I was slowly walking along out at the arboretum when I was struck by the beauty of these leaves growing along the path. Their elegant sea-green color with watercolored, purple veins were soothing and refreshing. Even though this plant is common and grows throughout the arboretum, its warmth and vibrancy had me feeling as if I was seeing this plant for the first time.
Fringe cup (Tellima grandiflora)
In the winter, the trailing blackberry leaves turn a subtle, rich burgundy. Their subdued color blends into the landscape. On a clear, cold day in February, the leaves captured the sun’s fiery rays. The underside glowed a flaming red. It reminded me to look at life from different sides or angles to discover its illuminating nature.
On Saturday, it rained off and on the whole day. The weather cleared late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. On Sunday, it was cold, the wind was blowing 10-15 mph, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
On Sunday, I walked down the pond lily trail seeking shelter from the wind and listening for birds. Along the trail, there is a place where the Pacific Nine Bark shrub grows over the trail. At this spot, there is a bunch of lungwort lichen, Lobaria pulmonaria, growing. I was surprised to see that most of it had already dried out from the cold wind. When a lichen is dry, the fungus protects the photobiont layer from drying out, mainly a green alga in lungwort lichen. When a lichen is wet, the cells of the surface skin (cortex) of the fungus become more transparent. In this case, it exposes the vibrant green algal cells underneath. The green alga of the lungwort lichen, is able to perform photosynthesis to provide food.
Lichens do not have roots. They get their water and nutrients from their surrounding environment via air and rain, which is absorbed into the lichen's structure. Of course, this makes them susceptible to pollution, so only the most tolerant species grow in town.
Lichens are amazing organisms that come in a myriad of shapes and sizes. There are approximately 3,600 species of lichens in North America discovered so far. Look around, and you will quickly see a large diversity at the arboretum. Good luck!
Resources
About Lichens. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/beauty/lichens/about.shtml. Accessed 30 Jan. 2023.
Lichen Biology. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/beauty/lichens/biology.shtml. Accessed 30 Jan. 2023.
Lungwort. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/lobaria_pulmonaria.shtml. Accessed 30 Jan. 2023.
A pair of mallards have been paddling around and exploring the wetlands this winter.
Male Mallards have a dark, glossy-green head, white neck ring, chestnut-brown chest, gray body, orange feet, and a yellowish bill. They also have a noticeable black tail curl at the rear part of their bodies. Females and juveniles are mottled brown with orange-and-brown bills. Both sexes have a white bar on both sides of a blue speculum patch in the wing. You can see it in the photo of the female searching for food below the surface.
Mallards dabble to feed. You will often see them in shallow water tipped forward with their hind quarters in the air as they reach for submerged plants and animals on or near the bottom. They will also forage on the top of the water and along the shore.
Interestingly, all of the quackings you hear coming from mallards are made by females. The males don't quack. Instead, they make quieter sounds that Peterson describes as “yeeb or a low kwek.”
Mallards are powerful flyers. Migrating flocks of mallards have been estimated traveling at 55 miles per hour (All About Birds).
Also, they can launch directly into the air from the water and don't need to run across the surface to reach takeoff speed. To achieve lift-off, their first wing beat pushes against the water's surface. This is handy in places like the wetlands out at the arboretum, which is dense with vegetation.
This mallard pair is fairly tolerant of my presence if I slowly and quietly walk out onto the bridge. They are so peaceful to watch as they swim around.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. I look forward to seeing you out there.
Resources
Ehrlich, Paul R., et al. The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds: Including All Species That Regularly Breed North of Mexico. Simon & Schuster, 1988.
Mallard Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mallard/overview. Accessed 26 Jan. 2023.
Peterson, Roger Tory, et al. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.
Sibley, David. What It’s like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing -- What Birds Are Doing, and Why. Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.
The foundation of the visitor’s center is being redone at the arboretum. Holes are being dug to pour concrete to support new beams. On one of the corners, there was a stump of an oak tree. While digging out the stump, Connor came across this huge larva boring through the middle of one of the roots, and it looks like a California Root Borer Beetle.
The California prionus beetle is 1¾ - 2¼ inches long (45-60 mm) and reddish-brown with long, deeply notched antennae. The larvae can be 4¼ inches (108 mm) and approximately ¾ inch (18 mm) at the widest point of their body.
