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Wildlife Management Notes

Wildlife Management Notes and Observations
August 4, 2001

Woodland pond at Birdsong.

Weather Birdsong has responded strongly to all the rain we've had in the last month. The whole property is very green and lush with lots of seeding and flowering. The ponds and swamp are holding a lot more water and the creeks and drains are flowing again. This morning happens to be foggy and quite pleasant; a welcome change from the intense heat and humidity.

Summer Management The grass grows so quickly that the trails need frequent mowing. Blair is continuing with our on-going terrace mowing project, and with all the rain, the three heights of vegetation are quite striking visually, especially in the Gin House Field. Blair has also bush hogged Big Bay Field where we are trying to control shortleaf pine encroachment. It looks beautiful and is coming up in lots of blooming bahia grass and, we hope, plenty of fall blooming wildflowers.

The invasives continue to be problematic. Right now a stand of Crotolaria is in bloom near the west side of the Farm Pond. By mowing at this stage and/or pulling them up by hand the seeds won't get a chance to mature. Any volunteers? We are also struggling to keep the Tripsicum contained, but it really is spreading, in spite of our best efforts to keep ahead of it. We are continuing to cut down tallow near the pond and swamp. With our intense growing season, it's not easy to keep these fast growing plants in their place.

Even with the rain, and plenty of flowing water, we still have seen no beaver activity since late winter/early spring. That's fine with us.

The Gin House Field continues to change with the seasons. The daisy fleabane has seeded out and now we see some beautiful stands of Agalinis, winged sumac, ragweed, passionvine and many varieties of grasses in full bloom. The sumac flowers occur in thick clusters and are loaded with bees with pollen baskets full of bright orange pollen. The sumac leaves seem to have some kind of gall problem this year, making them look almost like flowers themselves. There are tremendous numbers of grasshoppers throughout the field, many varieties of dragonflies, and lots of buckeye butterflies feeding on bahia grass flowering seed heads. We're also seeing their caterpillars now on the Agalinis.

Bluebirds, indigo buntings, and blue grosbeaks are busy feeding here and still singing. Cattle egrets and crows continue patrolling for insects. The Gin House is in its full summer regalia, providing an experience for all the senses, with its marvelous changing texture and color of plant and animal life, insects and bird sounds, the lemon taste of sumac berries, and a distinctive fragrance that occurs this time of year. A short walk can be a rich sensory experience.

Wildflowers Many plants are in full bloom now across Birdsong. We are seeing a recent upsurge of several white Eupatoria, partridge pea, rock roses, button bush, elderberry, butterfly pea, bluehearts, Rhexia, and thistles. Many of these are attracting lots of butterflies. There is also a wonderful bloom of Sabatia this year in Linton's Corner - lots of it all along the trail.

Particularly lovely this year are the blooming aquatic plants in our ponds and swamp, including fragrant water lily, spadderdock, lemon Bacopa, bladderwort, Cabomba, and lots of different rushes. Something unusual is occuring right in the middle of Big Bay Pond, where very little water accumulates, and right around the deeper water of the Frog Pond - a thick bed of bright pink knotweed teeming with bees and insects. It's gorgeous. We need to take some pictures.

Birds Most parents appear to have fledged their babies. Some are still hauling away suet from the Bird Window to the nest, such as red-headed and red-bellied woodpeckers, but most are now involved in instructing young ones to feed. We're seeing quite a few groups of turkeys, many with almost-grown young. The bluebirds had a very successful season. The team will do one more monitoring visit and then we'll have a final report for the next newsletter.

The Changing Seasons The angle of light has shifted substantially since the summer solstice. We're seeing mid/late summer seeding and fruiting, such as elderberry (now being fed on by bluejays behind the Barn), plums, pecans, hickories, persimmons, and a multitude of different grasses. Some of the sweet gum are even beginning to change color.

Wood Rat Off and on over the years, a wood rat has moved into the outdoor bathroom structure, often creating a little nest in a space in the partition. They don't really bother us at all until they start using up rolls of toilet paper to build their nests. Just recently one has moved in under the sink. I assume it's a female; I'm not sure why. She is very lovely, with bright black eyes, gray-brown fur, a long furred tail, and a white belly. She apparently enjoys eating Japanese plum fruit from the tree behind the bathroom in the Butterfly Garden, because she leaves a little pile of plum pits in one corner. She's built a very comfy-looking little round bed made out of toilet paper in the opposite corner, under the water fountain. I've begun checking on her several times a day, and at first, she would bolt, but now she just looks up from her bed and stays curled up.

Here is what has me completely intrigued: one morning I checked in and she had collected a large mulberry leaf and placed it next to her bed. A couple of hours later there was another large fresh cut mulberry leaf, now along the other wall. Two days later, the same pattern occurred. On either side of the restrooms there aren't any mulberry trees/shrubs/plants with leaves anywhere near the ground. It turns out that the only place she can possibly be collecting those large leaves is at least five feet or more up one of the mulberry trees. So: why do they have to be mulberry leaves? Why do they have to be that size? What is she really doing with them? And, is she climbing the tree to collect them??

At this point, I am totally captivated by this little creature and would love to understand what she is doing. I asked Betty, since she always has insight into what animals are doing, and she waved her hand and told me, "That's not my problem any more ... that's your problem. You figure it out." This tickled me to no end. If any of you have any idea what is going on, please call.

    From Betty
    Love to you all.
    Praise and thanks!
    Blessed be.
    - KDB

"Wildlife Management Notes" appears regularly in our bi-monthly Newsletter. Below is an index of links to previous wildlife management articles:

• June 2001
• April 2001
• February 2001
• October 2000
• August 2000
• June 2000
• April 2000
• December 1999
• October 1999
• April 1999
• February 1999
• December 1998

Copyright © 1999, Birdsong Nature Center
Revised -- August 30, 2001