Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

Welcome to our new website! We hope you like it. Please let us know if you notice something missing or that needs a correction. ~Mike & Melissa

It’s Nasty Out There

January 15, 2018
The simplicity of winter has a deep moral. The return of nature, after such a career of splendor and prodigality, to habits so simple and austere, is not lost either upon the head or the heart. It is the philosopher coming back from the banquet and the wine to a cup of water and a crust of bread.

~John Burroughs, 1866

After a strange couple of days of unseasonably warm temperatures, winter has returned. A reminder that I am one of those odd folk that enjoys cold weather. In fact, the colder the temperatures, the better. I remember fondly the coldest day I ever experienced – a frigid -33 degrees Fahrenheit morning in my favorite place, Yellowstone. But it was spectacular! The air was clear and crisp, no wind, and the world was twinkling with tiny crystals of ice, called diamond dust, suspended in the air. Magical, indeed. Back here in the Piedmont of North Carolina, we have had some unusually cold temperatures this winter, dipping down to 9 degrees a week or so ago, and supposedly headed that way again this week. It makes for very active bird feeding stations, brisk walks under clear blue skies, and a better-than-usual seat bu a roaring fire as you read a good book. It has also has an interesting impact on one of my favorite plants – rhododendron.

Rhododendron leaves at 32 degrees (click photos to enlarge)

It turns out that rhododendron leaves can be used as a biological thermometer. This is a phenomenon that is well-known, though the cause is not so well understood. I have made a resolution to get outside at least once a day at work, an easy thing to convince myself to do since I work in such a beautiful setting. Our mountain habitat has several large rhododendron shrubs and I noticed the leaves had started to droop as the weather got colder. I remember seeing them tightly curled in the true mountains on a few freezing occasions, so, with the predicted cold spell last week, I decided to photograph the tip of a single rhododendron branch at different temperatures. The first photo shows the branch at 32 degrees, the temperature at which the leaves are known to start to droop.

Rhododendron leaves at 26 degrees

As it got colder, the leaves drooped even more, and began to curl.

Rhododendron leaves at 15 degrees

On the coldest morning we had recently, the leaves were tightly curled, resembling green cigars. This curling is called thermonasty. That’s right, thermonasty. This odd-sounding name comes from the two root words- thermo (temperature), and nastic, which are non-directional plant movements that occur in response to environmental stimuli, in this case, temperature. The nastic movements of rhododendron leaves follow a fairly predictable pattern – when temperatures fall below freezing, the leaves start to droop but remain flat. At 25 degrees F the leaves start to curl and by 20 degrees F they are as tightly curled as they can get. Many people believe the curling is to protect the leaves from desiccation by shielding the stomata (the openings in the bottom of the leaf which allow the leaf to “breathe” or transpire). But recent research shows that the stomata are already closed when it is cold, and one researcher suggests a different theory for the change in leaf position.

According to Dr. Erik Nilsen (Why Do Rhododendron Leaves Curl?), the stomata are always closed in cold weather — they have nothing to do with drooping or curling of the leaf. The drooping is more likely a way to protect from the thawing that can occur on a sunny winter day. When the leaf is held in its normal flat and horizontal position, it will absorb sunlight and heat up and thaw, then could refreeze at night. Experiments have shown that flat leaves thaw faster than curled leaves. This is because a curled leaf exposes far less surface area to the sun than does a flat one. By thawing more slowly, cured leaves are better able to avoid the damaging effects of daily freeze-thaw cycles which can rupture cell membranes and eventually kill the leaf. By drooping and curling the leaf may be protecting itself from too much sun — opposite of what you might think it would try to do.

Rhododendron leaves at 58 degrees following the cold spell

My observations last week agree with the overall temperature response of these evergreen leaves. The thing I don’t yet have a good feel for is how quickly these changes occur. I need to watch the leaves this coming week to see how rapidly the rhodo-thermometer can track temperature changes. Always something to ponder and discover at the Garden.
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Mike Dunn
Haw-inspiring Hike

January 11, 2018
One of the reasons there are so many terms for conditions of ice is that the mariners observing it were often trapped in it, and had nothing to do except look at it.

― Alec Wilkinson

I must give credit to our friend, Bill, for the title of this post (hope he doesn’t mind). He is a poet and a wordsmith and used this phrase in an email about a hike along the Haw River we took this past Sunday with his godsons, Turner and Charlie. We hiked along the Lower Haw State Natural Area from the Hwy 64 bridge over the Haw up to our neighborhood, a distance of a little over 2 miles. Temperatures were in the 20’s when we started, but mostly sunny, and the air was still. The river, always special, was especially beautiful, with a fringe of ice along her shores that often extended far across her rocky breadth. From the outset, the river provided visual delights and mysteries.

Unusual “trail” on the river ice (click photos to enlarge)

Just a short way upriver from the bridge, we started seeing some winding “trails” on the ice, looking as if someone had pulled a tiny sled in an erratic route across semi-frozen ice.

An open channel helped solve the mystery

Just beyond those first mysterious ice trails, we saw a partially open channel that had a similar irregular path. This one led over to an island in the river where we could see evidence of beaver chewed sticks piled along the bank. Mystery solved! The initial trails were frozen over beaver channels.

