American (Common) Merganser

Mergansers in flight
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

Today was the first time we've seen Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser americanus), the american subspecies of the merganser known as the Goosander (M. m. merganser Linnaeus) in Europe.  These diving ducks always seem to appear just after we notice the South Branch of the Potomac has turned that familiar shade of winter green.


Mergansers have serrated bills, and like other diving ducks, their legs are positioned further back along their body.  This facilitates diving but also requires a running start to get up and out of the water.  They fish cooperatively and have a lot of other behaviors similar to cormorants, but they also nest in tree cavities.  I think of cormorants as among our most primitive birds, so it's interesting to consider these beautiful mergansers as modern semi-aquatic flying reptiles.

Be sure to use the database link in the upper right corner of this blog page to report what you're seeing.

South Branch Reached Action Level

I'm having difficulty determining just how much rainfall we received last week.  Our own South Branch Science Consortium Weather Station doesn't archive readings online, and with the Oldtown Bridge flooded, I didn't take the time to go to the Wood House from Romney and back on Thursday night.  I went to Romney for the watershed meeting hosted by Melissa Merritt for WVCA, but had to get back to Washington, D.C for meetings the next morning, and I couldn't afford the extra 90 minutes to get the data from the supporting laptop there.

My wife takes our more primitive rain gauges inside for the winter so the ice doesn't destroy them.  I'm a little suspicious of my annual accumulations too, as I've registered less than 30 inches this year, and I'll bet it's the wettest of the seven years I've been in Hampshire.

Every stream I passed from Goose Creek to the North River was significantly swollen, so I wasn't surprised by the spike on the South Branch at Springfield.

South Branch flooding, fresh tracks

(Click the photo to enlarge)

We always look forward to walking the beaches of the South Branch of the Potomac after the water recedes.  We have a particular spot where we always find a fresh collection of mammalian, avian and reptilian tracks.

If you recognize any tracks in this photo, post a comment.  Some of the tracks are from our German short-haired  pointers, who always beat us to the river on our walks.

Deer Management

This is the last week of deer season in Hampshire County until the brief winter private-property season at the end of December.  I've estimated between 40-55 deer per square mile around our area in northern Hampshire County.

Piebald white-tailed deer at Patuxent Wildlife Research Ctr.

Many deer management plans aim to reduce that population to under 20 deer per square mile.  Some metropolitan areas suffer from whitetailed populations over 100/mile2!

We're surrounded by the river on three sides and mountains on all four sides, so we have less immigration/emigration than most places.  As a result, we occasionally see evidence of a shrinking gene pool like unusual antlers and piebald deer.  Of course we also see a lot of tree damage.


This also suggests greater vulnerability to disease.  Not only do greater deer densities mean more interaction and the potential for spreading disease, but a reduced gene pool can also mean lesser resistance to all environmental challenges.

Venison Pizza

Hunting remains the best available option, particularly if you can convince hunters to harvest does.  I've lost enough young trees to antler rubs to appreciate harvest the bucks too, but harvesting a recently impregnated doe is much better for population management. 

My schedule this semester has been too busy to squeeze in any hunting, but my co-worker Shari brought in some ground venison this week.  I used over 1/2 pound, mixed with jalapeno peppers, on a single pizza. 

Ailanthus Fungus?

This is the first time I have ever seen a fungus growing on a living Ailanthus tree (Ailanthus altissima, Tree of Heaven).  I know we'd all love to see a natural attacker of these trees, but we could also expect that whatever killed a nearly invincible Ailanthus tree would likely be devastating to many other species.

I don't yet know what this fungus is, but it didn't take much research to discover there are several fungi and diseases of Ailanthus.  Joanne Rebbeck, of the U.S.Forest Service Northern Research Station in OH describes Verticillium wilt,  caused by Verticillium albo-atrum.  It was first detected in Pennsyvlania in 2002, and is caused by a soil-fungus that infects the vascular tissues of Ailanthus trees. She reports the infected trees die rapidly, typically within a growing season, and that it shows promise as a potential biological control agent of Ailanthus!  Unfortunately, Virginia Cooperative extension reports other vulnerable trees include, but are not limited to, maple, redbud, quince, ash, sassafras and slippery elm.  A few species have demonstrated resistance, including fir, hackberry, dogwood, fig, beech, sycamore, white oak and willow.  Read more here.



