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Wildlife Management Notes

Wildlife Management Notes and Observations
April 18, 2000

Woodland pond at Birdsong.

Weather It has been a lovely cool winter and spring. We had numerous frosts this year which contributed to lots of very dry fuel for burning and some good hot fires! The serious rainfall deficit is still a problem, but at least this last month we’ve had some rain, a couple of real downpours, and so plants and animals are not suffering like last year at this time.

Controlled Burning We tried hard to get most of this year’s burning done early in case of extended drought later on. To date we’ve burned about two-thirds of the place including most of the perimeter. Burns were scattered spatially and sequentially in time to provide different stages of emerging vegetation across the entire property. This patchiness then provides a wonderful variety of food and cover for wildlife, both through the burning season and the rest of the year.

This winter’s burning was handled very carefully due to the extremely dry conditions, dry fuel, and low humidity. On two occasions, we got out with a crew, started a test fire and saw that conditions were not right and put it out, a first in my experience. Very frustrating for a good crew geared up and ready to burn! Another first was to call in for a permit and have it denied by the Georgia Forestry Commission because of wildfire potential in the area. The dry conditions did allow for some very effective brush control burns, especially in places where a hot burn had not been through in several years. Under more normal conditions the drain areas have rarely burned at all and have been used as fire lanes, so each burn has had to be approached differently this year. These hot burns have been a true learning experience for everyone on the crew.

Right now the fields and woods are greening up beautifully. As burned for in December, the Gin House is full of crimson clover and daisy fleabane and we’re just past the purple haze of toadflax mixed with the dark pink of sorrel, as is typical in fields in the area this time of year.

We still have more burning to do. Some areas such as the Wildlife Woods need a very cool burn while the immediately adjacent Big Bay Field needs the hottest one we can manage to control little shortleaf pines. A challenging prescription! As it is turkey nesting season, we will try to avoid their nesting habitat but fit in a cool burn around the swamp and Live Oak Hammock as soon as we can. We’ve had excellent burning help this year - sincere thanks to everyone who served on a crew.

Longleaf Pines Long time members and friends Russ and Kathy Rothman called us in January to offer us a wonderful gift of 500 longleaf pine seedlings. We immediately burned off the northwest corner of Big Pasture, where we continue a long range longleaf planting and restoration project. Two years ago we planted seedlings with Scout Troop 105, unfortunately during the drought. Hardly any seedlings survived that spring. This year it had rained once prior to burning, we got the seedlings in the ground, and since then it has rained enough to keep them looking very healthy, with actively growing buds. We hope they’ve gotten well-established and that we’ll get more rain. Thank you Russ and Kathy!

Berries The last yaupon berries, cherry laurel, wax myrtle, hackberry, and mistletoe are all nearly gone - having been good wildlife food sources through the winter. Oregon grape at the Bird Window is a favorite of the catbirds. The trees of choice right now for the cedar waxwings are the red mulberries - we can’t recall these tree producing this much fruit in years. The waxwings are feeding ecstatically throughout the day. Visitors have been able to enjoy flocks coming in, and gorging themselves on ripening mulberries on the two trees near the restrooms.

Flowers We had a beautiful early showing of carolina jessamine, dogwood, yaupon, cherry laurel, and an incredible garden of purple violets along the burned bank on the trail to the Listening Place. The wild azaleas have just passed their peak, and now we’ve got lots of crimson and other clovers, lyre-leafed salvia, oxalis, and palmetto blooming, attracting lots of bees and some butterflies. Sparkleberry, blueberry and blackberries are also blooming. The lovely gift of heirloom daffodil varieties donated by John and Linda Van Beck have been showing in sequence and are being photographed as they appear. During the warm part of the day, the house garden is perfumed with the mixed fragrances of pittosporum, late tea-olive, honeysuckle, and banana shrub - delightful! Also - you must try getting down on your knees to sniff the tiny white flowers of partridgeberry perched on their double ovary - the scent is amazing!

