Painted Trilliums

 

© Dave Spier

My first encounter with a Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum) was Memorial Day weekend, 1971, on a canoe trip up the Oswegatchie River from Inlet to High Falls. I have since found this species in Finger Lakes bogs which harbor a number of Adirondack-like plants. Its natural range is Canada south to Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and it continues south in the Appalachians as far as Georgia.

Crimson veining marks the base of each wavy, white petal in contrast to the surrounding three green sepals and three leaves making the Painted Trillium a spectacular woodland wildflower. It tolerates shade and is generally found on well-drained, but moist, acidic soils. Cool, deep humus is ideal. Memorial Day is actually getting late to find it still blooming; the peak is earlier in the month, but higher elevations will delay its blooming. The one in the photo was growing in Zurich Bog, along with Yellow Lady's-slippers, on May 15. The Painted tends to bloom after the Red Trillium found in late April and the Large-flowered (White) Trillium that blooms earlier in May, but these impressions span many years and I'm sure weather influences the relative timing.

I think of the word "trillium" as a contraction of tri-lilium, meaning a member of the Lily Family with all parts in three's or multiples of three. Three leaves, three sepals, three petals, three-parted (female) stigma and six (male) stamens...

Corrections, questions and suggestions are always welcome at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com or connect through my Facebook page and photo page. There is a separate community-type page for The Northeast Naturalist. Other nature and geology topics can be found on the parallel blogs Northeast Naturalist and Heading Out.
 

Eastern Hemlocks

Eastern Hemlocks -- © Dave Spier

Of all the trees in New York, the Eastern or Canadian Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is probably my favorite. In old growth forests it is capable of living more than half a millennium. It’s a chief component of the climax forests found in the Adirondacks (generally at lower elevations below 2500'), the Catskills, the Lake Ontario shoreline, bog edges, the glens of the Finger Lakes Region and down across the Allegheny Plateau and Appalachian Mountains. In Pennsylvania, it is the state tree.

Eastern Hemlocks occur naturally from Wisconsin and Michigan eastward to the Canadian Maritimes and south through New England and the Mid-Atlantic states to the Appalachians of Tennessee and North Carolina where it is under attack by the wooly adelgid bug. When we re-visited Shenandoah National Park, it was sad to see the mighty groves of old-growth hemlocks reduced to skeletons and dead logs.

Laricobius nigrinus beetles, which are native to the Pacific Northwest, prey on the hemlock wooly adelgid, but I have not kept up on efforts to use them in the fight against the infestation. Cornell was involved with a test in the Finger Lakes region, where the problem is still minor. Cold winters work against the adelgid, but global warming could change that.

At their northern limit, hemlocks can grow at sea level, but the farther south one travels, the higher its preferred elevation. It is essentially a cool-climate evergreen that does better in areas with extra moisture or humidity. Annual precipitation ranges from 30 inches in the north to 60 inches in the south.

Like the Sugar Maple and American Beech, the hemlock grows well in the shade of other trees and, like its associates, it can reach heights of 100 feet. Under the right conditions, it has reached a record height of 173 feet in the South. The trunk of old trees can reach a diameter of five feet at chest height, and the record is six feet. The bark is dark brown and rough, often fissured with age, and was once a source of tannin used in tanning leather. The lumber was used for railroad ties.

For a tree that can grow to such large size, its cones are remarkably tiny and may barely reach an inch in length. Its needles also are small. Unlike pines and spruces, hemlock "needles" are flat, rounded at the tips and they line both sides of the flexible twigs. This is an advantage in shedding snow before the twigs and branchlets break. The undersides of the needles are whitened with two stomatal bands that allow the exchange of gases with the air. The half-inch long needles are attached to twigs by slender stalks, unlike Balsam Fir needles which are flat but attach directly with circular bases. The needles of all conifers can be used to make a tea rich in vitamin C.

The undersides of hemlock needles -- © Dave Spier

Incidentally, hemlocks make poor Christmas trees because the needles fall as soon as they dry. It’s best to leave them growing because the seeds and needles provide food for Ruffed Grouse and twigs are eaten by deer, Red Squirrels and even cottontail rabbits.

