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Q: Last March, an F2 tornado moved through Arnold, causing considerable damage. Earlier on the day of the storm, we saw a mixed flock of northern cardinals and wrens. After the winds, only a couple of birds remained. Were they killed? Did they sense danger and flee? How do birds survive big storms?

Birds often will flee large systems of thunderstorms. They can sense them far better than we can and will move. Sometimes they get caught in the system and are carried large distances — even hundreds of miles — to new locations, Missouri State Ornithologist Kristen Heath-Acre said.

For example, shortly after the Arnold tornado in March, a vermillion flycatcher visited Missouri. It’s possible the small bird was carried by the storm from its home in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Sometimes, however, violent storms injure or kill birds.

Unless they are banded or tagged, scientists cannot really know what might befall a specific bird or flock. But there are documented instances of birds returning after large storms moved through their territories, although they may adjust their home range based on the loss of nesting habitat or food availability, Heath-Acre said.

Q: Which factor has the biggest effect on the timing of bluegills’ spring spawn? Is it the temperature of the water, day length, or some other factor? 

Water temperature plays the biggest role in determining the spawning time of fish. For bluegill, the spawning temperature is 70–75 degrees. Look for these fish to deposit eggs between mid-May to mid-August.

Bluegill have a fascinating breeding behavior. Certain non-nesting males — called “sneakers” or “satellites” — have the color pattern and behavior of females. They enter other males’ nest areas and fertilize eggs without alerting the territorial-nest-holding male. 

Q: I was at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge near Puxico when I saw an American mink swim across a ditch and grab a large plain-bellied watersnake. It fought with the snake, dragged it up the bank, and disappeared with it into a hole. Do minks eat snakes? 

Yes, American minks will eat snakes and many other types of prey. These semiaquatic mustelids prey on mice, rabbits, and other terrestrial animals. But they also feed on fish, crayfish, and other aquatic life. Minks also predate waterfowl and their eggs during breeding season. 

Minks are almost entirely brown, being somewhat darker on the back and toward the tip of the tail. They have white chins and some irregular white spots on the throat, chest, and belly. Their summer coats are lighter and less dense than their winter coats.

Plain-bellied watersnakes are often seen basking on logs in shallow water, on branches above water, and along the shore. They tend to be pugnacious when cornered or attacked; they’ll often strike and bite viciously. They prefer quiet or slow-moving waterbodies, such as swamps, sloughs, oxbows, seasonally flooded bottomland woods, drainage ditches, lakes, and ponds. 

The plain-bellied watersnake is a medium-sized, heavy-bodied, dark-colored, semiaquatic snake with a plain yellow belly. It is mainly gray, greenish gray, or brownish black, with little or no pattern on its back. Populations in western Missouri are more likely to have blotches along the back and sides.