The everpresent and successful Poison Parsnip

This is a stout specimen of the wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) which grows very well on our property. I first posted on this plant early on in this blog since it was quite dominating in places. I find however that it can be managed although with some vigilance.

This plant was very common in the fields of the Montreal west end where I grew up. I frequently would get rashes from it. It is quite hard to determine the cause of the rash since it shows up about 3 days later. Also it required UV light to stimulate the rash, so if I pull the weed late in the day shortly before sundown, I don't get the rash at all, with the weak sunlight. I don't even have to bother wearing protective clothing.

Skunks, skunks and more skunks.

We installed a gazebo about 25 metres (25 yards) away from our house. Today while on her way out to the gazebo my wife was greeted by the four baby skunks pictured here. Skunks are in fact beneficial animals that have a large appetite for insects and especially grubs that kill your lawn. Since we are in an isolated area away from any dense populations and with an extremely ample supply of insects, we have decided to co-habit with the skunk. I just have to be careful not to startle the animals in my walks around the woodlot. We don't have a dog and our cats seem to be able to handle the skunks well. When we lived in town our house cat was often seen frolicking with a resident skunk, yet careful enough to stay out of reach.

This is a striped skunk [Mephitis mephitis] which very common in these parts and the only skunk species here that I know of.

Tiny Red Spiders

Every now and then I come across a tiny red spider or mite as photographed here foraging in the earth. I believe it is Anystis baccarum which is a beneficial predator particulary to fruit growers. According to studies available on the net, one such insect can kill and consume up to 12 similar harmful insects in a day. It is quite difficult to identify the insect precisely, so I am willing to be corrected. If you can better identify this insect please leave a comment below or email me at pieter.leenhouts@gmail.com.

In comparison to the dime in the photo I would think that this insect is about 3-4mm long. In comparison to the pictures on the internet this spider is quite large and fat so it must be doing quite well.

Our Very Own Vernal Pool

If it wasn't for a lecture at one of the Ontario Woodlot Association meetings, I would likely never have found out about the vernal pool. Vernal is commonly used since these pools typically fill up in spring from snow melt and runoff. The pool in this picture is definitely vernal, since by summer time it will be completely dry.

The periodic drying up of the pool is what makes this pool special. It will not support fish and other predators which allows certain woodland creatures to lay eggs etc in relative safety. Next time I am back to this spot I will wear some rubber boots which will allow me to wade in a ways to observe the pool from a closer vantage point. These sneakers were keeping me away and confined to high and dry ground.

It would be interesting to see some salamanders. The only such amphibian I have ever seen was the quite common redbacked salamander up on the mountain in Ile Perrot where I grew up west of Montreal Quebec.

Dust to dust (What is left of Lefty)

In my short evening walk today I found the skeletal remains of Lefty, the porcupine that died near my house. I had reported on this porcupine in several earlier posts. I called it lefty because it had broken one of its toes on its left front paw and the bone had reset with the toe pointing up. It was easy this way to identify Lefty even way up in a tree. Being so close to the house I grabbed some rubber gloves and picked up the carcass and moved it to a spot further inside the woodlot and away from our trails. The plan was of course to let the wild predators have at it. Oddly enough, this carcass, unlike others, was never preyed upon. I gather that the turkey vulture did not like to feed on carrion located in the woods since it is less safe than in a clearing. The coyotes, raccoons etc. possibly were wary of my scent on it.

I recall when I carried the carcass that one of the needles went right through the glove and into my finger. It was a strange feeling trying to pull the needle out. It stuck like glue. Apparently the barbs on the needles are extremely fine and barely visible even under a regular microscope. There was no easy way to pull it out but mere force. It drew no blood and never festered so all was well.

In the photo, the skull is clearly visible as well as a smattering of odd bones. Maybe the animals did get into it after all since the bones dispersed over time. And the rest went back to the earth whence it came.

