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©williamwisephoto.com Thursday, January 21, 2021 - paddling The Sill in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Video footage: https://youtu.be/SlteMkEKL9M

Friday, January 15, 2021. Walton County, Georgia.

• Sunny, with a high near 52.
• Sunrise 7:39 am; Sunset 5:49 pm
• Daylight Hours: 10 hours, 10 minutes (+1m 9s)
• Moon: 7% Waxing Crescent

~ William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message

©www.williamwisephoto.com Friday, January 15, 2021. Walton County, Georgia.

• Sunny, with a high near 52.
• Sunrise 7:39 am; Sunset 5:49 pm
• Daylight Hours: 10 hours, 10 minutes (+1m 9s)
• Moon: 7% Waxing Crescent
• Journal: http://williamwisephoto.com/photographyblog/winter-birding-female-eastern-towhee

Thursday, January 14, 20201. Walton County, Georgia

• Clear sunrise, 30°F. Today: Sunny, with a high near 55.
• Sunrise 7:39 am; Sunset 5:48 pm
• Daylight Hours: 10 hours, 9 minutes (+1m 7s)
• Moon: 2.6% Waxing Crescent

~ William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message

Okefenokee Swamp, Suwannee Canal Recreation Area, Georgia USA. ©williamwisephoto.com

Video link: https://youtu.be/aZpkNbT_e00

NUMBER: 20201123
SPECIES: Bobcat, Lynx rufus (Schreber, 1777)
DISTINCTIONS: Adult bigger than an adult House Cat, Felis catus Linneus, 1758, and smaller than an adult North American Panther, Puma concolor couguar (Kerr, 1792) (Williams and Bunkley-Williams, 2019; Williams et al., 2019). Tail much shorter than either. Lynx, Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792, does not occur in New Mexico (see Similar Species below).
DATE, TIME: 23 November 2020
TIME, DURATION: 2 pm, Walked slowly along wall apparently unconcerned by activities a few feet away behind glass (note reflection, Fig. A).
LOCALITY: LBW’s brother’s back yard near house, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA
LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: 35º38’33.00” N, 105º55’58.44” W (35.6425, -105.9329)
ALTITUDE: 334.3 m (7500 ft)
SIMILAR SPECIES: Lynx is similar in size and appearance but has a uniform gray coat instead of brown with prominent spots. (Lynx may have a few spots or many very small ones). It has ear tuffs prominent instead of slight; back arched instead of straight; hips higher than shoulders instead of the same; paws large and broad instead of small; back legs longer than front instead of similar; very short black-tipped tail, instead of a short banded, black and white tipped tail (Fig. A).
RESEARCH: Cat is heading toward a nearby colony of Rock Ground Squirrels, Otospermophilus variegatus (Erxleben, 1777), we have been studying (Williams and Bunkley-Williams, 2020; Fig. A). Hope it did not eat them all.
DATA: iNaturalist #66387066
IMPORTANCE: Record is of little scientific interest.
OBSERVERS: Dr. Ernest H. Williams, Jr.,[2,3,5,6] and Dr. Lucy Bunkley-Williams[2,4,5,7]
AFILIATIONS, ADDRESSES: [2]Extraordinary Professors, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, South Africa; Adjunct Professors, Research Field Station, Florida Gulf Coast University, 5164 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, FL 34134; [3]Dept. Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico (retired); [4]Dept. Biology, UPR (retired); [5]920 St. Andrews Blvd, Naples, FL 34113-8943; [6]e-mail ermest.williams1@upr.edu; cell 239-227-3645, ORCID 0000-0003-0913-3013; [7]Cell 787-467-2179, e-mail lucy.williams1@upr.edu, ORCID 0000-0003-1390-911x.
REFERENCES:
<>Williams, E. H., Jr. and L. Bunkley-Williams. 2019. A possible “Bobanther,” Bobcat, Lynx rufus (Schreber, 1777) X North American Panther, Puma concolor couguar Kerr, 1792, hybrid, in Lely Palms, Naples, Florida. Research Quality Report, iNaturalist #35778168, 17 November (open access) [442]
<>Williams, E. H., Jr., R. E. Waldner, and L. Bunkley-Williams. 2019. First confirmed report of a black (melanistic) Panther in North America? Research Quality Report, iNaturalist #35790675, 17 November (open access) [443]
<>Williams, E. H., Jr. and L. Bunkley-Williams. 2020. Odd locality for a large colony of Rock Ground Squirrels, Otospermophilus variegatus (Erxleben, 1777), in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Research Quality Report, iNaturalist #38558246, 11 February (open access) [462]
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Identification was peer-reviewed, text edited and usually condensed

