Scripta elegans...

Scripta elegans is the species and subspecies name of the Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans). You don't need to speak Latin to get the gist of those two words...elegant markings, but I looked it up in Matty's Latin dictionary just to make sure, and for good measure I also checked "Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America," by Ellin Beltz, here. Scripta is Latin for "written or marked" and probably refers to the beautiful markings on the carapace (shell). Elegans is Latin for "elegant" and probably refers to the lovely and colorful red stripe that runs behind the eye. This little turtle's name says it all...

Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Although T. script elegans is the most common species of turtle introduced into nonindigenous ponds and rivers (due to pet releases worldwide since the 1930s), this little turtle was found near the mouth of the Great Miami River and is therefore probably part of an indigenous population (click here for the USGS map showing their native range). Do you remember the 60's children's book, "Let's Get Turtles," by Millicent Selsam. I had that book, and if I remember correctly Red-eared Sliders were the stars (but that's just a guess, I need to find a copy and check it out). We didn't keep a pet turtle, but lots of friends did. I wonder how many of those "dime store" pets ended up in local ponds when they outgrew their little round glass aquariums?

Here in the southern-most part of south-western Ohio, we are lucky because we also have a small native population of "yellow" Red-eared Sliders. I learned about the yellow form on a canoe trip while photographing turtles with Paul Krusling, a local herp specialist and turtle lover who has studied them since the 80s. Probably descended from an ancient population, the yellow form can be found near Shawnee Lookout Park and around the Oxbow area. I haven't seen one yet, but hope to. My best bet is probably at the Oxbow. Thank goodness a small group of nature lovers stepped up years ago and saved the wetland. With the yellow form, a bright yellow or cream stripe replaces the dominant orange or red stripe.

The "elegance" of T. scripta elegans is probably part of the reason the species has spread far and wide. Who can resist the charm of a beautiful little turtle with a bright red stripe on its face? To add to its appeal, when the turtles are babies they are bright green, making them even cuter. I clearly remember seeing mobs of the tiny little turtles in dime store aquariums and pet shops when I was a kid in the 60s. They were always a temptation. I guess beauty really can be a curse...

...see ya later, T. scripta elegans--you little cutie with your elegant markings!

Least Sandpipers along the Great Miami River...

Great Miami River? Me? I'm all about the Little Miami, but over the past week, I've jumped rivers and have canoed and hiked the Great Miami near North Bend, Ohio with Paul Krusling trying to find and photograph the ten species of turtles that live there. Paul is an expert herpetologist who has been studying and researching reptiles and amphibians for most of his life. Currently he is one of three authors writing a comprehensive book on the turtles of Ohio. How on earth did I (who knows nothing about turtles) cross paths with Paul (who knows everything)? He's a birder too, and I met him while I was birding on Pinckney Island in South Carolina. Funny how I had to travel 12 hours to meet a Cincy birder. I will have more posts on Paul and the turtles soon, but for now, here is a quick look at a few Least Sandpipers foraging in the mudflats along the Great Miami River.

A Least Sandpiper forages in mudflats along a holding lake off the Great Miami River in the Oxbow region.

...although the tiniest of all the peeps, the Least Sandpiper is chunky with a wide little belly!

...in addition to being the smallest shorebird, Least Sandpipers are the only peeps with yellowish-green legs.

...here he is in a characteristic posture where he is dipping forward with a sharp bend in his legs.

...a lone Least Sandpiper forages on a floating algae mat.

…it’s amazing how the glimmer of a small flock of tiny birds across the water can make your heart jump. I don't get to see these tiny birds very often, so I was really excited when they came into view. I mostly bird the Little Miami River, which lacks the mudflats the Least Sandpipers love. I really enjoyed canoeing the Great Miami River. We went all the way to Indiana, and I saw much of the Oxbow region. I can already tell I will be returning to this area a lot. Photographing birds from a canoe is fun--a lot different from the stability of land, and even though these photos aren't that great, I would never have gotten this close sneaking up through the woods!

A Snowy Egret preening...and we raised $1800.00 for the Oxbow!

