The Six Lined Race-runner

If you are out on the Backcoutry Trail during the hotter parts of the day, you have probably noticed the lizards running across the trail. These lizards are called the six lined race-runners and these guys are fairly common on certain parts of the trail. They get their name from the distinctive pattern of six white or yellow stripes that run down the length of their back. However, it's kind of diificult to get close enough to them to see their stripes. You can really identify them because they are the quickest lizard around this area.

You probably won't see one of these lizards on Gulf Oaf Ridge but you can look for them anywhere on the Backcountry Trail where it's really hot and not very shady. The six lined race-runner lives in areas such as fields, sand dunes or along road edges or trails. The hotter the temperature the more likely they will be out running across the pavement on the trail. These guys like the heat so much that at night when it cools down to, say 78 degrees, they seek cover and warmth by retreating to a burrow. They eat all sorts of insects and their quickness helps them run down their food. They have two sets of off-spring every summer and the female will lay anywhere from 1 to 6 eggs each time. As the lizards grow up, an adult can reach the length of around 10 inches. that's fairly large for a lizard.

The field book that I read said that a six lined race-runner can achieve the speed of 18 miles per hour and that you cannot catch one by hand. I don't know how they calculated that speed but I do know that, so far, I haven't nabbed a lizard to examine. I think that I'll wait until it cools off before I try again though. Maybe they slow down when it gets cold?

Cogon Grass

Cogon grass is an invasive plant that is native to Asia, India and Australia. This grass is found in areas where the soil has been disturbed, such as roadsides, building sites, timber harvesting sites and borrow pits. In the Gulf Coast, it invades both moist and dry upland pine forests and once it is established, it will form a dense monoculture of thick stands of grass.

Cogon grass survives in many parts of the U.S. but it does best in the Southeast. In fact, according to a 2003 survey, cogon grass has overtaken more acerage in the South than kudzu. Cogon spreads through both wind dispersed seeds and rhizones which are transported by mechanical means such as bush hogs, bulldozers, tractors or logging equipment.

Control of cogon grass is generally by use of herbicides. Herbicides will confine the spread of cogon but will not eradicate the plant unless many applications are applied and this can be costly and time consuming. What about fire? Cogon loves fire and spreads even more rapidly after a fire. Plus, heat generated from burning cogon grass will destroy most vegetative overstory. The blades of cogon grass will cut an animal's tongue so grazing the patches will not work either. If you want to see some cogon grass along the trail you can see an area of it on Rattlesnake Ridge near the cell tower. And yes, it got established from rhizones that were riding on the tractors during trail construction.

New Gates

You might have noticed the new gates at several entrances to The Backcountry Trail. Due to several reports of un-authorized vehicles being on the trail, The City of Orange Beach had these gates built and installed. Motorized vehicles other than City and Gulf State Park vehicles, are not allowed to travel on any part of The Backcountry Trail. If you should see any vehicle (including golf carts...other than the 8 passenger eco-tour cart, 4-wheelers, motorcycles,etc.) on the trail, please report it to the Orange Beach Police Department at 251-981-9777 or Gulf State Park at 251-948-7275.

Eagles in Gulf State Park

In case you didn't know, there are two eagles now nesting in Gulf State Park. Most observers believe that the birds are feeding at least one chick. You can't see the nest from the Backcountry Trail but it is quite possible that you might see them cruising anywhere along the trail in search of food.
Keep looking up...except be cautious of snakes!

Nutria

Nutria are semi-aquatic rodents from South America that were introduced to the Mobile area in 1948. While mostly confined to the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, they have been found throughout much of the lower Alabama-Tombigbee Waterway as well. Recently, two were found on Canal Road in Orange Beach as roadkill. This probably means that nutria have made their way into our area and possibly are now in Gulf State Park.

Can nutria become a problem? As with most non-native species, the answer is, yes. Basically, nutria eat almost any type of aquatic vegetation. Perhaps I should say instead of "any" vegetation, I should add "all" aquatic vegetation  in an area that they inhabit. They will eat cattails, sedges, bulrush, reeds, roots, and almost any foliage of most plants found in marshland habitat...although they don't seem to like popcorn trees (darn it). They have been known to browse on bermuda grass too.

Nutria can breed as early as eight months old and can have two litters a year averaging 5 pups per litter. Nutria can take over a marshy pond and virtually wipe out most of the aquatic plants in a matter of months. They feed mostly at night and are wary of people. A full grown nutria can weigh as much as 25 pounds and looks like a beaver in the face. However, a nutria's tail is ratlike in appearance- not flat like a beaver tail. Some people refer to nutria as "nutria rats". If you should happen to see a beaver or a nutria while you are out on the trail, please call this information in to the trail phone line at 981-1180.

Greater Sandhill Cranes

Be looking out in the big burn area for Greater Sandhill Cranes. You might need your binoculars ...then again maybe not...they stand 4 feet tall and have a wing span of 7 feet. For the past few days, these cranes have been observed feeding in the burned area between the Campground Road and Gulf Oak Ridge Trail. I saw them just east of the transmission line gravel road but I have talked to other people that have spotted these birds a few hundred yards west of the power lines. These birds are kind of rare in this area now but historically were found quite often in southern Baldwin County in the winter. Unlike their really rare and endangered relative, the Misssissippi Sandhill Crane which does not migrate, the Greater Sandhill Cranes migrate south from places as far away as the Arctic. These stately birds truly are "snowbirds"!

Moss or Lichen?

Gulf State Park is home to several different mosses that can be seen along the Backcountry Trail. I happen to like moss and find it intriguing. I have even wondered, "Does moss always grow on the north side of the tree? Does a rolling stone really gather no moss?" For the most part though, it seems that mosses don't receive as much attention as do flowering plants, ferns or trees. Maybe that's because mosses are generally small and are often inconspicuous. They have no vascular tissue or wood to provide structural support and most don't have showy flowers, although Spanish moss does produce a nice flower from March through June. But don't let their size or lack of flowers fool you. Mosses are very important in forest ecosystems where they are found. Mosses provide erosion control along streams and help in water and nutrient cycling for forest soil. Up in the Arctic, moss insulates the permafrost.

Along the trail, the most common types of moss that you might see are: 1. Foxtail Clubmoss in boggy areas, 2. Meadow Spikemoss in moist woods and meadows (usually in the form of a creeping mat) and 3. Spanish Moss which can be seen hanging in trees along the Twin Bridges and Gulf Oak Ridge Trails. Watch out for red bugs in the Spanish Moss if you get close to it! All of these mosses are epiphytes and not parasites. An epiphyte only needs a host organism for structural support and not for food or water. Mosses get food from dust in the air and water from dew or rain.

On Catman Road and Rosemary Dunes, you will see lots of moss-like plants. These plants are actually lichens. There are two different species of lichens growing out on the sandy areas of these two trails and can be distinguished by their colors. The green lichen is referred to as Cladina subtenuis while the gray lichen is called Cladina rangiferina. Both are usually lumped together and commonly referred to as "Reindeer Lichen". However, most people almost always call them " Reindeer Moss" or even " Deer Moss". Around here, we tend to refer to both as "club moss". While neither of these lichens provide food or cover for wildlife, both are very important in binding together humus, litter and the soil surface. On sandy sites, this is very important.