Increasing Amphibian Cover Boards at White Memorial

Over the past five days two more amphibian cover board grids have been added to White Memorial’s property. This will make a total of ten cover board grids located around the property. We plan on adding even more grids over the next couple of weeks to locations around the Catlin Woods and the Cranberry Swamp area. By adding more cover boards we can expect our amphibian encounter rate to increase, as well as our chances of encountering Connecticut’s endangered Blue-spotted x Jefferson hybrid Salamander.



Red Eft life stage of a Red-spotted Newt in Catlin Woods

We experimented with one of the newly assembled cover board sites by removing leaf litter underneath every other cover board, exposing the bare, damp soil. When a piece of wood or any heavy object is left on the forest ground, the leaf litter that it shields eventually breaks up and decomposes, therefore becoming part of the soil. We wondered whether by accelerating this process, so that only soil meets the cover board, the salamanders would be more likely detected because there isn't any leaf debris that can cover them. This observational experiment will help us see if there is a noticeable pattern and tell us if we should develop an experiment with more replicates. We will check the plot every couple of weeks noting if salamanders were more often discovered under removed leaf debris cover boards. We need to be especially thorough when checking the uncleared cover boards because salamanders are more difficult to spot when there are layers of leaves that they can hide in. By not counting all salamanders present, this may result in a false correlation in our experiment.

James Fischer marking the cleared leaf debris cover boards.

Wildflowers In Bloom

As temperatures warm up and rain showers become more regular; I have noticed beautiful spots of bright colors dotting open, grassy fields and trail edges. It’s that time of the season for wildflowers to emerge and bloom. In my opinion, the occurrence of wildflowers officially marks the start of summer. Not only are wildflowers aesthetically pleasing, but they also provide medicinal uses, food, habitat, erosion control, and ecosystem stability for fish and wildlife. There are approximately 215 species of wildflowers listed in Connecticut, each with a distinctive appearance.

Since not everyone, including myself is a professional botanist; when identifying wildflowers you should try to observe the following characteristics. First, count the number of petals, which is usually three to seven or more. Next, note the flower arrangement. Is it a single flower on a stem or several flowers on a stem? The most obvious flower characteristic is color. Wildflower colors usually range from shades of blue, white, yellow, pink, purple, or green. Also, record the date that the flower blooms; although flowering time can vary based on weather fluctuations. For instance, last week, James Fischer and I spotted Mountain Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium montanum) flowering at Apple Hill. When we discovered its correct identification, we learned that it typically flowers during June and into July. Finally, measure or estimate plant height and flower size. Also note the leaf margin (entire, serrated, wavy), and arrangement; meaning whether they are compound (many leaves per stem) or simple (one leaf per stem). If possible, take a photograph, but try not pick or trample the flower.

The Connecticut Botanical Society website (http://www.ct-botanical-society.org) is an excellent source to use when identifying Connecticut’s native wildflowers. Also, the Peterson Field Guide to Wildflowers is a handy book to own when out in the field. As wildflowers continue to bloom throughout the next several months, identifying them can be a fun way to get outside and learn about Connecticut’s flora.

The following pictures are some of the wildflowers that I found at various locations around White Memorial’s property. I walked through wetlands (Little Pond and Cranberry Swamp), grassland (Apple Hill), old growth forests (Catlin Woods), and even stopped the truck several times along curbs to take a photo or two of a roadside wildflower.

