Birdsong Home
WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT NOTES
June 23, 2005
Weather
It has been years since we have had so many overcast days in a row.
The humidity has been overwhelming. Peter has recorded 10.37 inches
of rain since May 1st and the vegetation has responded: the whole place
is green and lush and the trails are in need of frequent mowing. The
only problem with keeping the trails mowed is we end up cutting down some
of our Spiranthes orchids, also called ladies’ tresses. This time
of year they send up their tiny white spiral of flowers – the rest of
the time they are invisible, blending in with the grass.
It is a
very rich and varied season for nature observation. All the plants and
animals are taking full advantage of the abundance provided by a rainy spring
and summer.
The Gin House Field
Always
a great place to walk through, the Gin House Field is in its summer raiment:
daisy fleabane. This lovely white aster turns the field into an expanse
of lace. There are varieties of bees and other insects and a multitude
of dragonflies of every color. Bluebirds, Kingbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds,
Orchard Orioles, Indigo Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks nest here and the air
is full of their song and the light fragrance of summer plants.
The Star
Pasture is such an interesting feature. Blair mowed an absolutely perfect
circle for the Summer Solstice Star Watch. Bring a blanket – it
is a great spot to relax any time of day and enjoy all the activity.
Upper Pond and Farm Pond
Approaching
this area from the Gin House, closer to cover, Bobwhite Quail, Towhees, Red-bellied
Woodpeckers and Brown-headed Nuthatches can be heard. Peter has had
to clear out the Upper Pond pipe to keep the water level down due to all the
rain. The Upper Pond is full of blooming spadderdock and button bush,
attracting gorgeous black and yellow tiger swallowtails butterflies.
On the dam, a turtle nest has been raided, most likely by a raccoon.
In the Farm Pond there is a substantial crop of Brasenia, or water shield
, great duck food. No ducks, but the alligator is floating around in
the middle of the pond, just watching. Peter and Bill have done a great
job of selective cutting on the Farm Pond Dam, removing sweet gum and leaving
buttonbush and wax myrtle.
The Bog Garden
We burned
this area as hot as we could in February and it is really paying off.
Our three varieties of pitcher plants are thriving and one is in bloom.
They are so fascinating and in beautiful shape – great for a photograph.
There are minute sundews underfoot throughout the garden and road. Soon
they will be sending up a tiny thread-like stem and bright yellow flowers.
At this moment, a beautiful Common Yellowthroat is singing from the top of
a persimmon, overlooking his territory.
The Big Pasture
No longer
a pasture at all, this area is now home to a future longleaf woods.
On the southern side, there are longleaf we planted around twelve or more
years ago and they are tall and healthy. On the northern side are longleaf
that were planted before the drought. Many did not survive those dry
years. However, Blair has bush-hogged recently and we are delighted
to see that there has been a lot more survival than we thought. It really
looks good. The Summer Tanagers must appreciate it, too – there
are several singing from high branches.
Big Bay Swamp is full of fragrant water lily and Utricularia, an unusual aquatic
carnivorous plant. Both are in full bloom. The water tupelo is
fully leafed out now hiding empty Great Blue Heron nests. The herons
had a very successful season and are now training their young to feed themselves.
At the Listening Place the frogs are in full chorus, with crickets and cicadas
joining in. A Northern Parula and Blue Gray Gnatcatcher are trying to
keep up.
Big Bay Pond, our temporary pond, is full to the brim this year and showing
off a gorgeous central circle filled with pink knotweed, surrounded by a band
of bright green grass. Nearby the wind is blowing through the pines
in the Shortleaf Woods. There is a lot of Spiranthes along this trail.
Spring Pond
This pond
is full to overflowing and very turbid, due to runoff from neighboring fire
lanes. It is home to a very cranky Little Blue Heron, who flies off
complaining upon being intruded on. There is an abundant population
of large tadpoles for him to hunt. The resident alligator has plenty
of water to roam in – he was lying nose against the bank closest to the
trail. Tanagers love the surrounding woods and are chittering.
An enormous Great Horned Owl took off from above the pond and perched and
posed nearby for several minutes. What an intense gaze and what a wingspan.
It seemed very out of place in broad daylight.
Butterflies and the Butterfly Garden
Our friends
and excellent instructors Sally and Dean Jue presented a wonderful butterfly
slide program and then our group walked out and found 25 species in less than
two hours. Please see the list on this page. The overcast skies
keep butterfly activity down somewhat, but on a sunny day the Garden can be
spectacular. Our Garden’s team of volunteer continues to do a fantastic
job keeping the garden weeded, planted, and mulched all year long. The
butterflies really appreciate it!
The Bird Window
We are
now seeing lots of behavior indicating that our resident birds are feeding
young. Red-headed and Red-bellied Woodpeckers collect suet and carry
it away to their nests; Cardinals are now bringing their offspring in to the
Window; and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are feeding on nectar and Clarodendron
all day long.
Purple Martins
We have
some wonderful news to report! Not only have all our ten martin pairs
raised and fledged their broods, but one pair is now feeding a second brood!
This is rare at our martin pole. Historically all our martins take off
for their trip to the coast and to South America by the Fourth of July.
It will be interesting to see if this last brood of three babies will be ready
to go by then. The martins, as always, have been delightful.
We were
extremely concerned, about four weeks ago, to find martin wing feathers right
in front of the martin pole on the trail. Next to the feathers was an
owl pellet or bolus, apparently coughed up by a Barred Owl prior to eating
its martin prey. This pellet told an amazing story: it was full
of red Cardinal feathers, blue Indigo Bunting feathers, and snake skin scales
that sparkled in the sunlight. What a busy owl. Fortunately, this
type of dusk raid on a martin gourd did not happen again, as far as we can
tell. One martin parent went on to raise the brood alone. Just
let us know if you ever want to see this pellet – it is fascinating.
We hope
you will come out and enjoy a peaceful walk at Birdsong in spite of the heat
and humidity.
~ KDB
Links to other Birdsong pages.
Birdsong Nature Center
(800) 953-BIRD
(229) 377-4408 / fax 377-8723
2106 Meridian Rd
Thomasville, GA 31792
BirdsongNC@aol.com
Copyright © 2002, Birdsong Nature Center
Revised -- February 23,2006