Native Plants: Colors, curiosities and curb appeal

Posted by Ian Stewart on May 2, 2018
Posted in: Ashland Nature Center, Botany, Coverdale Farm, General Ecology, Insects. Leave a Comment

By Ian Stewart

The buzz around this year’s Native Plant Sale is building to fever pitch! Our plant sale comes at the perfect time as we have finally emerged from the frigid gloom of an unusually long cold winter to find colorful wildflowers emerging all across the state. These ‘spring ephemerals’ are so-named because they only flower for a fairly short time since they start losing the sunlight once the trees leaf out.

We are fortunate to have a lot of fairly common attractive native plants in Delaware, and sometimes these get taken for granted. This is a pity, as several have some surprises in store if you look at them closely. Trout Lilies are a perennial often found growing in clumps which get their name because their mottled leaves resemble the sides of a Brook Trout, a freshwater fish. However, they take between 4 and 7 years to mature so the great majority of the lilies you see don’t produce a flower and have just a single leaf (top photo). Only the older, flowering plants have two leaves (second top). The beautiful nodding Lily flowers are harder to find but tend to occur in small colonies which are often visited by insects (bottom photos).

The familiar Mayapple has a similar subtlety. This distinctive umbrella-shaped wildflower of shady forest floors is often found in dense clusters of what look like identical plants, but if you look closely you will see that some have a forked, Y-shaped stem whereas most have just a single stem (below). Only the Y-shaped stems produce a flower then later the apple-like fruit. Mayapples are actually misnamed, as in May they still only have the white flower, which is found in the base of the fork. The hanging ‘apple’ doesn’t appear until later in the summer, and despite the name, is not pleasant to eat and may even be poisonous so we do not recommend that you try it.

Delaware is blessed with a kaleidoscope of beautiful native wildflowers in our area and below are a few of my favorites (from top, Virginia Bluebell, Cardinal Flower, Great Lobelia, Butterfly Weed).

These beautiful wildflowers are available at a reasonable price at the Native Plant Sale so if you want to able to observe these natural wonders in your own back yard just come on by. As well as their visual appeal they are popular with beneficial pollinator insects like bees and butterflies, so now you can have an idyllic native garden and help nature at the same time!

The Plant Sale is held at Coverdale Farm Preserve (543 Way Rd, Greenville, Delaware) Thursday May 3rdand Friday May 4th from 3pm to 7pm (member days) and Saturday May 5th (10am – 4pm) and Sunday May 6th (11am – 3pm) (open to public). Free admission if you just want to come and browse! Credit cards, checks and cash accepted. Click on the link below for more details.

http://www.delawarenaturesociety.org/NativePlantSale#.WuijZi7wa7Q

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The Effects of Road Salt

Posted by Shannon Giordano on March 7, 2018
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

 

By Kristen Travers

Snowy, icy days can make us thankful for the salt applied to make our roads safer yet road salt has a less safe side for our waterways. When ice and snow melt, the salt goes with it, washing into our streams and groundwater. As with people, streams are healthier on a low-salt diet as high salt concentrations can harm plants, fish and other wildlife. And considering how easily salt can corrode our cars it’s not surprising that high salt levels can impact infrastructure including roads and pipes and municipal and industrial processes that use water from streams.
Salt visible on a roadway

To understand the potential issues with road salt, volunteers and staff from the White Clay Wild and Scenic Program, Delaware Nature Society, and the Nature Conservancy have been monitoring our local streams.

On Mill Creek – a tributary of White Clay Creek – in Hockessin, average conductivity (a measure related to the level of dissolved salts) have shown large spikes over the winter season as melting snow and rain have flushed salt into streams and groundwater.
Graph showing average conductivity

These high peaks – which correspond to winter rain & snow events – are not seen during other times of the year.

Larger spikes were also documented on Hurricane Run, a small stream near Talleyville DE, which flows into the Brandywine Creek. The high spikes are probably correlated to snow melt and rain washing salt off the many roads and parking areas around Concord Pike.

Chloride concentrations over 250 ppm can make water taste salty and levels over 800 ppm are harmful to aquatic life.