Beaver teeth marks on a sycamore log

There is abundant beaver sign all along the trail

From that point on, we encountered many active beaver chewed trees, some quite large. Years ago, when I was doing programs for state parks, I remember reading some facts about beavers – the largest one ever trapped weighed about 105 pounds (although my current reference on mammals says the largest on record was 86 pounds – still a huge rodent). Average weight for an adult beaver is around 50-60 pounds. I once saw a photo of the purported record tree felled by a beaver – a tulip polar a little over 5 feet in diameter! None of the trees along the trail approached that, although the busy beavers have been gnawing on some pretty large specimens. Beavers are somewhat generalist vegetative feeders in warm months, but this time of year they feed almost exclusively on the inner bark of tree trunks and branches. Other wildlife we saw included a variety of birds – great blue herons looking for open water along the river, and a variety of songbirds trying to find something to eat along the trail. American holly berries seemed a favorite and we saw several hermit thrushes and American robins feeding in some of the large trees. Mixed feeding flocks of other species including Carolina chickadees, tufted titmice, woodpeckers (red-bellied, downy, and pileated and a yellow-bellied sapsucker), some feisty yellow-rumped warblers, and a few ruby-crowned kinglets. A beautiful red-shouldered hawk, a blue jay, and some of its cousin American crows, rounded out our bird sightings.

An exposed rock in a sea of ice

As I have said before, ice fascinates me. Life as we know it depends on the unusual characteristics of water and one of these is that, unlike most other chemical compounds, when it gets cold enough to turn into a solid, the solid floats (the solids sink in most cases).

Needles of ice in a patch along the shoreline

I remember a discussion I had about ice with a museum co-worker back in 2006. I was lucky enough to get chosen as part of an international science and education team to spend a month in the Arctic aboard a Russian ice-breaker (no collusion, I swear). She asked me if I thought I would get bored spending a whole month out on the ice, with nothing but an expanse of white to view. I had said no, and was justified when I realized the incredible variety of forms that ice can take – all beautiful. The ice along the Haw was no different, and showed us its many faces as we gazed upon it from the bank – all magical.

Beech leaf frozen in the surface of thick ice

A small ice shelf next to a riffle area

Ice lace edging along the rocky shore next to flowing water

Intricate patterns of ice on the surface of an eddy in the river

The mix of ice and open water along the river

The weather is warming, and ice is melting, but memories of a cold hike along the Haw, with good companions, will stay with us for quite some time. I spoke to our group of my appreciation for those that fought to set this corridor aside, and to the dedicated folks, like those of the Haw River Assembly, that continue to work toward its preservation. Haw-inspiring indeed.
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Cold Snap

January 7, 2018
Winter’s barren landscapes chide us to give our attention to the splendor of things nearby. When the air is thick and the sky overcast, we need not travel so far to have high expectations, for in her nakedness she teaches us to be less distracted but instead to be more connected, more aware.

~Henry David Thoreau

Here in the Piedmont, we are accustomed to having our hopes for snow dashed at the last minute. Places an hour away usually get the white stuff and we get nothing, or just a couple of flakes. Last week was different. They had predicted a trace for our area, but we managed a full 2.5 inches! Not huge by any stretch, but this snow is “real snow” – dry powdery snow that you can sweep off the walkway instead of shovel. And it has been so cold (temperatures at night in the lower teens) that it is still white, a full four days after the snowfall. Unlike most of the people I know, I like cold weather. It is physically invigorating, gives more reason to chop wood for the fireplace, and, on a sunny day, brings a crispness to your surroundings that help you see and appreciate details in the landscape. I notice this about winter skies, and a winter walk in the woods is no different. Here are a few of those details from a hike in the neighborhood this week.

Leaves frozen in creek water (click photos to enlarge)

I am fascinated by ice. We walked down to the neighborhood pond to check for ice, following the path of an intermittent stream that runs behind our house. Close to the pond, the creek has permanent water, and we had to look closely to see these leaves were actually suspended in extremely clear ice.

Needle ice along the muddy shore of the neighborhood pond

Walking along the creek bank at the pond was a noisy stroll, the soil crunching with every step.

Holding a chunk of needle ice in my gloved hand

I turned to look at a duck out on the pond (which was still mostly ice-free that day) and saw my path littered with chunks of ice crystals. This distinctive columnar shape is called needle ice (also known as frost pillars or frost columns). This occurs in porous soils where the ground temperature is above freezing and the air temperature is below. Water from the soil is pulled upward by capillary action. The ice columns tend to push away the soil at the surface and can make for a very noisy walk, with each step throwing chunks of connected ice columns, some a few inches in length.

The many faces of young American sycamore trees near the pond

Along the back edge of the pond you walk through a grove of young American sycamores. The variety of bark textures and colors is amazing. Another advantage to the winter woods, a new appreciation for bark.

The large tulip poplar in the front yard

Back on our property (about a mile from the community pond), I pause to admire the unusual bark of a huge tulip poplar tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in the front yard. This, and a couple of other smaller tulip poplars nearby, have strange bumps and twists in the bark that are particularly noticeable in the golden glow of late afternoon light in winter. I have asked several people, but no one seems to know for sure what causes this.

The unusual bark of our tulip poplar

Mouse tracks in the snow…

…disappear into a hole

Of course, tracks in the snow are one of the perks of a winter walk and the property is covered with distinctive shapes and patterns of hopping songbirds, bounding squirrels, a lone coyote trail, small groups of deer, and, surprisingly, only one white-footed mouse. Maybe they are laying low in these cold temperatures. This one trail led across a path and disappeared into a tiny hole under the snow next to a tree trunk.

