View Full Version : Appalachian Spring
Post your observations and images documenting the return of spring to Appalachia for those who aren't on the AT to experience it themselves.
To be honest, I wasn't sure where this thread belonged since I wasn't strictly interested in animal sightings. Maybe this forum could be given a different more inclusive name at some point?
Tell us about neo-tropical migrant birds you've seen, bud expansion, new leaves, rain, blooming herbaceous plants, salamanders, turtles, snakes and wide-eyed AT hikers!
Mr. Clean
03-21-2008, 04:12
Add some pictures, too, cause we still have a couple feet of snow here in Maine.
Shades of Gray: Post your observations and images documenting the return of spring to Appalachia for those who aren't on the AT to experience it themselves.
K, here's what I saw (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=23245) on March 18. I think a dwarf has been painting the white blazes here but just missed seeing him. Other than that, alls quiet on the northern front.:)
Thoughtful Owl
03-21-2008, 08:26
K, here's what I saw (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=23245) on March 18. I think a dwarf has been painting the white blazes here but just missed seeing him. Other than that, alls quiet on the northern front.:)
Wow! And you call that "spring"! Looks more like April Fools. Lol I will be out for 4 days this weekend.
I'll see what I can come up with that will remind you, spring is just around the corner.
peakbagger
03-21-2008, 13:09
The first full day of spring in Northern NH about 3 miles from the AT in Gorham is a very windy day with occasion white out conditions. It stopped snowing yesterday, but the wind just keeps picking up the snow and redepositing it. About 3 to 4 feet of snow on the ground and more in some shady spots. Not a day for voluntary hiking
Buds on my serviceberry tree are beginning to swell. Many native plants in my beds are putting out new growth, but no flowers yet. I'm not expecting any flowers from natives for another week or 2.
I'm in what was once considered USDA Zone 6A. Given recent winters, some say it ought to be reclassified 6B. I think that's about what the Georgia AT rates. Does anyone want to dispute or agree with what I've asserted?
The Old Fhart
03-22-2008, 09:27
Shades Of Gray, When I saw your thread called "Appalachian Spring", THIS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Zc9enoGCg) bit by Aaron Copland is what came to mind.;)
In Front Royal at the elevation of 500 feet some trees are budding but up at 3000 feet it wont come for over 1 month.
Shades Of Gray, When I saw your thread called "Appalachian Spring", THIS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Zc9enoGCg) bit by Aaron Copland is what came to mind.;)
Every year I try to remember to listen to Copland's work as spring approaches and have not yet done so. It's what I'll listen to today as I catch up on new postings.
My copy's a cassette recording by St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. I'm listening to it now as I tap on my keyboard.
We went snowshoeing to celebrate the first day of spring. :)
(The Finger Lakes Trail in Taylor Valley, Cortland County, NY - but it did have white blazes!)
Flush2wice
03-23-2008, 22:30
Killed 4 mosquitoes last week.
Hey!
Pick on someone your own size!
..........Oh, I see you ARE! :p
Unfortunately, some must learn the hard way it's all fun and games until someone puts an eye out.;)
Shared Easter dinner with my parents yesterday and they said they saw a groundhog last Thursday, right on schedule.:)
Shared Easter dinner with my parents yesterday and they said they saw a groundhog last Thursday, right on schedule.:)
Saw a Easter Bunny yesterday(Easter Sunday)) in the wilds:cool:, all dressed up in white. Me and the dog kicked it up on our daily walk in the woods, it was running, the only reason I spotted it.
Heres a spring photo (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=23369)of the Carrabassett River on the ME AT, still sleeping though.
I did hear and see one Boreal Chickadee on this day, missed getting the photo.
Yesterday it was sunny and warm in The Green Diamond when I saw my 1st open hepatica flower of 2008.:sun
I don't recall another winter when I didn't shovel any snow. A snowless winter hardly seems like winter and now it's over. Keep posting images of New England snowscapes while they last and I'll post some spring scenery soon.
Unfortunately, some must learn the hard way it's all fun and games until someone puts an eye out.;)
Then it's a new game
FIND THE EYE :banana
Saw and photographed Hepatica & Bloodroot 3/21/2008.
I'm in what was once considered USDA Zone 6A. Given recent winters, some say it ought to be reclassified 6B. I think that's about what the Georgia AT rates. Does anyone want to dispute or agree with what I've asserted?
It all depends on what part of PA you live in (not sure where Berks County is). I am not familiar with how the USDA classifies climatic zones, but according to Koppen, PA is part of several climate zones, Cfa, Dfa, Dfb. The Cfa zone appears to be most of Georgia as well as parts of PA, however note that the zones differ with elevation. There are many factors that affect the climate zone, and interestingly latitude is not always on the top of that list (the Smokeys are in the same type of climatic zone as parts of southern Alaska). And I believe you are right, geographers and climatologists may reconsider the boundaries of such climate zones in the near future. Anyway, I don't know if I am disputing or agreeing with you, or just spouting off because I have no other use for my geography minor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:World_Koppen_Map.png
And then you have the whole issue of microclimes.
Not sure where Berks County is.
I should modify an image I've long intended to use as my avatar then it will be clear to everyone. The Green Diamond includes about 50 miles of the AT, about 35 miles N (east) of Susquehanna River.
Anyway, I don't know if I am disputing or agreeing with you, or just spouting off because I have no other use for my geography minor.
Doesn't matter which; I'm glad you posted. Subscribe to this thread and keep watching it, okay? Post as you have things to add or questions to ask. I think this thread might go somewhere.
Saw and photographed Hepatica & Bloodroot 3/21/2008.
I see you observed the white form of round-lobed hepatica. There's often quite a range of characteristics observable in a wild population of hepaticas.
What's approaching is one of my favorite times to be outdoors and one thing which motivates me get outside most is observing some of my favorite stands of hepaticas. I wouldn't post their precise locations for the world.
Not much progress in the north with so-called spring but some woodland inhabitants are breaking out.
After being under the ice with limited food stores for 8 weeks or more, these guys are playing it safe by tunneling through the snow (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=23421)about 20 feet to the stream below.
Whenever a beaver is out of water, it is vulnerable to attack from hungry predators. This time of year especially.
From the wilds......
Thoughtful Owl
03-26-2008, 09:18
I was out this Sunday afternoon through late yesterday and was snowed on up between Reeds Gap and Whetstone area. Wasn't a lot of snow but the ground was white when I came out of the tent on Tuesday morning. Oops, and this is spring break!
From the wilds......
Thanks for the update. Since I'm not at my normal location today, I didn't need to wait all day for your photo to download with Comcast broadband!
Oh, how I dislike being reminded I live life in the slow lane, but if I keep telling myself less is more I might continue to believe it.:)
It snowed on the Approach trail on Monday, enough to cover. Monday night it was well below freezing with wind chill easily in the teens on top of Springer. The condensation on my fly was frozen tuesday morning. Hiking to Woody Gap saw only redbuds out. Grasses barely peaking through. Spring hasn't sprung on Springer yet, but it's close.
Yesterday, the wicked wind of the west blew with a vengeance clear through The Green Diamond and all who dwell here, but such is to be expected at least on occasion in March and early April. Apparently, Mother Nature got out of her system what was bothering her; today, she is more kindly.
I'd report if I could the magnolias are in blossom, but I can report the red maples are flowering.;) Hepaticas are in full bloom at 500 feet and may be getting under way at higher elevations. Not much else blooming, but the wait is almost over.
I'll try to come up with some digital images fit to post for the poor souls in northern New England. Hang in there, spring is on its way!
Today I netted a hat trick. It's looks and sounds more like spring every day.
Click to listen to spring peepers (http://www.naturesound.com/frogs/pages/peeper.html).:)
Despite an abundance of snow still, the migrating birds don't seem to care. They seem to be on a set time schedule as apposed to a climatic schedule, built in clocks?
A Tree Swallow was seen checking out a nesting box yesterday, gotta love their aerobatic flight antics.
The Robins melodious break of dawn song was filling the still air this sunny morning.
An Eastern Phoebe showed up yesterday also.
Was that a Woodcock peeeent I heard this morning?
The sound of the stream out back is increasing daily as melting snow succumbs to warm sunny days and turns to liquid, yeaaaah.!
Spring cheers all....
It's 69°F at Reading Regional Airport. The grass is greener now and growing. Twinleaf and bloodroot are blooming a few yards from where I post.
Idealist
04-10-2008, 17:04
We are loving this vicarious Appalachian spring. Thank you!
The Forsythia is well out around Harrisburg and I saw my first cherry blossoms near Duncannon today. Many more buds set to open today than three days ago heading through the Susquehanna Water Gap.
