“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. This past January, my husband David and I had the rare opportunity of spending almost two weeks in the remote Las Piedras Rain Forest of south eastern Peru during the height of the rainy season. Our daughter Elizabeth, who is a founding member and on the board for the non-profit, Wild Forests and Fauna, www.wildff.org, spent a year working out the details of this special adventure so that twenty one family and friends could experience the wonders of this totally pristine environment. This area has no roads, so we traveled by boat on the Las Piedras River and walked through the forest. Besides our backpacks, ponchos and boots, we also brought all our food and water supplies. A rain forest is one of the most biologically diverse habitats on earth. Whether the tropical rain forest is in Africa, south eastern Asia or South America, all share several defining characteristics including warm climate, intense precipitation, dense canopy structure, complex symbiotic relationships and an enormous diversity of species. Although the tropical rain forests cover only 6% of Earth’s surface, they contain more than half of the world’s plant, insect and animal species. Scientists believe that they have discovered only about half of the insect species, and only 70% of the plant and animal species that live in this abundant environment. The tropical rain forest is the undisputed champion of biodiversity among the world’s ecosystems. Due to the enormous volume of rain and because temperatures range from 72-95 degrees all year long, the rain forest has a growing season of 365 days a year. This creates a dense habitat made up of a unique four layered canopy. The tallest layer is called the Emergent Layer. Here the tallest trees sometimes tower 200 feet or more above the forest floor. In Peru you will find the Ironwood and the Ceiba trees with their enormous buttresses. The Brazil Nut Tree which can reach heights of 160 feet is also in this layer. Sunlight is plentiful up there and the lofty environment is home to harpy eagles, many monkey species, bats, sloths and butterflies, including the 6 “ iridescent Blue Morpho butterfly. The next layer down is the Canopy Layer which forms a dense roof over the two remaining layers. This layer is a maze of leaves, vines and branches. Because it provides an abundance of food opportunities, it is habitat to an amazing amount of animal and insect species including social spiders, snakes, toucans, macaws and tree frogs. The next layer down is the Understory Layer. Little sunshine reaches this area so the plants, which generally grow no taller than 12 feet, grow larger leaves to harvest as much sunshine as possible. This is the home of the Poison Dart frogs and an extremely large concentration of insects including the red fire and bullet ants and spiders of all shapes and sizes. The lowest layer is the Forest Floor. This area is very dark because sunlight hardly ever reaches it. As a result, almost no plants grow in this layer. Even on a clear day less than 5% of sunlight reaches the forest floor. This causes all leaf litter to decay very quickly and be fully decomposed and disappear in as little as six weeks. Helping out with this process are the legions of fungi, bacteria and insects. Here, amongst the leave litter, are the Giant Anteater, jaguars, ocelots, tapirs, (the largest mammal in the rain forest), peccaries, and the Nine Banded Armadillo. The rain forest produces at least three quarters of the precipitation it depends on. Every day, water is released through the leaves, rises in the air and forms clouds. When rain clouds hit cooler air they release their water in the form of rain. Even when it’s not raining, the cloud cover keeps the rain forest humid and warm. Because of plentiful rain, food and shelter the rain forest has the most density of living plant, insect and animal species of any ecosystem in the world. When you have so many species competing for food in such a small compact area, every species is part of the food chain. Eventually every animal, plant and insect will become food for another species. One of my major goals on this adventure was not to become a part of the food chain. Welcome to the largest terrestrial battlefield on earth! Apex predators play a key role in maintaining the health and vitality of all ecosystems. In the Peruvian Rain Forests the top predators are harpy eagles, jaguars, anacondas, black caiman, (black crocodiles that regularly grow to 20’ and are the largest of the predators in the Peruvian Rain Forest), and the giant river otters who can grow up to six feet and weigh up to 70 pounds. These predators split up the diverse terrain. The harpy eagle dominates the canopy. The jaguars cover the ground. The anaconda, caiman and giant river otter, battle in the rivers and lakes. The list of smaller hunters is virtually limitless! Apex predators are keystone species. Their job is to guarantee that no one species becomes dominant over others. They provide constant checks and balances within the environment so that some percentage of each species can continue to procreate and generate the next generation. Keystone species are absolutely indispensible and without them, the environment would not function to its fullest capacity or it could collapse completely. However, not all is perfect in paradise. Today the rain forests in South America are facing a myriad of problems including the illegal harvesting of mahogany, ceiba and ironwood trees, the cocaine industry, the raising of cattle, oil exploration and illegal and legal gold and silver mining with the mercury pollution of water and land that goes hand in hand with it. All these activities encourage the building of new roads and rapid deforestation. Without the habitat of the forests and the shelter and food it provides, there is no wildlife. Large tracts of land need to be protected all over the world and one way of insuring this is educating people everywhere to the importance of each distinct environment and the unique species that call each of these ecosystems home. This remarkable realm is so incredibly fragile and its survival is at a crossroads. Every day, all around the world, from the Congo in Africa, Borneo and Sumatra in Indonesia, and the rain forests in Brazil and Peru, this invaluable habitat is vanishing. The human species is capable of great destruction but it is also capable of great understanding, wisdom and action. Maybe this generation will decide to become stewards of this planet. With education comes understanding, with understanding comes appreciation and love, and with that comes the wish to protect our planet and pass on all its gifts to the next generation. “It has always been clear that the struggle to save biodiversity will be won or lost in the forests”. E.O. Wilson
