SCIOTO VALLEY BIRD AND NATURE CLUB SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO

READER'S CONTRIBUTIONS

By Joe McMahon, The Roadside Naturalist

While winter is often thought to be a season of death and inactivity, there is much action going on if one knows where to look. This is a description of a few things that might be seen along a trip along a nature trail in winter.

Winter is a great time for birding. With most of the leaves on the ground instead of on the trees, the birds are much easier to see. Since there is no rush of courting, nesting, and feeding of young, the birds are free to just move around looking for food. Identification of the birds may be a little more difficult since the birds do not sport their breeding plumage and neither are the songs any help since most birds do not sing in winter. Two exceptions are the Tufted Titmouse and the Carolina Wren. Their cheery songs will brighten up any dull winter day. Many winter birds tend to travel in “foraging flocks” when several species will be found feeding in the same area. If one happens upon one of these groups, he may see Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Down Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, White-throated sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, Song Sparrow, and American Robin among others all in a short time.

If there is snow on the ground, there will always be tracks, and most tracks can be identified easily with a field guide. I especially like to see squirrel tracks. Many times the track will lead directly from a tree to a spot where the squirrel dug up a nut or acorn and returned to the tree to eat it. Most of the time, they go directly to the nut’s location without hunting around for it. How do they do it? Some think it some think it memory and some think a keen sense of smell. I always like to see mice tracks. The tiny tracks may form a network around a central point as the mouse goes about its search for food.

While the winner scene looks barren, there are more food sconces than one might think. Many shrubs and trees produce fruit in the winter allowing animals to eat them and spread the seeds over a wider area as they forage. Many of these fruits are bright colored and make them more apparent to the foragers. Rose hips are bright red; some honeysuckle fruit is black and show up against a snowy background. Wild grapes are eagerly eaten by many birds including woodpeckers, and Poison Ivy fruit is a staple for wintering Yellow-rumped Warblers. American Robins DO overwinter here and like many other birds, they have to switch from a diet of insects in summer to a fruit diet in winter. This requires a change in the food preference but more importantly a change in physiology as well.

As an entomologist, I am always interested in what the insects are doing. Since insects are cold-blooded; they must have some mechanism for survival through the winter. Very few insects can migrate far enough to provide winter safety. Monarch butterflies are the most widely known insect migrants. They are not true migrants since those from our area do not return in the spring. The trip to Mexico merely provides a place for them overwinter, but those that begin the trip back only live long enough to reproduce and their offspring complete the trip. The second, third, and fourth generation finally reach their point of origin. A few of our larger dragonflies migrate south but do not return. Their future lies with the larva living under water during the winter often for several years before reaching adulthood.

Insects that remain here during the winter have limited opportunities. They can hibernate or die. If they die, some provision for future generations must be made if the species is to endure. Grasshoppers, bumblebees, hornets, and many, many others survive as eggs, larvae, or pupae. All of these stages contain a sort of antifreeze to prevent these cells from rupturing when frozen, and the exact mechanism of this action is very poorly understood. Aquatic insects have it easiest. They simply descend into the depths of bodies of water and rest out the winter in the mud. Terrestrial forms secrete themselves into the soil, under the leaf and grass litter, under tree bark, and dozens of other places to wait out the winter. It is upon these organisms that the non-fruit- eating birds depend for their winter existence. The numbers of these insects and spiders also that die from extreme cold or being eaten by birds has to be enormous. Those species that do not have enough survivals to keep up the population will become extinct.

I thought I’d talk about a couple of plants that are easy to identify even in winter. An interesting plant often encountered along trails especially in open areas is the Giant Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), an alien plant which is now perfectly at home here. It is a biennial, which is a plant that lives two years. The first year it is a light, wooly green rosette of leaves lying flat on the ground. The wooly leaves give it another name --- Lamb’s Ear. It remains in this stage all through the first winter, and then in the spring puts up a flower stalk that may be as much as six feet tall. It produces a large number of yellow flowers that eventually form 100,000’s of black seeds. Thus, in the winter both flower stalk and rosettes may be found. The winter stalk and flower husks provide a “safe” place for overwintering insects, but they are also a good place for Downy Woodpeckers to look for food. Birds like the Goldfinch feed on the seeds during winter. The rosettes’ wooly surface provides shelter from desiccation to many small insects. Desiccation is as dangerous as cold to small insects. Tear open a rosette in winter over a white paper and hundreds to thousands of insects such as thrips, plant bugs, black bugs, and many others will hide here during the winter. Most of these insects are in the neighborhood of 1 mm or less in length. They are fairly safe from birds since most birds do not like to be on the ground and they don’t like the wool.