The larva can spend from three to five years underground eating roots before reaching maturity. Based on the size of this larva, it appears to be getting close to maturity. So we found a small terrarium that wasn’t being used and set it up with soil and chunks of oak tree roots. We covered it with leaves and put a screened lid on top.
Of course, my hope is that the larva will pupate and turn into an adult beetle. I’m not sure of the survival rate of this beetle after being plucked from its home inside an oak root two feet underground. I’ll certainly let you know what happens.
I have been seeing the male Anna’s hummingbird performing his courtship out at the arboretum and in my backyard.
The display begins as the male rises up into the sky above the perched female. Then he dives down, swoops past, and rises above her. When he completes the arc, he will hover, face her, and sing a squeaky song. At the bottom of the dive, he makes a high-pitched chirp which is made by air whipping through his tail feathers. Look closely, and you can see him whizzing by towards the middle of the video.
If the female is receptive to all of the male’s courting, she will lead him toward the nest site, where she will perch. The male will then hold his body horizontally and fly back in forth in short tight arcs above the female. I have not seen this second phase of the courtship, and I am imagining that will mate at this time.
Males and females don’t form pairs. The Birder’s Handbook has its mating system labeled Promiscuity. This is defined as males and females mating more or less indiscriminately. With Anna’s hummingbirds, only the females care for the young. The Anna’s hummingbird nests that I have seen being built were created by the female.
It is interesting that all of this is taking place in the middle of January. I am not sure if they will try to nest this early, and I haven’t seen any nests being constructed. Perhaps the male is setting up his territory and trying to attract females for the future. That said, Anna’s hummingbirds are some of the first nests that I find in spring. I’ll keep you informed if I come across more about when they start to nest in our area.
Oregon grape is an evergreen shrub. The other day I noticed that a reddish hue had tinged many of the leaves. As I stood there observing, I saw a light green margin bordering the shadow being cast on a lower leaf. I pulled back the upper leaf and was surprised to see that where the leaves overlapped, the lower leaf was bright green. It appeared as if the leaf had a sunburn. I wondered why the leaf had become sensitive to the gentle, lower-intensity rays of the winter sun. In addition, some of the leaves were splotched with red, and others had completely turned a bright red. My thoughts mostly dissipated as my wonder became filled with beauty—the shape of the leaves, their texture, and of the juxtaposition of the red and green complementary colors.
I was standing at the corner of the main meadow just above the barn. Up to that point, the day had been quiet. So I was happy to see a nice flock of juncos foraging around a favorite poison oak bush of theirs. Mixed in were some ruby-crowned kinglets, and some chickadees and white-breasted nuthatches were rambling through the oak trees nearby. I was trying to take a photo of a ruby-crowned kinglet when suddenly the juncos erupted into strong alarm calls as they retreated to the poison oak bush. The chickadees and nuthatches were incessantly alarming as well. There is a predator around! I watched for about 10 or 15 minutes but didn’t see anything moving. I cut through the edge of the meadow down to the barn and walked down the main path to check in with the nuthatches. That is when I noticed a small bird silhouetted against the pale, winter sky—the Northern Pygmy Owl.
Peterson states that this small owl at 6.75-7 inches tall. For comparison, the American Robin is listed as 10 inches. This owl may be small in stature, but it is a fast, adept hunter.
It perched facing out in the meadow and was scanning in all directions. Suddenly it swooped down across the meadow and landed on a lower branch of another oak tree about 20 yards away. I walked down to hopefully get a better look at it, and I saw that it had caught a small songbird. I couldn’t believe it! I watched it as it flew, and I still missed it catching what appeared to be a junco.
I was able to capture a couple of photos before it flew away. In the second photo, a notable field mark of “eyes” on the back of the head are visible.
As I was watching it from its first perch, I saw it cough up a pellet. I went back after it flew off and luckily found it on the ground.
I was grateful to have a glimpse at this amazing bird, a great bird to start off the year. Have a Happy New Year. I hope that you have a great year of birdwatching. See you out there.