Grass isn't growing at my house but I pulled quite a number of rosettes of Allaria petiolata. Much more luxuriant grass growing in the sunny valley rather than the "vinter side" of Allen Mountain here.
Spring in the Appalachians, Maine style (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=23799)
photo taken 4/10/08
Philippe
04-10-2008, 21:40
I've seen many rhododendron shrubs in the pictures of the Southern states. Are they an early shrub so far a flowering is concerned? It looked like some of these places would be pretty when they were in bloom.
We are loving this vicarious Appalachian spring. Thank you!
You're welcome! Since there seems to be an audience, I'll see what I more I can do.
I've seen many rhododendron shrubs in the pictures of the Southern states. Are they an early shrub so far as flowering is concerned? It looked like some of these places would be pretty when they were in bloom.
Rhododendrons grow in Maine too. One species or another is blooming somewhere in Appalachia from early spring through early summer. Deciduous rhododendrons are often called azaleas. Click on link (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=20037&catid=member&imageuser=6796) to see an image from WhiteBlaze's gallery I took near the AT in Pennsylvania.
Hikers on traditional thru-hike schedules see few if any rhododendrons in bloom. Seeing them in this condition is one of the many pleasures the AT provides to only those who know where and when to seek them and are more easily incorporated into a shorter hike.
Cookerhiker
04-11-2008, 11:48
Saturday while doing trail maintenance with a PATC trail crew, I saw a warbler flitting around but without my binoculare, I couldn't make out the type; it may have been a Magnolia Warbler since it had lots of yellow up front and wing bars.
Tuesday in Shenandoah NP, the woods were still very winter-like until the end of the day when I saw a solitary bloodroot protruding. I've heard since then that more have emerged.
leeki pole
04-11-2008, 12:16
The birds are here in force. Heard the rufous-sided towhee(Eastern) this morning walking the dogs ("drink your teeeeeeea") and numerous cardinals, tufted titmice and carolina chickadees, along with some good old blue jays, mockingbirds and robins as well. My father-in-law saw a black bear cub yesterday (I got a picture of the track) while he was out treating fire ant mounds. Azeleas are in full bloom, looks like Augusta National, and the dogwoods are just about done. Pears have already bloomed and are now in full leaf. Red buds are blooming. Saw my first toad and water snake of the season this morning around the pond on the back 40.
sofaking
04-11-2008, 12:20
One thing I wish I'd known about before my thruhike is that with the beauty of spring comes a massive bug explosion. It goes way beyond web-walking. (Waking up to dozens of spiders hanging on the outside of the netting of your tent just inches from your nose and mouth in the mornings is a bit startling, for example!)
i call the first hour of hiking in the morning 'web browsing'
Hey Woodsy! Post that picture in the thread about the 100 mile in May! Good reference for them. (nevermind. late and short!)
The rhododendron that grow in Maine almost seen like a different plant than what I have seen from PA south. I have seen them here that you can climb, but nothing like some of the thickets in the milder climes.
Azaleas are a struggle to grow here. Stunning in the South.
My bird arrival calendar seems to line up with '06/'05. Ice is out of the local lake two weeks earlier than last year.
Wood frogs on 4/8. Yeehaw!
The birds are here in force. Heard the rufous-sided towhee(Eastern) this morning walking the dogs ("drink your teeeeeeea") and numerous cardinals, tufted titmice and Carolina chickadees, along with some good old blue jays, mockingbirds and robins as well.
The tufted titmouse-men seem to think they have found paradise and are competing with one another to determine who gets what they figure are the best spots. The lady-mice will no doubt have plenty of suitors from which to choose.
I heard a black-capped chickadee (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Black-capped_Chickadee_dtl.html) today. While it pleased me to hear his effort, I thought he needed practice if he hopes to impress anyone, but then again maybe he was actually a virtuoso attempting to bait another bird into a singing contest.:-?
Azaleas are in full bloom, looks like Augusta National
You are a slacker. Post photos. We need digital images.
The rhododendron that grow in Maine almost seem like a different plant than what I have seen from PA south. I have seen them here that you can climb, but nothing like some of the thickets in the milder climes.
Lapland rosebay is a rarity restricted to higher elevations, perhaps not seen on the AT. One climbs to them, rather than on them.
Azaleas are a struggle to grow here. Stunning in the South.
Think rhodora. What will they do when lavished with attention? Do they resent it or reward it?
I could probably stunt rhodora if I tried.
Some things just need to be left alone. (Remind me of this in about six weeks.)
The sound of the stream out back is increasing daily as melting snow succumbs to warm sunny days and turns to liquid, yeaaaah!
I'll bet the lobstahs R luvin' it.;)
I could probably stunt rhodora if I tried.
Some things just need to be left alone. (Remind me of this in about six weeks.)
Some things do need to be left alone. Others should be the subject of endless experimentation that may some day come to something. You might try grafting choice rhodora on a dwarfing rootstock just to see what would come of it.:-?
Ramps, morels just starting! have been eating some fine redbud blooms. Willows are out, tulip trees budding out. Mosquitoes, and dag nab it all, TICKS!!
BUT we are awaiting more cold and possibly snow on Sunday. We have a mushroom camping trip planned which may not come to fruition due to the forecast rain. We aren't sissys, it just seems senseless to be camping 5 miles from the house in a storm. we can sleep dry and THEN hunt mushrooms in the rain.
Frau
We have a mushroom camping trip planned which may not come to fruition due to the forecast rain. We aren't sissies, it just seems senseless to be camping 5 miles from the house in a storm. We can sleep dry and THEN hunt mushrooms in the rain.
Frau
Whew! I was beginning to wonder about you. Sounds like you are smarter than some hikers I know, after all.:rolleyes:
Rain is precisely what brings morels to fruition as you well know. You could even hunt between the downpours if you are good -- or lucky -- either counts!:sun If lady luck doesn't shine on you, you can come home and get warm, dry and eat some morels and save the remainder for later.:)
eating some fine redbud blooms
Wow, I had no idea redbud was edible...
I'll bet the lobstahs R luvin' it.;)
I dunno bout lobstahs but them dam beavas ar sum busy tryin ta stop all that dam water frum goin downstream, ayuh:)
Some day soon I'll be gettin one of them dam letters from the dam state about unauthorized dam building.
Wow, I had no idea redbud was edible...
Redbud is a legume.:-? How do you prepare and serve your redbud blooms, Frau?
Do you have or can you create a digital image of table-ready redbud for us to taste with our eyes? We can have your redbuds and you can eat them too.:)
MoBill122
04-11-2008, 17:24
We went to AnnaRuby Falls, a few miles north of Helen, GA yesterday. Talked to a guy photographing and he said the rhododendrons were beginning to bloom on Brasstown Bald, on the upper part.
The rhododendrons in my yard aren't even close to blooming yet. Dogwoods are almost in full bloom now. Bradford Pears are way past blooming. Cherries are close to being over here too. Redbuds have begun in the past week or two. Some azaleas are starting to bloom.
A rumble of thunder in the Appalachians this morning, the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof overnight, the honk of a Goose last evening, the chitter of Juncos returning, ahh, the sounds of spring.:)
So took a lil hike on the AT couple days ago into the base of Saddleback and found a little plant life (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=23808) along the way, about 6' off the ground on a boulder.
Also this little critter (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=23806) who stopped what he was doing to observe the only shiny face it had seen in probably a long time. Missed seeing a Moose by a couple hours?, fresh tracks in the trail on return leg, it rutted up the trail (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=23802) for about a half mile:rolleyes: Had camera ready but I was upwind of him and he was haulin arse, bet he was glad to find that plowed logging road as thats where he got off the AT. Such is so called spring in the far north.
Cheers
Philippe
04-12-2008, 13:12
Hikers on traditional thru-hike schedules see few if any rhododendrons in bloom. Seeing them in this condition is one of the many pleasures the AT provides to only those who know where and when to seek them and are more easily incorporated into a shorter hike.[/quote]
I'm not starting until the middle of May as I want to attend my wife's graduation from U of Maine before I go. Perhaps suffering the Southern heat in late spring will be offset by the beauty of the local flora. Thanks for the link - great picture. :)
Go here (http://www.tjhsst.edu/~dhyatt/azaleas/) to learn about eastern azaleas and see images of all the species.
Natives azaleas on the AT here bloom about a month from now, shortly before mountain laurel.
Yesterday I saw a pair of Carolina chickadees in my serviceberry. They seemed quite interested in its inflorescences which are about to open any day.