Another plant frequently found in winter is the goldenrod. If you see a patch of dried goldenrod along the fencerows, you are sure to see that some of the stalks have round or spindle-shaped growths on their stems. There are several species here and most bloom in late summer and fall when their bright yellow flowers are a favorite sight. After the leaves have died in the fall, the sturdy stems will remain for most of the winter. In any patch one can see some stems with round swellings on them. They range in size from about and inch to about that of a golf ball. These galls are a result of a parasite called the Goldenrod Gall Fly (Eurosta solidaginis). The insect is only about 5 mm and it spends its entire life on goldenrod. They are very weak flyers and seldom leave their stalk. The make will find a site, usually on a bud, and wait until a female happens along. The male performs a complicated courtship dance to attract her, and they mate. The female then finds a suitable spot on the stem and lays her eggs by inserting than into the stem with her sharp ovipositor. The adults live for only a couple of weeks.

Now the fun begins. The egg hatches in about ten days and then the larva bores into the stem. Its saliva causes a chemical reaction and the plant forms a swelling for it to live in. The larva eats the plant until the weather gets cold. Before the gall forms the very hard structure of the winter gall, the larva bores an escape tunnel. Downy Woodpeckers often tear into the gall for the larva within. The woodpecker is not the only enemy of the gall fly. At least one beetle species chews into the gall and eats the larva. There are some parasitic wasps that bore into the gall and lay their egg. The egg hatches and the larva eat the gall fly larva.

There is also a gall moth, (Gnorimoschema gallaesolidagtnsis) whose larva forms a spindle shaped gall. It lays it egg in the stem where it overwinters. In spring it bores into the tip of a new plant and burrows downward in the pith. The larva pupates and the adult emerges in late summer. This moth also has its specific parasitic wasps as do all the gall-making insects.

There are other gall-making insects and none seem to harm the goldenrod. Often all types of gall will be found in the same clump and sometimes on the same stalk. Some goldenrod species seem to be mode parasitized than others. Research has shown that the mortality of those which have overwintering larva is higher in mild winters. The reason is probably that the larva needs more stored food than during very cold winters.

If birds and insects are not of interest, just try a walk in the woods during and after a snowfall. There is nothing so peaceful and quiet than at that time. The wind rustling through the branches and rattling the dead leaves can be beautiful. Just sitting in a car with the windows down is fine. Much as we hate them ice storms can produce some of the most spectacular sights when the sun is shining. Give it a try. You may get a new perspective about winter.

A Walk Along the Nature Trail

by the Roadside Naturalist

This nature trail is located at Hopewell Culture NHP.This park is located in Chillicothe, OH and is great for the disabled nature lover. It is completely wheelchair accessible,and a wheelchair is available at the park office, if needed, and there is no admission fee. It is best taken in the spring when both migrant birds and spring flowers are everywhere, although there are things to see in any season. A pair of binoculars and a bird and/or wildflower guide are helpful. I am including some photos of some of the flowers found here.

One of the most common and most hated flowers by many people is Gill-over-the-Ground ,also known as Ground Ivy or Ground Charlie by those who love pristine lawns. This tiny mint finds it way into almost any location in spring. This family can almost always be recognized by its square stem. It vines all through the grass and has to be pulled out by hand. I like it. The flowers are tiny and one needs a hand lens to appreciate their beauty.

MUSHROOMS

By Joe McMahon with photos by Bill Bosstic

September, 2006 at Bill's house

This is one of the most colorful mushrooms, but, unfortunately not to be eaten. It is also called the Fly Agaric because there are dead flies frequently found under it. In fact, in Medieval Europe it was used as an insecticide. While is not as deadly as some of the other amanita , it should never be eaten. Some people believe that if it is well boiled, it is safe. The sensitivity to mushroom poisoning varies with different individuals, and it is not a good idea to try it.

It is usually found under trees of many kinds. The ones in the photos were under a spruce drove.

Amanita muscaria    PRESS BACK ARROW TO RETURN

Amanita muscaria    PRESS BACK ARROW TO RETURN

Amanita muscaria    PRESS BACK ARROW TO RETURN

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