Chickadees have an intimate knowledge of the trees. They never stop investigating every nook and cranny of a tree. They will explore the very top of the tree and everything in between to the base. I will even see them on the ground around it.
The other day I was watching a flock of them eating heaps of these leaf galls. Every single leaf that I could see on this oak tree had galls on the underside. Within a matter of seconds, a chickadee would pluck one, hold it with its feet, open it, and eat the small larva inside. I can’t even imagine how many insects one chickadee consumes in a day.
August Jackson at the arboretum just put together a small brochure of Mount Pisgah oak gall wasps. It is at the kiosk just before you walk across the bridge into the White Oak Pavilion. It has great photos. Check it out.
