A Wild Time With Wild Life At The Library

By Larissa Lytwyn

“Looks Like a Bird,” the latest children’s program sponsored by Friends of the C.H. Booth Library, featured creatures with birdlike skeletal structures — despite slimy, scaly, and even furry outward appearances.

Nearly 50 children and their families took advantage of the opportunity to learn about frogs, snakes, tarantulas, goshawks, and owls through Matthew Hoyt, a naturalist with the state Audubon Society in Fairfield.

Black rat snakes, said Mr Hoyt, one of the largest snakes found in Connecticut, are generally very benevolent. He showed the audience Squiggles, whom he described as very friendly and loving. A cold-blooded animal, Squiggles curled around Mr Hoyt’s arm to keep warm. “If you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone,” he said.

Despite their being nonpoisonous to humans, many people mistake the creatures as dangerous. “They’ll hit the snake over the head with a rake or shovel,” said Mr Hoyt. As an endangered species, it is illegal to harass, harm, or kill a black rat snake. “They are actually very helpful in pest control,” said Mr Hoyt. Rats, mice, and other vermin are a central part of their diets.

After removing his “Squiggles bracelet,” Mr Hoyt introduced a rose-haired tarantula. The ten-legged creature is technically not a spider because spiders possess eight legs. Native to Chile and other South American regions, the tarantula has venom lethal to its prey — typically mice and other small rodents. The venom is not, however, deadly to humans.

In his dramatic presentation, Mr Hoyt explained that tarantulas are too heavy to spin webs between tree limbs and other aerial locations. Instead, they create “trap doors” over the entrances of their homes, which are usually small caverns. They even kick sand over the web to camouflage it. After prey is caught, the tarantula slowly approaches, injecting its deadly venom through two needlelike fangs. The prey is paralyzed as its insides literally dissolve. At night, the tarantula feasts on its catch.

“You know how you suck down soda?” Mr Hoyt queried. “Well, that’s how tarantulas eat. They drink their food from the inside out.” A woman in the audience asked the naturalist if the tarantula had ever bitten him. “Yes, on my thumb,” he said nonchalantly. “It swelled to about the size of a softball for around six days. But it’s okay. It doesn’t last.”

Next, Mr Hoyt displayed a stuffed northern goshawk, a bird of prey with excellent hearing and sharp eyes equipped with night vision. Finally, he introduced Arthur, a barred owl (also known as a marsh or frog owl) very common in Connecticut. Similar in appearance to the barn owl, Mr Hoyt said that if human eyes were reproportioned to symmetrically match the barred owl’s huge black orbs (most owls have yellow eyes), they would be the size of grapefruits or oranges.

Since a barred owl’s eyes are stationary, they have special bones in their neck that allow them to rotate their heads approximately 260 degrees, three quarters of an entire turn. “They hunt mainly in the early morning and evening,” said Mr Hoyt. “You won’t see them around in the middle of the day or night.” With no natural predators, the owls generally roam freely over their dense forest habitat, plucking mice and other small mammals with a nearly soundless approach. Barred owls have uniquely feathered wings and eyesight that, if possessed by humans, could allow us to read the pages of a book being held by someone on the other side of a large building.

“Arthur came to the Audubon society after he was hit by a Mack truck,” said Mr Hoyt. While females, larger in size than their male counterparts, nest and care for their young, males are the primary hunters. With injuries that included a damaged eye and hearing loss in one ear, Arthur was rendered incapable of hunting in the wild. At the Audubon, he is fed already-dead animals because if owls were allowed to hunt prey, they would associate all motion with food — including the approaching hands of caring humans.

“Barred owls are very strong,” said Mr Hoyt. “I have to wear this glove when I hold Arthur because if I didn’t, his talons would tear right through my skin.” Barred owls have a lifespan of 18–21 years, slightly longer in captivity. They also, said, Mr Hoyt, “get married.” Barred owls mate for life.

After Arthur was placed back into his traveling compartment, Mr Hoyt led the children into an interactive exercise. “You are all going to be different birds today,” he said. “And what do birds do? They fly. Flap your wings like a bird.” The group was challenged to beat various birds’ average number of flaps per ten seconds. Mr Hoyt said that crows flap their winds seven times in this period. Waving their arms wildly, the children beat this record easily. Next, Mr Hoyt instructed the group to see if the could beat a pigeon’s rate of 15 flaps. The children did.

As the birds became smaller, their flapping repetition became greater. While starlings flapped their wings approximately 25 times in ten seconds, sparrows, 42, the ruby-throated hummingbird shattered all estimations with a stunning 490 wing flaps per ten seconds.

The Audubon Society in Fairfield is a natural conservatory located at 2523 Burr Street. The society offers educational programs for children and adults. They also host birthday parties and other events. Hiking trails and other activities are open to the public. For more information, call 203-259-0416.