In early spring, before the deciduous trees leaf out, the hemlocks add a welcome touch of green along with mosses, a few evergreen ferns and Skunk-cabbage leaves. On a clear morning, enjoy the sunlight streaming through the evergreens.

Questions, additions and corrections may be sent to The Northeast Naturalist.  There is a discussion of hemlocks in Michael Kudish's book, Adirondack Upland Flora.

Ferd's Bog

Donna at the end of the Ferd's Bog boardwalk (Sept. 20 photo) -- © Dave Spier

Ferd's Bog

© Dave Spier

Anders Peltomaa recently posted a link on the group, Northern New York Birds, to a photograph of a Black-backed Woodpecker perched in a tree along with a Gray Jay near the Ferd's Bog boardwalk.  This Black Spruce bog, stream and bog pond are roughly 50 acres of wetlands surrounded by another 50 acres of boreal forest.  The Central New York Hiking website lists the site as 170 acres, but that likely includes the upland forest between Uncas Road and the boreal forest.

Ferd's Bog is in the Pigeon Lake Wilderness of west-central Hamilton County. The eBird hotspot coordinates are 43.788692, -74.74973.  If you use eBird and zoom in using satellite view, you'll see that point next to the boardwalk, the end of which is a mere 0.3 mile north of Uncas (Brown's Tract) Road.

  

The Adirondack Experience website has a Ferd's Bog page with an interactive Google map.  The page also contains a list of birds and when they can be expected, based on information taken from or used by the Hamilton County Birding Trail Map.  Directions indicate the tiny parking area is about 3.5 miles east-northeast of Route 28 after they split east of Eagle Bay.  However, the CNY-Hiking site gives the distance as 3.2 miles.  I've never had the foresight to record my odometer readings, so I'm no help on that point.  There's a small D.E.C. sign, usually in the shadows, so it can be hard to find.  A search of the D.E.C. website came up empty-handed.

Questions and corrections may be sent to northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com

Transition from boreal forest to open bog (Sept. 23 photo) -- © Dave Spier

More photos from Ferd's Bog:
http://picasaweb.google.com/113480357145545980499/AdksFerdSBog?authuser=0&feat=directlink
Alternate link to Picasa Web album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/113480357145545980499/albums/5725120738014783569?banner=pwa
Other links used in this blog:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/landp/6876391912/in/photostream

http://www.adirondackexperience.com/recreation/birding/ferds-bog

http://www.cnyhiking.com/FerdsBogTrail.htm

http://ebird.org

Tree of Peace

Bundles of Eastern White Pine needles surround next-spring's bud at the tip of a twig. 
© Dave Spier  [1-5X macro lens at 2X on full-frame sensor + twin macro flash]

Tree of Peace

© Dave Spier

To the Iroquois, the Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) was known as the "Tree of Peace" and it symbolized the Great Law of Peace that united five tribes into one confederacy or league, thus ending decades, and probably centuries, of conflict between these groups.  The date is unknown, but precedes white settlement of Upstate New York.  Estimates range from 1100 A.D. to somewhere in the 1500's. 

The Iroquois called themselves Haudenosaunee, or People of the Longhouse.  The name "Iroquois" is a French transliteration from derogatory terms used by the Hurons (in Canada) and Algonquins (from New England to the mid-Atlantic), both enemies of the Haudenosaunee.

All pines have leaves that grow in bundles of two, three or five needles bound together by a sheath where they emerge from the twig.  White pines have clumps of five needles, and to the Iroquois Confederacy, these symbolized the original Five Nations: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk.  What is now the Adirondacks was divided by the Oneidas to the west and the Mohawks to the east.  The Tuscaroras, after being displaced from North Carolina, were eventually admitted to the Confederacy and merged with the Onondagas and Oneidas in central New York.

White pine needles, generally three inches long, are thin, soft and flexible.  It's easy to "shake hands" with a white pine (whereas many other pines have stiff, prickly needles).  The name of this species comes from fine, whitish stripes along the length of the green needles, but you'll probably need a magnifying glass to see them clearly.  During their second year of growth, the needles turn yellow and fall.

