Field Notes Nov29

November 29, 2008 at 5:09 pm11 (Uncategorized)

Witches Butter (Tremella lutescens) is a gelatinous fingus with convoluted lobes and folds. It can be translucent yellow to yellow-orange, 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches wide and up to 1 inch high. This fungus grows on deciduous wood and can be found year round.

Witches Butter (Tremella lutescens) is a gelatinous fingus with convoluted lobes and folds. It can be translucent yellow to yellow-orange, 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches wide and up to 1 inch high. This fungus grows on deciduous wood and can be found year round.

Field Notes for the Week Ending November 29, 2008

* Chilly wet weather with fluctuating temperatures this week has kept lawns green, may allow one more mowing.
* Rains have caused lichens on rocks and tree bark to stand out against an otherwise sere background.
* Flocks of geese can still be heard and seen on their journey south.
* Green frogs were active in the water of our garden pool, but none were basking on the rocks this week.
* No chipmunks were sighted this week.
* The “usual customers” were again seen at the bird feeders this week: Black-capped Chickadees, White Throated Sparrows, Juncos, House Finches, Goldfinches, Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, White Breasted Nuthatches, Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, and Downy Woodpeckers.
* Deer were spotted crossing the meadow during the daylight hours at three different times this week.  Each time, it was a solitary female.
* Two rectangular “fox digs” were found near the bases of blueberry bushes this week.

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Evergreen Ferns

November 28, 2008 at 2:25 pm11 (Uncategorized)

The words “evergreen” and “ferns” may seem  to be a contradiction in terms because ferns are fairly primitive plants with weak water transportation systems and relatively soft tissues. Most fern species die back each year, regenerating the following spring from fiberous underground rootstocks.
 
There are, however, some fern species that are persistent and maintain their green color over winter.  These include the Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides),  the Intermediate Woodfern (Dryopteris intermedia), the Appalachian Polypody (Polypodium appalachianum),the Marginal Woodfern (Dryopteris marginalis), the Cut-Leaved Grape Fern (Botrychium dissectum), and  the Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes).
 
Of these species of evergreen ferrns, only two are commonly found in the woods surrounding the meadows edge.  These are the Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) which grows in rich loamy woods and open forested areas, and the Intermediate Woodfern (Dryopteris intermedia), which also inhabits moist rich woods.  I have always found the Christmas Fern to be growing further downslope and in wetter soils than the Intermediate Woodfern, which tends to be in upslope, slightly drier locations.  The Christmas Fern grows in asymmetric clumps, but the Intermediate Woodfern has a consistent and orderly growth pattern.
 
On chilly, late-November days, the discovery of an evergreen clump of ferns is a reassuring signal that winter is not officially here yet.
The Intermediate Woodfern (Dryopteris spinulosa var. intermedia) grows in symmetrical clumps.

The Intermediate Woodfern (Dryopteris spinulosa var. intermedia) grows in symmetrical clumps.

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Shagbark Hickory

November 26, 2008 at 8:58 am11 (Uncategorized)

The distinctive split bark of the Shagbark Hickory is easy to recognize.

The distinctive split bark of the Shagbark Hickory is easy to recognize.

A tree that is easy to identify at any time of year is the Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata).  Mature specimens have a scraggly bark with strips that curve outward from the trunk as shown in the photo.  Younger specimens may have smoother gray bark.  The buds at the tip ends of branches are large and cream colored, with brown scales.
 
The wood of the Hickory tree is noted for its flexibility and strength.  It was selected for the beds of wagons and for spokes of wagon wheels.  Today, it is found in ax and tool handles, or in sports equipment.  Hickory wood chips are used to smoke meats. Hickory is an excellent firewood.

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What Deer Eat

November 25, 2008 at 2:26 pm11 (Uncategorized)

We are entering that time of year when deer become more frequent visitors to the open fields of the meadow’s edge.  Deer are beginning to feed on the needles, buds, and twig ends of trees and shrubs.  Their complex digestive systems are shifting from a summer diet of softer herbaceous plants to denser, woody nuts and “browse.”  Plentiful food sources are critical to deer in the late fall, winter months, and early spring.  An adequate food supply affects their body condition, survival rate, and reproductive capactity.
 
When most of the soft plants that deer normally eat have died back, deer have little choice.  Still, deer have a preference for some plants and dislike others.  When you are walking in the woods or brushy areas, look at the tips of branches of plants from the ground level to about five feet.  Can you see stems that are jagged, broken, or torn?
 