Our far ridge glowing in the setting sun

With sunset approaching, we decided to walk the path we have through our 14+ acres. It was so quiet in the woods with the sun glowing on the far ridge line of our property.

The largest tree on our property, a huge white oak, lost a large limb this winter

The far property boundary is marked by a nearby giant – a huge white oak that is the largest tree on our land. I like to think it is 250+ years old based on its huge size compared to other trees I had to cut after storm damage. One of those had 126 growth rings, and it was nowhere near the diameter of this behemoth. A huge limb broke out this winter, providing a sheltered hollow that I hope one day will be taken up by one of the resident owls. I can’t help but think that I am not the only creature in these woods fascinated by this giant.

One more night of frigid temperatures

While many of my friends look like this old tree hollow when temperatures drop, I find it exhilarating and definitely worth the chill to explore the nearby woods. I encourage you to bundle up, and do the same.
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Puffed Up

January 4, 2018
Nature now, like an athlete, begins to strip herself in earnest for her contest with her great antagonist Winter. In the bare trees and twigs what a display of muscle.

~Henry David Thoreau, 1858

It is not so much muscle I saw the other day on a walk in the Garden, but rather puffiness. I took the camera with me when I went out to feed the birds at our bird blind, then sat for a few minutes to see who was hungry. Turns out, they all were, and soon I was surrounded by a mixed flock, many that looked a bit rounder and more puffed up than usual.

A tufted titmouse seems to be wondering when this cold spell will end (click photos to enlarge)

The tufted titmouse above is a prime example. That bird even threw in a somewhat stern countenance as if totally unhappy about the current situation of very cold temperatures. The puffed up appearance is actually one of the more efficient ways that our winter birds manage to survive the bitter cold. Air trapped between its feathers is heated up by a bird’s body. Puffing up (raising their feathers) traps as much air as possible in their feathers. More trapped air means more warmth, with some sources stating the heat retention can increase by as much as 30% when all puffed up.

Northern cardinal moving in to feed

And, as any backyard bird watcher knows, bird activity at feeders greatly increases in cold or stormy weather. This week is no exception with many species (including a few, like Eastern bluebirds, that aren’t usually present at our feeders) spending more time at the feeding stations at work. Frequent feeding helps birds maintain their fat reserves which provide insulation and store extra energy used to increase body heat when necessary.

Northern mockingbird surrounded by its winter food supply

On my way out, to the blind, I saw the resident northern mockingbird in the usual spot – a large deciduous holly in the display garden of our courtyard. That bird has stationed itself in one of the two berry-covered hollies most days for the past few months. This is a common strategy for this species – guard your winter food supply from all those upstart berry thieves like bluebirds, robins, and cedar waxwings. As you can see, the strategy seems to be working. Other hollies in the garden are mostly stripped of the berries now.

Juvenile red-shouldered hawk wondering where all the frogs went

Back in the office, I glanced out to see an immature red-shouldered hawk looking intently in the grasses below for any sign of something edible. Since this species prefers a diet of reptiles and amphibians, these cold weeks must be stressful, especially for young and inexperienced birds. I am keeping an eye in hopes of seeing what they might add to their diet when times are tough.

Standing on one leg is another strategy for staying warm

A closer look at our hawk shows another strategy used by birds to stay warm in winter – standing one leg with the other one tucked up under a blanket of feathers. They will often then switch to give the other leg a turn. In this case, the placement of the foot looked a bit odd at first and resembled a knot coming out of its belly.

The only bird at the Garden that doesn’t seem to mind the cold

There are a couple of other ways birds strive to stay warm – they shiver, although they typically don’t shake like we do. These muscle contractions help maintain their body temperature around 105 degrees (average for most songbirds). If all these adaptations are pushed to the limit on days like we have had lately, then surviving the cold, dark, nights of winter must be extra tough. That’s why many songbirds flock together after dark. Some, like chickadees and kinglets, crowd together in tight groups in protected areas like brush piles, evergreens, or even nest boxes, which helps them to conserve and share body heat.

We can help our feathered friends that don’t migrate to warmer climes by doing a few things in our landscapes:
- Plant native plants that provide cover and food. North Carolina Audubon has some great suggestions here.
- Don’t tidy your wildflower beds until later in winter or early spring, leaving seed heads and structure for food and cover.
- Provide winter water in the form of moving water, a bird bath heater, or regular re-filling with warm water in freezing weather.
Next time you head outside with your puffed up winter jacket, think of how the birds are managing to survive, and how what we do in our yards and gardens can help.
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The Bats of Bracken

January 1, 2018
…one of the most spectacular wildlife events that you can see anywhere…It’s the largest congregation of bats in the world, and they come out of this cave by the millions.

~Mylea Bayless, a senior director at Bat Conservation International

Here is another long overdue post from a wonderful trip to Austin, Texas, a few months ago. Melissa had a presentation at a national conference, and I was lucky enough to tag along on the front end. Our gracious hosts are long-time friends of her family, so we had a great tour of this beautiful city, its food, and nearby natural wonders. I have been lucky to see some incredible wildlife spectacles in my wanderings – the overwintering reserves of monarch butterflies in Mexico; thousands of reef fishes in all colors of the rainbow in the Virgin Islands; bison herds in Yellowstone; huge flocks of sandhill cranes and snow geese at Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico; and fields full of black bears and tundra swans back home in North Carolina. On this trip, I added another, the bats of Bracken Cave.

