Thursday, August 22, 2019

Ramble Report August 22 2019



Today's Ramble was led by Dale Hoyt.
Here's the link to Don's Facebook album for today's Ramble. (All the photos in this post are compliments of Don, unless otherwise credited.)
Today's post was written by Don Hunter and Dale Hoyt.

Today’s Focus: Learning how to count pollinators for the Great Georgia Pollinator Census
25 Ramblers met today.

Announcement:  The Great Georgia Pollinator Census begins tomorrow, August 23. Ramblers that would like to count pollinators at the Garden can meet Dale, Don and Linda at 9AM tomorrow and we will assist them with their counts. Please arrive promptly at 9 because the Plaza is being used for a ceremony tomorrow and we must vacate it.


Show and Tell:

The lining of a sparrow nest.
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Kathy brought a bird nest which, after some discussion, was thought to actually be the lining of a sparrow’s nest, possibly a Chipping Sparrow.

Large, male Timber Rattlesnake
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Jeff brought a large, Timber Rattlesnake that he had to kill in his driveway due to the presence of grandchildren at the house.

Reading:  Linda read a passage from the book Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt, pp. 60-61:


            Naturalists are people who know what’s going on. They know what creatures live where, which are thriving and why, and which are dying and why. They know their earthen places well and can, by example and action, speak eloquently for their ecological needs. Modern naturalists must be both biologically and politically savvy, which can be a rude awakening… I believe strongly that the modern naturalist’s calling includes an element of activism. Naturalists are witnesses to the wild, and necessary bridges between ecological and political ways of knowing. When Rachel Carson began work on Silent Spring in the late 1950s, she was already the acclaimed author of three books on the sea. Her beloved friend Dorothy Freeman objected to the new “poison” book, believing the subject matter was too negative and too dark. In a letter to Freeman, Carson wrote, “You do know, I think, how deeply I believe in the importance of what I am doing. Knowing what I do, there would be no future peace for me if I kept silent.” As we work to know the life that surrounds us, we stand in a lineage of naturalists–past, present, and even future. We join the “cloud of witnesses” who refuse to let the more-than-human world pass unnoticed.
 
Today's Route:   We headed straight to the Herb and Physic Garden and Freedom Plaza and spent all of our time selecting flowering plants and counting pollinators.  The usual social hour followed at the CafĂ© Botanica.
Here Bob has settled down to count pollinators
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Bob is recording his data after 15 minutes.
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Painted Lady
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The backend of a Sunflower Bee showing how much pollen it carries on the hind legs.
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Sunflower Bee on Eared Coneflower. Sunflower Bees are specialists on composites (plants in the Aster family, Asteriaceae).
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Don's data sheet after fifteen minutes of observation on Eared Coneflower.
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Not everything is looking for nectar and pollen. This Carolina Anole hunts where the insects are most abundant.
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Sue trying to follow the activity in a bed of Spotted Beebalm.
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Jeff caught this tachinid fly in midair, by hand.
Tachinids parasitize other insects, but visit flowers for the nectar.
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Great Black Wasp on Spotted Beebalm
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Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Lantana
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A Long-tailed Skipper visits Lantana.
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