WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT NOTES
October 25, 2006
Weather
We have had some cold weather at last, down in the low 40’s these last
two nights. Some relief! What a hot, humid fall it has been. There have only
been a few good storms blow through, so we are still feeling the effects of
the drought. Fortunately, this has not stopped the wildflowers from making
a spectacular showing.
Wildflowers
The wildflowers have been a striking feature at Birdsong this fall. I cannot
remember witnessing such masses of color before, and they are everywhere.
When you take a closer look, a huge mass of gold becomes a patchwork of narrowleaved
sunflower, goldenrod and Pityopsis; a garden of purple becomes sprays of Liatris,
Ageratum and Lobelia. The Agalinis in the Gin House, Betty’s “Pink
Cloud” of years ago, was back to cumulus status this year, and most plants
were head-high. There are too many other wonderful flowers in bloom to mention;
this is where seeing is believing. I hope you can get out and enjoy the glorious
sight while it is still so impressive
Gentians
Our neighbor, friend and excellent botanist Gil Nelson has been reviewing
Birdsong’s plant records and has accumulated a sizeable list of historic
records. Being fond of gentians, Gil wanted to search for the green striped
gentian that Betty had showed me about 15 or more years ago in the Wildlife
Woods. Not really sure we’d find any, we drove up the Woods trail, stopped
the truck and Gil stepped out and about 20 feet in, there it was – a
beautiful little gentian with 5 flowers on it. That was a treat! We couldn’t
find any more in the area. Later, Deb Duvall found another two plants dosn
the trail.
When Gil did his Botany at Birdsong walk we also searched the Gentian Slough
for a blue gentian species, and after combing the drain, found many of them
not quite ready to bloom. We’ll go back in another week or two. The Slough
was so dry we walked right down the middle of the creek bed all the way to
the Big Bay Swamp Drain where the two join and proceed off Birdsong, under
Beth Page Road, under Meridian Road and down to the Ochlocknee River. It was
beautiful back in there, a place we so seldom go. The Bog Garden was also
interesting, and the toothache grass had already flowered, showing off its
corkscrew seedheads
Grasse, Berries, and Nuts
The grasses are in their glory right now. With the low angle of the sunlight
shining through them, their copper and gold seedheads are gorgeous throughout
the woods and fields. Berries are ripe and abundant, and the wildlife is taking
full advantage. Dogwoods, cherry laurel, sparkleberry, hackberry, yaupon,
beautyberry – the list is long. The hardwoods have had a good year, too,
and there are acorns, pecans, and hickory nuts littering the wooded trails.
It is time for the harvest!
Land Management
Peter, Deb, and Sue Ellen Smith and Bruce Ritchie have done their part to
help control the spread of Crotalaria in the Mill Field, Lewis Field, and
the Big Pasture area. This is a beautiful golden flowered legume, also called
rattlebox, that is harmful to cattle and can shade out natural groundcover.
Our friends went out and pulled these “weeds” by hand. It is hard
work, but not too unpleasant on a beautiful sunny day.
Bill has been using the mower this fall to cut down the bigger patches. It
is an ongoing effort.
We will conduct our annual Gin House Field burn in late November or early
December, depending upon conditions. We need a nice dry day, low humidity,
and a consistent northwest wind for a good hot burn. We want to burn late
enough to have some really dry fuel, so we hope for a hard freeze, 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 watching
the weather carefully. Call if you would like to volunteer – burning
is an amazing learning experience
Change
This week we celebrate fall with our annual Fall Festival. Every year on this
day we deal 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 heading for the winter solstice in December, our longest night of
the year.
This year we will be celebrating the lives of Betty Komarek and her daughter,
Betsey Komarek Cooke, two people who loved and helped to shape Birdsong. We
had hoped to honor Betsey last year, a short time after her untimely passing,
but we were rained out. This year we are sure to have beautiful weather and
will have the opportunity to honor her memory and all she did for Birdsong,
along with our usual fond celebration of Betty’s life. They would both
be so pleased to see Birdsong in all its autumn splendor. We hope you will
join us for this brief but significant moment during this year’s trip
around the sun.
-KDB
BIRD OBSERVATIONS
In September and October there has been moderate bird activity at the Bird
Window. Most frequently we see Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees,
Red-winged Blackbirds, Carolina Wrens, House Finches and Blue Jays. The suet
ball has attracted several woodpeckers and nuthatches including Red-bellied
Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Downy Woodpecker,
White-breasted Nuthatch and Brown-headed Nuthatch. Occasionally Northern Bobwhite
sneak in and devour the cracked corn, but more often we only hear them. Most
visiting birds are spotted either bathing in the pool or taking a shower in
the mister. Such visitors have included Hermit, Wood, and Swainsons Thrush;
Veery; Brown Thrasher; Eastern Towhee; Northern Mockingbird; a family of three
Gray Catbirds; Yellow-throated, White-eyed and Red-eyed Vireos; Summer and
Scarlet Tanagers;
House Wren: Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a female Indigo Bunting. Other migrants
include Northern Parula; Pine, Black-and–white, Yellow-rumped and Tennessee
Warblers; Great Crested Flycatcher and Eastern Peewee. Some special visitors
seen were an American Redstart, both male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
and an early White-throated Sparrow.
Birds are not the only visitors to the Bird Window. We often see squirrels
and sometimes rabbits. In September a raccoon family, a young mother and three
babies, were spotted late one afternoon
Out on the property Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks have been seen and
heard as have numerous Fish Crows and American Crows, calling and clucking
and gathering pecans. Both Barred and Great-horned Owls have been heard calling
in the evenings. Small mixed flocks of vireos and warblers can be seen foraging
in various trees and bushes.
Early in October a few Wood Ducks, two Belted Kingfishers, an American Coot,
two Pied-billed Grebes, several Little and Great Blue Herons and Great White
Egrets were seen at the Farm Pond. An immature Ibis was seen perched in a
tree near the Barn. Numerous sparrows have been spotted in the grassy fields
and many Eastern Bluebirds can be seen and heard foraging in the woods and
fields.For several days we have been watching a pair of Kestrel’s hunting
insects and small vertebrates in Gin House Field and in the field next to
the Barn. These small predators are a joy to watch.
During September our resident Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were busy utilizing
the abundant native wildflowers and the hummingbird feeder at the Bird Window.
These tiny birds turn all that sugar into fat which they utilize in their
long fall migration South. By October no hummingbirds were sighted at the
Bird Window but since then one or two have been seen in the Butterfly Garden!
According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, over nine species
of hummingbirds have over-wintered in Georgia. Maybe one will grace Birdsong
by over-wintering here this year.
-Chris Bittle
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Revised -- February 23,2006