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Overall benefits and services of trees – Trees, are the largest, by size, plant species on our planet. Without them life as we know it would not exist. Here are just a few of the life sustaining services they provide all life forms on our planet: 1.Trees maintain our atmosphere – They make oxygen and take in carbon dioxide. All green plants, including trees, are the only species on our planet with the pigment chlorophyll. Chlorophyll, which is in the cells of leaves, allows the plant to make its own food from the sun’s energy. Green plants are the only species on our planet that can make their own food. The process by which they do this is called photosynthesis. One of the major responsibilities of all plants is to pass on directly or indirectly the sun’s energy to all other living species on this planet. This process is called the Food Web or the Web of Life. During the growing season trees filter pollutants from the air by daily removing nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and heavy metals. Ex: One mature oak tree can make 260 pounds of oxygen a year and absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide. Fact: 50% of the biomass of a living tree is carbon. This carbon is only released back into the atmosphere when a tree burns or when it slowly decomposes.
5.Trees provide winter protection – Evergreen trees provide protection in the winter from wind and storms. Many species of birds and animals seek protection in and under evergreens. In warmer months birds and animals find shelter from predators in trees. Trees also provide a safe habitat so animals and birds can build their nests and rear their offspring safely. NOTE: With evergreens placed strategically around our homes, they help slow down and diminish the wicking of heat due to wind and cold and keep our homes warmer in the winter months. 6.Trees provide shade – Forests are 10 degrees cooler because solar rays are cut off and because of transpiration. The more trees in your yard and neighborhood, the cooler it will be due to sun blockage and evaporative cooling. In summer months, deciduous trees will provide shade, which will keep homes cooler, especially if they were planted on the south side of structures.
Plants and trees also communicate with insects sending airborne chemical messages that act as distress signals to attract predatory insects to come and kill the herbivore insects that are attacking them. The emerging picture is that plant-eating insects, (herbivores), and the predatory insects that feed on them, live in a world we can barely imagine. Perfumed by clouds of chemicals, rich in information and released in the air in in the ground, all insects, ants, microbes, moths, hummingbirds and even animals are capable of detecting and reacting to these blasts of chemicals. Other studies have shown that parent trees help their offspring using their mycorrhizal connections, to get a heads up in growing and surviving the intense competition for nutrients, water and root space. Books to read on the subject of tree and plant communication -Scientist are discovering and learning every day new aspects on this salient subject. Because this blog can not do justice to the breath of this issue, I have listed some of the best books out there on this subject matter. Note: Books are listed with the most recently published at the top. ‘Finding The Mother Tree’ by Suzanne Simard ‘The Nature of Oaks’ by Douglas Tallamy ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben ‘The Song of Trees’ by David George Haskell ‘The Trees in My Forest’ by Bernd Heinrich How does one end a blog on such an important subject? It is my hope that next time you might be thinking of cutting down a tree to put up a swing set, build a fire pit, or to give yourself a better view, maybe you will think twice about the essential daily services that tree is providing you, your family, your community as well as all the other species of birds, insects and animals you share your environment with. Perhaps instead of cutting down a tree, you will find a space to plant a native tree on your property. Or maybe next time you pass a tree you will show your appreciation by sharing your gratitude with a heartfelt thank you or maybe like me, you might even become a tree hugger! As a Christmas gift to myself, my latest blog is all about trees. Since my earliest recollections trees have been my friends and companions. Whether it was climbing my Polish grandparent’s pear and apple trees to gather fruit, or just climbing a tree to get a wider view of my world, I loved spending as much time as possible in trees. When I saw a new tree, I immediately categorized it as climbable or not. I still find myself doing this assessment, even today. No matter how high I climbed, and it was always a thrill to soar to new heights, I felt completely protected and safe in the arms and branches, of my green and woody friends. The trees I climbed were my teachers and I was an eager student hungry to learn. They taught me many secrets of the natural world. I am not the only human that loves trees. Trees are and have been our intimate associates throughout the whole of our human evolutionary history. Our primitive ancestors lived in trees. Millions of years later, their descendants built civilizations with trees. Trees provided and still provide us with many raw materials for life including