Around #104

You do not need to walk far out the back door of the nature center at Audubon's Francis Beidler Forest to see migration in action as there is plenty happening around #104.

Although only the male Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina) below stayed close enough for a picture, he was joined by a Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens), a Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorus), a Veery (Catharus fuscescens), both sexes of American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), a Northern Parula (Setophaga americana), and a Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia).

Hooded Warbler - Mark Musselman

Hooded Warbler - Mark Musselman

Nearby some color was added by a Purple Lobelia (Lobelia elongata)...

Purple Lobelia - Mark Musselman

and a fruiting Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).

Jack-in-the-Pulpit - Mark Musselman

"Horse Sugar!"

No, "Horse Sugar!" is not something one exclaims when seeing a snake from the safety of the 1.75-mile, elevated boardwalk while touring the old-growth, cypress-tupelo swamp at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest.  Horse Sugar (Symplocos tinctoria) or Sweet Leaf is a shrub or small tree with dense clusters of fragrant flowers. The name is derived from the fact that horses (and cows and deer) readily consume the leaves.  Horse Sugar blooms between March and May and began blooming outside the office this past weekend.

Yesterday, we walked around the boardwalk in anticipation of the Prothonotary Warblers' return.  Although we did not find any Prothonotary Warblers, we did complete the Swamp Snake Slam!  Actually, one more Red-bellied Water Snake (Nerodia erythrogaster erythrogaster) and we would have completed a double slam.  There are five species of snakes that are likely to be seen in the swamp from the boardwalk.  Although spotting four of the five species is not unusual during the spring with its warm days and cool nights, seeing all five species during one trip around the boardwalk is a rarity.  The experience is rare enough that we created a certificate awarded to anyone in a guided group or anyone that can show images of all five species.

Here are our documentation photos:

 

Red-bellied Water Snake

 

Eastern Cottonmouth

 

Banded Water Snake

 

Brown Water Snake

 

Greenish Rat Snake

Although we did not find our primary quarry, the Prothonotary Warbler, we will continue to search each day until they return.  The office pool ranges from an early date of today to the slightly tardy date of the 29th.  Stay tuned!

Images by Mark Musselman

Blooming Spring

With the recent warm weather, the Audubon Center at the Francis Beidler Forest is experiencing a plethora of flowering plants.  We noted the Dwarf Trillium (Trillium pusillum) yesterday.  Nearby, the Common Blue Violet is flowering.  The color of this plant is highly variable ranging from deep purple to almost white with a wash of purple.

During Saturday's field trip to the marl bluff overlooking Mallard Lake, we found Spring Coral-root (Corallorrhiza wisteriana).  This plant is part of a group called saprophytes.  Saprophytes have no chlorophyll and therefore do not photosynthesize.  Saprophytes are either parasitic or, as is the case with Spring Coral-root, obtain their food from decaying organic material.  In order to maximize the amount of water and nutrients absorbed from the forest soil and overlaying decaying organic material, Spring Coral-root and other saprophytic flowering plants have developed a mycorrhizal association with fungus.  The fungus at the plant's roots increases the total surface area for absorption and passes the water and food to the plant.  The relationship is obligate and the saprophyte will not survive without the fungus.  Therefore, transplanting saprophytic flowering plants is nearly impossible as the relationship between the plant, the fungus, and the specific soil are difficult to replicate at another site.

Images by Mark Musselman