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Wildlife Management Notes

Wildlife Management Notes and Observations
October 21, 2004

Woodland pond at Birdsong.

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT NOTES

October 21, 2004

Weather

            We came through the series of hurricanes/storms with relatively little damage.  Fortunately  we had no damage at all to any buildings, but we did lose a number of beautiful old trees, mostly oaks, a few pines, some huge branches form the nearby pecan trees, and this very large, old magnolia that fell right over the gopher tortoise neighborhood.  Most of these trees tipped over, roots now exposed.  These “tip-up mounds” will be fascinating to observe over a long period of time, as a succession of micro-pioneer plants, such as lichens and mosses, take hold on the red clay soil adhering to the upturned roots.  The open spaces in the canopy above, where large tree branches once were, will allow sunlight to reach the forest floor and we’ll see new growth appear.  So, powerful storms change the landscape.  We may miss our trees, but the natural cycle of growth and change continues and we’ll see new and different plants emerge.

            Sincere thanks goes to Bill Parrish, Peter Wright, Blair Johnson, Ken Bernhard, and Don Hill for helping board up the Bird Window prior to each storm and for their work on clearing the trails of fallen trees and branches.  It’s been quite a task.  As for everyone in our area, it was exhausting having to prepare for a serious storm each time, but it had to be done.  We still feel very fortunate to have been spared anything catastrophic.

            All the rain, 13.82 inches since September 1, has filled up Big Bay Swamp, the Farm Pond, and Spring Pond. They haven’t been this full in years; the ponds and swamp spillways are flowing.  This is great for restoring the water table and for some beautiful healthy vegetation.  It will also be helpful when we burn to have wet drains and creeks providing a reliable fire break.

            The peach-colored hurricane lilies or spider lilies were gorgeous through the storms and attracted dozens of yellow cloudless sulfur butterflies.  What a color combination!

Wildflowers

            Speaking of color, we continue to have a brilliant and ever-changing array of fall wildflowers.  The Gin House Field put on a display of pink Agalinis for weeks.  Now we are seeing swaths of narrow-leaved sunflower and goldenrod emerging.  There are also patches of frost aster, blue curl and dog fennel.  The winged sumac is beginning to turn red.  Elsewhere, across the property, we have seen gorgeous stands of purple blazing star, Ageratum, and beggars lice.  The Upper Pond and Farm Pond are encircled by banks of the intense golden narrow-leaved sunflower, beautiful in the morning sunlight.  Everywhere you look dozens of species of grasses are in spectacular bloom; every imaginable shade of gold and copper and bronze.  Backlit by sunshine they are like a spray of precious metal. 

Autumn Harvest

            There is wildlife food galore this time of year.  Now is when we see the results of all the intense flowering and pollination that has gone on all spring and summer.  Berries are in full colorful fruit: yaupon holly, cherry laurel, sparkleberry, dogwood, magnolia, beauty berry—all are being fed upon by birds and other wildlife.  The migrant birds moving through have timed their travels to take full advantage of this bounty.  The nut trees too are laden with food for squirrels, deer, turkeys, and other wildlife.  There is an abundant nut fall of acorns and hickories scattered under every tree.  Because we still have warm weather and green vegetation, there is a rich supply of insects for wildlife to eat, especially grasshoppers.  The grasses, as mentioned, are producing thousands of seeds, also good wildlife food.  There is an abundant harvest available this fall at Birdsong!  Circled by banks of the intense golden narrow-leaved sunflower, beautiful in the morning sunlight.  Everywhere you look dozens of species of grasses are in spectacular bloom, in; every imaginable shade of gold and copper and bronze.  Backlit by sunshine they are like a spray of precious metal.

Birds

            Due to this wealth of natural food we see a decline every fall in the numbers and species of resident birds at the Bird Window.  They don’t need us like they do the rest of the year, and are out enjoying the rich variety of berries, seeds, and insects available.

            We do get to see some special migrant birds visiting the mist and pool.  Recent sightings include:  Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireo; American Redstart; Evening and Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Summer and Scarlet Tanager; Tennessee, Hooded, Yellow–throated, Yellow, Pine and Black–and–white Warblers; Wood, Hermit, and Swainson's Thrush, and Veery.

            Out on the place there are lots of Eastern Bluebirds in flocks, and a flock of Eastern Meadowlarks in the Gin House Field.  These are also plenty of hard-to-identify sparrows, and Michael Bell, birder extraordinaire, will lead a walk in December to help us learn which ones are visiting.

Land Management

            We will conduct our annual Gin House burn in late November or early December, depending upon conditions.  We need a nice dry day, low humidity, and ideally a consistent northwest wind for a good hot burn.  We need to burn late enough that we have some dry fuel (hopefully there will be a frost) yet early enough to burn before the crimson clover germinates.  There is usually a very narrow window of opportunity for this prescription, so we’ll be paying attention to the weather.  Call if you would like to volunteer – burning is an amazing learning experience.

Change

            At this point in our yearly cycle you can really sense the change in our position in the cosmos.  It is so much darker late into the morning as the days grow shorter.  This week we will be dealing with Daylight Savings, a human mechanism for coping with a seasonal shift.  We have moved away from our fall equinox, a time of equal day and night, and are now heading for the winter solstice in December, our longest night.  The Autumn Equinox Star Watch was phenomenal in September - we had such a clear night that you could see all the Milky Way stars - it was hard to pick out some of the constellations, the sky was so brilliant and so full.  We did get to see our nearest neighboring galaxy, Andromeda.  What an awe-inspiring sight.

            So day by day we move toward the solstice. Again this year we will celebrate life of our friend and founder Betty Komarek; the solstice was one of her favorite times in the cosmic cycle.  She is part of the everything we do at Birdsong and would be so pleased to see the place in all its autumn splendor.  We hope you will come out and enjoy this brief but beautiful moment during this year’s trek around the sun.  There will never be another fall exactly like this one.

                                                                                                                            ~ KDB

Copyright © 2002, Birdsong Nature Center
Revised -- August 29, 2004