food, tools, fuel, weapons, clothing, building materials and shelter. As a thank you for all their valuable life lessons, and their faithful and lasting connection to me, I write this blog to share some of the innumerable gifts that trees offer our planet. Evolutionary history – According to the latest theories based on molecular fossil records in dated rocks, the most primitive of life forms originated on earth about 4 billion years ago. It wasn’t until one billion years ago, while still in oceans, that plants, animals and fungi diverged from a common ancestor. Life both in plant and animal form first made the transition from water to land around 500 million years ago when the atmosphere and land formations were more hospitable and could support new evolving life forms. The evolutionary role of wood – (Wood is the hard porous and fibrous material that forms the main substance of the trunk and branches of a tree or shrub while giving them structure) - A very simple form of wood evolved around 380 million years ago when all land plants were small and herbaceous, (herbaceous plants have non-woody stems and often die back if living in cold climates). This is when lignin, a chemical polymer and cellulose, another key compound of wood, evolved. This mixture gave plants an incredibly tough, woody outer cover. With the introduction and evolution of wood, strength was added to plants of that era, allowing them to outgrow their ancestors, and to compete with each other for the sun’s energy. Scientists sometimes call this competition for the sun’s energy an ‘arms race’, for this is the reason branches evolved on trees. At this time trees began spreading throughout the world, growing even larger, taller and more recognizable. Wood provided both a strong framework and a tough protective covering against invading insects, bacteria and diseases. Simultaneously, as trees were growing taller, their root structure was evolving to go deeper and deeper in the ground to anchor and bring stability to these giants of the plant world. Conifers – (Latin: conus – cone, ferre – to bear) - Conifers first evolved on our planet around 170 million years ago. At the time they evolved the planet was not very hospitable. The air quality was not as high in oxygen levels as it is now, temperatures were colder, rain was sporadic and unreliable and soil had few nutrients. The conifers, even today, are the tree of the coldest and most forbidding regions of our planet. They are the trees of our Boreal forests, the most northern forests of the northern hemisphere. These Boreal forests are the largest carbon sinks of our planet. A carbon sink is anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. They sequester more carbon than any other ecosystem on our planet. Conifers are evergreens. Everything about the conifer is an adaption to the challenging and inhospitable climate and conditions of the time they evolved. Evergreens retain their leaves all year round with new ones growing as old ones are shed. Having leaves all year long allows them to make food whenever they might have favorable conditions in an unpredictable world. Evergreen leaves were in the form of needles, as they are today. Needles are modified leaves that are coated with wax to provide insulation from cold. Being thin and long, they do not loose much moisture and do not need as much nutrition. They were the perfect adaptation for a time when both water and nutrients were scarce. The conifer’s seed-bearing structure is especially adapted for survival. Conifer seeds develop inside a protective cone. These cones take from 4 months to three years to reach maturity. When the cone is mature, its scales spread open and allow its seeds to be dispersed by the wind, or in the case of pines, by birds who eat them. Another environmental adaption of the conifers is their narrow conical shape, and supple downward drooping branches that can bend and make sure snow loads slide off them harmlessly. They also have evolved to seasonally alter their bio-chemistry to make them more resistant to freezing. Interesting facts about the conifers: Our well know conifers are: cedars, Douglas fir, cypresses, firs, junipers, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces and yews. The world’s tallest and oldest trees are all conifers! The tallest known tree is the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). The tallest know individual stands 454’ tall. Its location is a secret. The oldest living species of conifers is the Great Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva). One specimen is thought to be between 2,300 – 2,700 years old. The largest conifer species by volume is the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). The General Sherman sequoia tree is the largest tree on the earth. It stands 275’ tall and is over 36’ at its base. It is located in the Sequoia National Park in California. Most conifers make resin. Resin is a sticky, semi liquid substance made by the tree to protect wounds in its bark against insect, fungal and bacterial infestations. Amber is fossilized resin. Deciduous Trees - (From the Latin verb, ‘decidere’ – to fall down) – Deciduous tees first started to evolve around 100 million years ago once the quality of the air, water, weather and soil on our planet had improved. Deciduous trees shed their leaves at the end of the growing season. They change according to the seasons: fall - shed leaves, winter – go dormant, spring – sprout new leaves, summer – leaves, the food factory of all plants, make food for the year. There are over 60,000 different species of deciduous trees and they are found all over the world in all but the coldest ecosystems. Deciduous trees are indispensable to all ecosystems because they bear fruit, flowers, (including nectar and pollen), and nuts making them a vital food source for most of our insects, birds, animal species as well as humans throughout our planet. Shedding leaves in winter, (or in a dry season), is a natural adaptation to conserve water and survive harsh winter weather and conditions like snow load. There is much less branch and trunk breakage from ice and snow