Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Behold the beauty of the Indigo Bunting! This stunning sky-blue bird can be regularly spotted at TWC during the summer months, the males glowing like sapphires with their vibrant plumage. They are members of the Cardinalidae family, which includes cardinals, grosbeaks, and buntings. Preferred habitat includes brushy and weedy forest edges, open deciduous woods, creeksides, and farmland. At TWC Headquarters they can be spotted in the woods along the trails as well as taking dust baths out in the open on the rural roads. A slow drive down Alabama Avenue and Foxfield Street can often treat visitors to an Indigo Bunting sighting. When they aren’t foraging in low grasses and brushes or bathing, they like to find the highest perches in the area from which to sing all summer long. One of their nicknames is “blue canaries.” These small songbirds feed on seeds, insects, spiders, flower buds, and berries. They can also be attracted to backyard feeders with thistle and nyjer. Indigo Buntings are nocturnal migrants, using the stars to navigate. Scientists studied this behavior using captive buntings in a planetarium in the 1960s, determining that the birds possess an “internal clock” that allows them to adjust their angle of orientation to a star, even as the star moves through the sky. The fall migration south of these brilliant birds occurs September through October, so they will be leaving our area in the near future. Be sure to visit TWC soon to enjoy the beauty of the Indigo Bunting!
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! We are celebrating today with some interesting facts about the Virginia opossum! The Virginia opossum is the only species of opossum found in Ohio and is also the northernmost marsupial (animal that carries its young in a pouch) in the world! It is an omnivore and has 50 teeth, more than any other North American land mammal, and is able to eat a wide variety of food such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, carrion, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, and other mammals. Most young are born in the spring, between March and June. Newborns are the size of a honeybee and they climb into the mother’s pouch, where they will stay for about 2 and half months to grow and develop. They will then stay with their mother and siblings for another several months, riding around on their mother’s back while they learn survival skills. Opossums rarely contract rabies. Their body temperature is lower than that of other mammals and cannot host the virus. They also have a natural immunity to snake venom. One of its defense mechanisms is feigning death, or “playing possum.” This fear response to a predator or other threat is involuntary. The unconscious opossum will lay motionless and secrete a vile smelling fluid, deterring animals that eat live prey and convincing them it is dead or diseased or otherwise unappetizing. Compared to other mammals, the Virginia opossum has a notably short lifespan. The maximum life expectancy in the wild is only 2 years, and most survive only half that long. Even in captivity with veterinary care and a safe environment an opossum is not expected to live past the age of 4. Opossums are excellent climbers, using the opposable thumbs on their hind legs and their hairless prehensile tail to aid with gripping branches and objects.