They flew from one inflorescence to another and picked at each one several times with their beaks. I don't know what they were up to, but enjoyed watching them anyway.
Maybe they thought by pecking at the flowers, they could coerce them to open?:)
Dogwood flower buds are beginning to swell.
Yesterday, I added a new bird to my serviceberry list, a ruby crowned kinglet, which I saw twice or was it 4 times (twice with each eye).;) My serviceberry which brings to my doorstep birds of all feathers is now in full bloom.
The grafted top from a Maine scion bested cv. 'Autumn brilliance,' it's host, by a day this year. Some gratitude.:rolleyes: The Maine stem produces more beautiful flowers, but 'Autumn brilliance' does produce brighter fall foliage.:)
Will I or will I not see cedar waxwings (Kirschvogel) this year come June? I do hope they will come again to feast upon Juneberries.
Saw some water boatmen today.
Bat yesterday. At 3:20PM. Hope it finds enough to eat.
Small turtles today.
Unknown small snake.
Coast is ahead on the thaw, but inland will get ahead shortly.
Saw my first redbud blooming today in Derry Twp.
Rudbuds are blooming in Lower Heidelberg and Wernersville today too for the 1st time this year.
Dogwoods, crabapples, PJM rhododendrons, Bradford pears and ornamental cherries are all blooming. Paw paw flowers and apple blossoms are opening and the grass is growing like mad.
Bloodroot and twinleaf have dropped their petals and the rain's all but finished off what the wind didn't of this year's serviceberry display.
When spring comes, the landscape changes fast. So fast, sometimes it's hard to catch it with eye or camera.
Leaf-out on the winter side of the South Mountain began a few days ago and has no doubt been accelerated by recent warmth and this afternoon's thunderstorm. woodsy, it's springtime in New England!
SOG: woodsy, it's springtime in New England!Sounds like it. Starting to look like it too
A male Bluebird showed up today so it's on the way, spring that is.
Skis, snowshoes,snowmo______, and a pile of winter clothing 4' high are getting put away for a few months:rolleyes:;):D:sun
The Cry of the Loon was a welcome sound this morning when stepping out to smell the calm spring air. A sure sign the ice is out on the local pond. Just thought you'd all want to know :D Now if I can only remember where I stashed my paddle last year:rolleyes:
I guess the loons missed Maine too!
I noticed Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape) in flower at my place of employment today. I thought those on the West coast might be interested to know.
Antennaria plantaginifolia (L.) Richardson
plantain pussytoes
Aquilegia canadensis L.
wild columbine
Asarum canadense L.
wild ginger
Caulophyllum thalictroides (L.) Michx.
blue cohosh
Dicentra cucullaria (L.) Bernh.
Dutchman's-breeches
Dicentra exima (Ker-Gawl.) Torr.
wild bleeding-heart
Geranium maculatum L.
wood geranium
Iris cristata Soland.
dwarf crested iris
Silene caroliniana Walt.
sticky catchfly
Trillium sessile L.
toadshade
Trillium erectum L.
purple trillium
While running errands today, I saw a northern rough-winged swallow (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Rough-winged_Swallow_dtl.html) and a black vulture (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Black_Vulture_dtl.html), both stationary and up-close.
The swallow may have been just back from the Gulf coast from what my books indicate. It appeared to be looking for territory upon which to lay claim.
Black vultures are near the northern limit of their range in The Green Diamond and are not ordinarily seen in the township where I reside. This one was feeding upon carrion when I first noticed it.
It hopped up onto curbing and walked a few yards across a lawn probably intending to return to its meal upon my departure. I watched for a few minutes before continuing home. I'll readily concede they are not nearly as ugly as turkey vultures, but, while that may be so, they probably still have breath every bit as bad.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
04-27-2008, 16:28
While not directly on the AT, I ran into this lovely lady (http://209.200.85.146/trailjournals/photos/3268/tj3268%5F042608%5F173253%5F314823.jpg) about 15 miles from the AT (south of Fontana).
Looks to me more like a grub hoe.;) Should have signed her up. AT trail crews can use all the help they can get these days!:D
Frolicking Dinosaurs
04-27-2008, 16:51
Looks to me more like a grub hoe.;) Should have signed her up. AT trail crews can use all the help they can get these days!Pigs are supposed to be intelligent.... Wonder if it is possible train these ladies to groom trails? :D
Sometimes when in need of a heart or another vital part, man has taken more than just bacon.:-?
I'll bet she'd dig sidehilling, could keep up with the best of them and wouldn't complain much either.
I'd go with goats for brushing, save sheep for mowing and beaver for felling myself. I'm all for diversity. What's most important is workers who are devoted to the task.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
04-27-2008, 16:59
:-? She did kind of smell like a hiker / maintainer.
A skilled trail crew leader could find some way for her to contribute without offense to anyone and could surely put her unique qualifications to good use.
This evening I watched a dozen downy ducklings practice paddling under the watchful eye of a mallard hen at Big Spring. Mother and her youngsters couldn't have seemed more pleased. Why not, they all but had the entire pond to themselves and what a pretty place it is.
Over the spring, overhead and over at Conrad Weiser's athletic fields across the road, dozens of barn swallows swooped in a spectacular aerial display seemingly only stronger as a result of their recent return flight from South America.
This evening I watched a dozen downy ducklings practice paddling under the watchful eye of a mallard hen at Big Spring. Mother and her youngsters couldn't have seemed more pleased. Why not, they all but had the entire pond to themselves and what a pretty place it is.
Are they as well fed as the ones in Children's Lake at Boiling Springs? When I lived in B.S. I could always tell the day after a nice weekend when the parents had the kiddies stuffing the ducks - they unloaded more than usual on my car!
Frolicking Dinosaurs
04-28-2008, 08:02
I was walking on the city greenway yesterday (in between rain showers) and saw several duck-mamas teaching ducklings to swim. Also saw a guy get too close to some goslings and get chased by the daddy goose - wish I had a video camera with me for that.
Everyone who's lived on or near a farm in The Green Diamond knows not to mess with geese.
Are they as well fed as the ones in Children's Lake at Boiling Springs?
Probably not. When I was much younger I enjoyed feeding the waterfowl, brook trout and horses. There are not as many horses as there once were and I don't do magic anymore, wildlife or hikers.
Still, Big Spring is one of my favorite places to observe waterfowl especially in winter since it never freezes and it's on my way home from a number of places to which I travel often.
leeki pole
04-28-2008, 15:37
Blackberries (Rubus fruiticosus) and spiderwort (T. virginiana) are in full bloom. The freeze last week didn't get them here, but there's a frost warning for tonight. Hope they're okay, the berries are mighty good after a cold snap. Blackberry winter, as they call it around here.
I assume der Preddicher (the preacher) is with you still way down south. Some know him as the red-eyed vireo (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Red-eyed_Vireo.html).
Even the English here concede it's his sermons (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=329905&postcount=58) that keep both birds and hikers moving north.;) We await his arrival any day now and expect the choir will be right behind.
leeki pole
04-28-2008, 16:01
Oh yes, he's still here and along with the Rufous-Sided (Eastern) Towhee, they serenade my dogs and I on our morning walk. I'm guessing they're headed your way shortly.:)
Dogwoods are almost in full bloom now [4-11].
One of Appalachia's most desirable ornamental species, Cornus florida L. has now reached full bloom in the township where I reside. I would think it would be approaching the same stage of development soon on portions of the AT nearest me.
An interesting fact about this tree is that it reaches its northern limit in southern Maine, where it's accorded S1 (state endangered) status. There is but 1 population remaining in good condition there today.
Plenty of dogwoods blooming here too. But our nursery Cornus from two years ago still has none in our front yard. (Just like the Cercis canadensis next to it.)
SoG, does your profession promote your literacy in botanical Latin? Or just a passionate personal interest? I always enjoy reading your observations.
No, I would more likely be promoted were I fluent in French or had a degree in polymers, engineering or business management.
There's not much opportunity to use botanical Latin where I'm employed. Spanish would be far more useful in my current position.;)
My wife's employer has been teaching her Spanish - unfortunately they also bought her a Mexican work visa to go with it. :mad: Spring is long past where she's going, but perhaps not yet arrived in Dartmouth, N.S. whence the equipment she's installing and the associated jobs came from.
Your wife's employer probably heard there are chachalacas in Mexico. They may not yet realize a chachalaca (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Plain_Chachalaca_dtl.html) is a bird.
A Mexican friend of mine told me chachalaca is also a synonym for the English word chatterbox. I sometimes now point out to him and others: we don't need any more chachalacas; what we need are workers.;)
I continue to observe what seems to me an abnormal abundance of tree swallows and am inclined to believe they are migrants passing though on their way to destinations north of us.