Yeah! $1800.00 is nothing to sneeze at (although I'm sneezing now because Ich habe mich stark erkältet--which my nieces in Deutschland know means I've caught a very bad cold...uugh! I shouldn't complain, though, because I haven't been sick since October a year ago when I had The Swine, so that's pretty good). The fundraiser was a lot of fun, but it unnerved me a bit because I was worried none of the prints or cards would sell and we'd make no money! I think cortisol production ("the stress hormone") lowers your immune system, so I'm blaming this cold on my weak ego. I shouldn't have worried. Plenty sold, and we made money. Mary and Patrick of the Mason Wild Bird Center ran the fundraiser Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, which really helped. Thank you to EVERYONE who bought a print, or a pack of notecards, or some raffle tickets!! In addition to raising money, we raised awareness of the Oxbow, and a lot more people in our area now know about it and hopefully will be able to get out and see it. (Click here if you want to learn more about the Oxbow wetlands near Cincinnati.)

...and now on to the star of this post...a beautiful preening Snowy Egret from the Pinckney Island NWR (and once again, Snowy is appropriate, because snow is on the way. We may get a decent accumulation this weekend, which I'm looking forward to because it always makes the chickadees look even sweeter.)

...beauteous is the only word that fits.

...and meticulous, that word would fit too (meticulous is the only kind of preening a beauteous Snowy Egret knows).

...thank goodness he has long legs to reach that head!

...that's much better.

The Dracula shot. I always love them. I vant to suck your blood...

...and that's what a well-groomed Snowy looks like!

I took these photos on 6-15-2010. It was about 100 degrees F that day...so different from the weather today here in Cincy. Cough, cough...

p.s. Don't forget about the "Great Penguin Rescue" Giveaway! Click here for details and a review of the book.

Snowy Egrets...and the Oxbow Fundraiser

...as I'm writing this post, big, white, fluffy snowflakes are falling to the ground--perfect for a "Snowy" Egret post! It's about 1:15 a.m now....quiet and still...and so pretty.

I wish I could say I photographed these beautiful Snowy Egrets in Cincinnati, but I didn't (I photographed them at the Pinckney Island NWR in Hilton Head back in June)....but, I could have if I were at the Oxbow on May 18 and August 14 of this year because Snowy Egrets were there too. I know...Snowy Egrets in Cincinnati? They are pretty rare around here, but we can still find them every now and then at the Oxbow. I just wanted to remind everyone about the Oxbow fundraiser going on today at the Mason Wild Bird Center. Door prizes...free goodie bags to the first 100 customers...yummy holiday snacks...a raffle with over $1000.00 of prizes (like a Charlie Harper lithograph....really nice binoculars....and much more including prints of several of my bird paintings). You can also buy packs of my art notecards and prints of my bird paintings with 100% of the cost going to the Oxbow. The owners, Mary and Mike, are going to match dollar for dollar all funds raised. Wow!

I'm a Snowy Egret, and I don't hang out much in Cincinnati, but when I do...you can find me at the Oxbow!

The Oxbow is an important fall and spring migratory staging area. Resting and refueling at the Oxbow wetlands helps thousands of birds make it to their southern wintering grounds in the autumn and their northern nesting areas in the spring.

We are so lucky a group of concerned citizens got together in the early 80s and pooled their money to save the wetlands. Because of them, this important migratory staging area remains...and our birds are safe for a little longer.

Help keep my habitat safe! Stop by the Mason Wild Bird Center today for their four-year anniversary celebration and the Oxbow fundraiser!

Click here for details on the Oxbow fundraiser at the Mason Wild Bird Center.

Click here if you want to join and support the Oxbow (memberships start at just $15.00).

Fundraiser for the Oxbow!

The Wild Bird Center of Mason is hosting a fundraiser for the Oxbow!
If you're a birder in the Cincinnati area, drop by the Mason Wild Bird Center the day after Thanksgiving to help raise money for the Oxbow (open 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.)--and celebrate the four-year anniversary of the store's opening! The first 100 customers will receive a free goody bag, and one of the items in it will be an art notecard from me of "Red in the Snow!" A few prints of my paintings will also be for sale along with packs of 10 note cards--all with 100% of the cost going to the Oxbow. A few prints will be given away as door prizes too (among other really cool door prizes). There will also be a raffle with over $1000.00 in prizes! The owners of the store, Mary and Patrick, are going to match dollar for dollar all funds raised during the open house, so head over and help preserve the Oxbow!

A "Red in the Snow" notecard will be one of the items in the free goody bags Mary will be handing out

to the first 100 customers at the Holiday Open House and anniversary celebration.