Cones are generally six inches long and easy to handle.  Many pines have shorter, compact cones with prickles at the tips of their scales.

White pines can reach great age and size.  Many old pines that survived logging in the Adirondacks are over 300 years old.  One near Syracuse was dated at 458 years.  Mature trees easily tower over their deciduous compatriots.  In pre-colonial America, specimens were reported at 230 feet high and these were later reserved by the king to become ship masts in the British Royal Navy.  The current Eastern White Pine record holder in the Great Smokies reaches 188 feet.  (It was 207 feet high before a hurricane took off the top.)

Corrections and questions may be sent to northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com

Christmas Bird Count

Two Common Loons were seen on Bolton Landing’s 2010-2011 CBC.  One was seen on the Old Forge count, which is unusual for the time of year.  This winter-plumage COLO was photographed in early January.  (© Dave Spier)

Christmas Bird Count -- © Dave Spier

It's time again for the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC).  Not that it actually occurs on Christmas Day anymore, but now it can be any day from December 14 through January 5 (i.e., 11 days before and after Christmas).  The CBC was invented in 1900 as an alternative to the Christmas side hunt in which teams of men went out and shot everything in sight.  The biggest pile of feathered and furred animals won.  More of the history can be found on the Audubon website.  You also can follow links to individual counts and past results.

The Christmas Bird Count is an annual citizen-science project now in its 112th year.  Such a long-term perspective allows ornithologists to monitor population trends - some good, some bad.  Please consider joining one of the five local counts inside the Adirondack Blue Line [note: the Ferrisburg, VT CBC circle extends west across Lake Champlain into the Adirondacks], or one of the many peripheral counts in New York if you can make it.  If you lack confidence, it's often possible to be paired with an experienced observer.

Counts inside the Blue Line:

Bolton Landing - code NYBL

Elizabethtown - code NYEZ (Sun., Dec. 18)
[Ferrisburg, VT - code VTFE (Sat., Dec. 17)]

Old Forge - code NYOF

Saranac Lake - code NYSL (Sun., Jan. 1)

Closest peripheral counts:

Fort Plain (Fri., Dec. 30)
Massena-Cornwall - code NYMC (Tue., Dec. 27)

Plattsburgh - code NYPL (Sun., Dec. 18)

Saratoga Spa - code NYSS

Thousand Islands - code ONTI

Watertown - code NYWA

Wilson-Lake Plains - code NYWL

Counts are conducted in predetermined 15-mile diameter circles during a 24-hour period (midnight to midnight).  In fact you can start at midnight by listening for owls! (but most people wait till at least dawn).  For easier coverage, the circles are divided into sectors (sections) and participants can bird as long (or short) as desired, but time and any mileage must be recorded.  To cover administrative costs and keep the count going there is a $5 participation fee for anyone over 18.

If you live within the 15-mile diameter circle of a particular count, you also can choose to stay home and just watch your feeders and count all the yard-birds including any fly-overs.  All species count.  Keep track of the maximum number of individual birds of each species seen and the length of time you spend watching for birds.  Contact the compiler in advance so he/she knows to expect your data; final results can be phoned in the evening.

(Most) counts are followed by a compilation dinner or meeting.  For example, the E-town post-count meeting will be at the Deers Head Inn Restaurant (7552 Court Street) in Elizabethtown, NY around 5:00 pm.  Contact Charlotte Demers in advance.  For the Massena-Cornwall CBC, contact Eileen Wheeler.  For Fort Plain, it's Tom Salo.  For Saranac Lake, Larry Master.

            Regarding this blog, contact me at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com and visit our parallel blog at http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com/

Crossbills

Male White-winged Crossbill in ornamental Douglas Fir -- © Dave Spier


Crossbills -- © Dave Spier

           White-winged Crossbills, an irruptive species in winter, are frequently reported on NNY Birds.  Their traditional diet of Canadian spruce seeds sometimes runs low and once exhausted, the birds head south in higher numbers.  The birds' small, thin bills, which are crossed at the tips, allow them to specialize on the small, soft cones of Spruces (White, Black, and Red), larch, Eastern Hemlock, Northern White Cedar and Red Cedar.  The White Pine, unlike other eastern pines, has soft cones that can be utilized by crossbills.  They also use Douglas Fir and Blue Spruce, introduced species in the east.

