The Eastern Fox Snake,Elaphe gloydi, has a very restricted range near the Great Lakes Huron and Erie, and found in Ontario in Canada and Ohio and Michigan in the U.S. Even in this range it is uncommon. It is said to be fairly docile, biting only if handled. Here in Ontario it is listed as Threatened and protected under the Species at Risk Act.
Eastern Fox Snake,Elaphe gloydi
They are yellowish brown with dark blotches and have a coppery colored head. They are quite large, from three to five feet when fully grown.
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Many species of birds are showing declines in their numbers, and the Bank Swallow,Riparia riparia, is unfortunately one of them. It builds communal nests in soft soil, and here in Ontario, there are rarely seen except on the shores of the Great Lakes. It was interesting to find this active colony which had taken over a sand pile which a local farmer had pushed up in order to plant some trees. I have checked back on it and they seem to be doing well.
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The Yellow-billed Magpie, Pica nuttalli, is found only in California, where it helps promote healthy Oak forests by burying acorns.
Yellow-billed Magpie, Pica nuttalli
When the West Nile Virus arrived in California in about 2004, it became a large problem for the Yellow-billed Magpie who seem to have a low level of immunity to the mosquito-carried disease. It is estimated that over half the population of this species succumbed to the disease in the next two years. The California Audubon has conducted surveys of the species and there is some evidence that the bird has rebounded in numbers. Hopefully this is because of a developing immunity.
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It is likely that the Nene, or Hawaiian Goose evolved from a long ago Canada Goose to which it shows obvious similarities. It has been estimated that this ancestor arrived in the Hawaiian Islands some 500,000 years ago, shortly after the islands had formed.
Range:
The species inhabits the islands of Maui, Kauai and Hawaii although released birds are found on other islands as well.
Status:
At one time the numbers of this species had been reduced to about 30 in 1952, but it is currently estimated at 600 in the wild and another 1,000 in breeding programs and collections around the world. The wild population numbers are frequently supplemented by captive stock being released and without these added numbers, the population might well decline. Birdlife lists it as Vulnerable.
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The Rose-ringed Parakeet, Psittacula krameri, resident in Tropical Africa and India has been a popular caged bird. It has a long history as a pet, having been kept by both the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Due to escaped birds, breeding populations of feral birds have become established in many areas of the world, including Hawaii. Ironically its popularity as a cag bird has caused a serious decline in its natural habitat.If you would like to be informed of future Nature posts, Click Here.
Called alae ke’oke’o by the Hawaiians, the Hawaiian Coot, Fulica alai, is very similar to the American Coot, Fulica americana. It differs from it by the extent of its frontal shield. The U.S. lists it as Endangered and its is listed by Birdlife’s Red List as Vulnerable due to its small breeding area. The main threats are habitat loss (about a third in the last 100 years, introduced predators like the Mongoose, modifications to the wetlands it lives in, invasive non-native species, and avian diseases like Botulism.
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The Hawaiian Duck, Anas wyvilliana, is closely related to the Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, and some authorities have considered it a subspecies of that species. Both sexes resemble the mottled brown plumage of female Mallards. The male tends to have a darker head than the female, and often have a greenish-blue crown. They are called Koloa Maoli in Hawaiian.
Koloa Maoli, Hawaiian Duck, Anas wyvilliana
Range:
It used to range to all of the Hawaiian Islands except Lanai, but was reduced to Kauai and Niihau. It has been re-introduced to other islands including Oahu but it has often mixed with the common feral Mallards.
Status:
It is protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and Birdlife’s Redlist lists it as Critically Endangered. As you would expect, habitat loss and introduced predators have been problems for this species but the main threat is probably dilution of the pure stock by hybridization with feral Mallards.
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The Hawaiian Monk Seal, Monachus schauinslandi, is one of the rarest of the seal mammals. It is estimated that there are less than 1400 individuals surviving. It is, however, faring a bit better than it’s other warm water cousins, the Caribbean monk seal, which is extinct, and the Mediterranean monk seal which is reduced to less than 600.
It is normally found in the uninhabited northern islands of the Hawaiian Island chain, so it was a bit of a shock to see this one on Maui early one morning in what would soon be a busy and popular spot. I went by a few hours later, and luckily, it had gone.
From these images, its not easy to realize how large it is, which I estimate at about 350kg (800 lbs) and perhaps 2.25 meters ( 8 feet) in length.
Hawaiian Monk Seal, Monachus Schauinslandi
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The Micronesian Kingfisher, Todiramphus cinnamominus, was found on three islands or island groups, Guam, Pohnpei, and Palau. The birds of each island are considered subspecies, although some authorities consider each full species. The nominate species T. c. cinnamominus (image above) was found on the island of Guam but became extinct in the wild because of the disastrous introduction of the Brown Tree Snake. It still survives in captive breeding programs and there are hopes of re-introducing it to suitable areas in Guam.
There are currently about 100 individuals of the Guam subspecies in captive breeding programs. Two factors which are discouraging towards successful re-introduction are low breeding success and the continued presence of the Brown Tree Snake in the natural habitat.
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The last time I was in the Orkney Islands, I found that one of the world’s largest Arctic Tern colonies was deserted due to the failure of the local fish stocks that was their food supply. Unfortunately the above National Geographic video describes a similar story.
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