From the Field - Crow's Nest Preserve

European Plants

There are many non-native plants at the preserve, due to its long history as a working farm as well as natural and human-caused disturbances. Only a few of them are invasive, growing so strongly that they displace many plants that would otherwise grow here.

Here are two plants that are blooming at the preserve right now that are from Europe. They're not species we've tried to control; they may be weed pests in some places but they occur only occasionally here.

Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) is blooming in the turfgrass of some of the trails, and along a drainage ditch at the edge of a field. It gets its name from the shape of the flower.

And we have both yellow- and white-flowered examples of moth mullein (Verbascum blattaria) growing in the parking lot meadow. The common name refers to the fuzzy filaments on the anthers of the flowers; they look like moth antennae. This is a biennial species—each plant lives two years. The first year it is inconspicuous as a basal rosette; in the second year it sends up the flower spike.

Preserve Observations

This was a good week for wildlife watching. We have been treated to a trio of pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) working over the trees around the visitor center and parking lot. These birds are huge and their cry raucous. Since we were doing manual labor nearby, the birds didn't pay much attention to us, and we got very good views of this somewhat shy species. When I see them I am reminded of the search in the swamps of Arkansas for the similar but ellusive ivory-billed woodpecker.

I knew crows were nesting (living up to our preserve's name!) when I saw a crow repeatedly gliding down off the ridge across the road to the creek—presumably to feed—and then "rowing" back uphill to the nest. Then last week the young started making a lot of noise, squawking. They've fledged by now I expect, as things have quieted down.

This skullcap (Scutellaria elliptica) is now blooming along Piersol Road.

This Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) is raising young on our porch, providing endless entertainment for my (indoor-only) cats. You can't tell from this photo, but there are a couple of little beaks sticking out of this nest. The phoebe co-exists easily with my occasional use of the porch. Their messy droppings are made tolerable when you realize what's in them: phoebes devour a lot of insects.

Remember that winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) that was one of my favorite plants for the fruit (February 2, 2006 entry)? This is what the flowers look like, right now, on the female plant. Not very showy, but they make possible the gorgeous fruit in winter.

What is that flagging tape for?

This year preserve assistant Sean Quinn and I are keeping track of spots of mile-a-minute (Polygonum perfoliatum) infestation by temporarily hanging fluorescent surveyor's tape in a branch over each site. Even if we immediately control the ones we found there, we leave the tape as a reminder to check that spot later in the season. We also maintain a hand-colored map of each spot where we've found each plant invasion, sort of a low-tech geographic information system.

The difficulty with mile-a-minute is not only that it can choke out other vegetation. At this time of year, trying to control it takes nearly all of our time, precluding more interesting restoration projects. This picture was taken at a local arboretum, and if you turn your back on it for a week it will do this to you!

By the way, fluorescent tape is also used to mark preserve boundary corner pins. And little flags mounted on wire are being used to designate quadrats for research in the woods off of Northside Road, a long-term project. And this summer you'll also see flagging mounted on posts in the meadow around the Chief's Grove that is part of a research project: it is a study of bumblebees found in meadows that are surrounded by woods.

New blooms

The arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) has been in bloom for over a week now. The clusters of white flowers are attractive, and a it is a good wildlife plant, both for the flowers' nectar and for the fruit in the fall.

This fuzzy fellow was making good use of the shrub (and vice versa).

Beardtongue (Penstemon sp.) is also blooming on the preserve. This one is growing along Piersol Road, but you can also see lots of it in the meadow on Bethesda Road.

And on a dry ridgetop, cow wheat (Melampyrum lineare) that has these funky bristles at the base of some of the leaves. It's a tiny flower, one that is easily overlooked (I can testify to this). It grows on the outcrop of Chickies quartzite on the preserve, known locally as Monocacy Hill—not to be confused with the lovely Amity Township, Berks County, natural area by the same name.

Great American Campout

This Saturday, June 24 is the great American campout. While we don't want you to camp at the preserve, we encourage you to set up a tent in the backyard, park, or campground to share the outdoor experience with your family.