NUMBER: 20200716
SPECIES: Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger Linnaeus, 1758
VARIETY: Upland Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger var. bachmani Lowery and Davis, 1942[1]
OTHER NAMES: Bachman’s Fox Squirrel, Hill Country Fox Squirrel; some suggest this is a synonym of Southeast Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger niger Linnaeus, 1758; and others reject all of these subspecies.
DATE, TIME: 16 July 2020, 8:56 am UTC
LOCALITY: Foley, AL 36535
LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: 30°25’57.0” W, 87°49’14.2” W (30.4325, -87.8206)
MELANISM: We heard rumors of melanistic squirrels in the area but found no specimens.
DATA: iNaturalist #55273152
KNOWN DISTRIBUTION: All of Alabama, most of Mississippi, western tip of the Florida panhandle, northwest corner of Georgia, and southeast Louisiana (Boone et al., 2017). There is 1 outlier each in museum collections from NC and SC. Most records in the literature are from Mississippi and Louisiana. The museum records we could find from Alabama are rather old (Table 1). iNaturlist only reports the Fox Squirrel from Alabama, not the Upland Fox Squirrel.

Table 1. Specimens of Upland Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger var. bachmani, from Alabama

Museum # Locality Loc Date County Reference

LACM 092834 E just N Mobile Bay SSW 1 Nov 1963 Baldwin GBIF, 2019
TTU 90578 11 mi N of Theodore SSW 29 Dec 1947 Mobile Gardner, 2016
USNM 265352 Bellamy WC 31 Jan 1940 Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM 265382 Bellamy WC 29 Feb 1940 Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM 265406 Bellamy WC 29 Mar 1940 Sumpter Orrell, 2020
TTU 90578 11 mi N of Theodore SSW 29 Dec 1947 Mobile Gardner, 2016
USNM 567629 Bellamy WC 6 May 1940 Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM 265281 Cullman[2] NC 7 Oct 1939 Cullman Orrell, 2020
USNM 224097 Jackson SW 12 Jan 1917 Clarke Orrell, 2020
USNM 224096 Bayou La Batre SSW 2 Jan 1917 Mobile Orrell, 2020
USNM 224095 Sand Mountain NE 12 Jan 1917 Marshall Orrell, 2020
USNM 223024 Jackson SW 12 Nov 1916 Clarke Orrell, 2020
USNM 223025 Sand Mountain NE 16 Nov 1916 Clarke Orrell, 2020
USNM 223097 Long Island NNE 27 Dec 1916 Jackson Orrell, 2020
USNM 223096 Long Island NNE 27 Dec 1916 Jackson Orrell, 2020
USNM 177984 Autaugaville C 22 Jan 1912 Autauga Orrell, 2020
USNM 177985 Autaugaville C 19 Jan 1912 Autauga Orrell, 2020
USNM 178084 Autaugaville C 1 Feb 1912 Autauga Orrell, 2020
USNM 178307 Orange Beach SSE 16 Feb 1912 Baldwin Orrell, 2020
USNM 108538 Castleberry SC 19 Nov 1912 Conecuh Orrell, 2020
USNM 108537 Castleberry SC 19 Nov 1912 Conecuh Orrell, 2020
USNM 108536 Castleberry SC 19 Nov 1912 Conecuh Orrell, 2020
USNM 180752 Orange Beach SSE -- Dec 1912 Baldwin Orrell, 2020
USNM 177666 Castleberry SC 9 Nov 1911 Conecuh Orrell, 2020
USNM 177802 Autaugaville C 13 Dec 1911 Autauga Orrell, 2020
USNM 177744 Autaugaville C 3 Dec 1911 Autauga Orrell, 2020
USNM 177804 Castleberry SC 28 Dec 1911 Conecuh Orrell, 2020
USNM 177801 Autaugaville C 10 Oct 1911 Autauga Orrell, 2020
USNM 167740 Castleberry SC 4 Jan 1911 Conecuh Orrell, 2020
USNM 159382 Castleberry SC 15 Dec 1908 Conecuh Orrell, 2020
USNM 265561 Bellamy WC old Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM 265534 Bellamy WC old Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM 178388 Castleberry SC old Conecuh Orrell, 2020
USNM 265533 Bellamy WC old Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM 265559 Bellamy WC old Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM 265562 Bellamy WC old Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM 265943 Bellamy WC old Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM A7632 Bellamy WC old Sumpter Orrell, 2020
USNM 178389 Castleberry SC old Conecuh Orrell, 2020
USNM 265361 Bellamy WC old Sumpter Orrell, 2020
TTU 263 unknown ----- old ----- Garner, 2016

