Recent Sightings of the Blue Ridge

Recent Sightings of the Blue Ridge

By Cade Campbell - Pre-MRNR, Spring 2024

West Virginia White nectaring on Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera) along Della’s Branch. Photo by Cade Campbell.

As anticipation builds for the 50th Spring Mt. Rogers Naturalist Rally, there are some species reappearing on the landscape to add to the excitement. During our programs for local schools over the past few weeks, the full force of spring has shared some special moments and special residents that call our Virginia mountains home.

The federally-threatened West Virginia White (Pieris virginiensis) butterflies are abundant in the forests behind the Schoolhouse searching for toothwort plants to lay their eggs. They’re easily recognized as the only solid-white butterfly found in the state of Virginia, and the dwindling species is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains. Look for them in sun-dappled areas of cove forest with lots of spring ephemeral wildflowers. The invasive-exotic garlic mustard is lethal to these butterflies but smell like their caterpillars’ favorite foods, other plants in the cabbage family. Our habitats around Whitetop Mountain composed of intact native plant communities are essential for the butterfly’s survival.

A Margined Madtom (Noturus insignis) captured accidentally during an aquatic macroinvertebrates program with Fries School. Photo by Cade Campbell.

Underwater, life is also thriving. Fish are entering the breeding season, moving from deep pools into the shallow waters where they’re easily visible. One of the more unusual fish we’ve been noticing recently with stream ecology programs is the tiny, mildly-venomous catfish known as the Margined Madtom (Noturus insignis). They’re only found in rushing water full of smooth stones with crevices and crayfish burrows. To protect themselves from the wide gape of larger fish, particularly trout, they’re armed with painful, needle-like pectoral barbs. When handled, they can leave a sharp, swollen pinprick, the aquatic equivalent of a bee sting. Margined madtoms are easily distinguished from other native catfish by eel-like, black-fringed fins and a silver, scaleless body, seldom growing more than six inches in length.

The large Dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylis) nymph, an excellent leaf mimic.

Dragonflies are also emerging. Nymphs are large and ready to climb onto land, shedding hollow exuviae and drying into fast and bloodthirsty aerial predators. The largest native dragonfly, the Dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylis), is one of the most charismatic. An impressive hunter that mainly captures other dragonflies, they can take down prey as large as a hummingbird. The aquatic nymphs are very different. The palm-sized juveniles are leaf-mimics, and hide flattened in clusters of sycamore and boxelder roots in larger streams where they eat other aquatic macroinvertebrates. Large, spider-like Allegheny River Cruisers (Macromia alleghaniensis) are also preparing to emerge. Both a Dragonhunter and River Cruiser nymph from this spring are pinned in the library collections. In the colder, smaller and more inhospitable waters of Della’s Branch, the delicate, golden-striped Southern Pygmy Clubtail (Lanthus vernalis) is emerging camouflaged against shimmering riffles as the creek flows through dense rhododendron thickets.

The mother Eastern Black Bear (Ursus americanus) beckoning her last cub to escape into the woods, just before the entire family vanished back into the hillside forests of Fairwood Valley.

Black bears are back! We observed a healthy family of bears in Fairwood Valley last week. The mother successfully raised three cubs last year we observed several times throughout the year, and they will remain a nomadic family unit this year. Early mornings and evenings are the best time to see bears foraging, but it is an unusual treat. Unlike other, more populous areas in the Southern Appalachians, the bears found in the Mt. Rogers region are rarely habituated, or accustomed to humans. Most are still very reclusive and fearful of humans, and it’s a unique privilege to see one of these truly wild bears. Since they utilize ancient strategies to find food, instead of raiding dumpsters, coolers, and picnic baskets, black bear signs are abundant. Right now, many black bears survive the surprisingly lean spring season by flipping rocks in streams to hunt salamanders, similar to herpetological adventures at the rally. However, unlike the humans attending our programs, bears are allowed to eat the salamanders.

Be aware of your surroundings, and you may get the chance to see some amazing creatures! The Spring Rally is a wonderful time to explore, with a host of experts to help you identify and understand some of Virginia’s strangest and most biodiverse communities of wildlife on a rejuvenated spring landscape. If you have not yet registered for the rally, you can do so below. The big weekend is almost here, and we hope to see you on the mountain.

Fifteen Fun Native Fish Facts!

Summer Fly Fishing Camp is back! Join us August 6-10 for a week of tying, casting, and catching! To celebrate the return of this beloved BRDC camp, here’s fifteen fun fish facts, all about some of the awesome freshwater fish found natively here in Virginia’s creeks, streams, and rivers!