Preferred Deer Browse (High Nutritional Value)
 
White Cedar…………… Basswood     
White Pine ……………. Sassafras
Sugar Maple ………….. Dogwoods
Red Maple …………….. Apple
Yellow Birch …………… Viburnums
Black Cherry …………..  Sumac
Apple …………………..  Yew
 
Less Sought After (Medium Nutritional Value)
 
Poplar …………………. Red Oak
Ash ……………………. White Birch
Witch Hazel ………….. High Bush Cranberry
Hemlock ………………. Honeysuckle
High Bush Blueberry
 
Desperation Browse (Low Nutritional Value)
 
Rhododendron ……….. Mountain Laurel
Spruce ……………….. Balsam Fir
Beech ………………… Red Pine
Scotch Pine …………. Alder
Blackberry …………… Gray Birch
Red Cedar …………… Sweet Fern
Tamarack ……………. Leatherleaf (bog plant)
 
Did you know?  To keep its body temperature regulated, a deer must eat between 7-14 pounds of green forage per day.
 

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Multiflora Rose

November 24, 2008 at 4:19 pm11 (Uncategorized)

multiflora

The bright red fruit of the Multiflora Rose is eaten by birds.  As part of the upcoming holiday season, many people are using plant material like this to decorate their houses or businesses. MassWildlife highly recommends that people avoid using certain invasive exotic plants such as Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) and Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) in holiday decorations. Though these plants are attractive, it is best to refrain from using them. Birds eat and carry away the fruits from wreaths and garlands and the digested but still-viable seeds sprout where deposited. These exotic, invasive plants create severe environmental damage invading open fields, forests, wetlands, meadows, and backyards, crowding out native plants. Bittersweet can even kill mature trees through strangling. Both plants are extremely difficult to control — when cut off, the remaining plant segment in the ground will resprout. It is illegal to import or sell bittersweet and multiflora rose in any form (plants or prunings) in the state of Massachusetts.

Source: Massachusetts Wildlife News, November Issue

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Gray Birch

November 23, 2008 at 3:10 pm11 (Uncategorized)

Look for the black, upside down V-shaped marks on the trunks of a gray birch.

Look for the black, upside down V-shaped marks on the trunks of a gray birch.

The Gray Birch (Betula populifolia) is a very common tree, easily recognized by its light-colored bark, tendency to grow in clusters, and habit of leaning away from the center of the clump to which it belongs.  It is worth taking a closer look at the Gray Birch in order to distinguish it from the Paper Birch (also known as Canoe Birch),  the Black Birch, or the the Yellow Birch.
 
* A Gray Birch has distinctive black marks – each one shaped like an inverted V, on its trunk.  These marks show where there were once lateral branches.
* The whitish bark of the Gray Birch does not extend all the way to the ground.  The base is actually a dark gray or even black, with furrows in it.
* The leaves of the Gray Birch are shiny green, triangular in shape, with double-toothed margins.
* The leaves of the Gray Birch have flattened petioles or leaf stems, which can cause the leaves to twist in the breeze.

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Field Notes November22

November 22, 2008 at 4:15 pm11 (Uncategorized)

“There is a wind where the rose was,
Cold rain where sweet grass was,
And stars like sheep
Stream o’er the steep
Grey sky where the Lark was.”
 
Walter De la Mare (1873-1956)
“Autumn,” from Poems, published 1906
 
Field Notes for the Week Ending November 22, 2008
 
* Chipmunks were still active near bird feeders earlier this week, but none were sighted on Nov 21
* Stands of the shrub Winterberry show their bare branches adorned with bright red berries in low, moist thickets.
* Increasingly heavy morning frosts and plunging night-time temperatures are giving us a preview of winter.
* There is a visible layer of clear, thin ice on woodland pools and small ponds in our neighborhood.
* The frozen water on the surface of the moist woodland floor has formed ice crystals that crunch beneath your boots. 
* Both the Downy Woodpecker and the Hairy Woodpecker have visited our suet feeder this week.  No sighting of the Red-Bellied Woodpecker has been made at our feeder, but we hear their calls in the woods.
* Other visitors to our bird feeders this week have included Cardinals, House Finches, Juncos, Mourning Doves, Chicadees, White Breasted Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, White Throated Sparrows, and one Mockingbird.

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Scarlet Hawthorn

November 21, 2008 at 6:55 am11 (Uncategorized)

There are many species of Hawthorns, sometimes called Haws, in New England.  Most are in the form of thorny shrubs and crooked trees with twisting, interwoven branches.  The early spring blossoms are apple-like with pink and white flowers.  Tiny fruits ripen on Hawthorns each fall, usually red, orange, or yellow in color, depending on the species.
 
