Leader for today's Ramble: Bay Noland-Armstrong
Authors
of today’s Ramble report: Linda
and Don. Comments,
edits, and suggestions for the report can be sent to Linda at Lchafin (at) uga.edu.
Insect identifications: Don Hunter,
Heather Larkin
All the photos that appear in this report,
unless otherwise credited, were taken by Don Hunter. Photos may be enlarged by
clicking them with a mouse or tapping on your screen. Not all of Don's photos from
today’s ramble made it into the ramble report, so be sure to check out his
Facebook album at this link.
Number
of Ramblers today: 31
Today's emphasis: Birding the woods and right-of-way
The Garden
Across the cosmos
creation unfolds
serene fury
throughout the void
galaxies promenade
with a stately spin
somewhere novas explode
black holes swallow stars
gamma burst, sterilized planets
but safe on a remote shore
bathed in radiance
behold the blue oasis
sky and ocean
land and sea
teem with life
wondrous forms
striving through strange seas
in the garden of continuous creation
Announcements and other interesting things to note:
Sandy Creek Nature Center’s next
work day is Saturday, May 4, 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Volunteers will help with
removing invasive plant species and maintaining the Nature Playscape.
Participants should bring water and wear comfortable, weather-appropriate
clothes and closed-toe shoes. All tools, including gloves, will be provided.
For more information, call the Nature Center at (706) 613-3615 or register here.
Sandy Creek Nature Center and the
Oconee Rivers Audubon Society are hosting an Accessible Bird Hike in
the Greenway and parking lot of the nature center, Saturday, May 4, from 8:00 to
10:00am. Attendees will learn basic bird calls and observe a few features
that can lead us to identifying birds. This free program is for all ages;
however, children must be accompanied by an adult. For more information, call 706-613-3615. No registration is required
The Garden has announced plans to
re-route and convert the existing mulched trails in the Dunson Native Flora
Garden to paved, ADA-approved trails. Comments on this proposed plan may be
sent to the Garden’s Director, Jenny Cruse-Sanders (crusesanders@uga.edu) and the Garden’s
Director of Horticulture, Jason Young (Jason.Young@uga.edu).
Women were trailblazers in
American horticulture.
13-year Cicada Emergence, What We Know.
Today's Route: We left the
Children’s Garden arbor, and walked through the Lower Shade Garden and the
Dunson Native Flora Garden, then out into the sunny right-of-way. We headed
north up the ROW for a short distance then turned south and followed the ADA trail down to the river
and back.
OBSERVATIONS:
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| Bay |
Today's
ramble was led by Bay Noland-Armstrong, a graduating senior in Wildlife
Sciences in UGA's School of Forestry, who is also completing a Certificate in
Environmental Education. We are honored that she chose the Nature Ramble as a
capstone project for her certificate program and especially pleased that she
chose to share her passion for birding on this ramble. In addition to identifying many birds by sight and song, Bay shared some important information about conserving birds.
How to Help Birds (remember C-W-D):
Cats: Keep them inside! And you can take them on a walk. Yes, cats can learn to wear a harness and walk on a leash. And they can enjoy the outdoors if you build them a "Catio" -- contact Catio Bob, a local catio builder. Here's a photo of a friend's kitten Gus happily wearing his first harness and leash. Also good to know is that ACC's leash ordinance applies to both dogs and cats.
Windows: Prevent collisions! The American Bird Conservancy has a great webpage devoted to ways to prevent birds from colliding with the windows at our homes.
Disease: Clean your bird feeders! We should clean our bird feeders about every two weeks. Take them apart and wash them in a dishwasher on the hot setting or hand wash with soap and boiling water. Dry feeders completely before refilling. Clean the ground below feeders to prevent build-up of seed hulls and mold. More info here.
Some more recommendations from Bay: Provide multiple feeders to prevent competition. Most birds prefer black oil sunflower and suet. Provide bird houses and other shelters. Provide water year-round and clean regularly. Plant a variety of native plants around your house. Do not use pesticides.
