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August 2015-Barred Owl, Rough Seeded Potentilla
WECOME TO GREEN FUTURES !
AUGUST, 2015
“Owl,” said rabbit shortly, “you and I have brains. The others have fluff. If there is any thinking to be done in this forest ...and when I say thinking I mean thinking ...you and I must do it.”
- A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us.
- David Suzuki
ENVIRONMENTAL ITEMS EMAILED IN BY READERS – Pick and choose
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gives his 100 Climate Change talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv-Vk16xSgw
More climate change. http://otherwords.org/lighting-a-legal-fuse/
Congress continues to raid Land and Water Conservation Fund. Excellent article by Ted Williams in Audubon.https://www.audubon.org/magazine/july-august-2015/stop-cheating-our-wildlife
Guess those in opposition have yet to see Ken Burn's “The National Parks: America's Best Idea.” http://bangordailynews.com/2015/07/04/outdoors/now-what-after-anti-park-votes-a-crossroads-in-the-katahdin-region/
The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) is a Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve Partner. Unfortunately they have been reneging on past promises and have pulled most of their environmental education activities from the Bioreserve. If you're a local TTOR member you might want to read of their future plans and then remind them of their Bioreserve commitments. Read it here:http://issuu.com/thetrustees/docs/the-path-forward-2018
This land was made for you and me! President Obama using the Antiquities Act protects 3 new national monuments in Texas, Nevada and California. https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/07/10/president-obama-designates-3-new-national-monuments-protecting-more-1-million-acres-
Problems, as usual, at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Duties too diverse and unrelated. Also too much political interference to be effective in any area. From “CommonWealth” http://commonwealthmagazine.org/environment/dcr-2-0/
Mount Holyoke Range gets more land. Partnerships are the way to go to make sure sufficient land is available to ensure genetic diversity among wildlife species. http://www.gazettenet.com/news/specialcoverage/goinggreen/17759900-95/mount-holyoke-range-landscape-partnership-adds-about-1000-acres-for-preservation
We are a member of the Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM) Executive Order 562 Coalition. Unfamiliar with the issue? Go here, http://bit.ly/1TMEJ7K
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION (DCR) GETS NEW COMMISSIONER – Meet the new boss, same as the old boss?
Governor Charlie Baker has appointed Carol Sanchez as the new Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
“Carol Sanchez most recently served as Managing Partner of her own Certified Public Accounting firm, Sanchez & Santiago, LLC, where she assisted entrepreneurs and international subsidiaries in growing their business. Ms. Sanchez has also held numerous positions at large, multinational companies such as Staples, Timberland, Verizon and KPMG. In addition to her time serving on various Boards of Directors, Carol has received many awards for her volunteer work on behalf of women and minorities.”
Did you see anything about conservation and/or recreation in there? We didn't either.
WILDLIFE CROSSING TUNNEL – Build it and they will use it
MassWildlife's Facebook photo of deer using the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve wildlife tunnel to safely get across Route 24.
In early June a member forwarded us the photo, above, of a white tail deer using the Bioreserve's wildlife tunnel to safely get from one side of Route 24 to the other. Along with the photo on MassWildlife's Facebook page was a posting about MassDOT's cooperative effort with MassWildlife and Linking Landscapes on monitoring road crossings ...“linking landscapes” ...for the safe passage of wildlife.
We were happy to see the photo of the Route 24 crossing tunnel passing a deer, but distressed that state agencies apparently aren't involved in maintaining them.
A little history: Due to the amount of road-killed wildlife ...everything from deer to black racers to box turtles ...along the section of Route 24 that cuts through the state forest we, Green Futures, lobbied heavily to get that passageway built. We were disappointed with the lack of interest from MassWildlife, but pleased when after meeting with then DOT Secretary Bernard Cohen he agreed to include a wildlife passageway as part of the Route 24, Interchange 8 ½ project.
Immediately after its construction, 2010 - 2011, wildlife began to use the crossing. We photographed tracks of fisher, raccoon, fox, coyote, opossum, turkey and deer, using the tunnel to cross the highway, all within a month of its opening.
Today, unfortunately, it appears from the tracks we're seeing only the extremely adaptable deer are using the passageway regularly. Other wildlife only occasionally. Why?
One reason for this lack of use by wildlife is the day and night illegal off-highway-vehicle (OHV) activity using the tunnel to illegally enter the state forest. This constant activity has created a “road” entering and leaving the tunnel and the heavy tread design of the tires on the vehicles has eroded away the earth within the tunnel creating wallows that flood with water when it rains.
Strategically placed “Jersey barriers,” bollards/posts or huge half-buried rocks in a random pattern that would allow wildlife to walk around them yet prevent passage by motorized vehicles would work in preventing or at least limiting the type of OHV destruction we are witnessing now, yet allow sufficient space for deer and other wildlife to pass.
I'm sure other wildlife crossings have experienced these problems. What has been done to solve them? In Massachusetts, maybe nothing.
Another reason some critters are avoiding the tunnel is due to the condition of the wildlife fence that funnels to the tunnel. The fence has a number of fallen trees/branches upon it and 2 holes cut by vandals. There should be a maintenance program that checks these fences and crossings annually and repairs, immediately, any damage found.
Doesn't make much sense to construct wildlife passageways if we're not going to maintain them and make sure they function as intended.
