During a few overcast late afternoons in the middle of February of this year, I was watching several thousand attractive, constantly honking snow geese floating and swimming on the 400 acre lake at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in southeastern Pennsylvania through our computer screen at home, as I had been for the last few weeks. During those twilights the lake reflected the gray sky and sometimes light rain fell, creating a cold, dismal scene. Woods on two sides of that human-made impoundment appeared black in the gloom and weedy fields bordering the lake were dark beige, helping to cause a cheerless landscape in many peoples' opinions. But I saw beauty in the cloudy sky, woods, fields and masses of noisy, white snow geese in the midst of that dreariness at dusk.
In February and March, for more than thirty years, I drove to Middle Creek to see wintering snow geese, Canada geese, tundra swans and a variety of duck species that gathered on the lake before migrating north or west to their nesting grounds. But now, because of warm convenience and aching knees, I am content to experience snow geese and other kinds of waterfowl through our computer screen at home.
As I watched the snow geese on the sky-reflecting, gray water late in those overcast, rainy late afternoons and early evenings, waves of more snows swept over the impoundment like ocean waves sliding up a beach, then spiraled down, flock after flock after flock, for about 20 minutes, to the lake and landed among their fellows. That raft of snow geese quickly expanded across the water. And those many thousands of snow geese brought cheer, beauty and excitement to an, otherwise, gloomy scene.
The snow geese in flight appeared dark before the light-gray clouds, but white when seen in front of the black woods as the geese swirled down to the water, group after bugling group.
Snow geese are unique in the way they form conspicuous, noisy hordes of tens of thousands and travel and do everything together in those great masses. They create white islands on lakes and make a field look like snow fell only on that one parcel of land.
Wintering snow geese, Canada geese and tundra swans today have learned to eat corn kernels in harvested fields and the green shoots of grass and winter grain plants. And because of their adapting to feeding in fields, these kinds of large waterfowl are numerous in agricultural areas of southeastern Pennsylvania, and parts of Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey through each winter. Though they feed in fields, these species rest in comparative safety on built impoundments.
I have seen the stately snow geese in fields, on lakes, and in the sky between those habitats dear to the geese. I've seen them in all kinds of weather in winter and early spring, including snowfalls and sunny skies. But a special treat to me is to experience these tough, adaptable birds at dusk under a cloudy sky. They seem appropriate and are beautiful in those cheerless, winter times and habitats. Snow geese prove there is beauty and intrigue in most every time and place on Earth. And we humans have the God-given talent of experiencing the beauty of nature, wherever it is.
Sometime in March, snow geese leave Middle Creek and push north, little by little, to their nesting territories on the Arctic tundra. But they provided much beauty, interest and entertainment to many people while they were wintering here. And they were a special beauty to me when their thousands spiraled down to Middle Creek's lake during dusk when cloudy skies, dark woods and solemn fields seemed foreboding. Multitudes of boisterous snow geese added pulsing life to an otherwise dismal habitat. Beauty is where one finds it, most everywhere on Earth.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Earliest Courtships
At least five kinds of adaptable wildlife in the mid-Atlantic States start reproductive activities as early as December and January. Those species are great horned owls, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, red foxes and gray squirrels, all of which add more life and interest to late winter into early spring in this area. Those species get a head start on producing young, that will be independent in summer when food is most plentiful and available.
Each kind of bird in this essay early on usurps the twiggy, treetop cradles of American crows, various heron species, ospreys and other types of larger birds that nest in this area. And great horned owl, bald eagle and red-tail nurseries are "seen" by live cameras at the nest sites and viewed on computer screens, without the birds realizing what is happening, and going about their daily business.
Pairs of great horned owls start their reproductive cycle by the end of November and continue it well into January. Members of each pair hoot loudly to their mates, both day and night, during that time, particularly at dawn and dusk. Certain woodlots, and older suburban areas with their many tall trees, are alive with the big owls' wild, exciting hooting that continually binds the pairs together to hatch and raise young each year.
During January, each pair of horned owls adds on to their stick, treetop nursery. By the end of that coldest of months, each female owl lays one to three eggs in her cradle and sets on the first one right away. The owl chicks hatch by the end of February, not all at once, but staggered over several days, as the eggs were laid. The owlets leave their nest by the middle of April and are on their own early in June when prey animals, such as mice and rats, are abundant. Courting in winter gets the chicks independent by early summer when they can best feed themselves.
