Site Discussions

I’ve had loggers on my property twice and they were very professional.  The first time, however, a pile of cut-offs were left in a corner of the field used as a landing.  That was twenty years ago and those pieces are still evident only now there are numerous poplar and honeysuckle growing there.  It’s a mess and difficult to tackle without a dozer.  More recently, in the second operation, I asked that the ends be pushed into the woods and not on a big pile.  I learned my lesson!

I love the crows too! I have fed ‘my crow family’ every morning on my deck railing for many years. They have learned to come quietly take the food and leave just as quietly. There are about 9 or 10 of them, some make a sound like a dog barking once in awhile.They taught me to put out 2 water bowls for them. A deep one for drinking from and a shallow one for dipping their food in!

I was so happy when I noticed two mourning doves on my 2nd floor fire escape in Brooklyn making a nest. They made a beautiful nest in my planter underneath the stairs that are covered by a plank. For 2 weeks I’ve watched them happy that they chose my fire escape. I have grown to love them and wake up and say hello and at night I say goodnight. So today I saw the Papa bird and said good afternoon and then like an hour later I look and they’re gone!! No sign of my bird or the eggs. I live on the 2nd floor no snakes, squirrels or other predators. I didn’t see them on the ground or any egg shells or feathers or anything. Just vanished. I’m so sad. Can anyone tell me if they moved their eggs or what could have happened?

Ferns are in a nutshell an absolute bloody nuisance. Like Badgers are to hedgehogs they have zero conservation in mind and will kill the lot around them

The farmer friend of mine had to spend a great deal of money getting a helicopter to spray a massive patch of ferns that was overtaking the grass his sheep graze on because he could not get at them reasonably by other means. In any case I don’t know about medicinal use of them but I thought they were poisonous to animals?

When ferns take root any where they are bad news. A farm I am familiar with in the highlands of Scotland have a great deal of bracken and it is a most diabolical job getting through them and being able to kill them would be a nightmare as they are on very steep banks around three hundred yards long at 45 degrees plus boulders amongst them but I do not think for a minute ‘Willie’ would hire the helicopter as he is too carefull ——with the money I mean !

Emily, I asked an expert about this recently. Here’s what I know: goshawks are typically most protective when chicks are young, and then possibly again right as they are “branching” (starting to hop out of their nests and test their wings). Male chicks take about 40 days to fledge, females about 42, and goshawks typically have their chicks in mid May to early June. All of which is to say that you should be in the clear by mid-July, but likely sooner. Good luck!

We’ve had the startling experience of the dive-bombing goshawk this spring. I was on my bike, heard the call (though I was unfamiliar with it) and then it went quiet, until it was about five inches above my head when it began screeching. Chased me for about ten minutes. My husband, of course, had to check it out and got talons in the back of his neck!  We’ve posted warnings at either end of this trail, but how long will it be until it’s safe again?

Age 14 in 1938, lived in Foxboro, MA. Remember when the eye of the storm passed over, and very much more. A full sized freighter was on somebody’s lawn beside Cod Canal. Many large oak and maple trees down on roads and houses.  Hillsides of pine were uprooted. You could walk across a sawmill pond on floating logs, and much, much more.

Great story, some 40 yrs ago, as I was doing wildlife photography had a goshawk nesting behind our camp. They nested there for several years but I still remember the screams and his eyes locked on me as he came at ground level causing me to dive behind trees as his wings would graze the tree I hide behind, I eventually went to wearing a motorcycle helmet. I did get several pictures but it felt like I was taking my life in my hands. Thanks for the memories!!

Dave:

Thanks for this wild turkey recipe. Love the idea of adding the additional spring bounty of fiddleheads and leaks or ramps.
I didn’t get out to my favorite field to hunt turkey this year (screwed up priorities, I know) but this recipe really makes me wish I had. Let me know if you have any fall recipes and I may try my luck this October!

Cheers,
Patrick

Some of my favourites are our northern orchids. A small white one called pogonia is flowering at this time in the understory of pine woods.

I think the giant silk moths are doomed unless they can adapt to resist the parasites released ignorantly by the department of natural resources to control the gypsy moth by introducing a generalist parasite fly. Wherever those flys occur naturally the native silkies must have evolved a resistance to them somehow. As a child I noticed some species of silkies were less affected by the parasites although it’s very apparent that all of them are now threatened. If some intervention is not undertaken, I fear the giant silk moths will vanish into history.

I have noticed that two separate bushes in my garden have been left like skeletons, as I took a closer look they have hundreds of deep green and black caterpillars. I am looking forward to see them change.

Can anyone tell me when this might happen as I don’t want to miss it. I’m sure it will be beautiful, I would like to film it.

I would be interested in obtaining information regarding delayed mowing in Texas.  If you have any suggestions, I’d greatly appreciate them.  I’m trying to convince my development to wait longer to mow down open fields.  Thank youl

Can anyone help? I have a theory I am working on. I have a piece of land with a few small young oaks mixed. I want to know if it would help them grow better, in the winter, if (per tree), about 16ft away dug a hole down 6 ft, then 2 ft diameter hole horizontally past the tree about 6 ft, then put a U shaped pipe in it, and back filled the holes with gravel, so that I can plum warm water under the tree to help keep them warm in the winter. My idea is that I could “remove” the frost line, and the gravel would also help keep water from sitting under the tree and flooding it / them. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks y’all.

Thanks David. What a fun story.

I’ve camped amidst the detritus of logging camps—old buckets, boots, saw blades, pots, etc. As I sit there in the wilderness, I try to imagine what it looked like as a bustling logging camp during its heyday. Love these photos—brought back memories of hikes in the mountains along the old logging RR lines. Thanks for sharing them.

Hi, interesting article. This morning while I was working on an old house, I could hear Pileated’s yammering close up in the woods.I know all the woodpeckers. The drumming was not loud and hollow sounding, that would come from an adult. But definitely from one of those. Question, do you think that it was from a young one drilling on a tree? Or is it too early for them to be fledged? Anyway, I sure love to see them as they do their thing!! Thank you, Gary E. Greene

Nice article.  A few years back while hiking the Long Trail I stopped at one of the shelters to rest before cooking supper.  As I layed there I had the feeling something was watching me. I looked of my shoulder and a garter snake was on a waist high piece of blocking only a foot or so away with it’s tongue flicking to get my scent.  He stayed while I cooked my meal.  I held my flavor packet to him so he could scent it. He acted similar to a family pet with his show of interest. Thanks for the interesting work.

Bob, the seedlings were donated by the American Chestnut Foundation. Check out their website to learn more. Chris, I don’t have an official answer—maybe someone else does—but I know that historically the tree grew naturally over on the Taconics side of the Valley of Vermont at least as high as 2,000 feet in elevation. I think red oak in southwestern VT might be something of an indicator. If it’s a good oak site, it’s probably a good chestnut site and there may have been chestnuts there historically.

How high an elevation could you go with a Chestnut tree?