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| Bay |
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| Bay identifies a Scarlet
Tanager by its call as ramblers search the canopy for a glimpse of this
gorgeous bird. Photo by Chuck Murphy |
The forest canopy in the Lower Shade and Dunson Gardens was filled with bird song this morning, something ramblers often comment on this time of year but seldom stop to appreciate. Bay introduced the group to the Merlin app created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology –– a powerful tool for identifying the birds whose songs we were hearing.
Below are images of some of the many bird species we saw or heard in the forested areas of the Lower Shade Garden and Dunson Native Flora Garden (a complete species list is at the end of this report).
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| Summer Tanagers were heard in the
forest but despite their brilliant color were not seen until we came out into the
right-of-way. This photo of a Summer Tanager by Chuck Murphy was taken during today's ramble. Chuck's nature photography is spectacular; visit his website to see more of his work. Bird photos below were taken by other photographers at other times and places and are not associated with the Nature Ramblers; click on their linked names to see where their photos were taken. Each of these photographers made these photos freely available on the internet. |
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| Red-bellied Woodpecker Photo by Dawn Lane |
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| Red-eyed Vireo Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar |
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| Chipping Sparrow Photo by Dick Daniels |
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| Wood Thrush |
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| Don noticed how the forest canopy has almost completely closed overhead, heralding a transition on the forest floor. Spring ephemerals are going dormant after completing a year’s worth of photosynthesis in the weeks of early spring. The Trout Lilies, Spring Beauties, Virginia Bluebells, Dutchman’s Breeches, and trilliums that delighted us six weeks ago have withered or completely disappeared from sight, retreating underground until next March. |
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| Mountain Laurel is flowering now in the Lower Shade Garden and Dunson Garden. Another nearby place to see hundreds of flowering Mountain Laurel is Victoria Bryant State Park, along the trails beside Rice Creek. |
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Each spring seems to bring a new
species to light in the Dunson Garden; this year, it’s Four-leaved Milkweed. In
Georgia, this species naturally occurs only in the mountains, where it grows
in the speckled light of moist deciduous forests. Although this particular plant lacked the
characteristic mid-stem whorl of four leaves, the color and shape of its
flowers are distinctive: the petals, hoods, and horns that make up the flower
are white; the petals are sharply downcurved; and the horns are much shorter
than the hoods. Below, there's a drawing by Jean Putnam-Hancock that shows the unusual arrangement of
flower parts that is characteristic of milkweed flowers.  |
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| Several Viburnum species are in flower this week in the Lower Shade and Dunson Gardens. This native species, Arrow-wood Viburnum, is found in moist forests throughout Georgia. Its flowers are in showy clusters up to 4 inches wide. The small, white, five-lobed flowers are pollinated by a variety of flying insects and require cross-pollination to set fruit. |
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| Tulip Tree flower on a Dunson Garden
path One of my favorite mid-spring events usually occurs out of sight, high in the canopy of Tulip Trees. Only
when a squirrel bites off a flowering twig to drink the sap and then drops the twig to the
ground do we get to enjoy these spectacular flowers. The fallen flowers
are often hosting ants seeking the nectar that is produced in minute glands embedded in the
orange patch on each petal. Tulip Tree flowers produce an amazing amount of
nectar; each flower produces about one-third of a teaspoon of nectar. One study
found that a 20-year-old tree produced 8 pounds of nectar in a single season. In
addition to ants, the flowers are visited by many pollinators including Honey Bees, native bees, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, all of which enjoy the nectar. Bears have also been seen sipping Tulip Tree nectar from twigs and eating
the flowers. Pick up one of the fallen flowers, brush off
the ants, and lick the base of the petals––you won't regret it. |
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| Dimorphic Jumping Spider on a
Golden Ragwort leaf in the Dunson Garden |
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| Once in the sunny right-of-way, a whole new suite of birds put in an appearance. Some of these species are shown below. |
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| Rose-breasted Grosbeak Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar |
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| Indigo Bunting Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar |
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| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar |
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| Red-tailed Hawk We saw a wonderful display of two hawks building a nest (or tending their young?) across the river and up the hill, on an electrical pylon. Photo by Alan Vernon |
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| I don't expect to see Osprey this far inland but Jorma spotted one soaring over the right-of-way. Photo by Tom Koerner |
Don spotted lots going in the insect world of the right-of-way...