Bald eagle pairs also begin courting during December and January, thrilling many people who see them. One can spot pairs soaring together over their vast territories and gathering sticks, then grass, to add to the platforms they use year after year.
Each female bald lays one to three eggs, one every few days, by mid-February and the white-fluffed young hatch about a month later. The eaglets, when adult-sized and dark-feathered, become independent by the middle of June.
Red-tailed hawk pairs are seen soaring and perching in trees together, in farmland woodlots and older suburban areas during January. Like horned owls and bald eagles, red-tails add sticks, then grass, to their nurseries every year. And like the owls and eagles, female red-tails lay one to three eggs in their cradles, one about every few days. The chicks, therefore, hatch every few days.
These three kinds of large birds have similar reproductive habits. Females of each species laying an egg every few days dictates that the chicks hatch one every few days. The oldest youngster in each brood has already grown before the last baby hatches. If the parents are finding plenty of prey animals there is no problem. But if prey is scarce, the oldest youngster per brood gets most of the food coming to the nest. But the youngest baby gets little or no food and will starve to death. Staggering egg laying in predatory birds is a built-in population control when food is scarce.
Male red foxes court in woods and over fields during January, even during the day, sometimes. I have been thrilled to see several handsome red foxes trotting alone over open farmland by day in January in their search for mates. And I've been happy to experience a few boisterous pairs of red foxes, one at a time, cavorting together in fields during the day in January.
Female red foxes deliver young in March down abandoned wood chuck holes in fields, woods and hedgerows, or in wood piles or brush piles in those same habitats. Young foxes emerge from their dens during the latter part of April and are independently hunting rodents and other creatures by mid-summer.
Gray squirrels in this area mate in January. Many times during that wintry month, I've watched three or four male grays exuberantly and speedily chase an equally fast female gray around a tree or across the ground. It's always a quick, rough and tumble pursuit until the female submits to mating. About six weeks later, each female gray gives birth to young in her insulating tree cavity or nest of dead leaves among twigs in the treetops.
These are some of the earliest of courtships in the Middle Atlantic States. The species involved reproduce early so there progeny have a good chance of getting food and becoming established before the hardships of the next winter strikes.
Each kind of bird in this essay early on usurps the twiggy, treetop cradles of American crows, various heron species, ospreys and other types of larger birds that nest in this area. And great horned owl, bald eagle and red-tail nurseries are "seen" by live cameras at the nest sites and viewed on computer screens, without the birds realizing what is happening, and going about their daily business.
Pairs of great horned owls start their reproductive cycle by the end of November and continue it well into January. Members of each pair hoot loudly to their mates, both day and night, during that time, particularly at dawn and dusk. Certain woodlots, and older suburban areas with their many tall trees, are alive with the big owls' wild, exciting hooting that continually binds the pairs together to hatch and raise young each year.
During January, each pair of horned owls adds on to their stick, treetop nursery. By the end of that coldest of months, each female owl lays one to three eggs in her cradle and sets on the first one right away. The owl chicks hatch by the end of February, not all at once, but staggered over several days, as the eggs were laid. The owlets leave their nest by the middle of April and are on their own early in June when prey animals, such as mice and rats, are abundant. Courting in winter gets the chicks independent by early summer when they can best feed themselves.
Bald eagle pairs also begin courting during December and January, thrilling many people who see them. One can spot pairs soaring together over their vast territories and gathering sticks, then grass, to add to the platforms they use year after year.
Each female bald lays one to three eggs, one every few days, by mid-February and the white-fluffed young hatch about a month later. The eaglets, when adult-sized and dark-feathered, become independent by the middle of June.
Red-tailed hawk pairs are seen soaring and perching in trees together, in farmland woodlots and older suburban areas during January. Like horned owls and bald eagles, red-tails add sticks, then grass, to their nurseries every year. And like the owls and eagles, female red-tails lay one to three eggs in their cradles, one about every few days. The chicks, therefore, hatch every few days.
