#RBWinterWildlifeWednesday - Bald Eagle

In honor of tomorrow's Fourth of July holiday, this week's edition of #RBWinterWildlifeWednesday features perhaps the most iconic wildlife species found in the park: the Bald Eagle!

With their large body, massive wingspan, and distinctive adult coloring, Bald Eagles are one of the most well-known and easily identifiable wildlife species in North America. They can primarily be found near large bodies of open water, including lakes, rivers, and coastal regions, where they have ample access to their primary food source: fish. At R. B. Winter State Park, they can often be seen perched in trees around the lake, using their excellent eyesight to look for fish swimming near the water's surface. Upon spotting potential prey, they'll take flight and usually circle the lake several times before swooping down low over the water and snatching a fish with their long talons.

Bald Eagles were once a common sight across much of North America, with an estimated population of 300,000 to 500,000 individuals across the continent in the early 1700s. By the mid-1900s, various factors, including habitat destruction, unrestricted logging, wanton killing, and the use of chemical pesticides like DDT, caused Bald Eagle populations to plummet. By the 1980s, only three pairs of Bald Eagles were known to be nesting in Pennsylvania. In 1967, Bald Eagles were added to the Endangered Species List, and in 1972, DDT was banned in the United States allowing their populations to begin to recover.

In the early 1980s, the Pennsylvania Game Commission began a successful reintroduction program, and by the time Bald Eagles were removed from the Endangered Species list in 2007, more than 150 pairs were known to be nesting across the state, with an estimated additional 10,000 pairs nesting in other areas of the United States. Today, the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there are more than 300,000 Bald Eagles, including over 70,000 nesting pairs, across the lower 48 states! Just a generation or two ago most Americans would only ever have the opportunity to see a Bald Eagle in a zoo or on tv, today it is not uncommon to see Bald Eagles soaring high in the skies above Penns Woods.

To learn more about these majestic animals and their return from the brink of extinction, visit their section of the Pennsylvania Game Commission website: https://www.pgc.pa.gov/.../Endangere.../Pages/BaldEagle.aspx

Picture by Friends of R. B. Winter State Park Board Member Kyle Fawcett

#RBWinterWildlifeWednesday - Green Frog

On today's edition of #RBWinterWildlifeWednesday, let's explore the Northern Green Frog, the largest of the six frog species found at R.B. Winter State Park!

One of Pennsylvania's most abundant frogs, the Northern Green Frog can be found in every county of the state. They are commonly found along the edges of ponds, lakes, swamps, marshes, rivers, and streams of various sizes. At R.B. Winter State Park, you'll often see them lounging by Halfway Lake, either in the grass along the water's edge or in the shallows along the shoreline. Adults can grow up to 4 inches in length and sport a mottled blend of green and brown that aids in their camouflage. During late spring and summer walks along Halfway Lake's shore, you can listen for the distinct mating call of the males, resembling the pluck of a banjo string. While they are active throughout the day, they become more active around sunset, with dozens of males calling out around the lake after dark.

Males use their calls to establish territories that they actively defend from other males and to attract females. Females can lay between 1,000 and 7,000 eggs in the shallow water along the lakeshore, which hatch within 3 to 6 days. Once hatched, tadpoles are completely independent and capable of fending for themselves. In Pennsylvania, they typically remain in their larval tadpole stage over the winter until the following spring, when they begin metamorphosis. During metamorphosis, tadpoles increase in size, grow legs, and absorb their tails. Upon reaching adulthood, their growth rate dramatically slows, and they establish a territory around the lake for themselves. Adults typically live for 5 to 6 years and have been known to live up to 10 years in captivity.

Northern Green Frogs primarily feed on insects, snails, and small fish. Larger adults have a broader diet that includes other frogs, amphibians, reptiles, and any other organisms they can swallow. Predators of these frogs include wading birds like Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, Snapping Turtles, Northern Watersnakes, various fish species, and mammals such as Raccoons—and yes, even humans! In Pennsylvania, management of Northern Green Frogs falls under the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, which establishes seasons and catch limits similar to other game species.

The next time you're at R.B. Winter, watch for these fascinating creatures and the other wildlife that can be found at R.B. Winter State Park!

Photos by Friends of R. B. Winter State Park Board Member Kyle Fawcett.

#RBWinterWildlife Wednesday - Eastern Towhee

On today's edition of #rbwinterwildlifewednesday we are featuring one of the many species of birds that can be found at R. B. Winter State Park, the Eastern Towhee!

Eastern Towhees may be found across Pennsylvania, where you'll frequently see them near clearings and thickets within open woodlands or in forests regenerating from forest fires or logging. Males have a distinctive coloration with a black head and black, reddish-brown sides and a white stomach. Females are similarly colored to males, only differing in that their head and upper body are more brownish colored.

Eastern Towhees are one of the most widespread and common birds found in Pennsylvania. Males are often seen perched high in trees, singing and protecting their territory from interloping males. If you've spent much time in the woodlands of Pennsylvania, you've undoubtedly heard these birds as they scour the forest floor for food. When searching for food, they often turn over leaves by hopping backward and dragging both feet across the forest floor in search of beetles, bugs, spiders, moths, seeds, and berries in a display whose volume drastically outweighs their small size.

The next time you're hiking the Rapid Run Nature Trail or other trails around the park, keep your eyes open for the Eastern Towhee!

Photo by Friends of R. B. Winter State Park Board Member Kyle Fawcett.