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Recommended
Reading
The Unhuggagles: The truth about snakes, slugs,
skunks, spiders, and other animals that are hard to love
By Victor
Waldrop
When it comes to some
animals, appreciation for their place in the world ends when they
show up in our own backyards.
But whether it crawls, slithers, scampers or creeps, many of
our least favorite critters serve important ecological roles in our
environment. Learn about the
physical characteristics, habits and natural environment of a
variety of mammals, insects and other animals people often fear,
dislike or simply ignore. Children
and adults alike will enjoy this playful look at things we love to
hate.
(description
by Amazon.com).
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"What's
Buzzin'"
The Beehive gift shop at Bluebonnet Swamp features unique
nature-themed T-shirts, jewelry, books, novelties and toys. Don't forget to check out the
live bees in our observation bee hive!
Take a walk on the
wild side with our Carved Wooden Walking Sticks - brightly colored
walking sticks in 2 sizes (for adults, for kids) - bears, raccoons,
butterflies, & more!
Large is $20, small is $12
A sweet idea, honey
made by bees right here at Bluebonnet Swamp - local, unpasteurized
honey still retains antioxidants and health benefits for allergy
sufferers - and mmmm, so sweet!
$6 per 8oz. bottle.
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"Swamp Spotlight"
AUGUST
- 1 - registration for September
Swamp Toddler Adventure begins
- 20 - Swamp Nights (7:30pm-9:30pm,
$5.00/$6.00, ages 7-up)*
- 27 - Swamp Nights (7:30pm-9:30pm,
$5.00/$6.00, ages 7-up)*
SEPTEMBER
- TBA - Louisiana Junior Duck Stamp
Winners Exhibit (operating hours, general admission, pass
holders free, all ages)
- 1 -
registration for October Swamp Toddler Adventure begins
- 1, 8, 15,
22 - Wed session, Swamp Toddler Adventure (9:30am-11:30am,
$40/$48, ages 2-5)*
- 2, 9, 16,
23 - Thur. session, Swamp Toddler Adventure (9:30am-11:30am,
$40/$48, ages 2-5)*
- 18 - Dog Day (9 a.m.-5
p.m., general admission, pass holders free, all ages)
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 I am marking my one year
"FB" anniversary this month. If you don't know what
that means, you probably don't have a Facebook account. I will admit, prior to
joining the masses on FB, I regarded the site as another
entertainment venue for a younger generation. I joined after some serious
cajoling by a younger friend of mine and within a week or so, had
re-connected with people from grade school and high school that I
had not talked to in over 20 years.
I do not speak directly to most of my
"friends," but I have enjoyed seeing what everyone has
been up to. From the
beginning, I hesitated to post comments about my daily happenings
and remained a quiet personality for some time. Then, someone posted a photo of a
snake they found in their yard and asked if anyone could identify
it. Reading the subsequent
comments, it became clear that I could use FB for a nobler
purpose. I could carry my nature lessons to audiences beyond
those visiting the nature center! .
The poor little "ground rattler" - as
someone had labeled it - was nothing more than a nonvenomous
brown snake, who lives a lowly life subsisting on worms and
snails. I posted my comments
and the little snake was later released into his backyard habitat -
alive and well. That
scenario has repeated itself many times since, and all of my FB
friends now know who to turn to when they have wildlife questions.
I have also learned to use FB to keep my contacts
posted about all of the programs at BREC's Bluebonnet Swamp Nature
Center.
Beginning in March, I used my FB account to create
online photo albums of special events, including images
taken at Rockin' at the Swamp and at each day camp session. Comments from parents about these
albums have been very positive.
Parents are able to "tag" their children in the
photos so that their children's camp adventures can be seen by
their own FB friends and families.
Check out the online
photo album from one of our summer day camp sessions.
 One of the children's favorite camp activities this
summer is a high-tech scavenger hunt called geocaching. The campers are instructed in GPS
technology and use their satellite-communicating GPS units to find
hidden treasure boxes in the woods.
Today's children love this activity, and I encourage
everyone to look into geocaching for great family fun and outdoor
adventure. Check out www.geocaching.com
for more information.
Most people
would consider technology/electronics and nature study two things
that just don't go together - we've found out that they do,
beautifully!
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"Out & About"
Backyard Snack
Identification
Most
people expect and appreciate seeing snakes outside at Bluebonnet
Swamp - but having them show up in your backyard is another
situation. Of the 40 or so
species of snakes in Louisiana, only 6 are venomous and most of
those are associated with wooded habitats. The exception to that rule is the
cottonmouth, which can be found anywhere where there's access to
water, including ditches, drainages, ponds and larger
waterways. Most snakes that
pop up in urban neighborhoods are harmless, nonvenomous species. Here are some common backyard
snakes in the Baton Rouge area. (photos provided by www.wikipedia.com)
Garter
and Ribbon Snakes (image
below) - If
you see a snake with stripes running from its head to its tail, it
will be one of these kinds of nonvenomous snakes. Garter Snakes (what a lot of
people mistakenly call "garden snakes") are named so
because they resemble the checkered or striped garters that were
worn long ago to keep socks in place. While they can be aggressive when
cornered, they are harmless.
Ribbon snakes are within the same genus as Garter Snakes,
but they are generally thinner in appearance (resembling a long
ribbon).
Brown Snakes (image
below) - These
tiny snakes pop up frequently and when surprised, they gape (open
their mouths threateningly) and rattle their little tails. For these dramatic defense
behaviors, they have an undeserved bad reputation and are often
referred to as ground rattlers.
These nonvenomous snakes, generally under a foot long, live
in leaf litter hunting down earthworms, snails and slugs. Redbelly Snakes are similar but
not as common as Brown Snakes.
Ringneck Snakes (image
below) - Another
small snake species, these little ones are easily identified by a
brightly colored ring around their necks. When startled, one of their
defense behaviors includes flashing the underside of their red,
coiled tails. These
nonvenomous snakes eat salamanders, lizards, frogs and earthworms.
Texas Rat Snakes (image
below) - These snakes, often called
chicken snakes, are much larger snakes that thrive on rodents (or
other small mammals), baby birds and bird eggs. They can be found wherever their
food exists and are often found in and around barns, sheds and
chicken coups. They can
climb efficiently and will hunt for bird nests to raid high up in
trees. When cornered, they
are very aggressive and will coil, rattle their tails and strike
out if provoked.
Nevertheless, they are a harmless, nonvenomous species.
Water Snakes (image
below) - There are several species of
water snakes in Louisiana. Water snakes are one of the most
commonly encountered kinds of snakes in our state. Unfortunately, that makes them
one of the most discriminated agianst kinds of snakes in
our state, too, as people mistake them for the venomous Cottonmouth. Water snakes hunt for fish,
amphibians and sometimes rodents and can be found in or near water
bodies or far from them.
Regardless of the species of water snake and their varied
markings, common to all water snakes are vertical stripes extending
from the top to the bottom jaws.
They are nonvenomous, harmless snakes that can reach lengths
of over three feet.
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"Alien
Invasion"
Be aware that local live
oaks are under attack by a new variety of oak gall. The plague has been observed on
live oaks around the parish, including trees at BREC's Bluebonnet
Swamp Nature Center. Little
is known of the entire extent of this species, its life span,
biological mechanisms, or the severity of its damage to infected
trees. While observed on
live oaks, it may also infect other kinds of oak trees.
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Bluebonnet Swamp
Nature Center
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It is the BREC mission to provide parks and
recreational opportunities for all citizens of East Baton Rouge
Parish.
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