Locust Lake State Park (11-Dec-2015)

It was later in the day before I could get out. With the sun going down so early, I did not want to be stuck on a roadside at dusk with Friday traffic. So, I decided to head back to Locust Lake State Park. I figured even if I didn't find a lot of trash I could at least try to get some more bird photos before it got dark. 

There ended up being very few birds and more trash than the last time I did the walk around the lake. Same old stuff every time out. With trash cans throughout the park I was able to pick up everything I found and had no restriction which is nice.

This turtle was smiling when I found it. I never realized just how many different sand crafting turtles there were until this year. This is the forth or fifth one I picked up and everyone so far has been different. 

These items were out in the open off of a trail. I am sure lots of people walked by them and no one bothered to pick them up. 

These items were a little trickier to pick up. I did get my feet wet when retrieving the cans, but I was able to avoid the green briar when going for the bottle. As soon as I viewed the can photo when I uploaded them I realized there was a glass bottle in the stream that I didn't even see. That's right, I completely missed the glass bottle in the bottom left of the can photo. Just a couple feet from the can I picked up. I will get the bottle on my next trip out there. 

This was a tiny little lure. I am going to have to add some hooks to it and try it out. I've never fished with a purple minnow before.

I really have nothing to say about this stump. I just liked its reflection on the water.

Another sand mold. This is the largest I've found that wasn't a bucket.

With the sun hitting the wetland grasses this can almost blended in. I had to find a fallen branch to pull this one into shore. 

Have you ever come across one of these large bird boxes, pictured on the left, by a lake or wetland? Did you know what species it was intended for? If not you will now! They are meant for Wood Ducks. The photo on the right is a male Wood Duck, I took that photo yesterday at a different location. Though the boxes are intended for these ducks they often will get other residents, such as Screech Owls, which have the same requirements for a home. Generally, if these boxes are placed in areas with a lot of human activity they are not used. 

Before leaving I did find two items of interest. The first, on the left, is a bag of a bagworm moth. As larvae both males and females construct and live in these bags. The females will spend the remainder of their lives inside of their bag and only the males can fly. I got to thinking about this piece of information I picked up in entomology courses and I could not remember how this species dispersed. If the female lays the eggs and never leaves her bag how could they possibly be found throughout a large range? This has bothered me since the hike and thanks to the University of Florida's nice entomological website I now have the answer. The larvae of this species produces a silken thread, this thread is enough to be caught in the wind and this blows the larvae to a new location. I don't know how I could have forgotten such a thing. Imagine your whole life being determined by where the wind blows. The second item I found, in the right photo, was an Ootheca. An O O what? you might ask. An Ootheca is an egg casing produced by both mantids and roaches. In this case the Ootheca is from a Chinese Mantis. In Pennsylvania we have no native mantis species, however, two species can commonly be found and one that often comes in on shipments of plants from the south. The Chinese and European Mantis are common and the Carolina Mantis sometimes can be found. In the past mantids were thought to be beneficial, they eat insects so of course they eat pest species. The problem is they also eat non-problematic and pollenating species as well. They are non-native and they are indiscriminate predators, to me they are a problem that we need to get rid of. The Chinese Mantis in particular can do even more damage, the adults have even been known to prey upon hummingbirds! You may have been told that mantids are protected by law, this is untrue in Pennsylvania and as non-native species can be collected or killed by anyone.  

I know I went on a little long about Bagworm Moths and Mantids, but I do find both fascinating. Thank you for sticking with this post and making it this far. The above is the total trash collected today. A full back and a full grocery bag. I hope Locust Lake now stays clean through the winter. With the warm weather we have been experiencing there have been a lot more people out walking and hiking than on a cold year.  

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project at:gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash