Natural Lands Trust Preserve Blog

Crow's Nest: Dutchman's pipe

Last year I wrote that I was enjoying the rich foliage of the Dutchman's pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla) I had planted to grow up the post of the porch, but that it hadn't flowered yet.

Now in its fourth year planted here it is blooming. The flowers do look like an old-fashioned meerschaum pipe, and though they are interesting they grow under the leaves and are not showy.

It's in the birthwort family, like wild ginger, and is native to parts of Pennsylvania and the eastern North America. It also goes by the name pipevine; we hope to see some pipevine swallowtail caterpillars on it. The flowers are supposed to smell faintly of carrion and attract flies as pollinators. For at least some members of this genus the flies are trapped by hairs inside the flowers; as the hairs decay the flies are released, having been covered in pollen.

And back at Crow's Nest...

We caught up with the trail mowing just before it rained again; things are really lush at the preserve now.

The pink ladies' slipper is still blooming. This thumbnail is from an image taken last year at Crow's Nest by photographer Denis Manchon.

Sean Quinn has been monitoring our bluebird boxes, and reports bluebird eggs in five boxes.

The Wilmington Trail Club will be hiking here tomorrow. The hike will range widely over Crow's Nest Preserve, French Creek State Park, and State Gamelands.

Also tomorrow is our Saunders Woods Preserve 20th Anniversary Celebration. I know that staff has been working hard to get ready for it, so the preserve will look its best.

The old farm

Here's another pair of photos, this time of my (Dan's) great aunt's and uncle's former farm in Chester County.

My great aunt and uncle (sister and brother) lived at their childhood farm into the 1980's, until Uncle Bob got married at age 80. I have great memories of visiting them as a kid: climbing up the twisty back farmhouse stairs; seeing the beehives, heifers, and 4-H sheep; drinking Aunt Dorothy's lemonade on rocking chairs on the porch, and jumping around on the hay in the barn. When I last posted about influences that led me to a career in nature I didn't mention visiting the farm—but it undoubtedly made its mark.

I loved the overgrown lilacs that made a bower of the front of the house, the farm cats, and the old tractors in the yard. Located off the wonderfully-named Thunder Hill Road, the farm lane became so rough beyond house that we wouldn't think of taking a car down it. For a kid from a split-level house in what is now the inner suburbs, the old farm was really cool. I would have moved in and not changed a thing, not even the gap-toothed piano in the parlor with the coal stove.

The farm was sold, and the house stood vacant for many years, but now not only is it gone but so is every obvious trace that there was a farm, a life's work, or such rustic beauty there. The land was re-graded so much that it is difficult to pick out where things were located. Today it is a nice suburban neighborhood with no particular relation to what was there before. Creek Road is smooth paved all the way, and the subdivision has roads named after the family, Dorothy's Lane, Sherer Drive, etc. I wonder if the people who live there wonder what was there before? And I'm surprised that there was nothing worth keeping of what was there before.

Believe it or not, the photo on the right (below) was taken from the road that passes in front of the farmhouse on the left, about where the spruce trees are growing in that photo. The photo on the left is from the 1960's or '70's, the photo on the right was from a visit this week.

Crow's Nest: nighttime critters

We have set up at Crow's Nest a motion-sensing camera of the type used by researchers and hunters, just to see what ventures past it. So far we have lots of pictures of deer hindquarters (due to the slight delay before the camera takes the photo), a squirrel, and a blurry nuthatch. But here's an interesting pair of photos, the first of a deer walking by a bank of the creek, the second from the exact same place when the creek was in flood.

This one's for the Birds at Hildacy Farm - Part II

  Remember that weblog I posted back in March, my run in with the two screech owls sleeping the day away in a wood duck box? Well, the highly anticipated sequel has just come out today; a mother wood duck with her 10 newly born ducklings.

  Back in March, I installed a wood duck box along Crum Creek at Hildacy Farm. A site that was secluded enough for wood ducks to nest and a site that I had easy access to monitor (As seen above - view from the wood duck box). By April 18, I had my first record of a wood duck using the nest box, but no eggs. Not wanting to scare the pair away, I waited two weeks to check the nest again. Here is a picture of the nest taken on April 29.

  I monitored the woodie's nest again on May 6. As I opened the clean out hatch, out flew the mother woodie squealing at me as she traveled down stream. Again, the nest had 10 eggs getting warmed up to be hatched. All the eggs hatch in the same day and the hen will keep her brood in the nest over night. By the time morning comes, the hen will fly out of the nest to the water below where she will call out softly. One by one, the day old ducklings will take the leap of faith (about 14 ft. in this case) from the nesting box. The hen will then lead them along the creek to safety.

   I was really hoping to see this all happen, but I was a day late. I did however get a pictures of the ducklings just starting to crack out of their eggs. This picture was taken on May 13. I wanted to stick around to watch them hatch, but I knew this was not the time nor place for me to be. Here is a picture of the nest taken on May 15. All that remains are some downy feathers and a few egg shells.... for now. If you would like to learn more about these beautiful ducks, click here. 

Mariton - Win Some, Lose Some

This week I found 3 Bluebird young in #15 and five bluebird eggs in #20.  Plus I found seven Chickadee eggs in #16. 

