I had gone to the arb a couple of weeks ago and saw eight garter snakes
mating! It was really fantastic to watch, something that I had never
seen before.. There was one big female and the rest of the smaller ones
were presumably males, tangling up to get a chance to mate. I have read
some pretty interesting things like the some males imitating female
pheromones to lead the other suckers away from the female... It was
really amazing to see these creatures out in the open.. I wonder how
they manage not to attract predators... I see a pair of black eagles on
the everyday.. (don't know what they are called.. it would be great to
find their nest somewhere..) soaring majestically in the sky. 
Do these snakes "den" at the same place every winter? How do they decide
upon the venue for such a mass meeting (or mating)? Does Ann Arbor have
any poisonous snakes? (I know only two: Mocassins and rattlers..) The
garter snakes were pretty docile and well behaved.. obviously they had
better things on their mind! 

18 responses total.

Michigan has only the Massasauga rattlesnake (and they are found in
swampy areas - like at Matthei Gardens). I doubt if you saw "black
eagles". Our only eagle is the Bald Eagle, which is unmistakeable (white
head). There are a variety of hawks, however - all big birds that soar
and swoop for prey. I can't tell you much about garter snake habits,
however. 

I would venture the 'black eagles' were/are turkey vultures. We seen to
have quite a few of them here this time of year. They, and condors, are
the only two birds with a sense of smell. Cool seeing all the snakes, tho
you might want to watch out. They still have a 'bite-y' end, and will use
it if threatened.

I saw one near the water at M. Gardens. It was scared of us.

I agree that the use of the word eagle was incorrect.. they might be
hawks.. but not vultures, definitely. I'll get hold of a book to
straighten that out. 

(Why definitely not vultures?)

Oh, well, vultures have the tips of their wings (primaries) pointing
forward slightly (when flying that is) and are generally bigger than the
"hawks" that I see. and this particular pair enjoys flying with the
currents, swooping close to the ground and then going up again.. they
are definitely not vultures. 

I enjoyed watching a couple of vultures soaring over Gordman Lake yesterday
morning.  We also watched a couple of Sandhill Cranes in the swamp, a
Blanding turtle looking for breakfast, a Great Horned owl taking cover from
a couple of crows and a lot of ducks of all sorts.  We saw no snakes even
though we were in prime snake country.  It may have still been too cold for
them.  Those vultures are impressive thought.  They can thermal off anything!

Took a walk on a Whitehouse Nature Center (Albion College) trail
yesterday, after a talk on the MIchigan endangered species program. 
Litte was stirring around the trail. One naturalist commented that
he hated this time of year because the only green things are the
non-native plants (!). Saw one hawk (sp?), three ducks, and a muskrat
in the Kalamazoo. (I could add musk, slider, red ear and American Box
turtles...but they were in cages in the nature center.)

Regarding the non-native plants, we (in India) have lots of problems
with lantana, especially in the evergreen forests.. they provide berries
to birds so spread really fast and almost everywhere in the forest and
they grow really fast whenever they get some light.. so basically, they
just takeover all the sunny spots.. and make huge tangles.. this is
harmful to the flora as well as fauna.. elephants and deer can't do
anything with lantana. Some areas in really good deciduous forests have
become impenetrable now!
And the forest dept. (we call it For-rest dept.) has done some crazy
things like planting eucalyptus in some really good soil.. they get good
results and have lots of greenery to show.. in the process, they just 
mess up everything.. they arent to be entirely blamed though. They have
their own share of problems. The whole thing makes me really sad.

Is lantana a vine - like the kudzu that is covering forests in the
American southeast?

It is not exactly a vine. It was imported(?) from South America.. It is
a shrub, the main stem sends out these long, flexible branches that make
a tangle. It has a nice inflorescence of tiny flowers of different
colors (butterflies love the nectar, even I used to taste it once in  a
while) and the berries are black, test okay..

THey are a popular houseplant here.

here any  body  is really  interested in  conserving  the nature , the proper
use of resources, if u  really  focus on the problems the  world is facing
...the resource depletion  in ine of the major problem...is there any  one who
comes with a  reasonable solution ...

The only solution to resource depletion is substitution. With what, will
be the question.

Reduced usage is also helpful.

Reduced usage only extends depletion, it does not stop it. 

Reduced usage of renewable resources can stop depletion.

The topic started with #13, which implied nonrewable resources.
*Substitution* of renewable resources for nonreneweable, if possible,
is desirable. 

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