Happy #WildlifeWednesday! The Wilderness Center’s high-quality habitats are home to many species of salamanders. One of the terrestrial salamanders that can be found is the Northern slimy salamander. Its common name comes from the sticky slime it produces in glands on its tail and lower back, which it uses to defend itself from predators. The glue-like slime is very adhesive and binds to the attacker, inhibiting its ability to move and bite. An amphibian and member of the plethodontid family, this lungless salamander conducts respiration through its skin and tissues lining the mouth. Its preferred habitat is woodlands and ravines, where it spends its time under cover in moist soil and damp leaf litter beneath large stones and rotting logs. This black salamander with silvery spots along its back is active at night, feeding on earthworms, slugs, spiders, ants, beetles, and other invertebrates. Fiercely territorial, it will defend its territory from rival slimies and other salamander species with tail whipping, slime secretion, vocalizations, and biting. In fact, its genus name “Plethodon” means “great number of teeth.” Pictured are a couple of Northern slimy salamanders found earlier this week by students on a school field trip to TWC.
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! A stunning bird that can be seen in Ohio right now is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. They can be found in woodlands and along forest edges and are also very frequent visitors to bird feeders. Several of these gorgeous songbirds have been regular visitors to the TWC Nature Center’s wildlife observation area over the past few weeks. Grosbeaks are in the cardinal family and are fairly stocky in build with chunky triangular bills. Males are black and white in coloration with a bright splash of rose on the chest. Females look very different and are brown with heavy white streaking. The name “grosbeak” comes from the French “gros bec,” which translates to “large beak.” They use their big bills to feed on insects, seeds, and fruit. The song of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is widely thought to be one of the most beautiful of the avians. Modern naturalists have been quoted as saying the singing is “so entrancingly beautiful that words cannot describe it,” and “it has been compared with the finest efforts of the robin and the Scarlet Tanager, but it is far superior to either,” and present-day bird watchers have suggested it “sings like a robin that has had opera training.” The sweet tune is composed of notes that rise and fall, and both the males and females will sing even when sitting on the nest. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks love eating sunflower seeds from feeders, so keeping a supply in stock is a good way to attract these melodic beauties to your yard. And be sure to stop by the Nature Center to observe them at our feeders!