The unassuming entrance to Bracken Cave (click photos to enlarge)

We had heard about the bats in Austin and at Bracken (closer to San Antonia) from our hosts’ son, Skip, a professional wildlife filmmaker, when he visited us last year. We joined Bat Conservation International (BCI) before our trip in order to qualify for an overnight camp-out near the cave. This allowed us to witness both the evening departure and early morning return of the millions of Mexican free-tailed bats that call the cave home for several months each year. I wasn’t that thrilled with the idea of camping in Texas in early September, but we decided it would be worth it for this. And it turned out just fine, with mild temperatures, a wayward wild turkey that hung out with us, and a great group of fellow nature nerds with which to share a campfire.

Shortly after arriving, we walked down to the seating area near the cave for an introduction by one of the volunteers that help manage the site. Here are just a few of the amazing facts he shared about this incredible place:
- There are an estimated 15-20+ million Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) using the cave. Most of these bats spend the winter in Mexico (~1000 miles from this cave), where they mate before returning to Texas. Pregnant females form huge maternity colonies at places like Bracken Cave that have the right temperatures and humidity for raising their young (male bats form smaller colonies elsewhere).
- Bracken Cave has one of the largest concentrations of mammals anywhere in the world.
- The cave is a birthing place for millions of bat babies (called pups) every year with concentrations of up to 500 pups per sq. ft. hanging on the cave ceiling. Somehow, using a combination of sight and sound, mothers returning from a night of foraging manage to find and nurse their own pup amid this chaos. Pups are about 1/3 the weight of the mother (the equivalent of a human mother giving birth to a 40 lb. baby).
- Each female bat gives birth to one pup per year with only about 50% of the pups surviving their first year. Once they reach adulthood, these bats may live up to 15+ years in the wild.
- Mother bats must leave the cave each night to feed on night-flying insects to sustain themselves and their growing young. They fly up to 60 miles away from the cave each night, consuming huge quantities of flying beetles, winged ants and moths. Scientists estimate the Bracken bats eat 140 tons of insects every night. The value of this to Central Texas is huge in that one study showed the bats save the just the region’s cotton growers an estimated $741,000 per year in pesticide costs and crop damage.
The viewing at Bracken is controlled by BCI and limited to small groups a few nights per week. They are doing a great job of ensuring the bats keep returning to Bracken Cave. The site and surrounding landscape has been threatened by developments but recent partnerships brokered by the Nature Conservancy between business, politicians, and conservationists, have set aside more land to provide a buffer for the bats.

As we sat and listened, we saw some of the many predators that stalk the bats as they exit – a skunk, two coachwhip snakes, a couple of hawks, all seeking an easy meal provided by a nightly cloud of bats, that now included the inexperienced young. The air was still and had a slight pungent aroma of bat guano, which was once harvested from this cave for fertilizer.

The show begins slowly, a few bats fluttering out of the dark hole. People start pointing and you can hear some excited chatter. In the clip above, the wind was blowing so there is a bit of sound distortion.

Bats emerging from the cave entrance

The sound of thousands of bat wings flapping is a bit like running water, and it fades and grows depending on where the swarm circles in relation to our viewing area.

A cloud of bats in the sky above Bracken Cave

After circling the cave for a few minutes, the swarm begins to form, circling around higher until it trails off like a stream of smoke on the horizon.

The exodus continued for a few hours

It became very quiet, except for the whir of wings, as we all sat there in awe at this spectacle, trying to comprehend the sheer numbers of animals emerging from the ground before us.

A bat storm

The beauty of bats in motion

The cacti surrounding the cave claimed a few bats

As so did a couple of snakes patrolling the entrance (one is in the lower right in photo above)

We began to look at other details in the scene as the seemingly endless stream of beating wings continued – a bat caught on a cactus spine; snakes grabbing bats that hit the ground near the entrance; a peregrine falcon and a Cooper’s hawk that each nabbed a bat mid-flight; missed attacks by a red-tailed hawk. It apparently isn’t easy being in such a dense crowd, especially if you are an inexperienced youngster.

People viewing the bats from above the cave entrance

Several people eventually walked the designated path to the other side of the cave entrance to experience that view, providing me with a unique perspective of two groups of mammals.

As darkness settled, the stream of winged creatures continued to emerge and fly off to hunt. I finally walked over to a point in the path where the exiting swarm was flying directly over my head.

Absolutely stunning! Be sure to turn your sound up for the roar of the wings and the clicking noises. And a reminder that this scene continued for a few hours! We finally retreated to our campsite and enjoyed some good conversation before retiring to our tent for the evening.

We were up early the next morning to witness a very different event – the return of the bats to the cave. By the time we arrived (at the first hint of light), the bats had already been returning for a couple of hours. There wasn’t a huge swarm like the mass departure of the night before, but rather a continuous stream of small groups of bats. They zigzagged down into the cave at rapid speed from high in the sky, perhaps to avoid predators. The sound of plummeting bats was like that when you rapidly swing a short section of rope above your head – whup, whup, whup. After a couple of hours, the numbers dwindled, and then finally stopped. We packed up and headed back to Austin to witness another bat spectacle.

Crowds gather each evening in Austin to watch the bats

It turns out that among the many cool things about Austin (breakfast tacos, live music, art) it also is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. About 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats call downtown’s Congress Avenue bridge home from mid-March to early November. It has become a nightly tourist attraction for hundreds of visitors.

Bats flying out from the Congress Ave. bridge with viewers lining the bridge and the surrounding shoreline

Bats have apparently lived in Austin for many years but did not start using the bridge in large numbers until some renovations in 1980 that created 16-inch deep crevices running the length of the underside of the bridge. Bats use the cracks that are 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches wide where temperature and humidity conditions are just right for raising their young.

