Site Discussions

I ran across an interesting account by Mark Catesby that is relevant to this story. Catesby (1683 – 1749) was one of the first naturalists to record observations of birds (and paint them) in the new world. Apparently, while laying at anchor at Andros Island in the Bahamas in 1725, he listened to “rice birds” (bobolinks) passing overhead for three nights while he lay on the deck of a sloop trying to sleep. While, at the time, this was a clue to the migration of birds, to me it indicates just how abundant these birds were in the East.

It is also interesting that there used to be significant fallouts of bobolinks on Monhegan Island in Maine every May indicating a large nesting population in Maine and the Maritimes. By the time I first started to visit Monhegan in the early ’90, there was, at times, sizeable fallouts (10-20 birds or so) at Tom Martin’s ground feeder each morning, but Tom said it was nothing like the old days. He said his yard used to host hundreds each morning.

I boiled a pot of black birch twigs and chunks.  It smelled great at first and then weakend… When I tasted it after an hour of boiling, the tea was bitter and lacking any wintergreen.  Just like you said. I wished I read your article before doing this (and then doing a search with keywords ‘black birch’, ‘tea’, and ‘bitter’....

Thanks for this piece on the value of Legacy Trees.  I wonder about their ability in relation to smaller neighboring trees to sequester carbon.  If they are wouldn’t it make sense to prioritize their conservation?
Thanks

Donna

Thanks for this perspective on Legacy Trees.  I’m interested in knowing the carbon retaining potential of these large trees in relation to the younger trees around them.  If they sequester more carbon than their younger neighbors shouldn’t we prioritize conserving the within forests?

Remind people grapes grow on the vines the second year… Pruning them completely every year will mean no grapes…

Legacy trees also provide important clues about how the current stand - and in the case of the stand in the photo, perhaps a generation or two before - established and developed. It is easy to imagine that old veteran as growing in an open pasture, providing shade for livestock; perhaps sap for sugaring; striking fall colors; and abundant mast for a host of wildlife species. To say nothing of the eventual reforestation of the landscape. It is not so easy to see how the current stand will produce trees with such an open-grown character as that shown.  However, some stems, if left uncut, will no doubt produce a unique legacy for future generations to ponder!

Joanne is full of energy and knowledge and always up for playing hard on the “tree team.” I so enjoy working with her.

We walked along the warm-season grassland yesterday and were impressed at the drought tolerance of these fields.  The “West Field” part of this grassland is an almost pure stand of magnificent, shoulder-high big bluestem. 

We are in a drought here in southeast Massachusetts.  Everyone’s lawns are burned and the cool-season hay fields are dried up and sere; however, the big bluestem appears to be green, healthy, and thriving.  This bluestem will provide superior, late-season hay when it is harvested in the next few weeks.

Haying in May followed by a 65 day pause before the second cut has worked in the Champlain Valley, but it did not work in the location I wrote about (some coastal Audubon fields in South Dartmouth, MA).  Instead, the grassland managers at Mass Audubon discovered that light grazing in May followed by a 65 day pause did work.

An interesting issue for the Bobolink Project to consider would be to combine their delayed haying schedule with a conversion to warm-season grasses.  Warm-season grasses mature in late summer which means that the second cut (after 65 days) would yield better quality hay.  Of course, this conversion is easier said than done…

We have found beautiful turquoise wood in our forest.

Awesome article! About ten years ago, during the Monson tornado, a sheet of plywood was sucked up, high in the atmosphere. That plywood traveled 40 miles to Upton, Ma, hitting my brothers house. What were the odds of that happening? It’s not like we live in tornado alley.

I just found a Butternut tree that has fallen (leaned) into my yard. It’s still alive but touching the ground. don’t know if I should just cut it down or would somebody want to look at it first to save nuts for future trees.
We live in Milton.
Bernard Dubois

I saw my very first opossum last night here in Barre, Vermont. He was so quiet he made me jump. I have never seen one here till then. I have been in my apartment 6 years.

We have a pair of harriers that stopped in and perch in a hemlock tree about 30 feet from our front porch. We have a very wooded lot that is home to various hawks, barred owls, and someone hit a bald eagle in the road by our house this spring.

Take a look at the Pine Barrens of NJ. A million acres of unique ecology that exists nowhere else in the world at this level. Rare orchids, Pitcher plants, and other carnivorous plants are just some of the fascinating flora found in this area. It is home to some species that are not found anywhere else in the world.

This is a fantastic article! I, too, love tardigrades — those funky little creatures and their charms are such a fascinating area of study, and their resilience is truly impressive.

Thank you Elizabeth Crotty, for such a descriptive and enlightening article on tardigrades. Those cryptobiosis features are definitely worth having sleepless nights over. It was fun reading and learning about these odd but amazing creatures.

I read an article about tardigrade research in British Columbia a few years ago, but I’d forgotten about how wonderful they are until I read this and was reminded. Thank you.

Wow!  Perhaps the most fascinating article in a long, long time.
Thank you.

Luna moth was perched under my garage door outside light. I turned off the light so it would move on to find a mate; in their short adult life there isn’t time for them to waste. They are just beautiful and huge!! I was surprised how huge they really are in person.