Courtship and Nesting Birds are nesting everywhere! Right now there is a bluejay nest in the pecan closest to the office door - we can see the mother’s tail as she moves around. Carolina wrens built a nest in the mens’ restroom (too accessible so we removed it), the storage room (we closed off the hole in the screen) and now up high in the ladies’ restroom where they have nested successfully before, out of reach. Yesterday, one of our Thomas County Central High School students found a large broad-headed sink sitting on top of the nest. Kathleen tried to escort him down from there but he ended up running into the nest where he curled up around the five eggs inside. He would not come out. Upon later inspection, the mother wren was sitting once again on her eggs, no skink in sight. She apparently had the last word, for now. Our male orchard oriole is singing from his usual perch in the pecan overlooking the House Pasture, and a male indigo bunting was seen in the Gin House Field. The chorus of singing continues - the brown thrasher, rufous-sided towhee, cardinals, parula warblers, chickadees, titmice, bluebirds - it is full, intense, joyful. Take a minute just to listen - it can really put you in the moment and lift your spirits.

Purple Martins We burned the House Pasture around the martin pole on February 1st in preparation for their arrival. This year has been different. The first ones were spotted on February 3rd, later than in the past few years, when they arrived on or close to Betty Komarek’s birthday on January 29th, always a cause for celebration. For a number of weeks we only had four pairs checking on the gourds, vocalizing, and visiting. In recent weeks we have seen lots of nesting behavior, with females in particular swooping down to the mowed trail to collect wet grass or visiting the nearby pine trees for needles. They are also taking advantage of the red clay pool we provide near the pole so they need not travel to the ponds for clay for building nests. At this time we have our usual full complement of twenty birds. We have observed a kestrel and a cooper’s hawk approaching the pole and being escorted away by a flock of martins. We are unsure as to why the usual number of birds who move in immediately upon arrival have taken so long to get here and get established. Hawk harassment? Weather? We are now also placing crushed eggshell nearby which provides a good calcium source for both adults and young. Come sit and just watch some morning - their singing, chuckling, and flying antics are delightful, and soon they will be sitting on eggs and eventually feeding babies.

The Butterfly Garden The wild azalea has just finished blooming and now lyre-leaf salvia is providing nectar for our butterflies in the old butterfly garden. It is highly invasive and you probably don’t want it in your garden, but it is useful for nectar - it is the abundant blue wildflower you see now along the roadsides. The hop trees are newly leafed out and currently covered with tiny giant swallowtail caterpillars - not many other larvae are on host plants right now. We have seen quite a few cloudless sulphurs, tiger swallowtails, buckeyes, some fritillaries, and a number of monarchs coming through. We also found an early red-spotted purple pupa on our watering can, which emerged overnight and was greatly admired by all and released.

Other Miscellaneous Sightings Many turkeys have been seen frequently around the place. Last month, while walking through a rainstorm, Matt Morris heard one male gobbling loudly at each thunderclap. The males are spectacular this time of year, with colorful heads and breast feathers that glint from copper to purple to green.

Bill Waite saw two bald eagles soaring together over the Gin House yesterday, watched closely by two anhingas. He has also been seeing lots of turkeys and deer. If you see a turkey, please do not approach - there may be a nest nearby.

Alligators have been heard bellowing in Big Bay Swamp. We are aware of at least four, who respond to loud machinery and then each other. This signals the beginning of their courtship and nesting season. Later on we’ll be watching for any signs of mound-building by females.

So we have moved through another seasonal cycle, from winter to spring - the surge of emerging life continues, rich with motion and migration, courtship and song, leaves greening and flowers blooming. We feel it too, stirrings of change, the light at a different angle, and on we go, part of it all.

    From Betty
    My love to everyone
    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:

• December 1999
• October 1999
• April 1999
• February 1999
• December 1998

Copyright © 1999, Birdsong Nature Center
Revised -- April 27, 2000