This morning I saw a pair of Dischdelfink (goldfinches) on my serviceberry tree.
I have still not yet heard or seen der Preddicher (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=608426&postcount=80) (link to post #80), but do not ordinarily hear, see or expect him in the vicinity of my home. Later today, I may go to look for him, der Blutfink (scarlet tanager) also known as der Flamvoggel, die Buschamschel (wood thrush) and warblers for which few have PG names.
I think die Buschamschel are not yet here in significant numbers because I hear them every evening once they return since I have limited but satisfactory habitat within earshot of where I live.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-03-2008, 10:07
I have a pair of house finches who are regularly visiting my hummingbird feeder. This happened last year as well. Any idea why finches are eating or trying to eat from hummingbird feeders? (I've checked for the presence of ants or critters on the feeders and have none)
Have you observed them attempting to drink from your feeder and could they? Maybe they are just curious.
I currently have a dwarf-crested iris amongst my wildflower plantings with a 4-merous (4-parted) flower. I'd never seen one before and wonder if such flowers are produced through the same mechanism as 4-leafed clovers.
Thus far, I've been unable to produce a satisfactory image to post and it's now past prime. I may post what I've got anyway.
Yesterday I watched a fly pollinate flowers now open on my paw paw trees. Some readers may not realize flies are good for more than just feeding other wildlife.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-03-2008, 12:03
Have you observed them attempting to drink from your feeder and could they? Maybe they are just curious.At first I thought they were just curious, but they keep coming back literally dozens of times a day to only one of my feeders (picture below) - and they appear to be pecking and / or licking the plastic flowers - unless they have really long tongues, they could not reach the nectar in any of my feeders.
Silene caroliniana Walter (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SICA6) is now blooming in my native wildflower beds. Click on sticky catchfly (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=24356&catid=member&imageuser=6796) to see an image I added to WhiteBlaze's gallery today.
It grows wild near me on a dry, shaley embankment with a western aspect under a fairly open canopy. I thought it might make a good addition to a south-facing bed exposed to full sun and found this to be so. Now if only I can master how to vegetatively propagate those plants with the most desirable characteristics.
Click on Kemper Center for Home Gardening (http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=F570) to view a page about growing this plant on you own property, its requirements and sources.
At first I thought they were just curious, but they keep coming back literally dozens of times a day to only one of my feeders (picture below) - and they appear to be pecking and / or licking the plastic flowers - unless they have really long tongues, they could not reach the nectar in any of my feeders.
Aphids?
I hope woodsy wasn't transported downstream during the big melt. We are much in need of an update from the wilds.:(
I currently have a dwarf-crested iris with a 4-merous (4-parted) flower amongst my native wildflower plantings.
Thus far, I've been unable to produce a satisfactory image to post and it's now past prime. I may post what I've got anyway.
Click on 4-merous iris (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=24357&catid=member&imageuser=6796) to see what I created by rotating, cropping and modifying in other ways my best image. The result clearly shows a 4-merous flower. Normal 3-merous flowers are also shown for comparison.
One of Appalachia's most desirable ornamental species, Cornus florida L. has now reached full bloom [4-29] in the township where I reside. I would think it would be approaching the same stage of development soon on portions of the AT nearest me.
Can anyone tell us whether flowering dogwood is now blooming in Connecticut or Massachusetts and to what extent it's planted and thriving outside of its natural range in Maine? I don't recall seeing it there although I'm inclined to suspect a faulty memory on my part rather than a lack of trees.
Beautiful afternoon to be out yesterday in Bedford County, Pa.'s Sweet Root Natural Area. The ferns in Southampton Twp. have in the past week whizzed past the fiddlehead stage to begin unfolding.
Got a tree mystery though. At one point I was standing next to a very deeply furrowed bark tree waiting to reunite with the two 5 yo girls I was hiking with. On a steep slope with eastern exposure, this tree was maybe only 24" dbh but leaves coming out only straight up the bole into the canopy maybe 80' up. From that non-ideal perspective the leaves seemed almost round like witch-hazel; but this was no witch-hazel. When the girls caught up they picked up a couple of decomposed acorn caps that looked white oak-ish to me. But I don't recall seeing anything with 4"+ deep furrowed bark in Pa. before. Any guesses?
sofaking
05-05-2008, 08:13
Beautiful afternoon to be out yesterday in Bedford County, Pa.'s Sweet Root Natural Area. The ferns in Southampton Twp. have in the past week whizzed past the fiddlehead stage to begin unfolding.
Got a tree mystery though. At one point I was standing next to a very deeply furrowed bark tree waiting to reunite with the two 5 yo girls I was hiking with. On a steep slope with eastern exposure, this tree was maybe only 24" dbh but leaves coming out only straight up the bole into the canopy maybe 80' up. From that non-ideal perspective the leaves seemed almost round like witch-hazel; but this was no witch-hazel. When the girls caught up they picked up a couple of decomposed acorn caps that looked white oak-ish to me. But I don't recall seeing anything with 4"+ deep furrowed bark in Pa. before. Any guesses?
an ent...and he's pissed.
an ent...and he's pissed.
With good reason, the hemlock wooly adelgid is in there pretty thick now. Fortunately he didn't take it out on me, my daughter, or niece. :)
Dances with Mice
05-05-2008, 09:30
Got a tree mystery though. At one point I was standing next to a very deeply furrowed bark tree waiting to reunite with the two 5 yo girls I was hiking with. On a steep slope with eastern exposure, this tree was maybe only 24" dbh but leaves coming out only straight up the bole into the canopy maybe 80' up. From that non-ideal perspective the leaves seemed almost round like witch-hazel; but this was no witch-hazel. When the girls caught up they picked up a couple of decomposed acorn caps that looked white oak-ish to me. But I don't recall seeing anything with 4"+ deep furrowed bark in Pa. before. Any guesses?Black locust? (http://www.the-tree.org.uk/BritishTrees/TreeGallery/falseacaciac.htm)
Black locust? (http://www.the-tree.org.uk/BritishTrees/TreeGallery/falseacaciac.htm)
Don't think so, leaves weren't pinnate (as far as I could tell from 80' down...) and the bark looked quite a lot different than locusts around these parts - it was kind of an even dark almost like black cherry not a sort of light brown. I didn't see any sort of thorn either...
The deer are growing antlers. Sure look goofy.
Got a tree mystery though.
Without seeing the tree, I guess chestnut oak, based mostly upon your description of its size and bark. Before I'd make that my final answer, I'd need to see it myself.
Hmm, after looking up a few web pages what I saw might be at the extremes of the given range of variation for chestnut oak. Bark was deeper and leaves (for what I could see) shorter and tree straighter and taller than what I've perceived as chestnut oak, but habitat (partway up the edge of a gap in east side of Tussey Mountain) is mostly right and this Natural Area is said to be old growth.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-08-2008, 12:57
I now have five (yes five) baby finches competing for space on my hummingbird feeder along with the parents. The hummingbirds have quit coming because there is nearly always a finch on the feeder. I took it down and soaked it overnight in bleach water. I checked it with a magnifying glass for bugs of any sort and found none. The finches are rocking the feeder until they splatter some of the nectar out and then licking it off the feeder. Strangest thing I've seen my feathered entertainment do yet.
Consider an Oriole feeder.
Some are like hummer feeders with larger openings.
I have put out orange halves, hanging. (For orioles.)
Heck, try putting out some hummer food on a plate. I bet if you put out another hummer feeder a distance away, the finches won't claim both at the same time.
Do you have seed feeders out?
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-08-2008, 13:18
Yes, I have suet cakes, wild bird seed mix and oiled sunflower seeds - and a thistle feeder specifically for the finches and orioles.
I had poor luck with a thistle feeder. Waste of $. They go for black oil sunflower seeds here.
Your deviants seem pretty clever, for bird brains. Worth a picture!
According to A Century of Bird Life in Berks County, Pennsylvania, northern orioles are most apt to be found among sycamores and silver maples, which would suggest seeking them along rivers. Someone who lives near a river and these kinds of trees might stand a better chance of attracting them.
Birding enthusiasts now in France soon to return to Appalachia for a long walk home may be interested to know Pennsylvania Germans call this bird die Goldamschel, a name they transferred from a European species.
Click on golden oriole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Oriole), new world orioles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_oriole) and/or Baltimore oriole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Oriole) to see images and learn more about these species.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-08-2008, 13:46
I live on a 'finger' of land between the Tennessee River and a wide, sallow backwater creek. We sometimes get a heron or gull in the yard.