A spectacle definitely worth experiencing

It was quite a contrast from the quiet and solemn feel of Bracken Cave (above), but it was very cool to see so many people congregate for a natural event. In fact, I can’t think of too many other places on the planet where this many people regularly gather to witness such a spectacle of wild creatures. Kudos to the people of Texas that have helped protect these amazing concentrations of mammals that allow us to experience such moments of awe in the natural world.
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Long Distance Traveler

December 29, 2017
I liked the name, snow goose, and I liked the sight of them.

~Mary Burns, In The Private Eye: Observing Snow Geese

Here is a brief update on my post about this year’s Christmas Bird Count on the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge…as I mentioned yesterday, we spent some time observing a large flock of snow geese when they landed in one of the fields near the refuge entrance. I finally got out of the car, went around back, and stood out of the rain under the open hatch to scope the flock. I was looking for Ross’s geese, and for collared birds. As I scanned the far edge of the flock, I finally spotted a yellow neck collar on one snow goose. As is often the case, the bird was partially obscured by a layer of bobbing necks and heads of other birds, making it difficult to read the collar code. I managed to get T as the first letter, and then 08 as the last two digits. I finally had Melissa get out and take a look and she nailed it…TJ08. We recorded that to report when we got home. Yesterday morning, I submitted our observation online at the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory site for so-called auxiliary markers.

A collared snow goose from a previous winter shows how difficult it can be to read (click photos to enlarge)

Many researchers use markers that allow observers to identify an individual bird at a distance. The most common one for large waterfowl, like geese and swans, is a plastic neck collar. I have helped put this type of marker on tundra swans on many earlier visits to the Pungo Unit when the refuge was participating in migration studies of this species. That study was concluded many years ago, so it is now rare to find a collared swan, but I have observed and reported collared snow geese on several occasions over the past few years. I was surprised to receive an email last night with the certificate for our bird…

Certificate from the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory

This bird was banded by the same researcher that banded some of my previous records. The location is above the Arctic Circle in Canada, a distance of about 2600 miles from where TJ08 is spending this winter.

The migration distance of TJ08

Seeing this record of one bird’s remarkable journey reminds me of how much I have missed the huge flocks of snow geese the past couple of years. Their behavior has been less predictable, their numbers lower, but there are signs that this year may be a good one for observing snow geese at Pungo. There really is something magical about the huge flocks of noisy birds. Mary Burns puts it well in her book about snow geese – I was surprised, then stopped breathless for a moment, by the sudden rising of tens of thousands of snow geese at once, the airy tumult of the madly beating black-tipped wings, the high soprano bark of their calls. I described them to someone as poetic, the way they stretch out across the sky like the broken lines of verse. I thank TJ08 for helping make the winter wonderland of Pungo another memorable line of poetic verse.
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Counting Our Blessings

December 28, 2017
There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.

~Walt Streightiff

We had a wonderful holiday break this past week, spending time with and enjoying both families. The past few days we discussed some of the varied rituals of the holidays – specific foods for the season, making cookies with family, watching certain shows, listening to Christmas music, and Christmas Eve Mass. I guess I have a few rituals myself, although they are quite different from most.

The weather for much of our Christmas Bird Count was cold, gray, and wet (click photos to enlarge)

Yesterday was one of my favorites – the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count at Pungo. The count has been going on since I started it with my friend, Paris Trail, back in the mid 1980’s, and I have only missed a few in all those years. The count center is based at Pettigrew State Park and the standard 15-mile diameter circle encompasses all of the park (including 16,000+ acre Lake Phelps), acres of the surrounding farmland, and much of the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. The weather turned out to be less than ideal with cloudy skies, various forms of precipitation, and temperatures hovering around 37 degrees most of the day. We drove the refuge roads for much of the morning as we were starting to question the sanity of our 4:30 a.m. departure from a warm bed back home. Though we ended up with fewer species than usual, we did share a few special moments with some of the usual suspects.

A flock of tundra swans in a field along Pat’s Road at Pungo

Apparently, there was a lot to discuss at the swan holiday gathering

On one of our circuits, we noticed several thousand tundra swans had gathered in the front fields to feed on waste corn and a nearby field of winter wheat sprouts. We pulled up, lowered the windows with rain sprinkling in, and took in the scene. Watching and listening to the swans somehow made it all worthwhile and reminded me of how much I love this place.

A large flock of snow geese landing to feed

Soon, scattered flocks of snow geese began to gather and circle the feeding swans. As the flocks coalesced into a huge swirl of black and white, we discussed the seeming inefficiency of snow goose behavior – circling a field for many minutes, using up precious energy, before finally settling down to feed. All the while, I was glassing the passing flock for the smaller cousins of snow geese, the Ross’s geese.

Snow goose profile showing longer beak with black “lip” line

It is fairly easy to spot a Ross’s goose on the edge of a flock of snow geese in a field – Ross’s geese are about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of all the other white birds and have a stubby bill that lacks the black “lips” of a snow goose. But I like to try to spot them in flight, which can be a bit more challenging. If the the two species are adjacent to one another, you can see the differences (even though Melissa thinks I am making all this up).

Can you spot the Ross’s geese in this photo?