While there are no easy solutions to the road salt quandary, municipalities and homeowners can consider smart salting practices including:

  • Consider using sand and alternate products for sidewalks and driveways
  • Reposition downspouts and snow piles so that water and melting snow isn’t refreezing on paved surfaces
  • Keep salt piles covered
  • Proper calibration of salting equipment and training programs for salt applicators

To learn more and get involved with other projects contact:

www.delnature.org

www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/delaware/index.htm

whiteclay.org/

 

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Great Backyard Bird Count 2018 Recap – Putting Delaware on the map!

Posted by Ian Stewart on February 27, 2018
Posted in: Abbott's Mill, Birds, General Ecology, Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

Ian Stewart

The global Great Backyard Bird Count took place from February 16th to the 19th and was a huge success. Despite its misleading name, participants counted every bird they saw no matter how far they were from home, with more than 6,000 bird species recorded across the world from over 160,000 checklists! Delaware Nature Society played its part with 10 people joining Joe Sebastiani and Matt Babbitt on a bird-filled tour of Port Penn Wetlands, the Aquatic Resources Education Center, Bombay Hook NWR, and Port Mahon Road, finding over 50 species in the process including a rare Tree Swallow.

Although the global comparisons are fun, what’s really fascinating is to sift through the species and checklist totals from each US state (https://ebird.org/gbbc/region/US/regions?yr=cur&m=). The top 3 in terms of species seen were California (370), Texas (358) and Florida (288) with Delaware coming in 24th with a very respectable 145 species. The top 3 in terms of checklists submitted were again California and Texas (8,113 and 6,389 respectively) and New York (6,154) with Delaware coming in 37th with a decent 709.

DNS Members enjoying a duck extravaganza at Port Penn

But wait, I hear you cry! Surely this is unfair! California, Texas and Florida are all large states with extensive oceanic coastlines and inland water bodies and because of their southern latitude have resident tropical birds that we can only dream of. Furthermore, large parts of these states have mild or even warm winters so their birdlife gets supplemented by migrants that summered much further north. California, Texas and New York all contain huge numbers of people which presumably translates to lots of birders so it’s hardly a surprise that these 3 states produce the largest numbers of checklists.

I decided to see how Delaware fared during the GBBC once you take into account our small population (ranked 45th in the nation) and size (ranked just 49th!). To do this, I simply divided the number of species seen and checklists submitted from each state by their population (in millions) and size (total land area).

Sure enough, once you control for population size (as a crude estimate of the number of birders) we jump to second in the nation!

State Species per 1M persons
1. Alaska 158
2. Delaware 152
3. Wyoming 147
50. New York 9

And when you take into account our small size, Delaware recorded the second highest number of species in the country.

State Species per 1000 square miles
1. Rhode Island 74
2. Delaware 58
3. Connecticut 24
50. Alaska 0.2

The number of checklists is also an interesting statistic although obviously they aren’t all created equal. One checklist may summarize birds seen by a large group of experienced birders during an intense 6-hour search of a large, rural, mixed-habitat wildlife preserve while another could be birds seen at an urban backyard feeder by a relative novice during a 15 minute coffee break. Still, when you account for population size, we generated the third highest number of checklists in America.

State Checklists per 1M persons
1. Vermont 1503
2. Maine 918
3. Delaware 745
50. Nevada 119

And when you take into account our small size, Delaware produced the third highest number of checklists in the US!

State Checklists per 1000 square miles
1. New Jersey 325
2. Connecticut 292
3. Delaware 285
50. Alaska 1

Admittedly, trying to boil down differences between state bird lists based on just their size or population is simplistic. The dramatic differences between states in their habitat diversity and latitude and longitude means you are never comparing like with like. For example, birders in coastal states see large numbers of seabirds and shorebirds which are hard to find further inland. Freshwater lakes or marshes in the south will have more waterbirds than those in the frozen north. Plus, even though some states are huge a large proportion of their area is inhabited by very few people let alone birders, and so only a small proportion receives coverage. I’m sure there are many more bird-related differences between states you can think of yourself.

But it’s these exact same caveats that make Delaware such a fantastic place to live if you like birds! Because we are mid-latitude we get a sprinkling of unusual birds from further north plus a few rarities from further south. We have freshwater, seawater, estuaries, lakes and ponds, marshes, plowed fields and pasture, pine woods, deciduous woods, urban habitats, suburbs and a big open sky. This diversity of habitats was probably the main reason the Delaware GBBC produced such an amazing diversity of birds despite our small population and size. To all the Delaware birders who contributed to the GBBC (and you know who you are) I say well done! We’re in the Top 3!