These three kinds of large birds have similar reproductive habits. Females of each species laying an egg every few days dictates that the chicks hatch one every few days. The oldest youngster in each brood has already grown before the last baby hatches. If the parents are finding plenty of prey animals there is no problem. But if prey is scarce, the oldest youngster per brood gets most of the food coming to the nest. But the youngest baby gets little or no food and will starve to death. Staggering egg laying in predatory birds is a built-in population control when food is scarce.
Male red foxes court in woods and over fields during January, even during the day, sometimes. I have been thrilled to see several handsome red foxes trotting alone over open farmland by day in January in their search for mates. And I've been happy to experience a few boisterous pairs of red foxes, one at a time, cavorting together in fields during the day in January.
Female red foxes deliver young in March down abandoned wood chuck holes in fields, woods and hedgerows, or in wood piles or brush piles in those same habitats. Young foxes emerge from their dens during the latter part of April and are independently hunting rodents and other creatures by mid-summer.
Gray squirrels in this area mate in January. Many times during that wintry month, I've watched three or four male grays exuberantly and speedily chase an equally fast female gray around a tree or across the ground. It's always a quick, rough and tumble pursuit until the female submits to mating. About six weeks later, each female gray gives birth to young in her insulating tree cavity or nest of dead leaves among twigs in the treetops.
These are some of the earliest of courtships in the Middle Atlantic States. The species involved reproduce early so there progeny have a good chance of getting food and becoming established before the hardships of the next winter strikes.
Monday, January 27, 2020
Inland Diving Ducks
Wintering genuses of diving ducks use their webbed feet to swim underwater down to the bottoms of rivers, estuaries, oceans, and large, human-made impoundments across much of the southern half of the United States to get their various foods. But each genus of these diving ducks has a relative that winters in small flocks inland; on ponds and creeks, as well as on larger waters along seacoasts. Those sleek and attractive kinds of ducks are the petite buffleheads, which belong to the river duck family, the handsome ring-necked ducks, that are bay ducks, and the striking common mergansers, in the merganser family. By adapting to habitats that are different from those of their kin, these inland divers found ample food supplies, relatively free of competition, and founded new species.
Drakes of bufflehead, ring-necked and common merganser species are feathered mostly black above and white below, which disguises their shapes, allowing them to blend into the water better. And the distinctive, black and white, patterns of these handsome drakes allows them to impress lady ducks of each male's kind. Male buffleheads have a large, white patch on each side of the head that is quite visible. Male ring-necks have lovely, pale-gray flanks. And drake mergansers have blood-red beaks and iridescent, green heads.
Female diving ducks of each of these species, however, are dark brown or gray, depending on the kind of duck. Each of their species' benefits from the dull feather coloring on females because the mothers chaperone their equally camouflaged ducklings.
Diving ducks slip under water from the surface and swim with their webbed feet to the bottom, or close to it, to get food. Buffleheads dive after aquatic seeds, insects, snails, small fish and crustaceans, and other edibles. Ring-necked ducks swim under water after seeds mostly, plus insect larvae and snails. And mergansers catch small fish in their long, thin, serrated bills. Obviously, competition for food is reduced among these kinds of wintering diving ducks, which is why they all can winter together on the same bodies of water, at least at times.
Look for these attractive, inland diving ducks during winter. They help bring more beautiful life and interest to the waterways and impoundments they rest on and feed in.
Drakes of bufflehead, ring-necked and common merganser species are feathered mostly black above and white below, which disguises their shapes, allowing them to blend into the water better. And the distinctive, black and white, patterns of these handsome drakes allows them to impress lady ducks of each male's kind. Male buffleheads have a large, white patch on each side of the head that is quite visible. Male ring-necks have lovely, pale-gray flanks. And drake mergansers have blood-red beaks and iridescent, green heads.
Female diving ducks of each of these species, however, are dark brown or gray, depending on the kind of duck. Each of their species' benefits from the dull feather coloring on females because the mothers chaperone their equally camouflaged ducklings.
Diving ducks slip under water from the surface and swim with their webbed feet to the bottom, or close to it, to get food. Buffleheads dive after aquatic seeds, insects, snails, small fish and crustaceans, and other edibles. Ring-necked ducks swim under water after seeds mostly, plus insect larvae and snails. And mergansers catch small fish in their long, thin, serrated bills. Obviously, competition for food is reduced among these kinds of wintering diving ducks, which is why they all can winter together on the same bodies of water, at least at times.