Catbirds are back in good numbers. I listened to a particularly talented individual sing at dusk yesterday.
Cookerhiker
05-09-2008, 19:18
According to A Century of Bird Life in Berks County, Pennsylvania, northern orioles are most apt to be found among sycamores and silver maples, which would suggest seeking them along rivers. Someone who lives near a river and these kinds of trees might stand a better chance of attracting them.......Click on golden oriole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Oriole), new world orioles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_oriole) and/or Baltimore oriole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Oriole) to see images and learn more about these species.
This week, I saw a beautiful Baltimore Oriole (state bird) along the C&O Canal near its western terminus in Cumberland. He was gorging himself on tent caterpillars.
I'm hearing more of them now and am about to see what else I may be able to find.
I am not due to hear them until next week or so. I am jealous. Humming bird today.
I'm hearing more of them [wood thrushes] now and am about to see what else I may be able to find.
It was cool and quite still this evening. Birds weren't signing as much as I'd expected and I didn't detect any new species. I picked up all the woodpeckers and saw 2 deer. What impressed me most was just how still and quiet it was.
When almost dark, I thought I heard a red-eyed vireo, only to realize it was a catbird. Shortly afterwards, I saw a small mammal and walked toward it. I'm relatively certain, it was neither skunk, raccoon or cat and am inclined to think it was a fox. It put a tree between itself and me and was gone before I got a closer look.
A few hundred yards from home, I heard a distant screech owl.
sofaking
05-10-2008, 21:41
woodpeckers have been trashing my feeder the past week. one will land on the perch almost upside down, pick specific bits of feed out of the feeder and throw them over the shoulder like they're just some more garbage in the way...i'm trying to figure out if they're just throwing out the corn and sunflower seeds or if they're just being peckerheads and messing up the mix.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-10-2008, 21:43
Saw a pair of robins feeding their hatchlings in my front yard this morning.
A Carolina wren and 4 fledglings this afternoon.
Cookerhiker
05-11-2008, 17:18
Yesterday out with a PATC trail crew along Great North Mountain in GWNF, I got a quick but unmistakable glimpse of a scarlet tanager.
On the trail, we saw several species of wildflowers the most interesting of which were wild irises.
Still haven't seen my 1st scarlet tanager of 2008, but I haven't yet made an effort to look where I'm more apt to find one. This early, I see them in close proximity to interior forest springs or streams often at eye-level. They are likely here now.
I've considered attempting to see all the birds that normally occur in my county within its boarders this calendar year. I've never tried or done it before and there are several species I've never seen here or elsewhere. Maybe I'm too late already and should try for it next year.
Cookerhiker
05-13-2008, 15:37
Went for my first '08 bike ride on the Great Allegheny Passage (http://www.atatrail.org/) today and saw 2 indigo buntings. They were about 4 miles apart so I don't think it was the same one. The first just landed for about 2 seconds on the trail itself as I was peddling uphill. The second flitted around low branches where I stopped at an overlook by the Savage Mountain tunnel.
Saw and heard 1, possibly 2, male northern oriole(s) singing yesterday. Chimney swifts now here for sure.
Fragaria virginiana Duchesne and Packera aurea (L.) A. Löve & D. Löve flowering.
(L.) A. Löve & D. Löve
Gotta love those folks who prove Linnaeus wrong. ;)
sofaking
05-14-2008, 14:31
i saw an ellbebe and an ellgeebee today.
Gotta love those folks who prove Linnaeus wrong. ;)
They was just wantin' published!:p
i saw an ellbebe and an ellgeebee today.
elbebe appears to refer to many things all of which strike me as decidedly non-Appalachian. Relevance please?:confused:
I find it interesting indeed that ellgeebee is an eBay seller listing items in Advertising, Tools, Hardware, Locks, Breweriana, Beer categories on eBay Australia, but fail to see how it relates to the topic of this thread.:confused:
You appear to be someone posting garbage in a thread about Appalachian Spring.:( Tell me it isn't so and how your topics are related quickly before I request this thread be transferred to Straight-Forward, okay?
sofaking
05-14-2008, 15:31
elbebe appears to refer to many things all of which strike me as decidedly non-Appalachian. Relevance please?:confused:
I find it interesting indeed that ellgeebee is an eBay seller listing items in Advertising, Tools, Hardware, Locks, Breweriana, Beer categories on eBay Australia, but fail to see how it relates to the topic of this thread.:confused:
You appear to be someone posting garbage in a thread about Appalachian Spring.:( Tell me it isn't so and how your topics are related quickly before I request this thread be transferred to Straight-Forward, okay?
guess i'm going to have to google these too... elbebe= little brown bird
ellgeebee= lil grey bird...whatever, why don't you go to 'straight forward' and stay there, you old poop. your threats make you seem even older and ornerier than you probably really are. go outside and watch some birds and count to ten.
Thank you for clarifying your post. It was not at all clear to me you were referring to birds.
Later I do intend to go outside and look for little birds myself. With a bit of luck, today I might see a scarlet bird.
Maybe you will see an orange bird. I saw some yesterday from Baltimore. Perhaps you will see them on their return trip.:sun
sofaking
05-14-2008, 16:13
okay, hope you spy a tanager. i've got a e.blue bird couple that have been visiting my feeder the past week, when it's not down pouring rain or being ransacked by the woodpecker... what would a woodpecker want with seed?
Coastal Maine. Shadbush in bloom. Moosewood leaves opening from their "flame" clusters. Rose-breasted grosbeak. 2nd humming bird.
The spring bulbs were about two weeks late, but the birds, leaves and especially the oaks are right on schedule.
Very dry in the woods here. Some brooks are trickles.
OwlsRevenge
05-14-2008, 18:31
This seems to be a thread about birdsightings now. . . .hope this post is ok....it was two weeks ago but it was a moment in my life I'll never forget...
A friend and I were on Deep Creek Trail in the GSMNP. We were actually fishing, not so much hiking - but anyway....
I looked down the creek and saw what I thought for a second might be a buzzard type bird....to that point, the only bird that big I'd ever seen in the wild so my mind immed. thought " buzzard"...but it was flying low - probably 12 ft. high above the creek and it soared effortlessly past us without making a sound.....
I told my friend to look behind him....and as it went by we saw it was a Bald Eagle!
First one I've ever seen in the wild. It was inspiring to say the least - and after that it didn't matter if we caught fish or not! :) We were both really happy to have been at the right place at the right time to see that great animal in the wild.
sofaking
05-14-2008, 18:40
bald eagles taste better than spotted owls, but my favorite are california condors, meatier and finger lickin' good.
Cookerhiker
05-17-2008, 14:48
Out for another ride on the Great Allegheny Passage (http://www.atatrail.org/) on a beautiful day. Saw a garter snake sticking part-way onto the Trail.
Also saw yet another indigo bunting.
Vocal wood thrush today. While hiking a half demented version, like it had forgotten it's song, and just now, while doing a gate check, the full deal.
It's summer.
I just got baCK from a meeting of the land protection committee of the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust. It was an exciting meeting as we are about to make a final decision on purchasing many thousands of acres in the high peaks region around Saddleback and Sugarloaf, costing multiple millions.
But we also planned a stewardship trip on Abraham, the high peak we had purchased on a similar gamble five years ago. That drive was a success only because a very wise lover of the Maine mountains came through with a final $100,000.
Will there be another rescuer for this gamble. Or won't one be necessary this time? Maybe all those who proclaim their love for Maine and its mountains will just contribute a $10, a $50, maybe $100, maybe more, negating the need for a rescue.
But getting back on topic, Our stewardship plan calls for a moderate walk to the ridgeline of Abraham on June 7 so we can celebrate out purchase of Whitecap.
Weary
[email protected]. Or just brouse the webside.
OK Weary, looking for the checkbook now.
I just got baCK from a meeting of the land protection committee of the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust. It was an exciting meeting as we are about to make a final decision on purchasing many thousands of acres in the high peaks region around Saddleback and Sugarloaf, costing multiple millions. Is this what you are referring to? http://www.matlt.org/High%20Peaks.asp
Back to the regular program.......
In the meantime, finding new life in the Maine Woods::)
Baby Robins (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=24785)
OK Weary, looking for the checkbook now. Is this what you are referring to? http://www.matlt.org/High%20Peaks.asp
Back to the regular program.......
In the meantime, finding new life in the Maine Woods::)
Baby Robins (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=24785)
Yes. Abolutely. We are still struggling but the time has come to fish or cut bait as fishermen on the coast of Maine proclaimed. We are a large group, with many members. But in recent years we have never had the courage to bite the big bullet. Fish or cut bait. Now or never.