On the BugwoodWiki, I found lists of 32 arthropods and 13 fungi that are associated with the genus Ailanthus in China. The fungal species directly associated only with A. altissima include Phyllactinia ailanthi, Cercospora glandulosa, Phyllosticta ailanthi, and Pseudocercospora ailanthicola, Alternaria ailanthi, Aecidium ailanthi, and one unidentified Coleosporium species.

An article by Peter Feret in the Journal of Arboriculture mentions there are six species of fungi that attack
the foliage, and ten that attack the stem and vascular system, with another five species of decay fungi that have
been found in Ailanthus roots and rotting trunks.  But he doesn't provide any details, but cites a 1971 paper by Hepting that I haven't yet found.


Non-natural Controls


I don't know anyone that trusts USDA to introduce anything (sorry, APHIS and IPM friends!).   I favor the non-natural controls for Ailanthus. While I prefer Glyphos and Roundup mixes over the restricted use Garlon triclopr pesticides, my friends know my favorite product is almost the most fun:  T-190 by Ingersoll Rand. 

Big Sycamores

 

American sycamore, Green Spring / Levels, WV

Hampshire County is loaded with big sycamore trees (Platanus occidentalis).  Even small sycamores seem to have unusually large leaves, but even after many years we sometimes find leaves that are still impressive.  Of course, big green leaves mean there's more chlorophyll by which to convert sunlight to carbohydrates that make these trees grow fast and large.  So like most things in nature, their are both obvious and not so obvious correlations and causation among observable phenomena.

Frost in the shaded spots

As we walked along our normal trails through and around the wetlands we could see the effect of the sunlight on the frost, even though it was still below 0 C.

Moving indoors

We live in a house constructed from three, 100-year old barns. The design was based on a children's book by Wolo, in which a squirrel escaped a forest fire by jumping on a log and floating down the river to a home inside a tree, where it lived with a variety of other animals.

The Wood House was also designed to be a green home, built so that you could heat it with a candle.  The architect brags about this in his displays at the big Green Festival in Washington, D.C. each year.  I can't even heat it completely with our fancy catalytic re-burner Vermont Castings wood stove.

I don't need an infrared monitor or camera to prove there are gaps and leaks in which air escapes or gets in.  Instead, simply studying the number of critters that make their home in my home tells me all I need to know.  Especially this time of year, we've found plenty of Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and their close relatives, the White-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus).  We've also found several flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans).

But we also find Black rat snakes (or "Black snakes", Pantherophis obsoletus), our largest snake in most of the mid-Atlantic.  To the horror of our wonderful house keeper, we find them as often as every two months, sometimes sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor!

I found this young black snake right inside the door.  You'll notice how distinct its pattern is, and you can also see that it had probably never been threatened before, and therefore very comfortable being handled by me.

Morning Fog

I took a few photos during our walk as the fog lifted this morning.  Little arachnids encased these thistles with webs, and I liked how they stood out from the backdrop of the cliffs across the river.

 Jimson Weed (Datura stramonium) is a poisonous plant with an attractive flower.  Some like the look of the rest of the plant (entirely poisonous), but I don't.

The toxins of Jimson Weed produce delirium, where fantasy seems like reality.  Of course that means at one time it probably had many recreational or medicinal uses.

This was a disappointing discovery:  the Mile-a-Minute weed  (Persicaria perfoliata) had produced a bright blue fruit.  I've never seen this before, largely because in previous years we would have removed all the Persicaria by now.

Some Color

The dry summer and wet September apparently wasn't to good for producing leaf color, but this was certainly a nice weekend.

The paw paws (Asimina triloba) along the river have turned a bright yellow.  Elsewhere along the Potomac this is a good time to find paw paw stands to go back next September to collect the very fragile fruit.  My trees are still too young.  Typically fruits begin appearing when the tree is between 3 and 4 inches in diameter.

There's an adult Bald eagle somewhere in the picture above on the left with the blue sky.  We see lots of eagles, but never seem to have a camera ready.

Preparing the Bird Feeders

While repairing and cleaning the bird feeders, we found this one had a surprise inside.  When I split the casing you could see the wasp larvae and their casings.  I'm still trying to determine exactly what species of wasp built this.

The Last Hibiscus Bloom?

I was surprised to see this full bloom on October 11.

