June 3, 2020 at 6:22 am (birds, botany, ecology, invertebrates (other))
Tags: barred owl, blackhaw, butterweed, great horned owl, Packera glabella, Procambarus acutus, Senecio glabellus, St. James Farm, Viburnum prunifolium, white river crayfish
by Carl Strang
This has been an eventful spring at St. James Farm Forest Preserve. Thanks to the covid-19 epidemic, volunteers have not been allowed to do restoration work. My response was to take walks through the preserve almost daily in late April and May, gaining a much more detailed understanding of what has been going on there.
Owls, for instance, have provided significant insights. Early in the season I found that great horned owls had commandeered the nest used by Cooper’s hawks the previous two or three years.
My first look at the two nestlings
Though I checked them at a distance, they clearly knew I was there.
Shortly before they branched
The parent, perched nearby, was not concerned.
The youngsters branched (left the nest), and I did not see them beyond a week after that. At the same time, however, I saw an adult great horned owl with a flying youngster at the opposite end of the preserve. Though it is possible that this second nest had been across the road at Blackwell Forest Preserve, the relative number of suitable nest trees leads me to believe there were two great horned owl nests at St. James Farm this year.
The barred owl pair keeps a low profile, and I seldom have heard or seen them. That this is due to the presence of the more powerful great horneds was underlined by my finding on May 13 where an adult barred owl had been killed and plucked. I was left hoping this was a naïve wanderer rather than one of the savvy resident pair, and that hope was intensified when I learned that someone had picked up a young barred owl from one of the interior trails and brought it to the Willowbrook Wildlife Center, the rehab facility for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Some days after that I encountered an adult barred owl with a branched youngster, and Willowbrook deputized me to return their bird to its family.
A leaning black cherry provided a good place for the owlet to climb up.
The youngster quickly climbed more than 10 feet above the ground. His wings were sufficiently developed that he probably could fly.
The owls all were elsewhere by the next morning. Normally I would not share information about owls in this way, but at this point in the season they are so good at staying out of sight that it would be a waste of time for anyone to attempt to find them in St. James Farm’s large forest.
Plenty of noteworthy observations added to my knowledge of the preserve’s flora and fauna. For instance, I found a white river crayfish on the lawn near one of the ponds.
White river crayfish
I got a more detailed list of first flower dates this year, thanks to my frequent visits.
Butterweed pops up in widely scattered open areas of the forest.
This was a cold spring, and first flower dates in May were a median 8 days later than in earlier years of my records. A highlight of the season is the blooming of blackhaw, St. James Farm’s dominant understory shrub.
Though some blackhaws mistakenly were cut last winter by some inexperienced seasonal employees, that was in a limited part of the forest, and even there some were missed, as shown here.
The cut ones will resprout, and the restoration clearing of the forest has been followed by places with bunches of small blackhaws, like this one.
It was an enjoyable season, but now my attention shifts to singing insects. Spring field crickets and green-striped grasshoppers are singing, and periodical cicadas have begun to emerge in some open residential areas.
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June 10, 2018 at 6:16 am (botany, restoration)
Tags: blackhaw, controlled burn, St. James Farm, stewardship, Viburnum prunifolium
by Carl Strang
The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County has invested a welcome amount of effort in restoring the forest at St. James Farm, where I am volunteer steward. Early this spring a large group of trained staff came in and conducted a successful burn of accumulated leaf litter in the main part of the forest. The point of the burn is to kill or at least weaken invasive plants such as garlic mustard and barberry.
The contrast between the unburned trail and the burn area reveals the intensity of the burn.
The burn coverage was about as complete as one could expect.
No burn is complete, however. Some forest floor invertebrate species will need a few years to recover, but there will be plenty surviving in small spots missed by the fire, as well as surrounding areas not included in the burn.
A smaller burn on an earlier date in the area we are clearing of buckthorn was not as complete, because the leaf litter accumulation was relatively shallow and spotty.
I didn’t take any photos of the main burn as it was taking place because I was busy. Our forests historically burned very infrequently, and some of the plants cannot be assumed to be as fire-adapted as the ones characteristic of savannas and woodlands. In particular I was concerned that blackhaws (Viburnum prunifolium), the dominant shrub layer species, might be harmed. So, I worked ahead of the flames, frantically raking dead leaves away from the bases of as many blackhaws as I could reach in the two hours that I had. I did not have time to cover the entire forest, so there were some areas where the flames reached the bases of blackhaw shrubs.
Some blackhaws were heavily scorched.
Other blackhaws were lightly scorched.
Blackhaws I cleared by raking away the leaf litter were unscorched.
In subsequent weeks the forest leafed out, and the blackhaws bloomed.