Check out the photo above. There are two Ross’s geese mixed with 4.5 snow geese – remember, look for the smaller size and a short, stubby bill on the Ross’ geese. We ended the day with 7 Ross’s geese and about 30,000 snow geese (I’m sure there are a many more Ross’s geese on the refuge, but it can be tough to pick them out of the large flocks).

Yellow-rumped warblers were our constant companions in forested areas of the refuge

A few other species were quite abundant this year – American robins by the hundreds, mallards, killdeer, and yellow-rumped warblers. These winter warblers are tiny balls of energy and they boldly surrounded us every time we pished along the forest edges.

Searching for American pipits in corn stubble can test your vision (how many do you see?)

I enjoy the challenge of finding certain species on these bird counts – a Ross’s goose hidden in a flock of thousands of snow geese, an elusive fox sparrow (no luck this year), an owl (we did flush a single great horned owl while walking in the woods), and the dirt-colored American pipits hidden in plain sight out in the plowed or cut fields (we found a nice flock in one field).

It was a good day for bald eagles (here are 4 of the 10 seen at this one point on the lake)

And there are always surprises. This year, the bald eagles put on quite a show. We started the morning with four in the fields as we entered the refuge. Later, in our one spot to view Pungo Lake, we had ten eagles in view, often taking turns knocking one another off of perches along the lake shore.

Fresh red wolf tracks

Our biggest surprise came with a quick sighting of a red wolf as it dashed across a dirt road and into a corn field, quickly disappearing into the dense stand. It turned out to be a very good day for mammals – white-tailed deer, river otter, nutria, a gray squirrel, and six bears rounded out our observations (along with plenty of huge bear scat as well as scat from bobcat and fox).

The sun finally made an appearance lat in the afternoon, warming these resting swans

Late in the day, the cold rains stopped, the dense clouds moved out, and the sun broke through, but the steady wind reminded us that this can be a very cold place. Walking on “Bear Road” at the end of the day reminded me of so many trips from my past – a sense of wildness and wide open spaces in this place that continues to provide natural wonders with each visit. The bad weather had driven most other visitors away, so we had the place to ourselves – again, a reminder of the the early years when, if I saw one other car on the refuge, it was a busy day.

Tundra swan flyover with sunset approaching

The golden glow of an approaching sunset illuminated the woods and caught the feathers of swans returning to the safety of the lake for another night. The only sounds were those of nature – swans calling, the deep drumming of a distant pileated woodpecker, the faint low hoot of a great horned owl.

A fiery end to a chilly day

As we walked back toward our car, the western sky exploded in fire like it so often does here in winter. There are so many reasons I love this place. A big one is that it allows me the time and space to look around and appreciate the many wonders this world has to offer, if only we give it the chance. Help support our public lands – they are medicine for our souls.

There are many wonders in our world, just waiting for us to pause and enjoy

2017 Christmas Bird Count results (Pungo Unit only)

30,000 Snow Goose
7 Ross’s Goose
198 Canada Goose
22724 Tundra Swan
2 Wood Duck
20 Northern Shoveler
222 Gadwall
300 American Wigeon
229 Mallard
40 American Black Duck
10 Northern Pintail
3 Green-winged Teal
23 Ring-necked Duck
1 Bufflehead
12 Hooded Merganser
5 Great Blue Heron
9 Turkey Vulture
8 Northern Harrier
15 Bald Eagle
2 Red-tailed Hawk
1 American Coot
170 Killdeer
3 American Woodcock
26 Wilson’s Snipe
26 Ring-billed Gull
180 Mourning Dove
1 Great Horned Owl
2 Red-bellied Woodpecker
8 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
5 Northern Flicker
3 Pileated Woodpecker
2 American Kestrel
6 Eastern Phoebe
1 Blue Jay
10 American Crow
5 Fish Crow
0 crow sp.
5 Carolina Chickadee
4 Tufted Titmouse
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
8 Carolina Wren
5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
5 Eastern Bluebird
800 American Robin
1 Brown Thrasher
7 Northern Mockingbird
60 American Pipit
3 Palm Warbler
489 Yellow-rumped Warbler
357 White-throated Sparrow
28 Savannah Sparrow
18 Song Sparrow
9 Swamp Sparrow
6 Eastern Towhee
15 Northern Cardinal
900 Red-winged Blackbird
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Cold-hardy Blooms

December 23, 2017
It is an extremely interesting plant – October and November’s child – and yet reminds me of the earliest spring. Its blossoms smell like spring – and by their color and as well as fragrance they belong to the saffron dawn of the year.

~Henry David Thoreau, 1851

I’ll be catching up with some past due posts over the next couple of weeks. Busy schedules don’t allow much time for thinking about posts, but then I think it is weird to post about something weeks or months after the experience. But, with the chilly and often gray days of winter upon us, it seems okay to show a flower, albeit a strange one, to brighten your day.

American witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, in flower last month at NCBG (click photos to enlarge)

American witch hazel is an unusual shrub or small tree that stands out for its late bloom time, usually October through early December in these parts.

Each flower has four linear petals

The yellow flowers have four twisted linear petals that spring from the branches looking like one of my bad hair days. The common name may have come from the Middle English wicke for lively – and wych, an old Anglo-Saxon word for bend. This may refer to the use of forked branches of this tree as dowsing or divining rods. According to folklore, one fork is held in each hand with the palms upward. The bottom or butt end of the “Y” is pointed skyward at an angle of about 45 degrees. As you walk back and forth over the area to be tested, the butt end of the stick is supposed to rotate or be attracted downward when you pass over a source of underground water. I need to cut a Y-branch and test this for myself.