Weary
Flush2wice
05-21-2008, 09:51
Here is a photo taken near Boone, NC of a tufted titmouse harvesting material for a nest. It was the photo of the day on Ray's weather site.
4120
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-21-2008, 09:53
I have a baby hummingbird using the feeder - and the finches are leaving it mostly alone since I took it down and soaked it in bleach water for an hour. Must have been some sort of bug or fungus I couldn't see.
Its still spring here according to the calendar and new life is still emerging from the woods.
Captured this image (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=25591) this morning of Wild Turkey with very young chicks.
Thought some of you wildlife buffs might enjoy this unique sight of a chick on hen's back.
Captured this image (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=25591) this morning of a Wild Turkey with very young chicks.
We never did finish this one last year. It wasn't supposed to end until the alpine tundra on Katahdin's tableland blooms.
Maybe someone:rolleyes: could help us see it through? An aborted through thread is about a bad as an aborted through hike. So what's happening up there in the wilds of Maine? Surely there must be some sign of spring.
Spring as measured by leaf-out has advanced half way up the winter side of the South Mountain. So it's officially spring in the New England province of Pennsylvania's Green Diamond!:sun
The redbuds are starting to show themselves around Harrisburg. (Except the one I planted a couple of years ago in my yard. :( )
Today I went up to Lehigh Gap to check out some of the newer trails at Lehigh Gap Nature Center http://www.lgnc.org/ and how they connected with the A.T.
Though I must admit I-78 is rarely my favorite road, from the highway in northern Berks County springtime is abundantly evident . With blooming dogwoods and fruit trees around the farmsteads and in the little patches of woods, the big trees still lack their leaves, so the old farmsteads showed off well against a backdrop of bright green fields - or occasionally some newly plowed earth, not yet dusty.
I suppose one might say that Lehigh Gap is in a 100-year winter, though with the warm season grasses planted there now, maybe it has summers.
Returning on 895, the north side of Blue Mountain shows less green, though the Forsythia in the yards is just about past its yellow even there.
Surely there must be some sign of spring.
Spring as measured by leaf-out has advanced half way up the winter side of the South Mountain. So it's officially spring in the New England province of Pennsylvania's Green Diamond!:sun
Well we are starting to see red maple buds blossom into leaves.:rolleyes:
I did pull a young Snapping Turtle out of the road recently so it may see another day :D
I think spring is finally on the doorstep in Northern New England :sun
Oh, we can no longer walk on water too (the frozen kind)
In the past week I saw or heard northern orioles, scarlet tanagers and wood thrushes.
This morning when I looked out my window, I saw a pair of Distlefink (goldfinches) perched on dandilions plucking seeds one at a time for breakfast.
Yesterday in NY's West Hill State Forest http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/37441.html the buds had just broken and a whole bunch of leaves for spring ephemerals were just starting to come up. The only one blooming was a mushy-ground-favoring little yellow one. I just have no memory for plant identification, but next week there might be a good one for adding to that frustration.
Here's some photos of a trip I took from my house near the Middle and South Fork of the Holston confluence over to the NC Corner, 4 miles SW of Whitetop Station a couple of weeks ago.
Since it rained today and I and didn't go outdoors other than for a trip to the local market, I'm linking Berks County Nature Blog (http://www.readingeagle.com/blog.aspx?bid=70) where others who spent more time in Penn's Woods this weekend have posted their observations.
Note in particular the warblers list for SGL 110 and the 6-spotted tiger beetle photographed there.
There's already a WhiteBlaze thread (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=47808) by the same name as the title of this post for those who may want to comment on Berks County Nature Blog or can't remember its URL. Anyone who has noteworthy sightings in Berks County send them to Bill Uhrich and share your sightings with others.
Scroll up to my last post and click on Berks County Nature Blog to check out the birding lists and photos added yesterday.
Some time ago, Mowgli said it might be possible to see a red-headed woodpecker on the AT, but he wouldn't know where. I pointed out people see them every year in Berks and a lucky hiker might even see one on the AT. Click BCNB to see one near Birdsboro and add it to your own list! That counts, doesn't it?
That is one funky looking bird. Thanks. Quite the warbler count!
Beats this bird:http://www.wlbz2.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=104618&catid=109
Slow down when you head North!
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary will host 2 activities related to butterflies appropriate for children this weekend. Click on Reading Eagle Bulletin board (http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=138606) for the details.
I had the pleasure of spending a morning with both Karl and Ryan on Berk's County Conservancy's Neversink Preserve earlier this month. Their passion for natural history is contagious and they enjoy sharing their knowledge with others.
The children's butterfly site (http://www.kidsbutterfly.org/) includes FAQ, tools for teachers and parents and more.
Anyone wanting to identify butterflies observed on a hike or learn what species may be expected on their next may want to refer to Butterflies & Moths (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=42245).
Just a quick post to mention I saw both blooming today in Berks.
Black locusts seem to be everywhere when in flower and are more common than than many may believe. They are thought by some to be native only west of the Alleghenies, but early botanical explorations in Pennsylvania are known to have reported stands north of Kittatinny Ridge.
They are more common now than when Europeans first arrived probably because they were favored and even planted by farmers who used them for fence posts.
Seeing or hearing any loons in the wilds of Maine? According to Berks County Nature Blog, some were still lingering here last Friday.
MoBill122
05-21-2009, 09:42
Bird Conspiracy ?? Last week as I played on my computer, something big flew into the tree outside my window. I immediately spotted a Pileated Woodpecker, and grapped my camera. Found the bird in viewfinder...focus... poof ! It flew to next tree! ! Found bird.. focus... poof ! ! Dang bird flew tree to tree 6-8 times... finally I gave up as it was getting to far out into woods ! ! Grrrrrr
Next day... I see another large shadow fly across window. This time it was a Red-tailed Hawk. Same thing...tree to tree... never got a picture !
Man... they are messing with me bad !!!
Everyone posting to Appalachian Spring awaits your images. At the moment, it appears everyone includes me.:)
Seen in flower yesterday.
Seeing or hearing any loons in the wilds of Maine? According to Berks County Nature Blog, some were still lingering here last Friday.
Ayuh, been crying out 1st thing in the morning here for about a week.
Other birds, too many to mention are too noisy @ 4 AM. :rolleyes:
I know what Mobill is talking about, trying to get a bird to sit still for a picture
is mostly hopeless, BUT, i did catch this little fella last summer on the AT near a place some call Popular Ridge, Maine near 3000' el: Its not a great photo , but its a rare sight, a Golden Crowned Kinglet, probably the smallest bird around in Alpine country, it must have flinched just as i snapped. These birds are in constant motion and overwinter here at times in a state of tupor.
Some AS readers may not realize the poplar of which you write and the poplar I mentioned a few posts back are two different species.
Yellow-poplar or tuliptree is not native as far north as Maine although one was planted and appeared to be thriving at UMO's Fay Hyland Arboretum in the early 1990s. It may be still.
Balsam poplar is found in both Maine and Pennsylvania. According to Trees of Pennsylvania, our largest is located in Philadelphia and measures 3 feet in diameter at breast height (dbh), 89 feet tall and 57 feet spread.
Teaching a child how to identify a sassafras tree by its leaves is a simple way to introduce him or her to the natural world. It's an easy tree to identify and all adults know it, don't they?
This time of year, where I live anyway, their flowers may still be seen. In a few months, look for the dark blue, almost black fruit.
Sassafras leaves are eaten by tiger and spicebush swallowtail larvae.
Oil of sassafras was used to make root beer until FDA banned use of it for this purpose in the 1960s.
It's natural range does not extend into Maine.
This bear was spotted at the 3 mile mark on the Richard Russell Hiway in Blairsville, Ga. Two year cub was in the woods nearby and momma became very ugly when she saw me. She hit a log to her left with a thunderous swat. I, uh, got back in the truck.
My holly tree's flowers began opening yesterday and I knew it the moment I stepped outside. The aroma they produce is one of my favorite spring smells. No wonder bees find them so attractive.
Some readers may not know hollies are dioecious, a fancy word meaning male and female flowers are produced on different trees.
I know of a lonely American holly along the AT in Berks County probably planted by a bird. It's growing old waiting for a pollinator to pollinate its flowers if not to carry its pollen to others. I sometimes think it should have some companionship.
American holly is considered to be a threatened species in Pennsylvania. I believe it to be extending its range slowly inland, but it cannot move as fast as other species for reasons already mentioned. A pollen source within a mile is usually considered adequate for pollination.
See Little white flowers (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=842959&postcount=4) for an off-thread post about plants now blooming.