Hawthorns are a difficult plant to identify by species.  Very technical characteristics separate one species from another.  One species that grows at the meadow’s edge is the Scarlet Hawthorn (Crataegus pedicillata).  It is common in Southern New England but less so in Vermont or New Hampshire.  The Scarlet Hawthorn grows in thickets or along banks of streams and areas that are seasonally moist.  The one shown in the photo is competing with a high-bush blueberry shrub for sunlight and water.
 
The key characteristics of this particular species of Hawhorn are:
 
* Many flowers in each cluster
* Leaves with a broad base and just a little bit longer than they are wide
* Sharply toothed leaf margins, nearly all the way to the base of the leaf
* Four to five pointed, toothed lobes on each side of the leaf
* Fruit with five sepals at the tip
* Oval bright red fruit wth dark dots on the surface (I needed a hand lens to see them)
* Spines 1-2 inches long, slightly down-curved at the tip
 
Some peope like to plant Hawthorns as a “living fence.”  Those sharp stiff spines will definitely discourage passing through.  Others value the Hawthorn because the fruit is favored by birds.
 
Here is another interesting Hawthorn fact:
 
The Northern Shrike is a small, robin-sized bird that preys on insects and small animals.  The Shrike impales its kill – a small bird, a mouse or la grasshopper – on the thorns of the Haw, while it continues to hunt for other food.  If you are hiking and find some creature stuck on a Haw thorn like a trophy on display, you’ll know how it happened. The Northern Shrike inhabits open woodlands and brushy swamps in summer, then moves to open grasslands with scattered trees in winter.
 
This post was fact-checked using the books Trees and Shrubs of New England by Marilyn J. Dwelley (1980). Camden, ME: Down East Books, pp. 128-134 and Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds (1977). New York: Alfred Knopf, p. 514.
The thorns of the Scarlet Hawthorn arevery sharp.

The thorns of the Scarlet Hawthorn are very sharp.

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Black Birch

November 20, 2008 at 6:45 am11 (Uncategorized)

The Black Birch makes excellent firewood

The Black Birch makes excellent firewood

Most people are familiar with the White Birch (“Paper Birch” or “Canoe Birch”) with the bark that peels and curls in papery layers.  Some also recognize the Gray Birch, a  smaller tree that tends to grow in clumps and lean over, bending towards the ground.  But few people have ever noticed the Black Birch, which grows at the edges of forests.
 
Black Birch, (Betula lenta) is also called Sweet Birch, and grows to 50 or 60 feet tall, and sometimes higher, in rich soil on dry slopes.  The wood is heavy, strong and dark brown.  It has been a substitute for mahogany, cherry, or hickory.  The wood takes on a high polish.  Because the wood of the Black Birch is denser than that of the other Birches, it makes a high quality firewood.
 
The bark of this species of birch does not peel off in layers.  The twigs have a strong wintergreen flavor.  Chewing the young twigs can assist you in correctly identifying the tree in the field, especially when the leaves are off the tree.  The winter buds are long and sharp-pointed.  The leaves are simple, grow alternately on a branch, have toothed margins, and heart-shaped bases.  They may grow singly or in pairs from a branch.
 
If you are on a woodlands walk and find a Black Birch, you have made a special discovery.

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Deer Scrapes

November 19, 2008 at 7:07 am11 (Uncategorized)

A scraping of the ground left by a buck in rutting season

A scraping of the ground left by a buck in rutting season

The rutting (mating) season for White Tail Deer generally contunues for more than one month.  In the Northeast, this may begin in mid October, peak in November, and continue into December.  During this time, bucks make scapes on the ground to mark their presence.  They paw at the leaves, making bare patches or shallow depressions near feeding areas (like old Apple orchards), deer trail intersections, the edges of fields, or forest clearings.  The buck marks the scrape with his own urine and scent glands (tarsal glands).  The odor lasts for several days and the buck returns regularly to refreshen the scent.  When a doe is ready to breed, she urinates in the scrape to signal the buck.
 

If you go for a woodland walk in November, it would be a good idea to wear hunter orange to identify yourself as not being a deer.  If you go looking for deer scrapes, it would be wise to be wary, for the male deer in rutting season is testosterone-driven and aggressive. That’s how many hunters bag their trophy deer – by scouting out the scrape locations, and waiting for the bucks to return. 

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