1) There are 226 species of freshwater fish in Virginia.

2) Fish in the family Ictaluridae (the catfish family) do not have scales.

3) Fish in the genus Etheostoma (which includes many darters, though ‘darters’ is a broad term that applies to a few genuses) do not have a swim bladder! This helps them stay safe and sheltered near the bottoms of streams.

4) The Banded Sculpin, Cottus Carolinae, is nocturnal. They prefer to rest during the day, and hunt at night. 

This Bluegill, a native member of the perch family, is so named for the silver-blue band and dark blue spot along the gill slit

5) There are 48 species of perch in Virginia (members of the family Percidae), including species of darters and dace. These beautiful, vibrantly colorful fish are referred to as “aquatic butterflies” or “living jewels.”

6) The Candy Darter, Etheostoma osburni, is a particularly colorful darter. Featuring bold red stripes across its blue, green, and yellow body, this rainbow of a fish would look right at home in a tropical coral reef. But it wouldn’t feel at home there -  the Candy Darter’s only home is the Kanawha River system, which flows through West Virginia and Virginia. 

7) The Channel Catfish, Ictalurus Punctatus, can lay 10,000+ eggs per spawn! Of course, many of these eggs are eaten before they fully develop, providing a great source of food in our aquatic ecosystems. 

Brook Trout play a big role cycling nutrients through the ecosystem

8) Freshwater fish help cycle nitrogen, phosphate, and other key nutrients through the ecosystem, and help maintain the balance of these nutrients in streams. Fish move nutrients from aquatic to terrestrial environments when they are consumed by terrestrial predators, and they carry nutrients upstream to small tributaries when they migrate to spawn. 

9) The Northern Hogsucker, Hypentelium Nigricans, is a messy bottom-feeder that sucks up debris in the beds of moderately sized creeks. Darters and dace will follow behind the hogsucker as it forages, eating the food it stirs up.

This Banded Sculpin has left its hiding spot between rocks. Notice its camouflage and large mouth

10) Banded Sculpin, a species in the Cottidae family, are skilled ambush predators. They’ll hide in cavities under rocks and logs, waiting until the moment is juuuust right, then BAM! They’ll strike in a split second, opening their mouth fast enough to suck in their prey! In a flash, whoever was unlucky enough to pass by is gone and the sculpin has already retreated back into hiding.

11) Many freshwater fish are living hosts for freshwater mussels. Some mussels have adapted to develop organs that look very convincingly like fish food. They’ll tempt fish into trying a bite, but instead of food, the fish receives a mouthful of hitchhiking mussel larvae! The baby mussels catch a ride throughout the river system before dropping off somewhere new. 

12) Before spawning begins in late spring, male central stonerollers, Campostoma anomalum, grow large facial tubercles. These modified scales on their heads help them to- you guessed it- roll stones and build a nest. From May through early June, females pick suitable nests to lay their eggs.

13) River chub get their species name Nocomis micropogon from a pair of small organs on either side of their mouth called barbels. In fish with well-developed barbels, such as catfish, these are the sensitive “whiskers.” But the river chub’s are very small, so its latin name micropogon literally translates to “tiny beard”

14) Brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, like many of their Salmonid cousins, make an incredible migration before spawning each fall. During summer, a brook trout may swim up to 80 miles upstream into small tributaries in search of a suitable spawning location before October. There are three populations, which are named for where they travel between spawns- the Great Lakers, the Salters/Sea-Runners, and the Eastern Brook Trout, which is the population we have here in the Blue Ridge and spends its entire life between large rivers and tiny mountain creeks.

Brook Trout rising on a fishing fly, showing off its defining pattern

15) We had to include a second fun fact for a fan-favorite! The Brook Trout is the only native trout to our waters in the Blue Ridge, while other species- brown trout and rainbow trout- were introduced as game fish. The best way to identify brook trout is by the beautiful squiggly design on their top side. This pattern is called a Turing pattern, and it appears all over in nature!

Fresh Water Snorkeling with Jim Herrig

Last Saturday we had the wonderful privilege of hosting Jim Herrig, from the US Forest Service, the man who developed the wildly successful Freshwater Snorkeling Program in the Cherokee National Forest! Jim and his assistant Michela packed all of their equipment up: snorkels, masks and wetsuits, and made a 6 hour trek north to give us a full demonstration of the program.