Look for these attractive, inland diving ducks during winter. They help bring more beautiful life and interest to the waterways and impoundments they rest on and feed in.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Incoming Gulls
I arrived at Struble Lake, which is near Honeybrook, Chester County, Pennsylvania, around 3:30 PM on January 13 of this year to see if ring-billed gulls were still spending winter nights on that human-made impoundment. At first, I saw no gulls, but within 20 minutes I saw a great blue heron powering majestically and low across the lake, a belted kingfisher flying along that impoundment's shoreline and an adult bald eagle perched elegantly in a tree on shore. All those wintering birds are catchers of fish that are naturally drawn to that large lake for what they hope is an unending food supply.
Finally, just about 4:00 PM, many ring-billed gulls suddenly started returning to Struble Lake to spend the night. Streams of them from different directions poured high across the sky toward the lake, formed a circling, buoyant flock over the impoundment, then spiraled quickly and gracefully down to the middle of the lake. As more and more ring-bills streamed across the sky to Struble Lake and swirled down to it, I saw a growing "carpet" of gulls on the quiet, sky-reflecting water.
As I watched the ring-bills on the lake, through screens of bare crack willow trees, phragmites plumes, rose hips and dead goldenrod stalks, more and more of their kind kept coming across the sky, flock after inspiring flock, and sweeping down to the water, making that raft of densely-packed gulls grow larger and larger.
And still more sheets of ring-bills came from every direction, formed spinning, entertaining flocks high in the sky, and swooped to the lake, making the island of gulls on the water ever more spread out.
And, to my excitement, still more gulls flew and glided to the mirror-like impoundment, the birds now silhouetted beautifully against the sky as they spiraled to the water. Lesser numbers of ring-bills continued to arrive at the lake as I left to go home at 5:00 PM.
Ring-billed gulls are a joy to watch in flight. And in winter, these highly adaptable birds, that originally adapted to shoreline beaches and mud flats, add life to open, human-made habitats in the Middle Atlantic States, including large impoundments and parking lots, cultivated fields, golf courses and land-fills, where they get much of their daily food. Ring-bills adapted well to human habitats and activities, to their benefit and ours.
Finally, just about 4:00 PM, many ring-billed gulls suddenly started returning to Struble Lake to spend the night. Streams of them from different directions poured high across the sky toward the lake, formed a circling, buoyant flock over the impoundment, then spiraled quickly and gracefully down to the middle of the lake. As more and more ring-bills streamed across the sky to Struble Lake and swirled down to it, I saw a growing "carpet" of gulls on the quiet, sky-reflecting water.
As I watched the ring-bills on the lake, through screens of bare crack willow trees, phragmites plumes, rose hips and dead goldenrod stalks, more and more of their kind kept coming across the sky, flock after inspiring flock, and sweeping down to the water, making that raft of densely-packed gulls grow larger and larger.
And still more sheets of ring-bills came from every direction, formed spinning, entertaining flocks high in the sky, and swooped to the lake, making the island of gulls on the water ever more spread out.
And, to my excitement, still more gulls flew and glided to the mirror-like impoundment, the birds now silhouetted beautifully against the sky as they spiraled to the water. Lesser numbers of ring-bills continued to arrive at the lake as I left to go home at 5:00 PM.
Ring-billed gulls are a joy to watch in flight. And in winter, these highly adaptable birds, that originally adapted to shoreline beaches and mud flats, add life to open, human-made habitats in the Middle Atlantic States, including large impoundments and parking lots, cultivated fields, golf courses and land-fills, where they get much of their daily food. Ring-bills adapted well to human habitats and activities, to their benefit and ours.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Favorite Massive Trees
I am always inspired when I see one of four different kinds of massive, deciduous trees in southeastern Pennsylvania in winter when their shapes and bark are most evident. Those four species, including sycamores, shagbark hickories, American beeches and white oaks, to me, are handsome, and give me a sense of strength and permanence. Each kind of these magnificent, old trees has a unique beauty that sets it apart and identifies it. Each type has its own niche, and all these stately trees are riddled with cavities, which add to their rustic elegance and provide homes and nurseries for a variety of creatures.