C = Central; LACM = Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Vertebrtes; Loc = relative location in state; NC = North Central; NE = Northeast; NNE = extreme North Northeastern corner; NMNH = National Museum of Natural History, Extant Biology, SC = South Central; Smithsonian Institution; SSE = extreme South Southeastern corner; TTU = Museum of Texas Tech University, Mammals; WC = West Central

STATUS: Decline in abundance throughout its range. The biology and natural history of this variety is rather poorly known.
SIMILAR VARITIES: These are based primarily on coat colors and distribution. Genetic analysis suggest the Highland Fox Squirrel is the same as the Southeastern Fox Squirrel. The validity of all subspecies (= varities now?) of the Fox Squirrel is in question.
IMPORTANCE: none
COMMENTS: The nomenclature of these forms is in confusion and conflict. Much more study is required to form a satisfactory resolution.
OBSERVERS: Dr. Ernest H. Williams, Jr.,[3,4,6,7] and Dr. Lucy Bunkley-Williams[3,5,6,8]
AFILIATIONS, ADDRESSES: [3]Extraordinary Professors, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, South Africa; Adjunct Professors, Research Field Station, Florida Gulf Coast University, 5164 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, FL 34134; [4]Dept. Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico (retired); [5]Dept. Biology, UPR (retired); [6]920 St. Andrews Blvd, Naples, FL 34113-8943; [7]e-mail ermest.williams1@upr.edu; cell 239-227-3645, ORCID 0000-0003-0913-3013; [8]Cell 787-467-2179, e-mail lucy.williams1@upr.edu, ORCID 0000-0003-1390-911x.
REFERENCES:
<>Boone, W. W., R. A. McCleery, and B. E. Reichert. 2017. Fox squirrel response to forest restoration treatments in longleaf pine. Journal of Mammalogy 98: 1-10. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320627628_Fox_squirrel_response_to_forest_restoration_treatments_in_longleaf_pine
<>Davis, J. R. 1988. Mammals in Alabama. No. 13. The fox squirrel. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Game and Fish Division, Montgomery, AL. 3 pp.
<>Garner, H. 2016. TTU Mammals Collection. Version 9.1. Museum of Texas Tech University (TTU). Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/yocqyp accessed via GBIF.org on 2020-07-31. https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/911721471
<>Orrell, T. 2020. NMNH Extant Specimen Records. Version 1.34. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/hnhrg3 accessed via GBIF.org on 2020-08-01. https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1318568892
<>Powers, J. S. Fox Squirrel. In: Rodents. Outdoor Alabama. https://www.outdooralabama.com/rodents/fox-squirrel
<>GBIF. 2019. Sciurus niger subsp. Bachmani Lowery & Davis, 1942 in GBIF Secretariat. 2019. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2020-07-31.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Identification was peer-reviewed, text edited and condensed.
[2]Cullman, 15 mi NW, Black Warrior National Forest