About the Oxbow

The Oxbow is a broad floodplain where the Great Miami River empties into the Ohio near Lawrenceburg, Indiana, seventeen miles downstream from Cincinnati. It is named for a small prehistoric horseshoe, or oxbow-shaped lake, formed when flood waters cut a new course for the Great Miami River. The Oxbow is a heavily used staging area where migrating birds refuel and rebuild their energies. The area is essential to their success on long flights between distant northern breeding grounds and southern wintering areas. The Oxbow is the most important wetland area in the mid-section of the Ohio Valley, drawing the tri-state area's largest concentrations of ducks and herons. Click here or vsit www.oxbowinc.org to read more about the Oxbow.

You can help!

Oxbow, Inc. is a nonprofit organization working to protect the Oxbow from industrial development and to preserve its floodplain so it can continue to be used as a staging area for the seasonal migrations of waterfowl. You can help preserve the Oxbow by becoming a member of Oxbow, Inc. Click here for an Oxbow membership and support form.

Details of the Holiday Open House Celebration and Oxbow Fundraiser

Friday, November 26 – 7:30am – 9:00pm

Raffle to Benefit Oxbow, $1 per ticket or $5 for 6

Over $1000 in raffle prizes! WBC to match all funds raised!

PLUS

Goodie Bags to 1st 100 Customers

Holiday Snacks and Great Door Prizes

Roll the Dice for Savings up to 48% off!

Receive a $10 Birdie Buck Check with a $50 WBC gift certificate purchase

Click here to visit the Wild Bird Center of Mason's website.

A windy and fun day at the Oxbow

Today Matty and I, Ben (Matty’s friend), and Ken (Ben’s dad), all went to the Oxbow in Lawrenceburg, Indiana hoping to see an eagle or two. The weather was surprisingly mild and the warm temps were welcome. We didn’t find the eagles, but we did see many nice ducks, such as Red-headed Ducks, Northern Pintails, Ring-necked Ducks, American Black Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes, American Coots, Ring-billed Gulls, Mallards, and Canada Geese (of course). We also saw many fine birds including most of the usual suspects plus a Hairy Woodpecker, numerous Kildeer, two Great Blue Herons, and Horned Larks that were twittering in the cut cornfield!

Ben and Matty...the cornfield to the right of Matty is 

where we heard the very loud twittering Horned Larks! 

We saw a female further up the road, separated from the flock.

American Goofballs faking an American Bald Eagle sighting...

Along with the surprising warmth today came annoyingly strong sustained winds! As a result, I found out I really, really need a spotting scope. Identifying ducks without one, especially in the wind, is difficult. I have a wonderful pair of Nikon binocs with a motion stabilization button that really works, but when the wind is tossing you all over the place even motion stabilization can’t help. A spotting scope on a tripod would. Because of all that tossing there were a few ducks we couldn’t 100% positively ID. One being what I know from look and feel was a Common Merganser (3 of them, actually), but if I can’t see every ID characteristic clearly through the glass, I don’t count it. Boo! Rick’s birthday is coming up soon (he’s a Pisces too). I think he might like a spotting scope…

Do you have to pick up every stick you come across?

As an aside--Jon just emailed me and reported he saw an immature American Bald Eagle circling around 4:00 p.m. We left at 2:20. One of these days...

About the Oxbow
The Oxbow is a large floodplain at the confluence of the Great Miami River and Ohio River. This floodplain is part of the Mississippi Flyway and the outer edges of the Atlantic Flyway. Thousands of migratory birds rely on this important staging area for resting and refueling on their long annual migrations. Recently, Audubon Ohio recognized the Lower Great Miami River as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Because of its many rare or unusual birds, such as the wintering population of Bald Eagles and Black Vultures, migrating Ospreys, unusually large summer concentrations of wading birds such as Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, and the use of the area as a major migratory path for ducks, the Oxbow area was qualified for membership in the elite club! With over 283 species of birds at the Oxbow, the variety is greater than that of many National Wildlife Refuges.

...the turtle was looking especially cute 

sunning itself on the branch.

Oxbow, Inc. is an all-volunteer citizen's conservation group (www.oxbowinc.org) working to preserve and protect our area's vanishing wetlands. For more information or to become involved, check out their Website.

...the view from one of the fields, crossing over to 

the mudflats and another pond. Preserving wetlands 

from encroaching industry is crucial and can't wait.