Happy World Wetlands Day!

It's World Wetlands Day! YAY! What does that mean? It means we appreciate wetlands for the day, even if we aren't normally in the habit of thinking about them. Some of us happen to be thinking about wetlands all the time because we happen to study plants that live in wetlands. But others may say, why do I care about these places that I never want to go in because they are wet, muddy and full of mosquitoes? You might care about these places because they are nursery habitat for the fish, crabs and shrimp that you like to eat. You might care about these places because you are worried about climate change and wetlands store (literally) tons of carbon, both aboveground and belowground. You also might care about wetlands because you like bird watching and you can see storks, egrets, herons, coots, ducks and roseate spoonbills, among others, in wetlands.

Wetlands come in many shapes and sizes. Wetlands can be marshes, mangroves, fens, bogs and pannes. They can be wet from freshwater or saltwater. You probably have a wetland somewhere close to where you live. Love your wetlands!

I'm coming back, I promise!

Sorry for the hiatus...Dr. Danger will be returning with more Wild Times soon. Very soon. Stay tuned.

Winter wildlife

It's 9 degrees F in Chicago and it's the middle of winter. But it turns out you can still wildlife in these conditions! Today as I walked into work, I saw what looked like a lump of snow that had fallen off the roof. But as I got closer, it moved. I was startled to realize that the white lump was not snow, but a swan!

It had tucked its head into its side but looked up a little bit for a photo. This is a mute swan, Cygnus olor. You may be familiar with the trumpeter swan, but this is actually a different species that is native to Europe. It was introduced to the US and can sometimes be aggressive toward native birds. However, right now this guy or girl is not being aggressive; just cold. Apparently it lost its mate, so not only is it cold but it is single right before Valentine's Day. I was told that it was hanging out in the lagoon down the road, but seems to want to sleep near the building. It's probably warmer near the building, so if I were a swan I would want to sleep there too!

Gopher tortoise

It seems like all my cool wildlife sightings have been in the same place lately. Today in St. Augustine, Florida, at the GTM National Estuarine Research Reserve, I saw this gopher tortoise.

He or she is definitely hiding because I was walking by and stopped to take a photo. It was just hanging out on the trail, and wasn't in a hurry to move as I passed (so typically tortoise). It pulled its head into its shell, but not all the way, so I could take this photo. 

American Dagger Moth Caterpillar

The other day as I was walking down the street in Chicago, I saw a big bright caterpillar making its way across the sidewalk. This critter is an American Dagger Moth (Acronicta americana) caterpillar. It looks soft and fuzzy, but those "hairs" will sting you if you pick it up! They release toxins when they break off, a nice little defense mechanism. The caterpillar will get lighter in color as it gets older, and will turn into a moth as an adult.

Rattlesnakes, oh my!

I was super lucky and got to see multiple snakes in one day on a recent fieldwork day in St. Augustine. Just off the trail at the GTM National Estuarine Research Reserve sat an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. It was rattling!

Then on the way back down the same trail, I saw a pygmy rattlesnake. If you're afraid of snakes, you don't have to worry here: it was less than a foot long! But it is venomous. I almost stepped on it. Good thing I didn't!

A lizard that walks on water

There is a lizard that people call the Jesus Christ lizard because it can walk on water. Another name for them is basilisk lizard, and there are a few different types. I've seen them in mangroves a few times in Panama, and here's a photo of one I saw yesterday. This one was not walking across the water, but was sitting in a tree. It's a plumed basilisk lizard--see all the cool fringe stuff on its back? This is a male. The females do not have all the fringe.