Notes from a Nature Watcher
BY JOHN ROBERTS

Minnow Cove. The cove was very active. It was lunch time for the bass.

Nature watching is often influenced and enhanced by serendipitous timing. Yesterday I noticed a Redtailed hawk making its proverbial "lazy circles in the sky." am always thrilled to hear and see this wonderful bird, a feeling not shared by many smaller creatures. This time I looked out over our lake just in time to see the hawk's shadow pass over a shallow cove. This generated a flurry of activity by the many resident minnows in that area. I thought it may have been a coincidence caused by the presence of a hungry bass. Shortly, the hawk's circling shadow again passed over the same area causing the same frantic minnow-based roiling water. Later that day I checked to see if the shadow-generator was back. The same cove was once again very active. It was lunch time for the bass. They were attacking into the shallow water causing the same kind of frantic activity and, likely a few lost souls. Another chapter had been added to this life and death struggle by several crows that proved to be more than casual observers. They were patiently gathered at the cove's shore ready to pounce on any over-frantic minnow that flipped clear out of the water. A former colleague of mine used to scoff at my insistence that many animal and plant activities are based on "genetic memory." I wonder how he would explain this particular response by these minnows. The response to the marauding bass might have been learned but the shadow-induced panic requires a different explanation. Perhaps he would merely ascribe their reaction to what they had learned in those famous fish "schools." I once watched a flock of crows team up to kill a large black snake by picking at it until it was too weak to defend itself. I would not be surprised to see the crows designate one of their flock to be the "designated shadow generator" and fly over the cove impersonating a hawk.

Just take a look around our beautiful mountains and you can see the stressed leaves as a result of the drought.

Fish are not alone in this response to shadows. Turkey poults on our farm in Indiana would group together when a hawk's shadow passed over their range, often leading to the death of those unfortunate enough to be on the bottom of the pile. Occasionally, the shadow from a passing airplane would generate a similar happening. I wonder where my unbelieving friend thinks the turkeys learned this.

I am still watching to see what else might result from the combined, devastating effects of the Easter Freeze of '07 and the prolonged, severe drought. I have noticed a number of trees on the mountainsides that appear to be either dead or dying. They seem to be concentrated on the higher ridges and the steepest and rockiest slopes, indicating their problem is due to the

freeze/drought/excessive heat

combination. The ridge I have been watching most closely has many trees that look dead but may have just given up for the season. It will be very interesting to observe the next chapters in this unusual year.

John Roberts is a Georgia Master Naturalist who is Camp Host at Trackrock Campground near Blairsville, Georgia. He is also a retired USDA-ARS Research Plant Pathologist having spent over 40 years as a scientist in wheat breeding and pathology.