          White-winged Crossbills (Loxia leucoptera) are medium-sized finches with a year-round range from Alaska eastward through the boreal forest zone to the Canadian Maritimes.  There’s a fair number of breeding reports from around the Adirondacks with a concentration of confirmed sightings in northern Herkimer County and adjacent Hamilton County.

           In the winter, they migrate erratically into the northern states with sporadic reports from the central states.  Adult males are dull red with black wings and two prominent white wingbars.  Females are yellowish gray with similar wings.  Juveniles are heavily streaked and somewhat resemble Pine Siskins, another winter visitor.   In Europe the white-winged is called the Two-barred Crossbill.

            Another species, the Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) is similar, but has a heavier bill and lacks the white wing bars.  [In rare cases, a variant of the first-year male can display weak wingbars.]  There are nine recognized "types" (similar to subspecies) of Red Crossbills and some of these may be evolving into separate species.  The specially adapted beaks are pointed and crossed at the tips, but the size and exact structure varies among the different types depending on the species of cone they are best adapted to.  The heavier bill allows Red Crossbills to pry out seeds from heavy pine cones in addition to spruce and fir.  An individual crossbill can extract and eat 3000 conifer seeds in one day, which probably explains why they keep moving in search of new food sources.

            Send comments, questions, and corrections to northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com  You can also ask for hyperlinks to my other blog and photo websites

Pine Siskins

Siskins -- © Dave Spier

           

Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus) are heavily streaked with yellow feather edges on the wings and yellow patches on the inner tail sides.  The amount of yellow varies with less on young birds and more on adult males.  Since this gregarious bird tends to travel in flocks, at least some members will show varying amounts of yellow.  There are also two buffy wing bars.  Siskins also hang with goldfinches; both are members of the same family and about the same size and once shared the same genus (Carduelis).  Female House Finches are similar, but larger with lower-contrast streaking.  Siskins also resemble redpolls, another finch, but redpolls have a red cap.  Siskins have notched tail ends, but so do female Purple Finches which have high-contrast streaking, a plumper build and heavier bills.  If you’re having trouble, the best bet is to take a photo and send it to northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com

When winter food supplies are short in their Canadian boreal homeland, siskins wander south, showing up first in similar forested habitats in the Adirondacks where significant flocks have been reported throughout October and November.  (Details can be found on the Google group, Northern New York Birds.  There's also a link in the right sidebar.)  Recent reports [Nov. 29] have come from Joan Collins at Sabattis Bog, Little Tupper Lake, several locations on Rt. 28N including flocks totalling 200 in Minerva, and the Roosevelt Truck Trail with 150 siskins.  Joan's more recent posts [Dec. 4] from Horseshoe Lake and Low's Ridge-Upper Dam Trail have reported smaller numbers in these locations.

Pine Siskins are one of several kinds of birds referred to as “irruptive species,” meaning they can show up unexpectedly anywhere in the lower 48, and the pattern changes from year to year.  A few birds may linger into the spring and act as though they will nest locally, which they do in New York State.  The heaviest concentration of nesting records occurs in three clumps from roughly Norwich to Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.

Siskins are seed eaters.  They prefer conifers [spruce, pine, cedar and hemlock], but also eat seeds from deciduous trees [especially birch], shrubs [particularly alder], flowers [weeds] and grasses.  They readily come to thistle-seed feeders, sometimes in large flocks, but also eat sunflower seeds – basically the same diet as goldfinches.  By the way, goldfinches and siskins can feed upside down.  Special feeders are made with the seed holes below the perches.  In the case of siskins the skill is useful in extracting seeds from conifer cones.

            Questions, comments and corrections are welcomed.  Some of my other nature columns [more relevant to the Adirondack perimeter and New York lowlands] can be found on http://northeastnaturalist.blogspot.com