Recent entries in my nature diary:
— I read recently that the most commonly seen wild mammal in Georgia is the Eastern gray squirrel, which doesn’t surprise me. The bushy-tailed creatures seem ubiquitous in the state, in both rural and urban areas.
In fact, as I write this, three gray squirrels are scampering about in a big white oak in my backyard in Decatur. Apparently, a couple of males are pursuing a female from tree to tree in what is called a “mating chase.“
January is one of two peaks in the gray squirrel’s annual breeding cycle, the other being May and June. The same is true for Georgia’s three other squirrel species. They include the Southern flying squirrel, found throughout the state but seldom seen because it is almost exclusively nocturnal; the black-faced Eastern fox squirrel, which also occurs statewide but has more of a sporadic, patchy distribution; and the red squirrel, found only in higher elevations of the state’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
— This month’s bitter cold hasn’t put a damper on one of Georgia’s most prominent winter-breeding amphibians, the upland chorus frog. On a recent frigid morning, while walking along the South River PATH trail in DeKalb County, I was amazed to hear the deafening calls of upland chorus frogs in an adjacent bog.
Their call resembles fingernails being raked over the teeth of a comb. When I approached the bog to try to see one of the frogs, their racket suddenly stopped. I never did spot one.
Coming soon are the calls of another common winter breeder, the spring peeper. Many peepers calling together sound like jingling bells. Also sounding forth soon will be the winter-breeding Southern leopard frog, whose call is a short, guttural trill.
— In bird news, male American woodcocks are performing their breathtaking courtship “sky dance.” They first announce their presence on the ground by a “peenting” sound. Then, they suddenly spiral 200-300 feet into the air and circle overhead a bit, all the while chirping and whistling. Then, they dramatically plunge back to the ground.
A good place to see them now is the wetlands adjacent to Mercer University’s Atlanta campus near the juncture of I-85 and I-285. Birders have been gathering there each evening to watch the spectacle.
IN THE SKY: The moon will be last quarter on Thursday (Jan. 23), said David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer. Mars is in the east a few hours after dark and will appear near the moon on Thursday night. Jupiter is in the east at dusk and is visible all night. Saturn rises out of the east about three hours before dawn and will appear near the moon next Saturday morning (Jan. 25). Mercury and Venus are not visible now.
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