I watched this coyote for a few hours as it wandered around the meadow, hunting for food. Most of the time, it walked as it explored. If it heard the rustling of a rodent, it would turn in that direction and intently listen and watch. Then it would slowly position itself as it honed in on its prey. Finally, when it was ready to strike, it would crouch down, leap into the air and pounce on its prey. I saw it successfully catch and eat four rodents. Coyotes are omnivores and will eat almost anything they can catch. Tom Brown states,” A typical meat diet includes fifty percent rabbit, twenty-five percent small rodents (mostly voles), and twenty-five percent carrion… They also eat birds and a variety of fruit, nuts, and leaves.” I was amazed that birds were not more upset with its presence. Once, it flushed a Bewick’s wren. The wren popped up onto a blackberry cane and intently watched, but surprisingly, it never made an alarm call or any other vocalizations.
Interestingly, Tom Brown writes: “Contrary to popular belief, coyotes are solitary. (The so-called ‘bands’ of coyotes that are sometimes seen are almost always family groups composed of a mother and her young.)”
Coyotes are well camouflaged. Their coats are a broad range of grays, browns, and white. There were moments when I was watching that it seemingly disappeared as it blended in so well with the dead grass.
Coyotes are nocturnal for the most part, so it seemed a little unusual to see this one hunting throughout the morning and into the afternoon. That said, it was one of those gray days when the entire day looked like the dim light before sunset.
Reference
Brown, Tom, and Brandt Morgan. Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking. Berkley trade pbk. ed, Berkley Books, 1983.
I recently met the artist Leslie Blanding Perrin. (Check out her magnificent art at the Leafy Lexicon.) In our conversation, she shared with me that the pith in the stem of the Black Cottonwood is star-shaped.
I did a little poking around on the internet to read about pith in tree stems. The biology of plants is fascinating and gets complicated quickly. I recommend doing research to learn and understand it. Basically, the pith is the spongy portion at the center of the branch that functions to transport nutrients and store food. The new pith is usually pale in color and will often darken to a brown color as it ages.
I went out to the arboretum to find a star, and I ran into two stars of the arboretum, Patrick and Conner. We went over to a cottonwood tree nearby to see what we could find. What we found is that the star is pale and not noticeable on young healthy stems. The first star we discovered was on a stem that was distressed from being used as a deer rub in previous years. The pith had turned a rich brown revealing a wonderful star. We also found the pith turning brown in small, fallen branches on the ground where it had started to deteriorate.
Cottonwoods are magical trees that line the banks of the river, and they have a star at the center of their stems to show it.
The golden-crowned kinglet returns to the arboretum every year to spend the fall and winter months. This beautiful little bird always warms my heart when I catch a glimpse of it on a cold winter’s day.
They are pale olive above and gray below, with a black-and-white striped face. The males have a yellow-orange crown patch which is often concealed. During the breeding season, the male will flare his orange patch when chasing off male intruders in his territory. The females are similar and only have a yellow crown patch.
This is a tiny bird. All About Birds lists its length as 3.1-4.3 in. To help locate this bird, listen for the call notes that males and females give to stay in contact with each other. Peterson describes it as a “high, wiry see-see-see.” Another helpful hint to help find the golden-crowned kinglet is that it travels around in mixed flocks. Out at the arboretum, you will see it palling around with chickadees, nuthatches, bushtits, ruby-crowned kinglets, and brown creepers.
The golden-crowned kinglet mostly eats insects, insect eggs, and spiders. I see it glean insects everywhere on the tree—the bark, leaves, moss, and lichen. It will also hover to capture prey under leaves or hawk for aerial insects.
Under “Cool Facts,” All About Birds has this miraculous bit of information: “The tiny Golden-crowned Kinglet is hardier than it looks, routinely wintering in areas where nighttime temperatures can fall below –40° Fahrenheit.”
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. Hope to see you out there.
Resources
Golden-Crowned Kinglet Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden-crowned_Kinglet/overview. Accessed 15 Dec. 2022.
Peterson, Roger Tory, et al. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.
Recently, I found a yellow jacket nest from this year that a skunk had dug up. Skunks are primarily insectivores, and they will dig up nests of ground wasps to eat them and, I imagine, their larvae too. I investigated the nest debris outside the hole and inside. I didn’t see any yellow jackets or larvae. The nest cavity was only a few inches underground and roughly the size of a soccer ball. I went to the location of another nest from the summer and found that it had also been shoveled out. At the entrance, I saw what looked like a yellow jacket queen. Surprisingly, she was still alive but not very active.
I wondered when were these dug up. The digs seemed fresh, and some of the paper of the nest had not been soaked through by the rain. I thought the nests had died off for the winter, but I knew the skunk wouldn’t dig in there for nothing. We have had some frosty, cold nights when the temperature dipped into the upper 20’s (degrees Fahrenheit). Were there any yellow jackets or larvae still in the nests?
