Field Notes by Jeff Cantrell, photos courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation
May in the Ozarks region seems like a raucous time of year. There are loud voices booming from little gray tree frogs to the high pitched chirping of eagles. Loud colors are exhibited in many of our insects, male songbirds and a flush of wildflowers on our prairies and glades. Wild Carolina roses are among the many native blossoms who refuse to be diminutive and shy. They advertise to pollinators with eye-candy color and a resilient, pleasing fragrance.
Yet despite all the loudness of vocal and colorful displays with added pheromones and fragrances, there is a calmer side to May.
This is a peak time for parental care for the resident animal world. When I conduct Missouri Mammal or Owl programs for local third grade classes the topic of camouflage always arises. Foxes are often the best example to utilize in a mammal program. School children ponder “Which species, the red fox or gray fox relies on its camouflage living among the tall, dormant grasses of a prairie or savanna? Which fox is easily concealed foraging along the forest floor?” There are so many fascinating features when it comes to our night shift of Ozark birdlife. Students thoroughly examining the plumage of a great horned owl recognize the camouflage factor when the adult is nestled up against a tree trunk. The beautiful raptor blends in seamlessly.
Parental care encompasses all the behaviors a parent exhibits to protect and care for their young. Some wild mammals may move their young frequently to continual hidden cover. A cottontail rabbit often depends on excavating a small bowl below the surface of the lawn and then allows the grass and clover to provide a ceiling for a “complete cover-up”. The types of bird nests are as varied as bird species themselves. The killdeer is a master of placing their clutch in plain sight. Their eggs become practically invisible among the gravel structure on a rocky surface. Hummingbirds and gnatcatchers add lichen camo-decorations to their final stage of nest building. The placement for litters, nest building, and perhaps nursing for mammals often have a science behind them, nothing is done randomly.
Animal colorations affording them the ability to blend in is vital for many creatures. The facial mask of the mamma raccoon breaks up her facial profile and hides her dark eyes as she is tending to young kits. Little fawns can’t outrun predators early in life so they curl up and lay still depending on their camouflaged coat suitable for timbered dappled sunlight. Several of our bass and sunfishes scrape or tail-fan depressions on the streambed for their nest. We may examine these fishes and see they are mottled or shaded dark on top, so they are well cloaked from an osprey or eagle peering down on them.
The animal adaptation of camouflage (and other colorations) is essential to a majority of females and offspring of our living species.
Nature is intriguing! Nature is entertaining and nature is certainly inspiring! The more we look and investigate, the more we realize how complex it all is before us…so we may never stop learning and growing ourselves. Enjoy it all, the bold colors, the bird songs, frog calls...and the calmer side Mid-spring in the Ozarks is a treasured season!