The Turkey Vulture and Global Warming

On my way to a friend's cottage at White Lake, Ontario, I drove by this field where I spotted a crow and several turkey vultures [Cathartes aura] huddled around this dark object. By the time I opened the car window and had the camera ready the crow had flown away. These vultures were feeding on the carcass of a fairly large raccoon that the right-most vulture, in the picture, is standing on.

My first bird book, Birds of North America, Robbins, Bruun, and Zim, (1966) showed the range of the Turkey Vulture to be no farther north than a latitude of the middle of Lake Erie or about 400 km (250 mi.) south of here. As a youth and active birdwatcher back in the 60's and 70's I had never witnessed a Turkey Vulture anywhere in the area around Montreal where I grew up. The newer bird books -- and I referred to four; Stokes, Royal Ontario Museum, Kaufman and Sibley -- consistently show the Turkey Vulture range is now well north of North Bay, Ontario to a point over 200 km (125 mi.) north of here. I have personally seen them as far north as Otter Lake, Quebec on one of my drives there. I would say that this is real evidence of global temperature change wouldn't you say?

The Border Fence

A part of the north by north west border of the property is marked by a very old fence pictured here and referred to here in the vernacular as a snake rail fence made of white cedar split rails. As you can see in the photo there is no shortage of eastern white cedar on either side of the fence. This is probably the easiest fence to build requiring local materials, a few tools, and no post hole digging. The land here is glacial till or hard pan in local parlance and that is made out of 60% to 80% rock. So post hole digging is not really viable.

Another girdled Tamarack Tree

On the return path of the walk I came across this newly gnawed tamarack tree. There is so little bark left on this tree that it will certainly die. Tamarack is a favoured food of the local porcupine.

A Red Squirrel's Midden

I first came across the term midden when reading a report on archaeological findings where middens or piles of shells were found on the beaches of Prince Edward Island as evidence of early inhabitation by man. Always thought it was odd to have such a name for a simple pile but then it is a better explanation than just a pile. In fact Dictionary.com says that a kitchen midden is a "mound consisting of shells of edible mollusks and other refuse, marking the site of a prehistoric human habitation." That is quite specific. I have also heard it used for the small piles of spruce or pine cone husks left by squirrels as pictured here. Numerous such middens have been found throughout the property today. It must be that the reduced food supply may be diminishing to a point where cone seeds now become the best there is on the forest menu of the red squirrel.

A mammal's Breathing Hole

There is an old fence/tree line that runs near the centre and along the length of the woodlot. I call it the Hawthorn line since it is made up mainly of hawthorn trees and basswood trees. Along this line I found a hole in the snow pictured here and the outer rim of the hole was covered in hoar frost crystals as shown in the photo. This is typical of a breathing hole for a mammal that is hibernating or holed up in the snow. There are at least two of these that I know of on the property. The other is from underneath an old barn floor.

Nature's home Builder, the Pileated Woodpecker

In today's walk the second exhibit I encountered was the hard work of the pileated woodpecker [Dryocopus pileatus]. The bird, as it seeks food such as insects in the trees, hollows out sizable holes which make ideal nests for small bird or mammals. The huge chips of wood in the snow bely that the construction was quite recent, and this size of wood chip is typical of the pileated.

The woodpecker must be able to hear the insects inside the tree. Some think that the woodpecker damages trees while in fact the tree by now is already rotted or insect infested in the centre.

In woodlot management it is recommended that a number of dead trees be left standing to provide habitat for animals. This tree will likely serve as a home for some animal one day.
 

The Highbush Cranberry

Today's walk in the woods provided a number of interesting exhibits. We have a number of highbush cranberry shrubs throughout our woodlot that were generated naturally. In winter they provide a rather attractive showy red berry against the dreary white and gray winter background. Apparently after a frost the berries do not taste as strong as when they are first ripened. In fact I tried one of these berries which has a rather pretty heart-shaped seed inside and it tasted a lot like a cranberry, though it is not of the same family.