Yellow sedge
Carex flava

Robin-plantain
Erigeron pulchellus

True Forget-me-not
Myosotis scorpioides

Yellow Goat's-beard
Tragopogon dubius

Blueflag
Iris versicolor

Heart-leaved Alexanders
Zizia aptera

Wild Geranium
Geranium maculatum

Early American Woodcock & other birds on 2/18/11

American Woodcock photo from

http://www.jczinn.com/

On Friday, 2/18/11, Jim Kandefer, Mike Amodeo, and I censused several parts of White Memorial for the Great Backyard Bird Count. We came up with fairly good numbers of most of the expected species around the Museum Area, Pike Marsh, Bantam Lake Outlet, and N. Shore Rd. This included 4 Wood Ducks at the Outlet, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches at the Museum feeders, and a total of about 25 Eastern Bluebirds. We ended the day with a successful hour and a half of counting along Webster Rd., including Catlin Woods and Miry Brook Marsh. Arethusa Farm yielded a large mixed flock of blackbirds that included about 50 Red-wings and 20 Common Grackles with 500+ European Starlings. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the American Kestrel that we saw there on Wednesday. Heading back into Catlin Woods we heard a Great Horned Owl hooting from the area of the intersection of White's Woods and Webster Roads. Then we were astounded to hear an American Woodcock giving its "peent" call from Miry Brook Marsh. After a few "peents" it picked up and flew around the marsh before settling back down and resuming "peenting". Then it lifted off, flew around the marsh, up Webster Rd. over our heads, and northbound over Catlin Woods. We didn't hear it again after that. I think that this is only the third time that I've encountered a woodcock as early as February in the Litchfield/Morris area. Right after the excitement of finding this bird had subsided I started whistling for Northern Saw-whet Owls. We have found these birds quite regularly in Catlin Woods in mid and late February. After about 2 minutes of intermittent whistling we heard a Saw-whet answer from the north side of the road in the thick hemlocks. We saw it fly among the sapling-sized trees and then disappear. Not wanting to subject it to any more disturbance or being preyed upon by the Great Horned Owl, we stopped whistling and left it alone. When I get all of the results from our GBBC counters compiled, I'll post them in a future bog.

A Walk Along Webster Rd., Through Catlin Woods

Group of Wildlife Watchers along Webster Rd.

photographed by Dave Rosgen

On Wednesday, 2/16/11, Dave Rosgen led a group of wildlife watchers along the entire length of Webster Rd., which runs between Rt. 63 and White's Woods Rd. This allowed us to view the mixed coniferous/deciduous forest that is Catlin Woods, the wetland complexes along Miry and Catlin Brooks, and the fields that belong to Arethusa Farm without slipping and sliding on ice and snow. When we started out, the only thing that we encountered were American Crows, but that soon changed as we approached the farm fields. We saw a large flock of European Starlings in flight. They were being pursued by an American Kestrel, which has become a rare species to find in Connectcut during the winter.

Male American Kestrel photo from Animal Planet Photos

Common Ravens

Common Raven photo by Ralph Kerr

from http://www.rrbo.com/ via Google Images

While marking locations for safer places for duck nest boxes (see a previous post about this) this past Monday, 1/31, Scott Dayton and I encountered very few birds and mammals in Catlin Woods and Marsh. One species that made its presence known with its distinctive raucous call was the Common Raven. We heard the first one as we re-entered the woods from the marsh. Soon we heard and then saw a second one. They flew from treetop to treetop and then around overhead. The presence of 2 together in suitable breeding habitat in late January could indicate a pair establishing a breeding territory. In the case of Catlin Woods it would probably be re-establishing a territory, as a pair of these birds were encountered here on 2 of our breeding bird census visits last year. At other times last year they were found at Cranberry and Little Ponds, and various other places in between. Common Ravens have large territories, so it is quite likely that this pair claims this entire area. Though they usually nest on ledges and cliffs, they will nest in the tops of tall White Pine and Hemlock trees when their preferred nesting microhabitat isn't available. We have found nesting evidence for this species on our miniscule ledge microhabitat at Plunge Pool and the Solnit Parcel, but I also found an active nest with young in the top of a tall White Pine tree along the Duck Pond Trail a few years ago. Since there are plenty of tall evergreen trees in Catlin Woods, this probably would make a good nesting place for them. We'll have to keep our eyes and ears open for indications of them when we are out there over the course of the next few months. They are usually early-nesters, with building activity occuring in February and March. They could even be incubating eggs by late March if the weather becomes favorable. They would then be likely to be found around the area for the rest of the year. This species has undergone a dramatic population increase and range expansion in southern New England, beginning in the early 1980's. They can now be found with regularity throughout Connecticut, with White Memorial being one of the more reliable places to find them. Besides Catlin Woods and Marsh, I also suggest our Sawmill Field, N. Shore Marsh, Pt. Folly, Little Pond, and Apple Hill as being places to look for them. Please let us know if you find them.