Top Photo: Autumn meadowhawk (male).
Autumn meadowhawks, formally known as yellow-legged meadowhawks, are late season dragonflies. I’ve seen them here at the museum as late as December and certainly in October and November.
The former name of yellow-legged meadowhawk was changed to autumn meadowhawk about 20 years ago to indicate the species behavior or seasonality rather than the color to its legs, which are not particularly yellow. Other look-a-like meadowhawks in the genus Sympetrum have black legs.
The meadowhawk shown here was on the railing of the Main Wetlands Overlook in Explore the Wild on November 22, a warm sunny morning. Fairly easy to spot while perched on a railing, they tend to blend in quite well with their natural habitat of grassy meadows and wetland edges. They are about 1.3 inches long.
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There’s a young maple in Earth Moves which has a parasite attached to it. The parasite is mistletoe. The tree is in front of the exhibit’s waterfall. Now that the leaves have fallen from the tree it’s easy to see the growth, which had been partially hidden from view.
Mistletoe grows from a seed delivered to a tree branch by a bird. The bird first consumed the mistletoe’s seed through eating its white berries. The seed is transported and deposited in the bird’s droppings on a limb or branch.
The flesh of the white fruit is very sticky. Seeds may alternatively be delivered by adhering to a bird’s feathers, feet or bill while eating the berry, being transported to the branch in that manner. I can just imagine a bird like a cedar waxwing or robin wiping its bill on a branch attempting to scrape the goo from its beak.
However the seed gets to the tree, once it’s there it tends to stick. The seed germinates, sending roots into the bark and beyond and ultimately robbing the tree of its watery nutrients.
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While down in the wetlands, a red-shouldered hawk flew in front of me over the path and into the woods, landing on a tree branch. It had a small lizard in its talons, a green anole. The hawk swallowed the lizard in one, maybe two gulps. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my focus right until the lizard was down the hatch, gone. But I did manage to get a few shots of the hawk immediately before and after the event. An attractive hawk indeed.
Keep an eye out for the meadowhawk, the mistletoe or the raptor while hiking the outdoor loop.
Ranger Greg