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| Adult Flatheaded Mayfly
Adult mayflies are only about an inch long and have four, heavily veined wings;
the front pair of wings are much longer and usually hide the hindwings when
they perch. They have two long, slender appendages extending from the tip
of their abdomens. Adults are winged and live only for a few hours or days; the
nymphs are aquatic. Mayflies are an important part of aquatic ecosystems,
providing food for many other aquatic animals. They often hatch in swarms that drive
humans and fish crazy. |
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| Polished Lady Beetle visiting
Dock flowers
Polished Lady Beetle is one of three native “spotless” Lady Beetle species in
the U.S.; it’s found throughout most of the eastern half of the country. Notice
the crisp, white marking on the back of its “neck,” more accurately called a
pronotum. |
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| Asian Lady Beetle with its
tell-tale seventeen spots on its elytra (wing covers that protect the
more delicate wings). |
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|
Versute Sharpshooter resting on a Groundsel leaf The Versute
Sharpshooter is one of the largest of the approximately 23,000 species of leafhoppers in the world. After an adult inserts its sucking mouthparts into a plant, a pump in the bulging portion of its
head pulls fluid from the vascular tissues of the plant. Since
this fluid is 95% water, sharpshooters have to extract huge quantities of fluid
in order to extract enough nutrients to survive. |
BIRD SPECIES HEARD OR SEEN TODAY IN ORDER OF OBSERVATION
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus
Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina
Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina
Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
American Robin Turdus migratorius
Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Acadian Flycatcher Empidonax virescens
Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
Pine Warbler Setophaga pinus
Kentucky Warbler Geothlypis formosa
White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
Palm Warbler Setophaga pinus
Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula
Louisiana Waterthrush Parkesia motacilla
Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons
American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla
Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
Black-and-White Warbler Mniotilta varia
Northern Waterthrush Parkesia noveboracensis
American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla
Cape May Warbler Setophaga tigrina
Blue Grosbeak Passerina caerulea
Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea
SUMMARY OF NON-BIRD SPECIES
Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia
Four-leaved Milkweed Asclepias quadrifolia
Rattlesnake Fern Botrypus virginianus
Solomon’s Plume Maianthemum racemosum
Solomon’s Seal Polygonatum biflorum
Arrow-wood Viburnum Viburnum dentatum
Crimson Clover Trifolium incarnatum
Shore Spider Pardosa milvina
Polished Lady Beetle Cycloneda munda
Rumex Rumex crispus
Southern (Wild) Chervil Chaerophyllum tainturieri
Flatheaded Mayfly Maccaffertium vicarium
Versute Sharpshooter Graphocephala versuta
Groundsel Baccharis halimifolia
Eastern Calligrapher Toxomerus geminatus
Sweet Gum Liquidambar styraciflua
Multiflora Rose Rosa multiflora
Asian Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis
Tulip Tree Liriodendron tulipifera
Dimorphic Jumping Spider Maevia expansa
Golden Ragwort Packera aurea
Painted Buckeye Aesculus sylvatica
Pale Yellow Trillium Trillium discolor
Carolina Anole Anolis carolinensis
Tuft-legged Orbweaver Mangora placida
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| The "Field Trip" teacher by the Visitor Center is sporting a new pair of glasses |
And, as ever....
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| Carolina Anole sipping dew from a Hosta leaf |