Blackhaw flower cluster
I spent part of an afternoon assessing scorched vs. unscorched blackhaws. The scorched ones nearly all had plenty of leaves, though a few were killed. Most scorched plants had some flowers, though almost all were limited to 1-5 clusters.
Unscorched blackhaws had abundant flower clusters.
A little less than two-thirds of the scorched shrubs flowered at all, and again, those that did had few. Nine-tenths of the raked blackhaws bloomed, for the most part with many more flower clusters. Sample sizes were large enough to support a strong statistically significant difference. I will continue to watch this, as I am concerned that the scorched plants may have been partly girdled by the flames. I will be recommending that other forest stewards take measures to work with the fire crews and protect the native shrub layer of our woodlands by raking away fuel from shrub bases.
In the meantime, the part of the forest that we have been clearing of buckthorn and other invasive shrubs is showing first fruits of our efforts.
Even in this first year, our treatment area showed an encouraging growth of spring ephemeral herbaceous plants.
One long-term goal will be to promote blackhaw and other native species, so as to restore the shrub layer in the area we have cleared.
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March 14, 2018 at 6:16 am (birds, botany, ecology, mammals, restoration)
Tags: Aegopodium podagraria, Alliaria petiolata, common buckthorn, eastern bluebird, garlic mustard, goutweed, Rhamnus cathartica, St. James Farm, whitetail deer
by Carl Strang
It has been a while since I have written about St. James Farm, where I volunteer as forest steward and monitor. There has not been a lot to report, in part because foot problems have limited my monitoring activity.
Going back to last fall, I noted that the patches of invasive goutweed where we dumped garlic mustard showed a difference. One patch, which had not been hit by herbicide in the spring, pushed its way through the mounds of wilting garlic mustard and was barely slowed.
Other patches like this one, which forest preserve district staff had sprayed earlier in the spring, appeared to be inhibited further by the dumps.
I noted that goutweed does not maintain winter rosettes, but withdraws nutrients into the roots and shuts down the leaves, growing new ones in the spring. This coming fall I plan to hit experimental patches of goutweed with herbicide, with the idea that I might find an optimal time when the poison, drawn down along with the conserved nutrients, will do the most damage to those invasive plants.
Through the winter I took series of monitoring walks twice a month. There was little that was new.
Predators took their tithe, in this case pulled feathers spoke of a male eastern bluebird caught by a raptor.
This buck was one of a group of three that occupied the western part of the forest through the winter.
Though I cut back on monitoring efforts, Wednesday morning restoration activity continued. Our focus through the winter consisted of cutting and stacking common buckthorn, then burning the piles.
Our earlier cutting accumulated 17 piles like this.
Burning them leaves relatively small scars, but the soil is sterilized. I will be interested in seeing what plants invade these little spaces.
Already we have built several new piles. There won’t be enough snow to allow any more burning now, but by next winter there will be plenty to torch.
My feet are under treatment, and I expect to return to full activity soon.
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June 6, 2017 at 6:18 am (botany, plant-eating insects, restoration)
Tags: Aegopodium podagraria, Alliaria petiolata, Amur honeysuckle, common buckthorn, Dodecatheon meadia, garlic mustard, giant swallowtail, goutweed, Lonicera maackii, McCormick Woods, Papilio cresphontes, Poanes zabulon, Rhamnus cathartica, shooting star, St. James Farm, Zabulon skipper
by Carl Strang
Earlier this spring I began my work as volunteer steward of McCormick Woods, the main forest at St. James Farm Forest Preserve. The stewards provide backup and extension of the ecosystem restoration work by Forest Preserve District staff. The McCormick Woods ecosystem is the highest quality forest in the western half of DuPage County, and the District has put considerable effort into its restoration, but there still is plenty for volunteers to do. Invasive shrubs and herbaceous plants are established in significant portions of the forest, there supplanting the diverse native plant and animal community.
I have had the help of two other volunteers, Wayne and Bob, and we have made a good start. We began by focusing on garlic mustard, an invasive and allelopathic biennial, in two large areas where native plant diversity is excellent and garlic mustard is not yet well established. We took the bushels of pulled garlic mustard plants and dumped them in two locations, hoping to make progress against the forest’s biggest threat: goutweed.
Goutweed is a perennial member of the parsley family (Apiaceae, formerly Umbelliferae).
Goutweed was imported from its native Europe and commonly is planted as an ornamental ground cover. Apparently it was used in the landscape around the McCormick residence at St. James Farm. Unfortunately it spread into the adjacent forest, and significant colonies of the plant have supplanted the native forest flora in places. Repeated applications of herbicides by District staff may have slowed it down, but do not kill it. Stronger herbicides that would kill it also would threaten the trees.
