Where Science, Art and Nature Come Together.
On my early morning walk today I heard and saw the wonderful sounds and sights of spring.
Since it was still quite dark, closest to my house I started seeing ‘glow worms’ – the larvae of fireflies. At this time they’re not developed into the flying creatures of summer yet, but often send their little spots of fluorescence into the pre-dawn from their ground locations. “Sweet,” I thought.
As I neared my neighbor’s pond I heard spring peepers peeping. They always make me smile.
Behind them I could also hear the wood frogs garbling (that’s what I call their spring mating calls).
What a wonderful chorus!
What I couldn’t see, and didn’t even know about till recently, was that there are clams living and doing their clammy things in our vernal pools. Right here in NYS and at Pfeiffer Nature Center. Yes, that’s right, CLAMS!
Mark VanDerwater, a science teacher in Orchard Park, posted this terrific video of the activity in a vernal pool, including fingernail clams.
As their name implies, these little dudes are roughly the size of a fingernail. They’re obviously a fresh water species. You can learn more about them here.