Classroom Trees

Back in 2001, I was disappointed to see elementary kids sending pickup truck loads of seeds off to the state nurseries without keeping any to grow themselves.  Most teachers will tell you however, any tree planted on school grounds is vulnerable.  Even in urban areas, rodents, rabbits and deer can wipe out a class project overnight.  And well-meaning custodians sometimes get carried away with their weed-whackers and mowers.

So in 2006 I called the very nice folks at the Potomac Conservancy who ran the Growing Native program and told them about my strategies for growing trees inside classrooms.  We held some teacher workshops over the next few years and now many schools have Grow-Out Stations.  The slides from one of those workshops are still available on the Growing Native website and at TreesInSchools.org.or ChestnutsInSchools.org.


There's not much to it.  I collected more than 40 old recycling bins when Arlington County Virginia distributed larger bins, and gave most away to teachers.  You can find similar size bins anywhere, often for just a few dollars.  I continue witht he recycling theme by using corn-based plastic cups from my morning iced coffees, or from ubiquitous Big Gulp cups for individual planters within the larger bins.

Most tree seeds require cold stratification of 60 days or longer to germinate, easily simulated in a refrigerator. Some also require scarification to weaken the seed coat that allows the embryo to break free.  Others, like white oaks, will germinate almost as soon as they hit the ground.  You can use natural soil if it's loamy, but clay will harden, crack, and fail the plant.  Otherwise, consider potting mixes.

The most important step, particularly if you decide to keep the bins outside, is to protect the seeds from squirrels.  It may not be an exaggeration to say they're watching you while you plant these seeds.  If inside, the major threat seems to be from kids overwatering the young seedlings.

Cool Portable Field Microscopes

As a biology teacher, I was always glad to have a prism field microscope around, but these new hand-held tools are great if you've got a tablet (iPad), iPod, smart phone, or laptop with you.  Magnification is up to 200x.

Click on the top photo and look closely to see the little pollinators within the flower.

I'll post the company details here.

September Rain

September Rains

 We had over four inches of rain during the last few weeks of September.  We wish we had planted grass, but it seems there is more rain to come.

Historical weather is not as easily avialable as I wish.  The easiest to find is from NOAA, but the closest recordings are Martinsburg and Hagerstown.

Our dwarf lime plants seemed to thrive, but we're moving them inside this week.  We didn't apply a horticultural oil or other insecticide, so we'll probably enjoy the sticky mess of scale insects later in the winter.

I'm not an avid mushroom hunter, but autumns like these are terrific for harvesting Chicken of the woods and Hen of the woods (Maitake) and other mushrooms.  In the city, Maitake mushrooms go for as much as $1 an ounce (over $15/pound).  

Do your homework and go with someone who knows what they're doing.

Outdoors in Poland

I subscribe to the Hampshire Review electronically, but I realize now I could have taken a photo of me looking at the online version.  Instead, here are a few photos of my 10-day work trip to Lodz (pronounced "wooch"), Poland's third largest city, from September 14-24.  I was visiting there with two colleagues to help the University of Lodz MBA program faculty introduce curricula in cybersecurity and entrepreneurship, and our Polish colleagues were great about showing us all around.

One of the first things I noticed from the plane, and on the train from Warsaw, is that many, many farms are only about 100 meters wide but a whole kilometer long (330 feet x 3300 feet).  I'm guessing that allows everyone to have close neighbors and road frontage.




European sycamores (Platanus orientalis) are sometimes called Planes.  They appear very similar to our Platanus occidentalis.

These are different than Norway Maples (Acer platanoides), which were common in Lodz (and considered invasive in the U.S.).








Another tree that was very common, and more familiar to Americans, is the Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum).  People collect the seeds for good luck and to make crafts. They have a very nice drooping canopy and they were found all over.

The Aesculus seeds have an armored husk, but nothing like American Chestnuts (Castanea dentata) or Chinese Chestnuts (Castanea mollissima).

For those that like to explore nature with technology, I saw a few trucks we don't get to see here in the U.S.  There was this red Nissan Patrol, which has been sold around the world since 1951, but only available here since last year as a more upscale Infiniti QX56.

There were also these Hyundai Gallopers, which is the modern version of the Mitsubishi Pajero, sold here in the U.S. for a while as Mitsubishi Monteros.  Unlike Toyota Land Cruisers, Suziki Jimnys (Samurai's here), and the Nissan Patrols, which were all made in coordination with the U.S. Government back in the 1950's, these Mitsubishi/Hyundais didn't appear until the 1980's.