A Walk to the Red Pine Grove

Our woodlot has a very pronounced red pine grove located near the center of the bush. The grove must have been hand planted since the trees are not planted in exact rows and yet they are nicely spaced apart. It is an interesting grove since many of the trees there are shaped like a Y. I am guessing it is because of porcupine damage killing the top of the tree, and leaders then growing out of the sides below the bark damage. I am assuming it is porcupine since some of the red pines located near the house have noticeable porcupine scars which also created leaders.

This renders the wood of the trees quite valueless from a commercial perspective, so I will be thinning this grove over time, besides red pine has to be thinned. If I leave it the way it is red pine will keep growing but become thinner and overtime will not be able to withstand high winds. We have had some incredible wind storms lately with 100 km/h winds.

Today we snowshoed to the grove, my wife, my 4 yr. old grandson and I. We have had quite a bit of snow this winter. The accumulated snow was knee deep ~ 60 cm. (2 feet) next to the trails and the snow shoe trail was packed down to half the depth of ~ 30 cm (1 foot).

Along the trail we came across a well used porcupine highway which is a 15 cm (6 in) deep track in the snow.

Mice, those cursed rodents

There is no shortage of mice in the fields and forests of this woodlot. Our cat leaves us mice part offerings on an almost daily basis during summer and fall. In this picture, the hole in the snow is a ventilation or observation hole for some mice burrowing in the snow. That is likely why we see as many fox and raptors -- that prey on mice -- in this area.

There are a number of varieties of mice in this area.

Invasion of the Common Reed

I had the occasion recently to drive between Quebec City and Montreal and during that drive I was astonished at the continuous growth of Phragmites Australis a.k.a. the Common Reed, for, I would guess, at least 100 solid kilometres. I had to stop the car, get out and take the these pictures of this biological phenomenon. The plant literally coated both sides of the 4 lane highway and the median for many many kilometres without interruption.

Phragmites is a recent but known invasive weed in eastern Ontario. It was first brought to my attention by Fred and Aleta when I visited the Bishops Mills Natural History Centre, located less than half an hour from here. For more on the centre see http://www.pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm

My neighbour has a very large 2 to 3 acre pond and its north west shore is covered with the plant. He told me once that he lost balance and fell into the weed and its was so sturdy that it broke his fall and held him up.

Around here there appears to be two types of Phragmites. There is the dark very thick tassel variety and a silky white thinner tassel variety. The dark tassel appears notably more invasive in that its stands are typically large and dense and like the type pictured here. The white variant appears to be much less aggressive in its growth and not as dense. The white variety is also often seen as a landscaping plant now in the suburban gardens of Ottawa.

For a fairly thorough study of the plant see:
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/phraus/all.html

In a later post, I hope to compare pictures of both types side-by-side.

The ever busy Bumblebee

The bumblebees pictured here characteristically have the dark shiny hump on their backs. There was a citizen article that described a parasite of the Bumblebee which seemed to have a similar appearance. Every bumblebee seen here have that same characteristic hump.

False Dragonhead or Obedient Plant

Found this lovely flower growing along our driveway[Physostegia virginiana]. It turns out to be False Dragonhead or Obedient plant. It is growing among other tall plants including grasses and golden rod.

An Trillium Fruit

During my butternut survey I found a couple of trilliums as pictured here with a red fruit. At first by the leaves one would guess possibly a Jack-in-the-Pulpit but its fruit is a cluster of red berries. After considerable research-- there is lots about the flower but not much about the fruit -- I have determined that it is definitely the fruit of a trillium. According to the internet literature the fruit body actually contains many seeds. In nature the fruit over time would drop to the ground and ants would then excavate into the fruit and take the seeds back to their nests; hence carry out one of the trilliums means of propagation in nature.

Natural Butternut Tree near our Residence

I have prepared a new blog to track the lovely natural butternut tree nearby. Click on the title.

Update and wrap up of Canker Resistant Butternut Report

Completed observing and logging the position and condition of the remaining unreported butternut trees.

Status of each tree can be found at separate blogs as follows.

Tree #1 is planted in field area i and can be found at: http://crb1i.blogspot.com/
Tree #2 is at http://crb2i.blogspot.com/
Tree #7 is found and reported at http://crb7c.blogspot.com/

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