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Did you know there is a small but beautiful dolphin species that inhabit only the waters near Antarctica? Hourglass dolphins average only about five feet (1.6 m) long, with a stubby beak (snout). They have a striking black and white pattern, with the white on each side of the body resembling a horizontal hourglass. These are the only small dolphins that live in the waters of Antarctica. Like other cetaceans (whales and dolphins), hourglass dolphins swim in pods, sometimes with up to a hundred individuals, though they are usually seen in smaller pods of eight to twelve. They seem to enjoy riding the waves of fast-moving ships. They also feed at the surface (on fish and squid). These surface habits make it easier for scientists to locate hourglass dolphins to monitor their numbers. However, the last sighting survey was done in 1987-1988, almost forty years ago. At that time, scientists estimated the population to be about 144,000. The numbers have probably declined slightly since then, but these dolphins are relatively safe simply because few humans travel to Antarctica. If you haven't guessed, human presence is usually bad for whales and dolphins. Unfortunately, in the coming years, climate change may threaten these dolphins. Because of the distinct black and white pattern, whalers originally referred to hourglass dolphins as "sea cows" or "sea skunks." 
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I do it all the time, and I’ve seen other people do it. We are trying to remember something, or trying to come up with a creative idea, or trying to think of what to say, so we tilt our head back and look up. Or we at least direct our eyes upward. Do we expect the answer to be written on the ceiling? Do we think the heavens might help us remember that forgotten name of an old acquaintance? Are we begging the universe for help? Here's one explanation. Most of us think better when we have fewer distractions. If you stare at something complex, like a page in a dictionary, it's hard to rid your mind of all those visual distractions. If you stare at a blank wall, you have fewer distractions. Now, if you consider that humans lived outdoors throughout most of our history, what would our ancestors usually see when they looked up? The sky. And the sky has few distractions, even when there are clouds. You would certainly see fewer distractions than when looking down at the ground. By eliminating those distractions, we are transferring all our mental faculties from external to internal stimuli. We can think better. Here's another aspect of this to consider. Psychologists have long believed that thinking involves the same brain structures that evolved from pre-existing neural connections for searching for things visually. When you search for a person in a crowd, or search around the house for something you’ve lost, you naturally move your eyes around to help you. This ancient behavior may have also contributed to why we tend to look up when we are thinking. We naturally want to move our eyes, and the best place to look is where there are fewer distractions… the sky.  Mallard Ducklings - Most mallards migrate to the northern US and Canada to breed, but some skip the whole exhausting migration ordeal and decide to breed right here in Missouri. Mallards are the most abundant species of duck in North America. Hen mallards make their nests on the ground (usually near water, but sometimes as far as a mile from water), and lay an average of 7 to 10 eggs. Although the hen and drake stay together before the eggs are laid, the drake usually leaves the hen once she lays the eggs. The hen incubates the eggs for about 28 days before they hatch. The ducklings can walk, feed, and swim as soon as they hatch. After all the eggs hatch, the hen leads the young to water (yep, even walking a mile if necessary), and they never return to the nest. The ducklings stay close to the hen for about two months, until they can fly. By the way, mallards are the ducks that make the classic quack sound. Most other ducks make sounds that are decidedly unquacky (my new made-up word for the day).  Photo Credit: Mallards - Stan C. Smith Missouri is home to the eastern subspecies of the wild turkey (there are a total of five wild turkey subspecies in North America). A few days ago, I looked out the door and saw two hens with twelve poults (young turkeys). They were a good distance away, and the photo only shows three of the poults and the hens. These poults are already about the size of chickens. During the winter, turkeys gather together and roam around through the forest in flocks, searching for acorns and other seeds. Being in large flocks makes it easier to find food and avoid predators. In the spring, the flocks break up, and the toms start gobbling to attract hens to mate with. The hens then create nests on the ground and lay about 10 to 14 eggs (usually laying one egg per day). The eggs hatch after the hen incubates them for about 28 days. After hatching, the poults can walk within hours. They can fly after about two weeks. So, the poults in this photo are almost certainly able to fly. The poults are very vulnerable to predators during the two weeks before they can fly. Once they can fly, they begin roosting in trees, like the adults do. Interestingly, if a predator finds a turkey nest and destroys the eggs, this often triggers the hen to start laying eggs again. Before modern conservation efforts began, wild turkeys almost went extinct in North America. In the 1800s, the entire population dropped to only about 30,000. Today, there are about seven million. The second photo is a mature tom that likes to visit our yard.   Photo credits: Eastern turkeys - Stan C. Smith This white-tailed deer fawn wandered into the fenced-in area of our yard with its mother, then it bedded down to wait for its mother to go in search of food. White-tailed deer fawns have spots to help camouflage them while they are bedded down like this. Unfortunately, people often find them alone and assume they've been abandoned by the mother. Then the people try to "rescue" the fawn, which can result in the fawn's death. During the first few months of a fawn's life, it spends most of its time away from the mother (the doe). This is for a good reason. Fawns can walk and run soon after birth, but they are not fast enough to escape predators that are attracted to the mother (the mother is larger and more active, therefore is more visible to predators). Fawns are much safer bedded down on their own than they are when they try to follow the mother around. They lie very still and only get up and run if a predator comes extremely close. When the fawn senses danger, it will often lay its head low, flatten its ears, and stop breathing, all to reduce its visibility. Remember, the fawn is safer on its own, so the mother visits the fawn only a few times per day, and very briefly. During these visits, the mother allows the fawn to nurse and moves the fawn to a new location. If humans, pets, or predators are around, the mother stays away from the fawn until the danger passes. Does often have twins, or even triplets. When this happens, the doe separates the young. This way, if a predator finds one fawn, it probably won't find the other(s). If a predator flushes a fawn, forcing it to flee, the mother can still find it because the fawn will make bleating sounds once it's safe and is ready to find its mother. So, if you find a fawn bedded down like this, don't assume it is abandoned. The best thing to do is leave it alone.  Photo Credit: White-tailed deer fawn - Stan C. Smith |
Stan's Cogitations
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March 2025
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