Last year’s brown seed capsules with fading blossoms (petals turning reddish) from this year

The genus, Hamamelis, is from two Greek words, meaning “fruit” and “together with” or “at the same time.” This refers to the shrub’s unique feature of producing this year’s flowers as last year’s capsules, still on the twigs, are ripening and dispersing seeds. Seed capsules opened explosively, throwing seeds several feet, and the tossed seeds take two years to germinate. The species name, virginiana, is because it was first described from a specimen in Virginia.

Witch hazel extract is commercially available for many purposes

Extracts from the leaves, bark, and twigs provide the aromatic salve called witch hazel, used as an astringent and an anti-inflammatory to soothe cuts and burns, as well as a number of other purposes. It is one of the few American medicinal plants approved as an ingredient in non-prescription drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The unusual plant was also one of the first New World plants to be adopted for ornamental use by European horticulturists.

Many species of small flies and bees visit to pollinate on warm days

The flowers are pollinated by a variety of small gnats, syrphid flies, moths, and other insects on days when weather is warm enough to allow flight. One day the last week of November, with the sun shining on one of the large witch hazels at work, the air was buzzing with the sound of many pollinators. I can see why Thoreau thought, How important then to the bees this late blossoming plant!

Look closely at a witch-hazel and you may see two distinctive galls, one on the leaves, one on the twigs, both caused by aphids:

Witch hazel leaf gall

The witch hazel leaf gall resembles a witch’s conical hat protruding from the upper leaf surface. It is caused by an aphid, Hormaphis hamamelidis.

Spiny witch hazel gall (below) next to dried seed capsule (above)

The other gall, the spiny witch hazel gall, is similar in size (usually a bit larger) than the dried seed capsules, but adorned with small spines.

Galls can vary in number and length of spines

This gall is also caused by an aphid, Hamamelistes spinosus, that alternates between species of birch and witch-hazel to complete its life cycle. The new leaves on river birch often become distorted and appear crumpled when infested by these aphids (I have never seen this stage). Winged aphids that will migrate back to witch hazel, or wingless aphids called accessory females, develop inside these wrinkled leaves. The winged aphids migrate to witch hazel and give birth to a generation of wingless males and females. These wingless aphids mate, and the females lay eggs on witch hazel. The accessory females that remained on the birch tree produce additional generations of winged aphids that migrate to witch hazel later.

I opened one gall to look inside

Overwintering eggs are laid on witch hazel in June and July. These eggs hatch the following spring and the new aphid nymphs crawl to the flower buds to feed. Feeding on the flower buds induces the plant to form a spiny gall. A second generation of aphids develops inside the galls, but then leaves and moves to birch to start the alternating plant life cycle again.

Winged and wingless aphids inside a spiny witch hazel gall

When I opened the one gall in late November, I saw both winged and wingless aphids along with white fuzzy tufts. There was also an odd-looking sphere…

Mystery blob inside spiny witch hazel gall

This blob was somewhat translucent, white, about 1/4 inch across, and squishy. I gently pulled it out of the gall to photograph it and placed it on my table. I didn’t realize there was a droplet of water from the condensation on my water glass, and when the blob touched it, it literally vanished! I looked with a hand lens and there was nothing left but a very tiny bit of white fuzz on the table. If anyone has any thoughts as to what this mystery is, please let me know (my Google search turned up no clues).

American witch hazel is a beautiful addition to any garden, with its unusual flowers and bright yellow fall foliage

Thoreau mentioned witch hazel in many of his writings, as it certainly would stand out to anyone spending much time in the woods with the approach of winter. He wrote, There is something witchlike in the appearance of witch hazel…with its irregular and angular spray and petals like furies’ hair, or small ribbon streamers. Its blossoming, too, at this irregular period, when other shrubs have lost their leaves, as well as blossoms, looks like witches’ craft. Certainly it blooms in no garden of man’s.

Though I don’t often disagree with Henry, I believe this shrub is certainly worthy of any native plant garden or landscape. Not only does it have beautiful fall foliage and strange, late-blooming flowers, it also has a fascinating cultural history, and some strange faunal associates. What more can you ask from a native plant? Be sure to look for it next year as cold weather approaches, or come by the North Carolina Botanical Garden to enjoy this beautiful and unusual native species.
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Returning

December 16, 2017
When the uniqueness of a place sings to us like a melody, then we will know, at last, what it means to be at home.

~ Paul Gruchow

It has been almost a year since I went back to work. Don’t get me wrong, I feel lucky to have landed in such a wonderful place as the NC Botanical Garden – a beautiful setting, a staff of knowledgeable, fun, and kind people, and a mission that I believe in (plus, the nicest office I have had in all my years). But, I have to tell you, in case you are not aware already, work sure gets in the way of some of the things you want to do. And with the chill of winter in the air lately, my mind turns to a special place for me in my home state, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (aka Pungo). It hit me recently that I have not been down there in months and that is such a departure from my last few years. So, when I was offered a chance to tag along with a museum group last weekend, I jumped at the chance. The only down side was the weather…it was pretty miserable, especially Friday night and Saturday. Cold, windy, and wet. Because of that, I now realize I did not take a single photo all day Saturday, so you’ll just have to believe me when I say the highlights were seeing my first swans of the season on Lake Phelps, and four river otter and a bobcat at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge (especially the bobcat!).

