Research Dispatch: A Curiosity of Snails

Posted by Kelsey Barnett-Fischels

Early April found Amata Hinkle at the Paint Rock Forest Research Center. Hinkle had visited Sharp-Bingham Mountain Preserve weeks earlier for a training exercise and took an excursion to a creek. “A rock screamed, ‘Turn me over! Turn me over!’” Hinkle said. She complied and spotted minute translucent snails clinging to the stone. 

Hinkle, who works with the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Dr. Matthew Niemiller, found the lack of pigment reminiscent of cave snails and resembling the genus Fontigens, of which there is only one known species in Alabama. But the specimen didn’t look all that similar to the current documented species, so Hinkle wanted to see if this was a range extension of a known snail from outside the state or yet another unknown species to document at Paint Rock. Hinkle and a small team from UAH ventured out to take a closer look at this curious aquatic snail. 

Photos courtesy Amata Hinkle

As a living laboratory, the Paint Rock Forest Research Center offers plentiful opportunities to discover and study biodiversity across the system, even in our smallest gastropod mollusks living in the foundations—serving as decomposers and nutrient dispersers.

In addition to its fish, caves, mussels, trees, and wildflowers, Paint Rock has long been famous for its exceptional and globally significant snail diversity. Much of this is due to the stones—particularly limestone, which has allowed creatures with calcium-based shells to proliferate in unusual ways. While the total number of snail species is still awaiting a coordinated research effort, single-day sampling efforts have turned up almost 100 species of land-based snails, not including the aquatic and cave-based snails, which may be just as numerous.

Many of these snails are known only from relatively small areas in Paint Rock, and it sometimes seems as if each drainage can claim its own unique species. Amata’s curiosity—and the compelling call of the stones—provides us another key example of this reality that we look forward to continuing to unravel.

By Kelsey Barnett-Fischels, Communications Director

April 2026 Bird Corner

Posted by admin
Eastern Phoebe

By Mary Wells, Avian Coordinator

The wave of green serves as a dinner bell for migratory songbirds who are pouring in from Central and South America each night, eager to dig into all the delicious fruit and insects now on offer. One of the earliest arrivals is the Louisiana waterthrush, a secretive, tail-bobbing denizen of creeks and streams, most easily identified by its clear whistling songs. Next up are yellow-throated warblers, striking black, white, and gold birds that set up shop in the tops of tall pines and wetland trees. Their lofty foraging habits make their distinctive field marks difficult to see from the ground, and they sing a song that is not so different from the Louisiana waterthrush, so be sure to brush up on the differences. When you hear their songs, note that you only have a week or two left to plant cool-season plants in your garden, such as potatoes, collards, spinach, and turnips.

These migrants are followed closely by northern parulas and blue-gray gnatcatchers, buzzy little birds that pack a dizzying amount of energy for their size. By the time these two arrive, you should have your tissues and allergy medication on hand, because oak and pine pollen really kick off around this time.

Many more species are starting to trickle in, including common yellowthroats, vireos, and black-throated green warblers. In a few weeks, songbird migration will be in full swing, so have your binoculars at the ready! If you have one, prepare your spotting scope as well, because shorebird migration is about to take off, bringing in spotted sandpipers, solitary sandpipers, American golden plovers, yellowlegs, dowitchers, and more as they make for the mudflats of northern Canada.

The clouds of blackbirds have dispersed for the season and have been replaced by massive flocks of American goldfinches, the males of which have already donned their brilliant yellow breeding plumage. When you see these birds in unusually large numbers, you should be getting ready to plant your tomatoes! They’re a real cacophony picking through mowed fields and treetops for seeds and buds, very difficult to miss, but they aren’t as noisy as their predecessors, who have become impossibly more vocal at this time of year. The biggest racket of the lot is the male red-winged blackbird, who flares his fiery shoulder pads as he stakes his claim to his reedy kingdom with a nostalgic, fluid song. When he sings in concert with the clicking and buzzing of purple martins and barn swallows, and the maiden flights of dragonflies, you’ll know that it’s time to dust off your fishing pole and tackle box.

Other resident songsters that have recently started up include the eastern bluebird, song sparrow, field sparrow, eastern meadowlark, eastern phoebe, brown thrasher, and of course, the northern mockingbird. Even ruby-crowned kinglets and yellow-rumped warblers have begun to sing in earnest, practicing their performance for their arrival on their breeding grounds far to the north. They’ll begin to ship out over the next several weeks, following the waves of ducks, gulls, and sparrows that have already started their journeys. We’ll certainly miss them, but they’ll be back before we know it. In the meantime, we can look forward to the many colorful, feathered musicians that spring and summer have in store.