Sycamore trees stand out because of their mottled bark and decorative seed balls on long stems drooping and swaying from the ends of twigs. Older bark on sycamores is darker than younger bark. When pieces of older bark fall off sycamores, the younger bark underneath becomes visible, making an attractive patchwork appearance on the trees' trunks and branches.
Sycamores grow wild on moist floodplains along creeks and rivers. Their mottled bark indicates the presence of water, even when that bark is seen from a distance. And some huge sycamores each has a hollow at the ground level that a bear or a couple of people could crawl into.
Barred owls seem to prefer nesting in the hollows of large sycamores. Raccoons live in bigger sycamore cavities. And Baltimore orioles build their woven, pouched nurseries from the ends of twigs on sycamore limbs that hang over waterways.
Shagbark hickory trees inhabit bottomland woods where the soil is generally moist at all times. This tree species has bark that peels off trunks and limbs in long strips, giving the trees an attractive, shaggy appaearance. Both ends of each sheet curl out from the tree, but the middle of each strip stays attached to the tree for a while, giving each hickory tree a rough, rustic appearance that is attractive.
Hickories have yellow leaves in October and hard nuts that have green husks in four parts. Only squirrels have teeth sharp enough and jaws strong enough to chew into the nuts' shells to consume the meat inside each nut.
American beeches are woodland trees that have pretty, smooth, gray bark that is unique and identifies them. Beeches have bronze foliage in October. Some of those leaves remain attached to the tree limbs all winter. In winter, those dead, dried leaves are pale-beige and curled, and identify beeches in the woods, even from a distance.
Beech nuts are eaten by a variety of woods creatures, including black bears, white-tailed deer, rodents, wild turkeys, blue jays and other species.
Beech trees have long, pointed leaf buds through winter. Those buds become even longer, and attractive, late in April when they grow and unfurl into new leaves.
Large, old white oaks are my favorite massive trees. They mostly live in bottomland woods, but many grow in cow pastures carved from woodlands. These ancient trees have very thick trunks and huge, gnarled limbs that are rustic and breath-taking.
White oaks have red and brown foliage in autumn, and acorns that are edible to people and a variety of critters, including bears, deer, rodents, foxes, wild turkeys and other kinds of wildlife in woods that fatten up on those nuts to get through the winter.
Some acorns are stored in tree hollows and holes in the soil in fall, to be eaten through winter. Blue jays and squirrels do most of the storing. And acorns not eaten have a chance to sprout the following spring.
These massive trees lend a feeling of strength and permanence. And they are elegantly handsome and benefit wildlife. They are awe-inspiring trees.
Sycamore trees stand out because of their mottled bark and decorative seed balls on long stems drooping and swaying from the ends of twigs. Older bark on sycamores is darker than younger bark. When pieces of older bark fall off sycamores, the younger bark underneath becomes visible, making an attractive patchwork appearance on the trees' trunks and branches.
Sycamores grow wild on moist floodplains along creeks and rivers. Their mottled bark indicates the presence of water, even when that bark is seen from a distance. And some huge sycamores each has a hollow at the ground level that a bear or a couple of people could crawl into.
Barred owls seem to prefer nesting in the hollows of large sycamores. Raccoons live in bigger sycamore cavities. And Baltimore orioles build their woven, pouched nurseries from the ends of twigs on sycamore limbs that hang over waterways.
Shagbark hickory trees inhabit bottomland woods where the soil is generally moist at all times. This tree species has bark that peels off trunks and limbs in long strips, giving the trees an attractive, shaggy appaearance. Both ends of each sheet curl out from the tree, but the middle of each strip stays attached to the tree for a while, giving each hickory tree a rough, rustic appearance that is attractive.
Hickories have yellow leaves in October and hard nuts that have green husks in four parts. Only squirrels have teeth sharp enough and jaws strong enough to chew into the nuts' shells to consume the meat inside each nut.
American beeches are woodland trees that have pretty, smooth, gray bark that is unique and identifies them. Beeches have bronze foliage in October. Some of those leaves remain attached to the tree limbs all winter. In winter, those dead, dried leaves are pale-beige and curled, and identify beeches in the woods, even from a distance.
