Forest ranger Frans Kapteijns shares his knowledge of nature every week. Anyone can submit questions via [email protected]. This time Frans pays attention to, among other things, a handsome man in a garden, something strange in a pine tree, sticks between the tiles and a strange frog. Part two of this Stuifmail will be published on Sunday morning.
Dead young animal found on the roadside
Jos Snijders found a dead young animal on the roadside. He wonders if this could be a fawn. I think his thinking is correct. I also think it is a young fawn. Especially when I look at the legs. In principle, the embryo in deer does not develop until the end of December after an extended gestation period. As a result, the fawns are only born around the end of May or the beginning of June, see photo.
So why such an event now? This is most likely the result of a disturbance in the habitat of that deer goat. The biggest cause of these disruptions are stray dogs.
In addition, too much human activity and traffic can lead to premature deliveries. Finally, there may also be a shortage of food supply. Roe deer are sensitive to the available energy in their food. Poor condition of the doe due to food scarcity can affect pregnancy.
Food scarcity can also be caused by disruptions, such as letting dogs run loose. So in nature reserves: always keep dogs on a leash! Certainly from December to July. The Dog on a leash is nice for other mammals.
Saw a handsome boy in the garden for the second time
Jet van Asten saw a handsome man in her garden. She would like to know the name, because she had never seen the bird before. What Jet has seen is a very beautiful starling in its summer plumage. If you look closely at the starling you will first see a black bird.
If you then look at the bird very closely, for example with binoculars, you will see a range of bright colors. Such a beautiful summer plumage is often described as a beautiful shiny, iridescent plumage with a beautiful green, purple and blue glow.
You can encounter starlings everywhere in our country: in cities, in villages, at stations and at farms. They often nest in natural cavities in trees, but also in nest boxes and in buildings. Officially, they are real grassland birds, which you will see to a much lesser extent in fields and tree nurseries.
Grasslands – from moist to dry – are therefore favourites, because that is where they find their food. This consists of various insects, but also the larvae of those insects such as leatherjackets. They search for food in a very special way, usually in groups. They trip over the ground and with their beak they pierce the top layer of the soil. We call this special behavior with the beaks peeren. So they actually search for food by touch.
After the breeding season, starlings gather in large roosts. In the autumn, many starlings come to our country from Northern and Central Europe. All those birds then form dense clouds of thousands of starlings around the roosts that ‘wave’ beautifully up and down in the air.
A starling in the garden, where are the others?
Francis Meijer also has a question about a starling. She saw one starling in her garden and no other starlings. She thought that was strange, because she always sees starlings in flocks. That’s right, they can be seen in flocks for much of the year.
But they only breed in pairs. The male starling starts looking for a suitable nesting site. Such a nesting place can be in a tree (often a former woodpecker cavity), in a nest box or under roof tiles. The male begins to fill the nest site with nesting material such as grass, straw and leaves.
In addition, the male also starts ‘singing’ to attract a female. If there is a match, the pair will complete the nest. In turn, the female then lines the inside of the nest. Usually with softer materials such as feathers, wool and moss.
The finishing touches the male takes care of it. He decorates the nest with fresh green leaves and petals. After the breeding season, those two starlings also join the flock again. Perhaps Frances has seen a male starling in her garden, looking for a nice nesting spot.
Seen something strange in a pine tree, what is it?
André van Drunen found something strange in a Scots pine tree. He first thought of a nest or mistletoe. Then he zoomed in. At the time he thought he was a miniature tree.
In any case, it is not a nest and a mistletoe is certainly not possible, because they do not grow naturally in pine trees. The original habitat of mistletoes is calcareous Limburg.
A mini tree comes closest, but officially such a growth is called a witch’s broom. Most people are familiar with the phenomenon of witches’ broom in birch trees and usually not in pine trees. However, witches’ brooms can also grow there.
In fact, such a witch’s broom is a kind of growth. These growths are caused by micro-organisms such as fungi, bacteria or phytoplasmas. Such a fungus (the spores or single spore) infects a growing point (bud) in the tree. This infection causes the dormant buds to suddenly sprout en masse and uncontrollably. What you see as a person is a dense tangle of twigs that resembles a broom or a bird’s nest.
In coniferous trees, such a witch’s broom can sit in a tree as a dark ball, because of the many needles. Ultimately, such a witch’s broom in the Scots pine can grow into something big. See the photo above of a large witches’ broom at the Kalmthout arboretum.
Sticks and leaves between the tiles
Bep van Doorn regularly sees sticks and leaves stuck between the tiles in the garden. She wonders who is behind it. I think those are earthworms, especially the large blue-headed worm or the shuttleworm.
You see this behavior especially after rainfall or high humidity. It is then damp under the paving. This makes earthworms active and they seek out the nutrient-rich, moist environment between the joints.
First of all, the earthworms emerge from their underground places at night. They then collect leaves, twigs and other organic material in the area.
Once they find that food, they go back to where they came up. They then pull the twigs and leaves upright, between paving, down. They then further process the food they find in their underground tunnels. Sometimes they have so much that you can still see the food standing upright between the paving in the morning. But rest assured, it’s all being pulled down.
In addition to standing food, you can often see piles of sand between the paving, see the photo above. These piles are caused by earthworms that live under these tiles. They leave these piles, which are feces, behind after eating fallen leaves, twigs and plant remains.
Earthworms are actually scavengers, leaving behind food for many plants. They also dig tunnels and thus ensure a better soil structure. What you should never do is combat earthworms. Then you immediately ensure a worse garden or lawn.
Is this animal a toad or a brown frog?
Peter van Tooren looked up from his work in the garden when he saw a strange frog, in terms of color, jumping away. He usually sees large brown frogs in his garden. He wonders if the amphibian he saw is a frog or a toad? The animal is certainly not the latter. I think this orange colored frog is a normal brown frog.
The most striking feature of brown frogs are the two brown cheek spots. Moor frogs also have those brown spots on their cheeks, so an error is somewhat to be expected. Only: moor frogs live in limited locations and brown frogs can be found everywhere. Also in cities, as long as there is water nearby.
Another important feature of this animal is the distinctly blunt snout of the brown frog. The underside is usually white to yellowish, but can also be orange-red. Here too, a dark spot pattern can often be seen.
There is no color difference between the two sexes. However, the males do get a bluish tinge during the mating season. In females the underside often turns reddish. In addition, the common brown frog has more going on in terms of color. You see different color variants in this species. See also this link.
