of the Coast Live Oak.

​Quercus lobata

The Valley Oak is rather unique in California because it is deciduous. It also has lobe-shaped leaves that are what people traditionally think of as the oak leaf shape. It also gets very large and is quite picturesque.  

Valley Oaks are critical to two ecosystems: the Valley Oak Woodland and the Valley Oak Riparian Woodlands. Few woodlands remain as they have been plowed for agriculture. Riparian woodlands provide habitats for 67 bird species, more than any other California biome. Several threatened species also rely on this habitat, including Swainson’s Hawks, Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, Elderberry Longhorn Beetle, and the elusive Ringtail. These trees also provide homes for many cavity-nesting species and food for deer, rabbits, and rodents, and the large acorns are favorites of squirrels and acorn woodpeckers.

The Valley Oak is found in mostly temperate zones in California as far south as Malibu Creek Park. That is literally as far south as it goes. It shares the park with Coast Live Oaks and Shrub Oaks, so it is an oak-lover's paradise! Unfortunately, the Valley Oaks in the Santa Monica Mountains are not doing well. The USDA is monitoring them to evaluate their health and determine why they are ailing.
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If you encounter a Valley Oak, give its wide trunk a big hug!

Quercus berberidifolia

Some might consider Scrub Oak the least attractive oak on my list, but it provides food for birds, butterflies, and deer, and is super resilient! It is more shrub-shaped than tree-shaped, but if you have one in your yard, you can remove the lower branches to reveal the trunk.

Like other Oaks, it produces acorns. The Scrub Oaks’ acorns are tiny and round. You can also often find galls on these oaks. These are round, brown growths that are produced when certain species of wasps lay their eggs in the stem. Scrub Oaks are also a host plant for a number of butterflies and wasps, including one of my favorites, the California Sister!

California Scrub Oaks grow in coastal mountain ranges, inland valleys, and foothills. It is an evergreen, so in the fall and winter, when other parts of the world are brown, California retains some green, thanks in part to this versatile Oak!