Beech nuts are eaten by a variety of woods creatures, including black bears, white-tailed deer, rodents, wild turkeys, blue jays and other species.
Beech trees have long, pointed leaf buds through winter. Those buds become even longer, and attractive, late in April when they grow and unfurl into new leaves.
Large, old white oaks are my favorite massive trees. They mostly live in bottomland woods, but many grow in cow pastures carved from woodlands. These ancient trees have very thick trunks and huge, gnarled limbs that are rustic and breath-taking.
White oaks have red and brown foliage in autumn, and acorns that are edible to people and a variety of critters, including bears, deer, rodents, foxes, wild turkeys and other kinds of wildlife in woods that fatten up on those nuts to get through the winter.
Some acorns are stored in tree hollows and holes in the soil in fall, to be eaten through winter. Blue jays and squirrels do most of the storing. And acorns not eaten have a chance to sprout the following spring.
These massive trees lend a feeling of strength and permanence. And they are elegantly handsome and benefit wildlife. They are awe-inspiring trees.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Roadside Plants in Winter
Several kinds of adaptable wild plants enhance country roadsides in the mid-Atlantic States during winter. The beauties of these common plants make rides and walks in local farmland more interesting and enjoyable during that harshest of seasons. And that attractive vegetation benefits several species of wildlife through winter.
Patches of the familiar cattails and ten-foot-tall phragmites inhabit constantly moist spots along roadsides. And the decorative seed heads of each species adds beauty to many local roadsides. Phragmites have plume-like seed heads that are especially attractive when the low-lying, winter sunlight shines through them.
Wildlife hides among the stalks of cattails and phragmites, muskrats eat cattail roots and use the stalks to make homes in ponds. And certain kinds of small birds, particularly American goldfinches, use cattail fluff in their nests.
Broomgrass and foxtail grass are attractive along country roads. Broomgrass has pale-orange stems in winter that glow beautifully in sunlight. Foxtail grass's fuzzy seed heads are appealing when the sun shines through them. And field mice and sparrows consume the seeds of this type of grass.
Teasel and common mullein plants are attractive along rural roads in winter. Teasel seed heads are sculptured and spiky, and were once used in Europe to tease out wool.
The tall common mullien stalks look a bit like thin cacti, with a main stem and one or two stems protruding from the sides of the plants. During medieval times in Europe, mullien stalks were dipped in animal fat. That fat soaked into the empty seed chambers and were later lit as torches to be used at night.
Both teasel and mullien plants produce multitudes of tiny seeds that fall out of small pockets and drop to the ground. There they are eaten by a variety of sparrows and finches through winter.
Multitudes of tiny goldenrod and aster seeds have fluff which is most attractive when sunlight shines through it on winter days. Each bit of fluff carries its seed away on the wind, which is pretty to see in itself. Sparrows and finches ingest the seeds of goldenrods and asters.
Bittersweet vines produce multitudes of attractive, bright-orange berries and multiflora rose and tartarian honeysuckle bushes have striking and abundant red berries that help beautify rural roadsides in winter.
Bittersweet climbs trees and drapes over shrubbery. Those vines and the two bushes mentioned produce brightly colored berries so birds will find them to consume through winter.
Bittersweet and the two bushes mentioned here provide food and shelter for a variety of wildlife. Rodents and American robins, eastern bluebirds, cedar waxwings, starlings and other kinds of berry-eating birds consume the brightly colored berries of these roadside plants. The birds ingest the beautiful berries, digest their pulp, but pass the seeds in their droppings, thus spreading each kind of vegetation across the landscape.
Staghorn sumac trees and red juniper trees produce attractive fruits that are also eaten by rodents and the berry-eating birds listed above. Sumacs produce beautiful pyramid-shaped stacks of red, fuzzy berries while junipers grow lovely, pale-blue, berry-like cones. Again, the birds digest the pulp of each fruit, but pass the seeds as they travel about, spreading these plant species across the land.
When riding or walking along country roads in winter, watch for these plants. They, and the wildlife they attract to themselves, will lend much beauty and interest to the traveler.