Unfortunately, the baby bluebirds in the box in the yard are all dead.  Maureen and I watched a House Wren go into that box a few times during the weekend while working in the yard.  Almost certainly, the wren killed the Bluebirds and will try to build a nest in that box.  Wrens also evicted Chickadees from boxes in the meadows.  House Wrens are cheery birds, but I am always leery of them.  Over the years, I have seen enough bluebird nests destroyed by their aggressiveness.  What bugs me is that a wren will build a nest in a soup can on its side, but bluebirds are a little more picky about where they lay their eggs.  My own advice would be:  "That's nature." 

Currently we have several different flowers in bloom at Mariton.  The Showy Orchis is still beautiful.  A walk along the River Lookout is the best place to see them (and you don't even have to go down the hill).  There are places where they are almost in the trail.  Farther down the trail, one can find the One-Flowered Cancerroot.  Cancerroot is a parasitic plant without chlorophyll, so it taps into plants that photosynthesize.  Sweet Cicely is in bloom along the trails.  Robin's Plantain is in bloom in the meadows.  Wild Geranium is blooming everywhere.  In fact, one of the meadows is very pretty right now with a hill side of Wild Geranium, Perfoliated Bellwort and Mayapple blossoms.

Mariton - Tuesday Bird Walk

Our Bird Walk on Tuesday was near the peak of warbler migration.  But it followed the heels of the spring Nor'easter that blew all day Monday.  The birds were very quiet, and we surmised that they were busy eating and not singing.

We did get a very good look at a Common Yellowthroat (not to be confused with a Yellow-throated Warbler).  Yellowthroats are a group of warblers, however, only the Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) is found in our area.  The male has a black mask across its face, so I call it the "Lone Ranger".  It sings loudly witchity-witchity-witchity.  They like edge habitats, and are often hard to find, even when they are singing nearby in the brush.

While we did hear and see several birds (about 2 dozen species), it was easy to be distracted by wildflowers, butterflies and the sheer beauty of Fulshaw Craeg.  We saw Showy Orchis, Squawroot, Pinkster, Miterwort, and Lyre-leaved Sage. 

Among the butterflies we spotted was this somewhat uncommon Sleepy Duskywing.  I admit that I wouldn't be able to ID it, but the photo and Virginia's keen eye did.  A very nice find.  (Photos by Carole Mebus.)

Mariton - Bird Census Report

This morning was the 15th Annual Migratory Bird Census.  This is timed to be on the Saturday closest to May 12th.  May 12th seems to be about the peak of warbler migration for most years in our area.  (Our hike at Fulshaw Craeg on Tuesday should be great!)  Many organizations have their Big Day Counts the same time.  We walk a course that is just under two miles, so we don't see everything in the four hours of the census.  At the end, we can usually name about a dozen bird species that we commonly find, but for some reason didn't find on the morning of the census. 

This morning we counted 52 species and 361 individual birds.  The two most abundant bird species were Blue Jays and Wood Thrush (both at 30 individuals).  Next came Tufted Titmouses and Ovenbirds (tied at 22 individuals). 

In all, we counted 10 warbler species, plus there were 3 warbler songs that we all drew a blank on. We saw a few flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers and we got great views of their prominent yellow rump patch.  At the River Lookout we had a great view of a Worm-eating Warbler as it threw its head back to sing its song.  There were several Black-throated Green Warblers in the woods, as well as a few Black-throated Blue Warblers. 

We had a pair of Great Blue Herons fly over us.  Several Scarlet Tanagers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks presented great views.  And this was the first year that we counted Barn Swallows on this count.  I think they usually arrive at Mariton in the week following the count. 

Crow's Nest and beyond

The pinxterbloom azaleas are blooming now, as are the paw paw trees. In the yard the fothergilla is blooming with the dogwoods and the Carolina allspice.

Look for us today at the West Vincent Township Community Day (10 - 3) and later in the day (4 - 7) stop by the annual Binky Lee Preserve Community Picnic.

For Mother's Day, consider the gift of a native plant that can be used to add wildlife habitat to the yard...

Mariton - Migratory Bird Census

Mariton's Migratory Census is scheduled for Saturday, May 10, starting at 7:30 a.m. (I will make coffee).  This is fun time with a serious purpose:  to count the bird species at Mariton near the peak of warbler migration.  Last year we counted 52 species and 325 individual birds in about four hours. Since several of the species will only visit our area for a few weeks this spring and next fall, this is a great time to view them.

Right now, the weather looks like it will cooperate, although there is the possibility that a shower could pass.  If the Census needs to be rescheduled due to the weather, I will leave a message on the answering machine (610-258-6574), and also here on the Blog.  (The most likely raindate would be Sunday morning at the same time, based on the present weather forecast.)

If you are new to warbler watching, don't be afraid to join us.  We are pretty laid-back.  Yes, it is occasionally a little intense and perhaps frustrating, but it is still a great opportunity to see a lot of different warbler species.  I admit that I suffer a little sensory over load after about two hours of trying to filter out the titmouses and ovenbirds to hear the high sneezy call of a wood warbler.  When we hit that wall, we usually take a short break, plug our ears for a moment, chat, and then go on.  Again, there is a narrow window of opportunity and this is it.