Bad Timing

We spent about $500 in equipment rental (Bobcat 335 mini-excavator), $75 in Diesel fuel, and about 30 hours of hard labor this weekend on streambank repair and wetlands restoration. Today it appears much of our work could be underwater within three days! Just another one of our farm projects we'll have to call "an experiment".

Here is the September 6 prediction. Click on the image to see the current forecast.

It appears the desert of northern Hampshire County may get some precipitation from this storm afterall.

Wood House Research Farm / South Branch Consortium Weather

South Branch Science Consortium Current Conditions as of 16:56 Saturday, August 27, 2011 Station Summary Current Today's Highs Today's Lows Outside Temp 74.3 F 86.4 F 00:00 66.9 F 11:26 Outside Humidity 95% 97% 11:37 46% 00:05 Inside Temp 79.9 F 81.5 F 00:00 76.0 F 13:27 Inside Humidity 52% 55% 12:53 48% 00:00 Heat Index 78.0 F 90.0 F 00:02 Wind Chill 74.0 F 67.0 F 10:34 Dew Point 73.0 F 73.0 F 17:57 63.0 F 00:05 Barometer 29.597" 29.874" 05:15 29.596" 23:54 Bar Trend Falling Rapidly Wind Speed Calm 12 Mph 19:41 Wind Direction WSW 242° 12 Hour Forecast Partially Cloudy, Rain within 12 hours Wind 2 Minute 10 Minute Average Wind Speed 0.3 Mph Calm Wind Gust Speed 4.0 Mph Rain Rate Day Storm Month Year Rain 0.00"/Hour 0.20" 0.20" 1.40" 23.13" Last Hour Rain 0.00"

NOAA Rader Loop (left-click to zoom)

http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=LWX&product=NCR&overlay=11101111&loop=yes

Cotton, Peanuts and Naked Ladies

Click here for interactive map

I gave a presentation in Suffolk, Virginia last Thursday, and found a short period of time to go scout the perimeter of the Great Dismal Swamp, one of the largest national wildlife refuges in the U.S.  On the way there, I saw fields of cotton, peanuts and soybeans.

I was surprised by the bare soil surrounding the cotton, which suggests high herbicide use.  I learned that cotton growers also employ an exfoliant toward the end of the growing season, and that enables easier collection of the cotton.

Cotton field near Suffolk, VA

I learned a lot about peanuts too, and have been thinking about how they'd do in the alluvial flood plain soil along the South Branch that is an unusual mix of sandy clay.  Most sources say sand is good, clay is not.  That sounds like an experiment to me.

The Swamp

Great Dismal Swamp boardwalk

I had very little time to explore the Great Dismal Swamp, so I stopped in the refuge office, got a bird list, and the staff there uniformly recommended a short loop trial that visits multiple habitats typical of the swamp.

Bike trail in the Great Dismal Swamp

When I asked  how to spend a few days visiting the swamp when I had more time, they also agreed that a mountain bike in April/May is best.  With over 100 miles of interior hiking/biking trails and very comfortable lodging in Virginia Beach, the Outer banks of North Carolina, or at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverfront in Suffolk, that sounded like a plan.


Read more about the Great Dismal Swamp here.


Naked Ladies


When I returned to Hampshire County I saw Naked Ladies everywhere.  Their scientific name is  Amaryllis belladonna, and they're native to South Africa.  I have a few dozen thanks to my neighbor Puddy in the city, who regularly rewards me with neighborliness when thinning her garden.

Amarylis surround my farm equipment.

Naked ladies are also known as Belledonna lilies, and they have been popular with gardeners since the late 1700's because of their habit of producing leaves in fall or wet springs, then remaining dormant until now and suddenly sprouting a single stem with an attractive flower.  I like them because they are toxic to deer and groundhogs.

Experiments in Hibiscus Propagation

I've had lots of disappointments in propagating local and historically indigenous rose mallows (Hibiscus spp.)  They were the first plants in pre-colonial America to be cultivated for shipment back to Europe.  The seeds we've collected from locally growing Hibiscus moscheutos (white/cream-colored flowers the size of dinner plates) are always infested with mites that are not killed by freezing.