Patches of the familiar cattails and ten-foot-tall phragmites inhabit constantly moist spots along roadsides. And the decorative seed heads of each species adds beauty to many local roadsides. Phragmites have plume-like seed heads that are especially attractive when the low-lying, winter sunlight shines through them.
Wildlife hides among the stalks of cattails and phragmites, muskrats eat cattail roots and use the stalks to make homes in ponds. And certain kinds of small birds, particularly American goldfinches, use cattail fluff in their nests.
Broomgrass and foxtail grass are attractive along country roads. Broomgrass has pale-orange stems in winter that glow beautifully in sunlight. Foxtail grass's fuzzy seed heads are appealing when the sun shines through them. And field mice and sparrows consume the seeds of this type of grass.
Teasel and common mullein plants are attractive along rural roads in winter. Teasel seed heads are sculptured and spiky, and were once used in Europe to tease out wool.
The tall common mullien stalks look a bit like thin cacti, with a main stem and one or two stems protruding from the sides of the plants. During medieval times in Europe, mullien stalks were dipped in animal fat. That fat soaked into the empty seed chambers and were later lit as torches to be used at night.
Both teasel and mullien plants produce multitudes of tiny seeds that fall out of small pockets and drop to the ground. There they are eaten by a variety of sparrows and finches through winter.
Multitudes of tiny goldenrod and aster seeds have fluff which is most attractive when sunlight shines through it on winter days. Each bit of fluff carries its seed away on the wind, which is pretty to see in itself. Sparrows and finches ingest the seeds of goldenrods and asters.
Bittersweet vines produce multitudes of attractive, bright-orange berries and multiflora rose and tartarian honeysuckle bushes have striking and abundant red berries that help beautify rural roadsides in winter.
Bittersweet climbs trees and drapes over shrubbery. Those vines and the two bushes mentioned produce brightly colored berries so birds will find them to consume through winter.
Bittersweet and the two bushes mentioned here provide food and shelter for a variety of wildlife. Rodents and American robins, eastern bluebirds, cedar waxwings, starlings and other kinds of berry-eating birds consume the brightly colored berries of these roadside plants. The birds ingest the beautiful berries, digest their pulp, but pass the seeds in their droppings, thus spreading each kind of vegetation across the landscape.
Staghorn sumac trees and red juniper trees produce attractive fruits that are also eaten by rodents and the berry-eating birds listed above. Sumacs produce beautiful pyramid-shaped stacks of red, fuzzy berries while junipers grow lovely, pale-blue, berry-like cones. Again, the birds digest the pulp of each fruit, but pass the seeds as they travel about, spreading these plant species across the land.
When riding or walking along country roads in winter, watch for these plants. They, and the wildlife they attract to themselves, will lend much beauty and interest to the traveler.
Monday, December 30, 2019
Waterfowl Wintering in a Cove
During at least one afternoon every November or early December, for the last several years, I visit a little, shallow-water cove on the west shore of the 400-acre, human-made impoundment at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in southeastern Pennsylvania to view a few common species of wintering waterfowl, including flocks of Canada geese, tundra swans, black ducks and mallard ducks. Those kinds of birds rest and digest, and preen their feathers, between feeding forays, either in mixed groups or gatherings of their own. That mixing of waterfowl creates interesting and lovely combinations of colors, shapes and sizes on the water. And all those birds "tip-up" to extend their necks and beaks down to ingest aquatic vegetation from the bottom.
I sit in my vehicle on a blacktop road that tightly parallels that lake so I can get close views of the attractive geese, swans and ducks, without scaring them away. Most types of wildlife are frightened by the human figure.
I pick November or December, before hordes of snow geese land on Middle Creek's impoundment and dominate it. It's difficult to concentrate on lesser numbers of waterfowl when several tens of thousands of snow geese are on the lake and nearby fields.
The shallow cove is bordered on two sides by crack willow trees, patches of cattails and rushes, a few red-twigged dogwood bushes and a couple of winterberry shrubs, profusely decorated with red berries. That vegetation of moist bottomlands provide food and cover to a variety of wildlife in winter, including mukrats, white-tailed deer and a variety of berry-eating birds.
The majestic Canada geese often dominate the cove with their ceaseless, loud honking, and numbers. They have gray feathering on their large bodies, and black ones on their heads and long necks, making those features resemble black stockings.