I selected goutweed colonies in two locations as garlic mustard dump sites. I wanted to see if masses of pulled plants might smother the goutweed, hoping also that allelochemicals might leach out and inhibit goutweed growth. The goutweed has proven to be resilient.
Goutweed leaves pushed up through the piles of garlic mustard in the first location, which had not received an herbicide spray earlier in the spring.
The second dump was in goutweed that had been hit by herbicide. It is too soon to say whether the results are any better.
At some point I want to take measurements to see how fast the goutweed colonies are expanding, and whether these efforts slow that growth.
Now that the garlic mustard pulling is done for the year, we have shifted to another location and are cutting common buckthorn and Amur honeysuckle. That part of the forest still has a good diversity of native woodland plants hanging on beneath the invasive shrubs.
Here is part of the area we have cleared. Increased light levels should allow native plants to expand their populations.
We are creating a brush pile of the cuttings that later will be burned.
There are no goutweed patches in that part of the forest. Burning brush piles would kill the goutweed beneath them.
I was inspired to take on the stewardship job by the diversity of life in McCormick Woods. Some recent photos:
Shooting stars have popped up here and there where they were released by the removal of invasive brush.
Giant swallowtails appear occasionally at St. James Farm.
A recent addition to the preserve species list was this Zabulon skipper.
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May 31, 2017 at 6:20 am (botany, singing insects)
Tags: Castilleja coccinea, common blue-eyed grass, coral-winged grasshopper, dung beetle, hairy puccoon, Illinois Beach State Park, Indian paintbrush, Lithospermum croceum, Lupinus perennis, Miller Woods, Pardalophora apiculata, Pedicularis canadensis, Sisyrinchium albidum, wild lupine, wood betony
by Carl Strang
This spring I have been pressing a search for coral-winged grasshoppers, and it has been disappointing. This singing insect historically was found in a few locations in my 22-county survey area, almost always in May, but none of those locations proved to have the species. Other places that match the habitat descriptions in the literature likewise have been lacking in coral-wings.
Though depression as a response to this experience has been tempting, an antidote has been thoughts about SETI. Many people, years of time, and much expensive technology have been devoted to the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Furthermore, despite much thought and searching, life of any sort beyond the Earth thus far has been elusive. Balanced against all that, my frustrated search for a species that globally is in no danger seems a trivial matter.
In compensation, I have been getting into some beautiful areas and seeing wondrous sights.
For example, I found hairy puccoons and common blue-eyed grass at Illinois Beach State Park on May 13.
Wood betony also was in peak bloom on the 13th.
From above, wood betony has a delightful pinwheel shape.
Near the edge of the savanna at Illinois Beach State Park, this dung beetle busily rolled a deer fecal pellet.
An Indiana site added Indian paintbrush to the wildflower mix.
The Miller Woods Trail of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was flanked by banks of wild lupines on May 16.
Scattered hairy puccoons provided delightful contrast with the lupines.
With such wonderful life all around, it’s hard to be too disappointed by the failure to find a single species.
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May 1, 2017 at 6:02 am (birds, botany, mammals, plant-eating insects)
Tags: Celastrina ladon, coyote, Draba verna, great horned owl, spring azure, St. James Farm, vernal whitlow grass
by Carl Strang
April is a month of accelerating change, and this was evident on several levels at St. James Farm this year. Nevertheless, some observations were continuations of patterns established over the winter.
This coyote frequented the meadows along the entrance drive, and one day was joined by another, presumably its mate, distinguished by a significantly redder coat.
A second check of the great horned owl nest, in mid-April, found the adult still present. At this point it would be brooding young, which I have not yet seen.
Many plants begin to bloom in April.
Draba verna, the vernal whitlow grass, was a species I had not noticed last year.
Now that I am in my second year of observations, I can make comparisons. The median first flower date for 33 species was 3 days earlier than last year, not much different.
Spring azures were the first butterflies to appear, on April 2.
A new extension of the regional trail is being constructed through the forest this year.
The route was staked, and later cleared of trees.
I think it is important for the trail system to show off our better ecosystems. This route could have been much more damaging to the vegetation, but I would prefer that it not be so wide. I am hopeful that the new trail’s positives will outweigh its detrimental side.
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December 16, 2016 at 7:04 am (birds, botany, mammals, plant-eating insects, restoration)
Tags: black duck, Epargyreus clarus, Euonymus alatus, mallard, opossum, pintail, silver-spotted skipper, St. James Farm, white-crowned sparrow, winged euonymus
by Carl Strang
This blog has been on hiatus while I work on my annual research summary documents, but I have been paying regular visits to St. James Farm Forest Preserve, the site I monitor and where I soon will begin as volunteer steward. Today’s entry shares some photos from recent weeks.
