Vertebrates at Mason Farm Biological Reserve

October 5 and 12, 2001

1:30-4:00 PM

cool both days, scattered clouds, light westerly winds

Fish
	small schools of several unidentified species
Amphibia
	Marbled Salamander	Ambystoma opacum	1 female and 1 male, 12 October
	near two vernal pools in forest (now dry) -- this species mates and lays its eggs near these pools in late September or early October -- we left both exactly where we found them
	Northern Cricket Frog	Acris crepitans
	Southern Cricket Frog	Acris gryllus
	Northern/Southern Cricket Frog hybrids	Acris crepitans/gryllus	many individuals of both species and intermediates
	Southern Cricket Frogs were first found at MFBR by a BIOL 72L class in 1998
	Gray Treefrog	Hyla versicolor	one small individual, 12 October
	Green Treefrog	Hyla cinerea	lots in grassy places, both weeks
	Spring Peeper	Pseudacris crucifer	one calling on a warm afternoon -- about 3 months early!
	Green Frog	Rana clamitans	several avoiding capture in pools along the creek in forest
Reptilia
	Eastern Box Turtle	Terrapene carolina	one in forest
	Black Rat Snake	Elaphe obsoleta	two, 12 October
	Redbelly Water Snake	Nerodia erythrogaster	one in the middle of the path, 5 October
	water snakes in the genus Nerodia (five species in NC) are NOT venomous, but they often bite aggressively
	Rough Green Snake	Opheodrys aestivus	also in the middle of the path, 12 October
Birds
	Great Blue Heron		one in the overgrown slough allowed great looks, 5 October
	GBH is often called a "crane" -- but herons are not related to cranes!
	Black Vulture		at least 4 soaring in thermals, 5 October
	Turkey Vulture		10 or more on 5 October, fewer on 12 October, V-shaped wings
	Red-tailed Hawk		one soared over Big Oak Woods, 5 October
	Red-shouldered Hawk		one heard in the swamps east of MFBR, 12 October
	Blue Jays often mimicked this species' calls (why??)
	Sharp-shinned Hawk		two flying southward, 5 October, and one chased by (and chasing) two BlueJays, 12 October
	Cooper's Hawk		one adult female flapped/glided across a field and perched in the distance, 5 October
	in Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, females are much bigger than males -- these species feed almost entirely on other birds -- the sharpie on 12 October put on a good show of predatory agility!
	Downy Woodpecker		one, 5 October, with chickadees
	Red-headed Woodpecker		heard in Big Oak Woods (guttural g-g-g) and young birds (with brown heads) seen at the southern end
	Red-bellied Woodpecker		heard in Big Oak Woods
	Northern Flicker		several each week, undulating flight, yellowish wings (hard to see against the sky!)
	we saw or heard 4 of the 6 species of woodpeckers that live sympatrically in Orange County -- we missed the Hairy Woodpecker and the Pileated Woodpecker -- but both occur at MFBR
	Eastern Phoebe		one or two each week, flipping their tails, perching in the open and sallying outward for insects -- in the flycatcher family
	Carolina Chickadee		few small flocks with other species
	Hermit Thrush		one at edge of Big Oak Woods, 12 October
	Carolina Wren		singing "teakettle" song
	Brown Thrasher		few in bushes beside the paths
	Northern Mockingbird		few perched atop bushes beside the paths
	unidentified warbler		during fall migration, warblers can all look alike!
	Common Yellowthroat		one, 5 October, might spend the winter
	Northern Cardinal		widespread in shrubs beside the paths
Mammals
	Short-tailed Shrew		one recently dead animal in the path, probably killed by a feral cat or dog
	shrews only superficially resemble mice -- they belong to the order Insectivora (not Rodentia)
	Eastern Cottontail		one set of tracks
	Gray Squirrel		several in Big Oak Woods near edge
	American Beaver		tracks in a heavily used runway, 12 October (not present October 5!)
	Common Raccoon		many tracks, droppings full of seeds
	White-tailed Deer		many tracks