The Daily Bucket is a place where we get together and share the things we've noticed in the natural world around us. It might be that robins are building a nest in the old apple tree out back or that the crickets outside your window are keeping you awake at night or that coyote pups up on the ridge are beginning to sing with their parents every evening.
Doesn't matter what it is, nothing noted is too big or too small so please join in and tell us what is happening in your neck of the woods. Everyone is welcome.
A few readers may be thinking that they saw this same diary Sunday. And with a few small changes that is the case. What happened was I accidentally dumped it right on top of another bucket by PH. Once I realized what I had done it took me a few minutes to figure out how to delete it and during that time a few people had already read and left a couple tips, recs, and comments. So if you are wondering where it went and why you are seeing it again today that is the reason. Also in case you're wondering where those early comments, T and Rs went to, I discovered that the reply buttons disappeared after a certain length of time so I just deleted the whole diary after copying and pasting it into a new one of the same name. So, if I have everyone as confused as I am I'll get on with it. My apologies for the confusion.
A trip to the Missouri River Saturday ended up on one of the many sandbars that are scattered all along it. I found many interesting plants and animals there and took quite a few pictures . Jump the squiggly and I'll show you some of them.
While Little Bit broke in her new sand bucket and shovel making sand castles and sand cakes I walked around the sandbar looking for things of interest to photograph. I wasn't disappointed. The first thing I saw, even before reaching the island, was a Great Blue Heron that was scared off by my boat. He did leave behind his footprints for me though, along with the much smaller prints of the killdeers that were patrolling the same shoreline.
The killdeers were more tolerant of me and flew only a few yards further down before landing and going back to hunting for their breakfast.
Due to the fact that the river has been at low levels all summer many plants have had time to take root and some parts, particularly the tail ends and back sides of the normally barren sandbars are now teeming with a wide variety of plants. Many animals have moved in to take advantage of them. Looking at the sand it at first made me wonder how the plants were doing so well until I got to thinking about it and realized that all that sand was deposited here by flood waters that themselves were loaded with minerals and nutrients which settled out and were left behind with the sand as the waters receded. So though it looks like barren and sterile sand it is actually a nutrient rich substrate. And if it weren't for the normally frequent floods that scour out any plants that have taken root these sand bars would all turn into forests in a very short time. There were hundreds of six to twelve inch sycamores, a smaller amount of river willows and uncountable species of weeds and other flowering plants. I took pictures of several different plants that had taken root there. I haven't had time to ID them yet but eventually will get around to it.
Here is a view of some of the new growth that has taken place on the lower end of this sand bar this summer.
These Bronzed Tiger Beetles (Cicindela repanda) were everywhere I turned. From the pic you wouldn't think so but they actually blend in with the sand as to be almost unnoticeable.
These larvae were happily munching away on a sycamore leaf. There were several such bunches of them.
Mother Nature also left other interesting things for me to find and marvel at. Such as this strange bone. I don't recognize this but it must be the jaw bone of some kind of predatory fish. Does anyone else have an idea? I'd love to know. I brought it home with me and put it on the shelf with other natural oddities that I've collected over the years. It is about three inches long.
My grand daughter found this snail shell and had decorated her sand cake with it and other shells she found. I borrowed it long enough to take this pic.I've seen many snail shells on the rivers around here but never one that looked anything like this. Anyone recognize it? It's about 3/4 inch in diameter.
Found this dead millipede lying in the sand. I went to pick it up and it fell apart, it was completely hollow and very fragile. I have seen live ones many times but this is the first dead one I've come across. They are quite large, about the diameter of a pencil and three to four inches long. It's scientific name is Narceusamericanus-annularis-complex, how's that for a mouthful? Speaking of which, I once came across a box turtle that had one of these clamped between it's jaws. Very cool critters but not one I want for breakfast I don't think.
And last but certainly not least, what's a Sunday Monday Wednesday, bucket without butterflies? This stunning Red Admiral seemed to like the sandbar too.
Our butterfly weeds have gone to seed. So have our surprise lilies.
A few days ago I started seeing the front runners of the nighthawk migration. Several small groups have flown over daily since that first sighting. And I mentioned in another bucket that I had seen a large group of redwings gathered up in preparation for the migration too. Just this morning we had a pair of Baltimore Orioles drop by for breakfast. I'm pretty sure they are new arrivals since I haven't seen any male Orioles at our feeders since early this spring. We've had a female that stops by off and on but she's always alone. So it looks like the Orioles may be starting their migration too.
Since the weather has cooled down and we've been getting some much needed rain I've been hearing a lot more crickets.
So what has Mother Nature been up to in your neighborhood? Seen any signs of the migration?