Listen to the night sounds, star-watch, or just sleep "outside the box." For more information, www.backyardcampout.org.

I love milkweeds

You'd better not miss the show that is soon to occur in the savanna at Crow's Nest Preserve. We burned this field this spring, and this management has really stimulated the milkweed (Asclepias incarnata and A. syriaca).

Some of the early bloomers are this shocking pink (above). Others in bud look like they might be dusty rose when they open.

There are a lot of them, so it's going to be quite a show.

And the butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) will also bloom shortly in this field. Don't miss it!

Gypsy Moths return

Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) populations rise and fall in cycles. I remember the distress over them from my childhood, and recent news reports suggesting that the numbers this year rival those of 25 years ago correspond to my memories.

Gypsy moths were introduced to the U.S. in 1868 or 1869 after they escaped from a failed attempt to rear them for silk production (U.S.D.A. Forest Service web page).

Until this year I had never seen gypsy moth caterpillars at the preserve (I've been here ten years). Last year, inchworms (fall and spring cankerworms) temporarily defoliated our woods, as they had the year before in 2004. But there weren't many of these pests this year.

Right now, many tree trunks in the woods have gypsy moth caterpillars on them, but the trees haven't (yet?) been defoliated. When the outbreaks are severe, they can weaken trees and make them susceptible to secondary pathogens. There were massive tree die-offs in years when the gypsy moth populations had irrupted. (By the way, only the caterpillars feed, not the adult moths.)

Controversial region-wide spraying programs over the years have had mixed results and unintended consequences. What eventually brought the problem under control was a naturally-occurring fungal pathogen, Entomophaga maimaiga, that caused the population to cycle to small numbers.

Now the pendulum swings upward. Eventually the population will crash again. Experts recommend locating and removing egg masses in the winter, and I remember from my youth that people used sticky tape to keep the caterpillars from climbing individual trees, though I don't recall how effective this was. Also important: planting a diversity of species of trees, since they're variably delectable, and make sure they trees planted in conditions under which they will not be stressed.

Chainsaws in the Night

Last night around 11:30 I heard the sound of chainsaws in the distance. When you're a manager of a nature preserve, that's not a sound you want to hear in the middle of the night. I dragged myself out of bed—I hadn't been there long, since updating this blog is usually the last bleary-eyed thing I do before sleep—and I drove around to the far side of the preserve in the general direction of the sound.

To my relief, I found emergency utility crews blocking the road and working on a utility pole. Earlier in the evening, the power had also apparently been out. When I investigated more today I found two things: the pole they had been working on appeared to have been hit by farm equipment making a tight turn leaving a neighboring property. But perhaps this hadn't caused the outage. Further down the road, the same neigboring property had lost a tree that fell across the road, took down the wires, and caused some damage to trees on our preserve. I have been on vacation this week; Monday morning is looking like it will be even more busy than I expected.

Natural Lands Trust has an aggressive hazard tree management program. Each of our preserve managers has received training in evaluating trees for defects, and two preserve managers are arborists who travel to any of the preserves when needed. Where there is a substantial defect and a target such as utility wires or a road, we proactively prune or remove the tree to reduce or eliminate the hazard. It is true that every tree will someday fall, and it is far safer to choose when and where the tree will fall than to clean it up on a dark or rainy night.

More plants we love...

The lovely elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is blooming now at the preserve. It is a multi-stemmed large shrub of wet, sunny areas.

The umbels of flowers are stunning, it is a good wildlife plant for its fruit, and it has good fall color. We have it growing on the creek trail along French Creek and in several hedgerows and near roadside ditches.

Flowers and Foliage

The rattlesnake weed (Hieracium venosum) is blooming prolifically along Piersol Road right now. It is the only member of the genus of hawkweeds that has prominent purple-veined leaves.

You can see more of the basal rosette of rattlesnake weed leaves on the left side of this next photo. I noticed this tiny speedwell growing alongside; like most of the speedwells it is not native but this one is not common either in our area. I like all of the various names used for this plant: bird's eye, germander speedwell, and the scientific name Veronica chamaedrys.