The A.T. map Susquehanna River to Swatara Gap has an intriguing little note "American holly forest" situated SW of Cold Spring and around Yellow Springs Station in SGL 211. I finally managed to prove its veracity to myself in mid-April this year. Yellow Springs Station is the point where the Yellow Springs side trail intersects the Old RR Grade (Schuylkill & Susquehanna, to be more precise). An orange (barely) blazed route (hardly a trail, and not maintained) parallels the RR bed to the southeast, and passes through this "forest" of maybe ten acres. A few holly trees are above (compass NW) of the RR bed, but many more were below (topographically) the RR bed between the RR and Stony Creek. This area is about a mile compass-SE, Trail-east, of the A.T. at Yellow Springs village site. Yellow Springs Trail itself looks on the map like it goes from the A.T. to the holly forest, but is severely washed out in its middle section and not currently maintained.
Thanks, I'll see if I can locate this holly forest you mentioned next time I visit SGL 211. I suspect they had some help from man in getting established there and may have escaped and naturalized. With a little help from birds and other animals, they do so readily.
There's a young holly forest a stone's throw from where I post. It began with 3 females and two males planted years ago near a seep and spread into a Douglas fir plantation on a nearby slope with an eastern aspect.
Many of the fir have wind-thrown or are in poor health and the stand has opened up. The hollies are doing even better now. The tree in my front lawn is one of several seedlings I transplanted from there.
At the base of this slope were 4 Pacific silver firs, the only trees of that species I've ever seen in Berks. Three were recently removed due to heart-rot. The remaining tree is getting bigger and leaning harder. I expect it will produce a saw log or two and a pile of mulch soon.
Have you seen Pennsylvania's American holly champion at Indian Steps Museum (http://www.indiansteps.org/03-grounds.html)? It's quite an impressive specimen!
Cookerhiker
05-26-2009, 08:24
No photo but last week walking on the Great Allegheny Passage (http://www.atatrail.org), I saw our state bird - the Baltimore Oriole. And some wild geraniums were already blooming.
I was out at the Lime Hollow Nature Center http://www.limehollow.org/ over the weekend looking for wildflowers in and near its Chicago Bog. Red trillium is just past but there was plenty of wild geranium and Canada mayflower in the upland woods. By the bog itself a bush was blooming but I wasn't certain whether it was leatherleaf or highbush blueberry. Wish I knew how both to identify plants better, and to do inline text links on this site instead of just the URL.
By the bog itself a bush was blooming but I wasn't certain whether it was leatherleaf or highbush blueberry. Wish I knew how both to identify plants better and to do inline text links on this site instead of just the URL.
I saw leatherwood in bloom a few weeks ago on a Mengel Natural History Society field trip. Several dozen native plant enthusiasts participated and we were fortunate to see a number of unusual plants. This was but one activity in recent weeks where I met people with whom I discovered common interests in both botany and horticulture.
Leatherleaf might still be in bloom too. Both it and highbush blueberry have white urn-shaped flowers, but leatherleaf produces flowers in racemes. It's an obligate wetland plant found most frequently in bogs.
You should purchase a copy of The Plants of Pennsylvania which I just consulted for yourself if you have not already.
Inline text links are easy. Highlight the text for your link, click on the link icon and paste your URL highlighted and copied earlier when prompted. Got it?
Not the greatest photo, among the first taken by me with an autofocus dSLR, keep trying to focus with the ring that's a zoom control. :)
And the 180 degree view behind it, definitely a bog.
Here's a (http://www.micro.cornell.edu/cals/micro/research/nsf-observatories/yavitt-zinder/chicago-bog.cfm) site that speaks Latin about the bog.
Click on leatherleaf (http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/chamaedaphnecaly.html) and highbush blueberry (http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/vacciniumcory.html) for images contributed by Janet Novak to Connecticut Botanical Society's website, an excellent plant identification resource for those not comfortable with dichotomous keys or botanical terminology.
Compare the leaves, twigs and especially the arrangement of individual flowers in Janet's images and then look again at the thumbnail in post #170. I believe its identity will be clear.
Take some time to explore CBS's website. It's quite a collection of information and well organized too! I stumbled upon it before, but only tonight realized just how good it is.
http://natureremains.blogspot.com/
Looks like a productive place to seek related material. As I have time to find some posts or pics to fill in our gaps, I'll link them.
Cookerhiker
05-29-2009, 11:57
Yesterday in Shenandoah NP (HighTop Mountain), the wild geranium were profuse. I even saw a few faded trillium at the highest point.
Since we lack recent posts from Mainers, I can't help but wonder whether spring has at last arrived in The Pine Tree State, they have emerged from hibernation and are now foraging outdoors.:-?:D
41*F here this AM. Full blown summer weather.
It is nice to see green again!
Click on Pretty Flowers (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=24403) to view an image from WhiteBlaze's gallery and scroll down for more information.
The plant depicted may be done blooming where I live, but it's likely still blooming at higher elevations and latitudes.
Does anyone have new images to share? If you've got 'em, post 'em!
Catawba cultivars are blooming in Heidelberg and last week mountain laurel was in bud at Hawk Mountain. Although it may bloom in May, it often waits until June.
I picked and ate juneberries this afternoon for the 1st time this season.
Catalpa is now the plant announcing its presence in the landscape.
I just saw Pennsylvania's state insect for the 1st time this season.
Pennsylvania's state flower is now in bloom!:)
Yesterday I saw elderberry in flower on my evening stroll.
Has everyone else been walking with their eyes closed or is this thread being boycotted?
Maybe everyone's hiking. :)
I had planned to be on Mt. Washington tomorrow with a small group of AMC alpine plant enthusiasts capturing spring so it might be put it on permanent display in WhiteBlaze's gallery.
Unfortunately, due to limited participation in this thread, I was denied the grant I'd hoped to secure.;) Even so, I may still get my hands on some photos.
Blossoms are now beginning to fall to the ground where I live, probably on SGL 110 too.
When in grade school, I fished with a friend at a shallow dam where ice was once harvested to keep food fresh for guests who stayed at a grand hotel overlooking the town below. As a boy, the most interesting thing about the dam was the painted turtles which called it home.
Long ago the dam began to deteriorate and the water level was drawn down. I didn't know how that had impacted the turtles, but I figured it wasn't good.
Today, as I drove past whatever remains of the dam, I saw what might have been a turtle motionless on the road and thought about those turtles sunning on logs more than 30 years ago. When I passed the location again a bit later, I slowed down and confirmed what I'd feared.
There isn't as much habitat there anymore and new homes are closing in on what remains. Wet meadows where I once observed unusual butterflies are now dry and apparently the only thing that will grow on them is rye grass and man.
Pennsylvania Rose
06-14-2009, 21:07
Mountain laurel, rhododendron, and azalea are blooming in the Smokies! Felt like I was a bride following the flower girl on parts of the Sugarland Mountain Trail.
Blossoms are now beginning to fall to the ground where I live, probably on SGL 110 too.
They are in SGL 80, where it seems all is either just about to pop or has fallen. Quite a carpet effect, especially when we today traversed the unmaintained short cut trail between Schuberts Gap and the apex of the kettle behind Round Head where the carpet wasn't so scattered.
There's a good number of thru's coming through. My 6yo daughter on her first backpacking trip wondered who the first female thru-hiker was and when. We asked 4 women thru's until one at the 501 Shelter said "Grandma Gatewood."
Surprised not to see any fireflies, though our evening on Saturday was cut short by a little thunderstorm, which sent us scurrying into the six-person tent with glowsticks and a Firefly-equipped Nalgene for a campfire.
Quite a carpet effect, especially when we today traversed the unmaintained short cut trail between Schuberts Gap and the apex of the kettle behind Round Head where the carpet wasn't so scattered.
Wishing I'd been there to see what you saw. Are there still big ant hills next to the trail?
Are there still big ant hills next to the trail?
Didn't see those, which was probably a good thing since the two little girls decided to do an awful lot of whining about bugs, such as: "There are too many SPIDERS on the rocks!"
The place where big healthy anthills ha most recently entered my consciousness is on the Greenwood Spur Mid State Trail just south of the Broad Mountain summit. There's maybe 1/2 mile from the fire tower out to a road following the old fire warden's telephone line (poles still there, good thing, blazing laurel and blueberries wouldn't work so well) with at least half a dozen ant mounds.
There is a new ant hill on a not quite finished MST relocation in Bedford County that almost seems to be southern fire ants instead of the usual native Allegheny ants. But I did find online that the Allegheny ants can be aggressive and bite too. (My wife and daughter had to strip down after encountering this mound last week, which may be why our daughter isn't too happy with bugs at the moment.)
bronconite
06-15-2009, 10:23
Here are a few I took this spring in northern Berks County.
bronconite
06-15-2009, 10:27
I guess I can't edit my post. Can anyone tell me what that is in the last picture?