Our original plan was to search the South Fork of the New River for hellbenders but unfortunately rain from the previous night tripled the size of the South Fork of the New and we were forced to reconsider our exploration site. We quickly settled on Helton Creek that was promisingly clear just up the road. Jim, Michela and Lisa Benish had scoped the South Fork of the New River out on the previous day and only came across 2 species of fish! 

Helton Creek, known as North Carolina's premier delayed-harvest trout fishery, proved to have a much higher density of fish and diversity of species. We tallied 17 species in four hours of snorkeling the creek. Starting in a long riffle, 10 kids ranging from 11-18 years old and four adults worked their way excitedly upstream and into a ledged pool. After a brief lunch, we geared back up and worked our way upstream to a deep pool under a bridge where we found schools of big white suckers and trout. The highlight of the underwater world was the density of crayfish, darters and sculpin in the eight inch deep riffles at the heads of the pools. Everyone was slightly hesitant at first but as the day progressed so did the enthusiasm!

A big thank you to Jim Herrig and the USFS for making this possible!

1. Longnose dace ?

2. Western blacknose dace

3. Bigmouth chub ?

4. Central stoneroller

5. Creek chub

6. Bluehead chub

7. Spotfin shiner

8. Saffron Shiner

9. Northern hogsucker

10. White sucker

11. Rainbow Trout

12. Brook Trout

13. Brown Trout

14. Mottled sculpin

15. Fan-tailed darter

16. Kanawha Darter

17. Logperch

Freshwater Snorkeling!

Ah, to have gills and dive into the cold clear underworld of the fishes... to lie in suspension as a current of tiny oxygen bubbles and leaves roll past in seemingly slow motion. You in a room of water with your fellow fish, what a dream it is.

Perhaps it is the reflective surface of water, a line so definitively drawn between air and water, that causes such a mysterious attraction. From the air above we strain to peer into deep pools, but all we see are leaves bristling in the wind and dark shadows lurking beneath. From below, the fish see a constant wave of their own reflection on the surface. We only get a glimpse of each other when the sun beams through and the pool riffles subside into a calm windowpane of clarity. 

Or perhaps it is the purity of sparkling spring water, as a vital sustenance of our own life, that gives us a fundamental draw to the watery underworld. An elemental attraction that pulls our cloths off as we jump in with elation. Either way, the desire to swim with fish rivals the dream to grow wings and soar with the birds of the sky.

It is a mysterious world full of alien creatures, colorful rocks, and fish, a beauty that has been put into prose for millenniums.  It is completely foreign and yet it is in everyone's backyard. 

Earlier this summer Blue Ridge Discovery Center received a grant to implement a Freshwater Snorkeling program with the goal of connecting our youth to the lifeblood of the Blue Ridge Mountains. By immersing kids in a setting they have never experienced before, we will be generating a profound drive of curiosity, exploration and discovery.  Armed with wetsuits, snorkels and masks, we are about to cross that mirrored boundary.

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The glorious bluespotted sunfish & the "gaudy male syndrome"

While dip-netting in a FL canal I came across one of the most interesting and beautiful fish in freshwater, the bluespotted sunfish, Enneacanthus glorious (see photo). This fish is well named since the adult males are covered with brilliant blue spots that shine intensely. It is a wide-spread species occurring in the coastal plain from Florida to New York, especially in heavily vegetated, slow-moving waters. Note that the tail-fin is rounded and not forked as in most sunfish; this may be an adaptation for a life in thick vegetation. This gorgeous fish is also unusually tolerant to low pH's down to about 4.5, a very useful attribute for a fish living in dark, acidic waters.

The striking coloration of the male appears to be designed for attracting females and likely advertises the health and vigor of the male, in a way much like the mane of male lions. We have a fish (the mountain redbelly dace- see photo below) in the creeks of our Blue Ridge mountain farm which has a similar characteristic, namely a very bright coloration of adult males. It is likely that the purpose of this "gaudy male syndrome" is similar wherever it occurs. One of the amusing aspects of this trait is that females get to choose the males, and are probably anxious to choose the best genetic stock to fertilize their eggs.

If this all seems strange to humans it is because we have a somewhat different mating system in which the male is not gaudy but is larger and stronger than the female and engages in male combat for territory and females. However this is not to say that the female does not make a choice of her mate!

The variety of color and form in Nature is remarkable and a continuous source of wonder, speculation and study.

Bill Dunson Englewood,

FL & Galax, VA