Elegant and white tundra swans sometimes dominate the cove, either themselves or together with the Canadas. Both stately species rest on the water, but take off, flock after bugling or reedily whooping flock, into the wind and form V's and long lines as they fly to harvested corn fields to consume harvested corn or to winter rye fields to ingest the green shoots of winter rye plants.
Often the geese and swans are beautifully silhouetted against brilliant sunsets. And sometimes they land on snow covered fields and disappear in and out of drifting snow, tinged pink by sunsets.
When full of grain and green shoots, those large birds fly back to Middle Creek's lake, group after group, and come in for a landing on the water's surface with webbed feet and long necks extended, their reflections racing through the water to meet their impacts on it.
The dark, rugged-looking black ducks wind through groups of geese and swans in the cove, offering interesting contrasts in colors and sizes. These large puddle ducks, along with their close cousins, the mallards, join geese and swans in harvested corn fields to shovel up waste corn. There the geese, swans and ducks form beautiful, mixed groups. Mallard hens are brown with darker markings that blends them into their backgrounds so they're not so visible to predators. Mallard drakes, on the other hand, are more decorative than their mates, with yellow beaks, iridescent, green heads and bright orange webbed feet.
When these two kinds of ducks take flight from water or soil, one can hear their wings pulsing rapidly and rythmically, and a hen's occasional quacking. Look up quickly, and you might see gangs of these ducks sweeping across the sky, often in front of brilliant sunsets.
Though common and everyday in southeastern Pennsylvania in winter, I never tire of seeing these beautiful birds, through the day, or at dusk. They are all handsome, and add much beauty and intrigue to this area's farmland through much of each winter.
I sit in my vehicle on a blacktop road that tightly parallels that lake so I can get close views of the attractive geese, swans and ducks, without scaring them away. Most types of wildlife are frightened by the human figure.
I pick November or December, before hordes of snow geese land on Middle Creek's impoundment and dominate it. It's difficult to concentrate on lesser numbers of waterfowl when several tens of thousands of snow geese are on the lake and nearby fields.
The shallow cove is bordered on two sides by crack willow trees, patches of cattails and rushes, a few red-twigged dogwood bushes and a couple of winterberry shrubs, profusely decorated with red berries. That vegetation of moist bottomlands provide food and cover to a variety of wildlife in winter, including mukrats, white-tailed deer and a variety of berry-eating birds.
The majestic Canada geese often dominate the cove with their ceaseless, loud honking, and numbers. They have gray feathering on their large bodies, and black ones on their heads and long necks, making those features resemble black stockings.
Elegant and white tundra swans sometimes dominate the cove, either themselves or together with the Canadas. Both stately species rest on the water, but take off, flock after bugling or reedily whooping flock, into the wind and form V's and long lines as they fly to harvested corn fields to consume harvested corn or to winter rye fields to ingest the green shoots of winter rye plants.
Often the geese and swans are beautifully silhouetted against brilliant sunsets. And sometimes they land on snow covered fields and disappear in and out of drifting snow, tinged pink by sunsets.
When full of grain and green shoots, those large birds fly back to Middle Creek's lake, group after group, and come in for a landing on the water's surface with webbed feet and long necks extended, their reflections racing through the water to meet their impacts on it.
The dark, rugged-looking black ducks wind through groups of geese and swans in the cove, offering interesting contrasts in colors and sizes. These large puddle ducks, along with their close cousins, the mallards, join geese and swans in harvested corn fields to shovel up waste corn. There the geese, swans and ducks form beautiful, mixed groups. Mallard hens are brown with darker markings that blends them into their backgrounds so they're not so visible to predators. Mallard drakes, on the other hand, are more decorative than their mates, with yellow beaks, iridescent, green heads and bright orange webbed feet.
When these two kinds of ducks take flight from water or soil, one can hear their wings pulsing rapidly and rythmically, and a hen's occasional quacking. Look up quickly, and you might see gangs of these ducks sweeping across the sky, often in front of brilliant sunsets.
Though common and everyday in southeastern Pennsylvania in winter, I never tire of seeing these beautiful birds, through the day, or at dusk. They are all handsome, and add much beauty and intrigue to this area's farmland through much of each winter.
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