I decided to get a shovel, find a nest, and dig it up to see what was in there. There were a few nests near the White Oak Pavilion that I hoped the skunk hadn’t found. While getting a shovel, I ran into Patrick at the shop, and he came with me. We were unable to find the first one we looked for in all of the fallen leaves and grass. We went to two more locations, and the nests had been dug up already. We went to a fourth location and saw that it hadn’t been dug up yet. We started scraping away the leaves and fallen grass, looking for it. Patrick found the entrance to the nest because yellow jackets began streaming out to investigate. It was a cool day so they were only circling close the entrance. Nevertheless, we quickly backed away. I couldn’t believe it was still active! It is almost winter, and I thought yellow jacket nests wouldn’t have survived this long. If the weather is mild enough and the location of the nest is in a protected dry area, is it possible that a nest could overwinter here? I’ll be watching this one to see what happens. Will it survive the winter or will the skunk find it?
As you enter the south meadow, there used to be a spot where the arboretum piled debris like tree limbs, dug-up blackberries, etc. Once the pile got to a certain size, and it was the right time of year, they would burn it. The last time I remember them burning anything, it was about 3 or 4 years ago. Sizable burn piles, such as the one that happened here, basically bake the ground because of the intense heat created. Essentially, this kills all of the plants and destroys the soil's ecosystem. The first plants that reestablish the spot are usually nonnative species. In this case, Himalayan blackberry, teasel, and a species of thistle dominate this area.
These areas will start to grow larger. Blackberries can easily create dense thickets and shade out other plants. There are plenty of examples of blackberries creating impenetrable thickets around the arboretum, especially along the river bank. Teasel is a biennial and can quickly spread out of control. In the second photo below, you can see the dense mat being created that will hinder other plants from growing. Parts of the south meadow are already covered with thick stands of teasel.
I’ve seen this phenomenon occur where the forest service has burned huge slash piles in places where they have been thinning the trees. I don’t know if they still use this practice.
These areas require a considerable amount of effort to restore, so it is best to avoid creating them.
Note
Sorry I haven’t posted more lately. I’ve been a little under the weather.
The brown creeper is a gentle little bird with a cheerful spirit.
It likes to "creep" and circle up the tree trunk and onto the limbs as it searches for food. Once it climbs up into the middle or top part of the tree, it will fly back down near the base of the same tree, one nearby, or onto a lower limb.
It has a slender, slightly curved bill that allows it to probe into bark crevices, thick carpets of moss, and under lichen. It has stiff tail feathers to brace itself as it forages, similar to woodpeckers. Its diet mainly includes insects, insect larvae, spiders, and spider eggs.
The brown creeper has exceptional camouflage. The top half of its body has a beautiful, mottled pattern that resembles dappled sunlight. The Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America says the brown creeper is "like a piece of bark come alive." Its underside is white and relatively concealed, mainly because it hugs close to the tree as it explores.
To help locate this tiny bird, listen for its call and song. The male and female will give call notes to check in with each other. Peterson describes it as "a single high, thin seee, similar to quick three-note call [see-see-see] of Golden-crowned kinglet." They have a cheerful song that Peterson interprets as "a high, thin, sibilant see-ti-wee-tu-wee or trees, trees trees, see the trees." I have also heard fellow bird watchers aptly characterize it as "trees, trees, trees, beautiful trees." To listen, click here (All About Birds by the Cornell Lab).
They usually build a nest between the tree's trunk and a piece of peeling bark of a dead or dying tree. The frame of the nest is a layer of twigs and strips of bark. The nest cup consists of materials like finer plant fibers, feathers, and hair. Insect cocoons and spider egg cases hold the nest together and anchor it to the tree.
Brown creepers are a year-round resident at the arboretum. They can be a little easier to find now that the deciduous trees have mostly lost their leaves, opening up the tree canopy. Small songbirds like to create mixed flocks during the winter, so look for brown creepers hanging out with chickadees, bushtits, and nuthatches.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. Hope to see you out there.
Resources
Brown Creeper Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Creeper/lifehistory. Accessed 28 Nov. 2022.
Brown Creeper Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Creeper/sounds. Accessed 28 Nov. 2022.
Kaufman, Kenn, et al. Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America. Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
Peterson, Roger Tory, et al. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.