Winged euonymus adds color to the autumn scene, but is an invasive shrub that will need to be removed at some point.
As leaves come off the trees, bird nests are revealed. This oriole nest had a significant content of synthetic fibers, including fishing line from the nearby ponds. The fuzzy white object hanging below the nest is a fishing lure, the hook not quite visible at this angle.
This silver-spotted skipper still was active on November 16.
The opossum lay dead in the center of a trail, also on November 16. Cause of death was not evident.
Late autumn migrants included this white-crowned sparrow youngster.
The most unusual stopover duck was a female pintail on the east pond.
Another duck worth noting was this male. Accompanied by a female mallard, his huge size and her identity suggest that he may be a mallard-black duck hybrid.
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August 25, 2016 at 6:05 am (birds, botany, dragonflies and damselflies, plant-eating insects)
Tags: Alypia octomaculata, Athyrium filix-femina, barred owl, Dioscorea villosa, eight-spotted forester, lady fern, Lestes rectangularis, Libellula luctuosa, Lulu Lake, slender spreadwing, St. James Farm, widow skimmer, wild yam
by Carl Strang
It’s been a busy field season, and I have fallen way behind in blog posts. I’ll catch up eventually, but today will share a smorgasbord of photos from May through July.
This barred owl appeared during a walk through St. James Farm Forest Preserve. I believe I had come close to its nest tree.
Here is the first slender spreadwing I have found at St. James Farm.
Wild yam graces the understory of the St. James Farm forest.
Sporangia on the underside of a lady fern leaf at St. James Farm.
The Lulu Lake Nature Preserve in Walworth County, Wisconsin, has become a favorite site. Here a woodland graces a kame.
An eight-spotted forester provided a photo op in the nature preserve portion of the Round Lake state property in Starke County, Indiana.
This dragonfly I encountered at Houghton Lake in Marshall County, Indiana, was a bit of a puzzler. I eventually concluded it was a somewhat odd widow skimmer, but later changed the ID to slaty skimmer (see comments).
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June 10, 2016 at 6:27 am (birds, botany, dragonflies and damselflies, plant-eating insects)
Tags: Arisaema dracontium, Camassia scilloides, common goat's beard, dot-tailed whiteface, eastern bluebird, grayish fan-foot, grayish Zanclognatha, green dragon, hairy sweet cicely, Leucorrhinia intacta, Osmorhiza claytonii, Osmorhiza longistilis, smooth sweet cicely, St. James Farm, Tragopogon pratensis, wild hyacinth, Zanclognatha pedipilalis
by Carl Strang
As recent posts have shown, I am transitioning into the singing insects field season. I will be spending less time at St. James Farm over the next four months, though I won’t be ignoring that preserve completely. So here is a collection of recent photos from St. James Farm Forest Preserve.
I was pleased to find that green dragons are scattered throughout the forest.
Both the smooth sweet cicely, shown here, and the hairy sweet cicely are among the late spring forest wildflowers at SJF.
Wild hyacinths are savanna or woods border plants with only a brief blooming period.
The somewhat weedy, open-growing common goat’s beard is a personal favorite.
Earlier in the season I saw a female dot-tailed whiteface in one of the prairie plots. Here is a male on station at the catch-and-release fishing pond.
The grayish fan-foot, aka grayish Zanclognatha, has been abundant in the forest in recent days. The caterpillars live on fallen dead leaves.
This eastern bluebird nestling looks ready to get out into the world.
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June 6, 2016 at 6:09 am (botany, dragonflies and damselflies, mammals)
Tags: astronomy, Culver, Gomphus quadricolor, lance-leaved violet, Mars, Maxinkuckee Wetlands, Memorial Forest, rapids clubtail, river otter, Saturn, Viola lanceolata, Winamac Fish and Wildlife Area
by Carl Strang
As Gary and I toured wild places around Culver over the weekend, we found more of interest than sulfur-winged grasshoppers.
Many wildflowers were blooming, including lance-leaved violets at the Winamac State Fish and Wildlife Area.
A number of rapids clubtails worked the sandy power line corridor at Memorial Forest.
One sad note was a road-killed otter.
I had heard that otters have returned to the Tippecanoe River. This one climbed a tributary to reach the Maxinkuckee Wetlands, and became a casualty.
No photo to show for it, but we were impressed by astronomical observations as well. While sampling the variety of Hoosier beers Gary had brought up from Indianapolis, we checked out Mars and Saturn through the spotting scope. Mars, as close as it ever gets to Earth, was a reddish disk. Much farther away, Saturn appeared as a cute little image with the rings nicely visible and separate from the planet’s main mass.
We closed the weekend by attending the local VFW Memorial Day ceremony, and visited the graves of our parents, who passed away two years ago. Then we went our separate ways home.
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