I guess I can't edit my post.
You'd need to donate to edit posts. It is handy.
Can anyone tell me what that is in the last picture?
http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/galls-oak
I would have liked to provide a more precise answer about the specific type of gall, the organism which prompts its formation and a matching image, but my link is the best I can do without devoting more time to it than I can right now.
Maybe ki0eh or someone else with training in forest entomology can provide a better answer.
Of course, you could contact Penn State. E-mail:
[email protected] (
[email protected])
bronconite
06-18-2009, 22:40
I looked it up. I think it's called an Oak apple gall. It's caused by a parasitic wasp. I have to do some more reading on galls, I've never heard of them before. One site said these are also galls. Is that correct?
I'll bet you've seen that big one. Can you tell me where it is?
One site said these are also galls. Is that correct?
Google burl and post the best link you can find on the topic.
According to an AP News feed (http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=143987), spring 2009 was wetter than normal due to a southward shift of the jet stream which extended spring into meteorological summer. Here in southeastern Pennsylvania, our YTD rainfall deficits may be eliminated (http://www.erh.noaa.gov/marfc/Maps/PANY_counties_ytd_color.htm) before astronomical summer arrives tomorrow.
Black raspberries are now red, signaling they're soon to be ripe to impatient observers.:)
Can anyone tell us what was blooming by Thoreau Spring this last day of spring on the alpine tundra?
It appears it's a rainy day in Maine too.
Click on answers (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/wfaqsson.htm) for a page provided by USA TODAY.
Another carpet of fallen laurel flowers today on the Henry Knauber Trail. Still a few hanging on in SGL 211.
Cookerhiker
03-19-2010, 12:43
Yesterday while blazing on the Sheltowee Trace here in KY, saw a few stands of {marsh marigolds}* providing a bright splash of golden yellow in an otherwise drab forest floor.
* Nope, they were Coltsfoot
Seen often along roadsides, one of the earliest yellow flowers is produced by coltsfoot, a plant of European origin. Considered by several A.T. States a noxious or invasive weed, it's on GSMNP's invasive plants list (http://www.invasive.org/weedus/park.html?id=GRSM).
More information about Tussilago farfara L. and images are available at the links provided.
USDA Plants Database (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TUFA)
Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (http://www.invasive.org/species/subject.cfm?sub=6564)
Cookerhiker
03-19-2010, 14:17
I studied the photos of your link pretty thoroughly and it looks like I erred. So should I have yanked it? I have to say the stands weren't that thick - not like a carpet of flowers but a few clusters.
Spring is happening on the Maine AT, slowly, saw Red Squirrels and two
Boreal Chickadees on this day. Images from 3/16/10 in the shadow of Avery Peak. Some ice flowers growing along the trail. View of Little Bigelow from below the Old Man's Head. :welcometo spring in Maine :sun
Cookerhiker
03-19-2010, 16:09
On the AT birdlist forum, I mentioned how much I liked the White-throated Sparrow. I've been fortunate to be graced by them at my feeder the last month. Per the Sibley guide, they winter here but are not resident so I'll say farewell to them soon.
So should I have yanked it?
Good question perhaps best answered by the local land management agency. Hand-pulling coltsfoot is considered effective according to what I read at the links I posted earlier.
Generally invasives are best dealt with by individuals trained in their identification and eradication. Eliminating them is not always practical, possible or the best use of limited resources. Whether it's time well spent depends upon the location and impacts.
I studied the photos of your link pretty thoroughly and it looks like I erred. So should I have yanked it? I have to say the stands weren't that thick - not like a carpet of flowers but a few clusters.
Some (most) invasives can't be eliminated. They are now a part of our natural environment. Yanking the plant wouldn't have done any good. It would just eliminate a pretty early spring splash of yellow, that others can now enjoy.
Weary
berkshirebirder
03-20-2010, 05:51
About a month ago, red-winged blackbirds streamed over a marsh around dusk. Turkey vultures started appearing, gliding and tilting against a bright blue sky. Purple and green shoots of skunk cabbage poked up through swampy ground.
In the past ten days, I've seen and heard woodcocks and killdeers on a field and tree swallows zipping back and forth over a marsh. Yesterday a mourning cloak butterfly (http://enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=mourning%20cloak&curGroupID=2&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=2) darted along a wooded path, and I was among the first customers at an ice cream stand that reopened for the season.
I just need to hear a phoebe (http://enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=phoebe&curGroupID=1&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=2) calling its name, and Spring will be here.
Last spring while doing a section from James River to Troutville I ran into some folks counting hawks as they migrated through a pass. I can't remember the date or exact location. I do remember them telling me it was a yearly event. Can anyone help me out? I would like to take a few days off work and check it out this year. Not sure of the time frame or exact location.
berkshirebirder
03-20-2010, 17:20
This is an official hawk watch website for Virginia, TD. Could it be Carvins Cove or Harvey's Knob in the Roanoke area?
http://www.hmana.org/sitesel.php?country=USA&stateprov=Virginia
If you find the hawk watch you're looking for, click on the name for more information. "Month Summaries" in the lefthand menu will give you daily tallies of hawks observed at the site.
http://hawkcount.org/month_summary.php?PHPSESSID=ba1f90a215c924778f0650 94ed171743
Many hawk watches are conducted during the fall--I'm not sure about spring.
Cookerhiker
03-20-2010, 17:30
Last spring while doing a section from James River to Troutville I ran into some folks counting hawks as they migrated through a pass. I can't remember the date or exact location. I do remember them telling me it was a yearly event. Can anyone help me out? I would like to take a few days off work and check it out this year. Not sure of the time frame or exact location.
Not on the AT but several years ago, I happened upon Kiptopeke State Park (http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/kip.shtml) at the lower tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore during fall migration. There were some guys there with clipboards and scopes recording all the migrating hawks. That's a nice drive down the Delmarva Peninsula for you this time of year.
Thanks berkshirebirder. Looks like Osprey and Broadwinged Hawks fit the location and time frame.
berkshirebirder
03-20-2010, 17:45
TD, Did you notice that contact info and directions are given for each hawk watch site?
Not on the AT but several years ago, I happened upon Kiptopeke State Park (http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/kip.shtml) at the lower tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore during fall migration. There were some guys there with clipboards and scopes recording all the migrating hawks. That's a nice drive down the Delmarva Peninsula for you this time of year.
Ya, and I live a half mile from a trailhead into Cape Henlopen. Family likes to visit the sites in central VA. I get dropped off on the trail while they cruise around like tourist. Gets me on the trail. Everybody is happy.
Someone asked me a few weeks ago if I would start another Appalachian Spring thread.
I had considered this effort complete upon reaching Thoreau Spring last season and don't see much point in repeating things I've done before unless it involves a different experience from which there is something desirable to be gained.
So I thought about a reprise with a different title exploring the new blogging feature with a few invited participants. Since the controls are not yet sufficiently robust to do what I had in mind, that idea must wait until another time.
It was a fun thread to which I contributed some of my best WhiteBlaze posts, but I am more interested in A.T. Bird Challenge and prefer to devote my time to it.
I hope you will get outdoors and enjoy Appalachian Spring. Share your experiences here as you wish. I'm looking forward to a full schedule of activities including bird and wildflower walks.
Cookerhiker
03-25-2010, 07:58
.....I hope you will get outdoors and enjoy Appalachian Spring. Share your experiences here as you wish. I'm looking forward to a full schedule of activities including bird and wildflower walks.
I didn't have to go very far at all to see this specimen of wildlife on my front steps. And it's not like I live in the country. I'm practically in downtown Lexington a 5 minute walk from the campus of the next NCAA basketball champs. Would you believe at first glance, I thought it was an old bootlace?
Technically, it's not "Appalachian" Spring since it's in the Bluegrass.
Though we have had some balmy weather in recent weeks, spring hadn't arrived along midcoast Maine in my opinion until this morning, when two dozen or more robins showed up on my lawn.
Ironically, yesterday was the chilliest day in sometime, though today is sunny and pleasant.
Some years we see an occasional robin all winter, but usually, like today, they arrive enmasse on a late March, early April morning.
Weary
berkshirebirder
03-27-2010, 21:23
After a few 60-degree days, eastern MA was below freezing this morning. It warmed to about 40. Coltsfoot was pushing up through leaves along the edges of a trail, with just a few yellow centers visible. The leaves of this plant will appear later.