BIORESERVE FAUNA OF THE MONTH – Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Photo - Courtesy - CC-BY-SA-3.0 (httpcreativecommons.orglicensesby-sa3.0)], Wikimedia Commons
Big, about 2 feet tall with a 48 inch wingspan, attractive and vocal, the barred owl is found in dense forest, especially wooded swamps, throughout the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve (SMB). This owl's native range In the United States extends from the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast. They are also native to southern Canada and in recent years have expanded their range into the Pacific Northwest and northern California.
Forest ramblers and folks living adjacent to thick woods are familiar with the hooting call of this “hoot” owl ...“Who cooks for you ... Who cooks for you all” ...most often heard in the evening at nightfall. During spring mating season the call can often be heard all day long too as males and females call to each other and claim territories. Even a poor imitation of this call will often bring the owl flying in for a close-up look. Sporting a coat of barred ...hence the name ...brown and white fluffy feathers and large black eyes the barred owl is the most common owl out in the SMB.
Barred owls have an extensive vocabulary. Not only do they hoot, they also screech, hiss, howl, cackle, click their beaks loudly when nervous or angry, and make monkey-like sounds while pumping their head up and down. Many who think they've heard a fisher “screaming like a woman” in the nighttime woods have really heard a barred owl.
In the SMB the only other woodland owl that can be mistaken for the barred own is the great horned owl. The great horned owl also has a hooting call, but fewer than the barred owl's 8 hoots in length and with different rhythm. The great horned is also larger than the barred owl, has yellow eyes instead of black and has ear tufts (horns) on its head.
Like hawks during the day, owls hunt at night. Unlike hawks, barred owls can see well both night and day. Their hunting method is to sit silently in a tree until a woods mouse, chipmunk, vole, wood frog or small bird appears on the forest floor below their position. They also prey on large forest beetles and other insects. Like most owls their modified wing feathers allow for silent flight and their prey item on the forest forest rarely knows there is an owl coming in from above ...until it is too late.
Barred owls will also eat smaller owls if the opportunity presents itself and in turn will be eaten by the larger great horned owl.
The barred owl breeds and nests early in the year in the thickest and darkest part of hardwood and conifer forests. Mated pairs will use the same nest, usually in a hollow tree, year after year. If a hollow isn't available they will take over an old hawk, raven, crow or squirrel nest. Barred owls lay 2 to 4 eggs and the female incubates the eggs about 28 days. Both parents take care of the young hatchlings and feeding a large brood may require constant day and night hunting by these normally nighttime hunting birds.
Owlets leave the nest when five weeks old. They remain dependent on their parents for food as they develop their hunting skills over the summer.
In the SMB barred owls are permanent residents, but some do move to more southern locations during extremely cold and snowy weather.
BIORESERVE FLORA OF THE MONTH – Rough Seeded Potentilla (Potentilla recta)
Also known as sulfur cinquefoil (cinque (5) + foil (leaf) = 5 leaves) the rough seeded potentilla is an alien species originally native to the eastern Mediterranean in Europe and Asia. Now, the rough seeded potentilla can be found across the temperate zone throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It, Like most alien species, grows best in full sun in disturbed areas such as along roadsides, railroad and utility corridors, old pastures and dump sites.
The rough seeded potentilla is perennial and in a pasture or meadow environment out-competes native forbs and grasses. Its dominance in suitable habitats is also helped by the high tannin content of its foliage. Deer, rabbits and other herbivores tend to avoid this plant.
Rough seeded potentilla flowers in summer. Various species of bees and other small nectar seeking insects pollinate the very attractive, inch wide, sulfur-yellow flowers. Potentilla flowers can also self-pollinate. Each flower has 5 heart-shaped petals.
Following pollination an achene (small dry fruiting capsule) forms. Each dark brown, rough-surfaced achene contains one seed. Each fertilized flower produces from 50 to 75 achenes. Potentilla achenes are distributed by the wind or by animals brushing against the plants. If fortunate and the achene lands on suitably moist soil and in a sunny location the seed inside the achene will sprout and quickly grow into a new plant. These seedlings will die-back come winter, but have stored enough energy to get a headstart on native forb and grass seed that lies dormant all winter and waits until spring to sprout and grow.
Each potentilla plant has numerous stems growing from a central crown attached to a long taproot. The stems grow to a height of 3 feet and each stem usually bears 5, but occasionally more, narrow palmately compound, alternate leaves with serrated edges.
Due to the high tannin content of this plant it has been used in its native land as a poultice to heal sores and wounds and also used as an astringent to cause skin to contract helping to relieve a number of skin conditions.
August - Enjoy the last full month of summer !
Hurry, hurry, hurry!!! Last month of summer 2015. Thinking back to our almost interminable winter ...we're working on enjoying every bit of summer available. We hope you are too. Click right here for our calendar.
August
by Christoper Pearse Cranch
Far off among the fields and meadow rills
The August noon bends over a world of green.
In the blue sky the white clouds pause and lean
To paint broad shadows on the wooded hills
And upland farms, a brooding silence fills.
The languid hours, no living forms are seen
Save birds and insects, here and there, between.
The broad boughs and the grass, the locust trills
Unseen his long-drawn sonorous monotone.
The sparrow and the lonely phoebe bird
Now near, now far, across the fields are heard.
And close beside me here that Spanish drone
The dancing grasshopper whom no trouble frets
In the hot sunshine snaps his castanets.
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