If you want to continue to enjoy birds, why not come along on these upcoming DNS events and bird walks?

Dinner and Owls

February 28
5:30pm
$20/$25
Coverdale Farm

Led by Jim White and Courtney McKinley. Get close up looks at the rare Long-eared Owl, and search for other owls like Screech and Great Horned Owls. Dinner and an owl presentation are included too!

Frogs and Woodcocks

March 28
5:30pm
$15/$20
Coverdale Farm

Led by Jim White.Take a walk in the evening to find chorusing frogs and see the amazing display of the American Woodcock.

Tuesday Bird Walks (April/May)

8am, Middle Run Natural Area
Free, just meet in the parking lot

Thursday Bird Walks (April/May)

8am,Ashland Nature Center
Free, just meet in the parking lot

 

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Great Backyard Bird Count 2018

Posted by Joe Sebastiani on February 11, 2018
Posted in: Abbott's Mill, Ashland Nature Center, Birds. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

By Joe Sebastiani, Ashland Nature Center Manager

Now that the Philadelphia Eagles have won the Super Bowl, local fans now have to find something else to do for the remainder of winter.  How about participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count!  Ashland and Abbott’s Mill Nature Centers will join birders from all over the world for this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count!  We invite you to join us on our field trip to find birds in Kent County, Delaware on Saturday, February 17, 8am to 4pm.  Meet at either Abbott’s Mill Nature Center in Milford or Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin.  We will meet up and all go birding for the day together.  Call (302) 239-2334 if you would like to register.  $20 for DNS members and $30 for non-members.

Can’t get enough Eagles?? Join Matt Babbitt and Joe Sebastiani on Saturday, February 17, 8am-4pm for a Great Backyard Bird Count field trip where we are certain to see many Bald Eagles, waterfowl, wintering songbirds, and possibly some owls or other surprises. Call 302-239-2334 to register. $20/$30 DNS member/Non-member. Bald Eagle photo taken at the Bucktoe Creek Preserve, Avondale, PA by Joe Sebastiani

The GBBC is a worldwide citizen science effort to take a snapshot of bird distribution between February 16 and 19.  You can participate by looking for birds in your yard, or wherever you want to go including parks, wildlife refuges, the beach, etc.  Bird for at least 15 minutes, and enter your sightings.  Follow the link for the count above for directions on how to submit your findings.  Participate on your own anywhere you want to look for birds, or join our Delaware Nature Society trip to Kent County!

It was rather cold a few years back on the Great Backyard Bird Count, but it is always fun! Taken at Fort Dupont State Park by Joe Sebastiani.

Now, let me share a few statistics from the GBBC in 2017.  Worldwide, 6,285 species were found, which means well over half the 10,000 bird species on earth were seen within a 4-day period last February!  That is completely amazing to me.  Columbia took first place, where 1,042 species of birds were tallied.  This makes sense, since Columbia has the highest biodiversity of birds for any country.  The United States came in 7th place with 669 species.  In Delaware, observers found 147 species, and we placed 26th out of the 50 states.  Not too bad considering Delaware is a small state. 952 bird checklists were submitted here during the 4-day period, which is a lot of birding for our 3-county state over 4 days.  Click here to see the overall species list for last year’s GBBC in Delaware.  We’ll see how many species Delaware birders come up with this year, but my guess is that 147 species will be tough to beat.  Will we submit over 1,000 checklists?  It might be a nice target to surpass.

Watch your bird feeders and submit your sightings to the Great Backyard Bird Count, taking place February 16-19 this year. Red-bellied Woodpecker, Avondale, PA taken by Joe Sebastiani.

February is my least favorite month around here.  Football is over.  It is cold.  Nature is in a steady-state of ice, with wildlife waiting until the weather breaks. The first pitch of the baseball season is still a ways off.  For some outdoor fun, get out for the Great Backyard Bird Count and breathe some fresh air while you add to our knowledge of bird distribution.  Better yet, join me and Matt on the 17th.  Have fun!

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