The weather this whole last week was clear and cold. A thin sheet of ice started forming at the river’s edge. It captured the flow of the river as it grew out—curving bands reminiscent of tree rings. Also, the ice interestingly was slightly elevated above the water. I could see a shadow being cast on the rock. In the second, up-close photo below, the ice looked etched with lines, fracturing the flowing curves. The ice in the third photo below looked fuzzy around the rock. It was as if some electrical current emanating from its edge was frozen. It felt stormy, and I soon realized two were headed my way. A couple of kids arrived on the scene with a different interest and fascination rather than form and texture. They loved the way it broke. They were delighted by the crunch and crackle sounds that were made as they smashed it with stomping boots.
I have often heard the coloration of the robin’s breast described as red. In Peterson’s field guide he describes it as a “brick red.” It is not red like the flaming red crest of a pileated woodpecker, for example. The robin’s breast is more orange, which as we know, is a color we can create by mixing red and yellow pigments together. So, on the color wheel, the robin’s red breast is more in the secondary color yellow-red (orange) range not the pure primary red.
In this photo you can see that the robin’s breast matches and blends in well with the warm oranges and browns of the fall leaves.
Honestly, I’m okay with calling it red. It’s easier to write catchy songs like “When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along.” I need a little spring in my step as I walk around in the chilly days of the coming winter.
Again, I found myself watching a Bewick’s wren hop, tumble and leap between the branches. Suddenly it popped out onto this twig and posed as if it was the completion of its acrobatic routine. It stuck the landing! With the dappled afternoon sunlight in the background, I quickly snapped a photo and silently cheered its wonderful performance.
I aspire to be the bird in the photo. Flitting through the understory, staying close to the earth. Exploring all of the sensations—the leafy, green fern fronds, the soft, spongy moss, the humid scent of the soil, and the sounds of insects rummaging through fallen leaves. Peering out through windows in the vegetation as I merrily skip in and out of view, in constant awe of what new wonders could be awaiting me.
“Few people have the imagination for reality.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Meet the Bewick’s wren. It is a year-round resident that feels right at home in the thickets and shrubby areas in the open country of the oak savanna landscape of Mt. Pisgah arboretum.
It has a brown back and wings, and its underside is gray and white. A distinguishing feature is its bold, white eyebrow stripe. Its tail is long, black-barred, tipped with white spots, and is often cocked upwards. Its bill is fairly long, pointy, and slightly downcurved.
It is a spirited, acrobatic bird. It tumbles, hops, and bounds its way through the landscape as it forages for food. It effortlessly flits from limb to limb in the underbrush, clings to the sides of trees, and hangs upside down as it explores. Most of its diet is “the eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of insects and other small invertebrates (All About Birds).”
Its lively character also comes through in its song, which I can hear from a fair distance. Here is Peterson’s description of its voice: “Song suggests Song Sparrow’s, but thinner starting on two or three high notes, dropping lower, ending on a thin trill; calls a sharp vit, vit and buzzy dzzzzzt.” Click here to go to All About Birds to listen.
This is a great bird to get to know. If you walk slowly and quietly, it is quite tolerant of your presence. Also, it is easy to observe because It usually forages less than 10 feet off the ground. So you don’t get a kink in your neck scanning up in the tree canopy for it.
Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. Hope to see you out there.
References
Bewick’s Wren Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bewicks_Wren/lifehistory. Accessed 9 Nov. 2022.
Ehrlich, Paul R., et al. The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds: Including All Species That Regularly Breed North of Mexico. Simon & Schuster, 1988.
Peterson, Roger Tory, et al. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.
Last weekend I heard the familiar sound of Steller’s Jays squawking, and I went over to have a look. I saw them hopping on the ground and through the limbs of the bay tree out by the barn. Not long after I arrived on the scene, one flew off with one of the green fruits of the tree. It flew down to the ground, buried the fruit, and quickly returned for another one. Another jay had found one on the ground and had managed to extract the seed from inside. It was on a lower limb breaking off bits and eating them. They were mostly gathering the fruit and flying away to cache them. There are quite a few trees that have sprouted up nearby from ones that weren’t retrieved. Steller’s Jays stash many seeds throughout the year and it seems highly possible that they would forget where they buried some of them. Also, if the jay should die sometime during the winter, the unrecovered, buried seeds could sprout thus dispersing the plant.