We ordered seeds of Hibiscus moscheutos, Hibiscus laevis (syn. militaris), and a subspecies of H. moscheutos often called H. paulstris (actually Hibiscus moscheutos palustris, Swamp Rose Mallow) from Prairie Moon Nursery.  We direct-sewed them naturally (as if they'd fallen from the plant's seed pod), and then spent many, many hours trying more advantageous seedings.  We've truly only been regularly successful when sewing the seeds in April in the greenhouse and then transplanting after germination (about 100x more work than our preferred approach!).

So now I'm convinced the only strategy for sewing seeds directly is to do so in situ after the last frost, in areas with appropriate moisture,  That's not easy, as that is our wettest time of year, and if you observe native H. moscheutos you'll see they grow immediately next to but not in the water.

That said, when the experiments are successful, the colors are impressive.     We fence anything (everything!) we transplant.  Hibiscus generally survive deer well, but as many of you know, deer usually don't know they don't like something without trying it at least once!

from http://www.visoflora.com/#

I don't know who this kid is, but I wanted to provide an example of the size of these flowers.

Growing Citrus in the Eastern Alleghenies

I'm curious to know what cycles others in Hampshire, Morgan, Mineral and Hardy Counties have witnessed in growing lemons, limes and other citrus.  The folks at Nature's Art in Cumberland (a very pleasant, easy place to spend money) started me growing lemons and limes last year.  Most start producing fruit in April and May indoors.  We move them outside after mid-May (about 10-14 days after the predicted last frost).  Yesterday one of the limes produced a new flower, even with nearly mature limes already present.

(click for a larger view)

Rain barrels and rain chains

After the rains over the last 10 days, I'm convinced that rain chains simply won't work with typical rain barrel setups.  The rain chains are aesthetically pleasing, and they disperse the water in a way that doesn't cause erosion, but the water is broadcast too widely, even if your rain barrel is topped and surround with plants all around.

While it's easy to drain the water on top, it's difficult to screen that water, which is typically filled with small leaves and other things that will clog spigots, valves and our sprinkler and soaker hoses.

My rain barrels fed (poorly) by rain chains.

Spiny Softshells of the Ohio River Watershed

Our Hampshire County watersheds mostly drain into the larger South Branch, Cacapon, or Opequon  watersheds, or directly into the Potomac.  During my adventures with the West Virginia Youth Science Camp in the Kanawah/Ohio watersheds, we saw a few things that surprised me, but the juvenile Eastern Spiny Softshell turtles (Apalone spinifera) were the biggest surprise.

While geocaching on July 12, Stephanie and Rachel found this softshell below one of the Cedar Lakes dam's spillway after a rain.  I worried that it would be in danger as the grass dried in the 35oC temperature (and as the grounds crew began mowing), so Rachel placed it back in an aquatic environment.

On July 15 we found an even smaller softshell in the recently mowed grass heading uphill and across the road to one of the lakes.  I made the decision to accelerate it's journey because of the roadway.  The lake had a few very large snapping turtles - we noticed a few geese with missing feet and broken legs - but the lake certainly seemed safer for an aquatic turtle than a road.

During college I worked with Florida Soft-shelled Turtles at ZooAmerica, and apparently the Eastern Spiny Softshell is just as fast, and similarly aggressive as a hunter.  Its shell is smooth except for the small spines on the front of it's shell that give it's name.  The spots also seem to distinguish it from the smooth softshell also found in parts of the Ohio river watershed.

 It is primarily a river turtle, and it likes to bury itself in the sand or sandy gravel or mud of river bottoms with only it's snout visible (see photos below).

Most interesting to me is that it can get oxygen from the water. Its embryonic pharyngeal gill slits (which all vertebrates have) become a highly vascular pharynx with a lining thin enough to remove oxygen from the water.  I haven't found a diagram or image of this yet.  If you find one, add a link in the comments below.

Like other aquatic turtles, it buries its eggs on river banks exposed to the sun; but unlike other turtles, the egg development is not temperature dependent.

Great aquarium photos of A. spinifera burying itself:

© Copyright Todd Pierson 2010

© Copyright Todd Pierson 2010

© Copyright Todd Pierson 2010 

© Copyright Todd Pierson 2010

© Copyright Todd Pierson 2010

© Copyright Todd Pierson 2010 

This USGS map shows A. spinifera's indigenous (native) range and recent non-indigenous findings outside the Ohio/Mississippi watersheds.

Native range is brown-orange