One of my favorite scenes, tundra swans at sunrise (click photos to enlarge)

The next day proved to be much nicer, but bitterly cold. We spent the day at Pungo arriving before sunrise, seeing a couple of bears right away, and watching the sun rise over the trees at Marsh A, watching and taking in the sounds at the place that calls me back year after year. This is how certain places are – they are part of who you are, a brief sighting, a certain sound that can fill your mind’s eye with years of images and feelings in amazing detail.

We spent the day cruising the roads, looking for wildlife, keeping track of our sightings.

Eastern phoebe

We spotted many of the usual suspects, from Eastern phoebes to killdeer, and saw the first flocks of snow geese of the season lift off from Pungo Lake in the early morning light.

A bald eagle viewed through the van windshield

Taking flight

Several eagles were spotted, including one that allowed us to drive up quite close before taking flight. My first winter walk of the season on “Bear Road” was brisk but beautiful.

Huge black bear resting next to the corn

We only saw one bear on that walk, but he was a huge one, easily 500+ pounds. When I first spotted him, he was lying up against rows of standing corn, soaking in the morning sun. He finally sat up, walked a few steps to get a drink out of a nearby ditch, then laid back down. I hope he stays on the refuge and makes it through the upcoming bear hunting season (the refuge boundary is just beyond those trees in the background of the photo above). We didn’t see as much bear sign as usual, but there was still evidence of several bears (different sized tracks) using the corn fields.

Bald eagle fly-by

Though it was a weather-challenged trip, it was great to be back. Returning to this part of the state, especially in winter when the waterfowl have returned, always makes things seem better in the world, that the morning light will still brighten the dark sky, and the spirit of wildness still lives in a place close to home.

Even when surrounded by charismatic wildlife, don’t forget to take the time to enjoy the simple beauties that surround us

Species observed at Pettigrew State Park, Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge on December 8-10, 2017:

Birds: American coot, Common loon, Double-crested cormorant, Pied-billed grebe, Canada goose, Snow goose, Tundra swan, Canvasback, Ring-necked duck, Mallard, Black Duck, American widgeon, Wood duck, Green-winged teal, Northern shoveler, Gadwall, Bufflehead, Northern pintail, Hooded merganser, Forster’s tern, Ring-billed gull, American bittern, Cattle egret, Great egret, Great blue heron, White ibis, Black-crowned night heron, Killdeer, Greater yellowlegs, Bald eagle, American kestrel, Red-shouldered hawk, Red-tailed hawk, Barred owl, Turkey vulture, American crow, Fish crow, Wild turkey, Belted kingfisher, Mourning dove, Northern flicker, Yellow-belliied sapsucker, Pileated woodpecker, Downy woodpecker, Red-bellied woodpecker, White-breasted nuthatch, Brown-headed nuthatch, Northern cardinal, Northern mockingbird, Carolina chickadee, Tufted titmouse, American robin, Eastern bluebird, Hermit thrush, Eastern phoebe, Carolina wren, Winter wren, Marsh wren, White-throated sparrow, Swamp sparrow, Eastern meadowlark, Red-winged blackbird, Yellow-rumped warbler

Reptiles: Ribbon snake (dead); Worm snake, Skink sp., River cooter, Painted turtle

Mammals: White-tailed deer, Black bear (4), River otter (4), Gray squirrel, Eastern cottontail rabbit, Virginia opossum, Raccoon, Nutria, Bobcat
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Petals of Ice

December 13, 2017
[W]hat a severe yet master artist old Winter is…. No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel.

~John Burroughs, 1866

Yesterday’s post shared some of the intricate beauties of a frosty morning – objects adorned with tiny crystals that reveal new patterns and create sculpted coats on everything in the landscape. One of my coworkers saw me out taking photos and asked if I had seen any frost flowers. He then went on to explain they usually occur on a couple of species of plants (he threw the Latin names out and they escaped me) in the garden, but he couldn’t remember exactly where they were. I replied I had not seen any, all the while searching my memory bank for an image of what a frost flower looked like. We parted and I put the camera away and went out to fill the feeders in the bird blind. As I was walking back, something caught my eye in one of the garden beds…

My first frost flower (click photos to enlarge)

That has to be one – a frost flower! I ran and got the camera and told our communications assistant about it so she could get some photos as well. The sun was hitting that area so it would not last long. There were two plants with these unusual structures. A quick web search helped explain this bizarre phenomenon.

An ice flower with a pen for scale

More commonly called ice flowers, these structures go by a variety of other local names – frost flowers, ice ribbons, and rabbit ice to name a few. Several resources mentioned that although they are often called “frost flowers”, these formations are not a type of frost. It seems as though these beautiful creations are caused by a process called ice segregation. Under certain conditions of temperature and humidity in late autumn and early winter, super cold water moves through a medium toward ice, freezes at the interface, and adds to the ice.

Ice flowers typically have curved “petals”

At this time of year in some species, water is still being brought up from the soil by the roots or through capillary action. When conditions are right, the water expands in the dried stems, fracturing thin slits in the stem wall. Water squeezes from cracks in the stem and becomes ice, pushing the previous ice further out. Ice crystals on the outside of the stem may be a prerequisite for the formation of ice flowers. There are quite a few resources online with many beautiful photos of this phenomenon – see Ice Flowers and Find an Ice Flower Before it Melts for samples. For reasons that are not fully understood, this has been found in relatively few species of plants. I hope to get some help identifying this one by its basal leaves when I get back to the office. And now that I have seen my first ice flowers, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these delicate, ephemeral beauties on cold frosty mornings in the future.
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