storms when no leaves are present. The disadvantage is that the trees must have enough energy to grow new buds and leaves every year. How much food and water are stored in the roots from the previous year’s growing season will determine whether the tree is successful or not. Interesting facts about deciduous trees: The showy leaf color of the Fall is limited to areas of the planet where days are short, nights are cold and the temperature stays above freezing. In other parts of the world leaves just fall off trees without changing color. We see the reds, yellows, purples and oranges in the fall because chlorophyll is no longer being made. These other pigments have always been present but are covered up by the predominant green pigment of chlorophyll during the growing season. Before shedding its leaves, deciduous trees remove all traces of nitrogen and carbon from their foliage and store them in the form of a protein in their roots and inner bark. In the spring these proteins will be used as a nitrogen source for the growth of new flowers and leaves. Nitrogen is essential for all plants to grow because it enables the chlorophyll molecule to capture the sun’s energy. Leaf litter is Mother Nature’s compost for her soil. It also provides birds, insects, worms and small animals with everything necessary for survival, including food, water, shelter and nesting materials. Bats are the unsung heroes of nature! They are the only mammals that actually fly, flapping their wings to propel them in flight. Because of this unique ability, they are classified with their own special order of mammals, called Chiroptera. The name Chiroptera is derived from Greek and literally means “hand wing”, (chiro + ptera). This refers to how the finger bones of the bat supports its wings. Because of their ability to fly, they are one of the most widely distributed mammals in the world, living on all continents except Antarctica. Wherever there are tropical or temperate habitats, you will find bats. They are the second largest order of mammals with about 1,400 known species, which makes up around 20% of all known living mammal species. Rodents (order Rodentia), is the largest order with 2,277 different species which comprises about 40 % of all mammals. Interesting Bat Facts: Bats have been around since the days of the dinosaurs and ancient bats resembled those living today. Most bats are insectivores (insect eaters) while some are frugivores (fruit eaters). They also consume pollen and nectar. Due to their high metabolism, they must consume 1 to 1 ½ times their body weight each day. Most bats are nocturnal. All bats can see although not well at night. They are NOT “Blind as a bat”. Bats fly by use of an “echo system” that bounces sound waves off insects, flowers and objects. This is an astonishingly effective tool for finding food at night. Bats create and emit their own ultrasonic vocalizations. This ‘echolocation’ system is also employed to avoid collisions with other bats and objects. Bats can also distinguish their own echoes from other bats vocalizations. The vocalizations produced by bats are above the range of human hearing. Bats are extraordinary flying beings. They can fly fast and long. They can also fly as higher than 5,000 feet. The Brazilian free-tailed bat has been tracked flying at 100 mph and is now the record holder for the fastest flying animal on the planet. Up until now, the common swifts had held the record for the fastest fliers. Since bats are rarely studied, there may be even faster bats out there. Bat babies are called pups. Because of the proportionally large size of the pup, most bat species have only one pup per year, or occasionally twins. Because of the low birth rate, the bat population grows very slowly. Their gestation period ranges from 40 days to six months depending on the species of bat. Bat babies, like all mammals, drink milk from their mothers. In approximately May or June, female bats gather together to give birth in large groups called colonies or roosts. Most of the time, pups are left in the roost while the mothers forage outside for insects. Sometimes mother bats fly with their pup attached by their mouths to their underarm nipple while hanging onto her waist with their toes. Carrying a pup which is often more than a third of your weight is no small feat. This is one super strong mom! Although most bats live less than 20 years in the wild, scientists have documented six species that live more than 30 years. In 2006, a tiny bat from Siberia set the world record at 41 years. According to many theories of aging, bats are mammals with remarkable longevity despite their high metabolic rate. They live an average three times more than other mammals of equal size. Scientist are now studying their DNA repair, cancer resistance, stress resistance and mitochondrial physiology to understand why. Important services that bats perform: All species on this planet have an important role to play in their ecosystem. Bats play an important role in keeping their ecosystems functioning, healthy and in balance. Although many people do not think of bats as pollinators, they are important night time pollinators. As they collect nectar and pollen, they pollinate flowers and crops. They also disperse far and wide the seeds from the fruit and berries they eat. They are prodigious consumers of insect pests and super at being one of the best of nature’s pest controllers. They can eat up to 1,200 insects per hour! They can cut down the mosquito population of your home environment and help control your garden pest insects. Bat manure, guano, is one of the highest effective fertilizers due to its exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium: key nutrients essential for plant growth. White-nose syndrome: There are forty different species of bats in North America. Of the nine species of bats that live in Massachusetts, five are now classified as endangered. The population of the Little Brown Bat, which was the most common bat species in MA, is now only 2% of what it was before 2006. White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease, is responsible for the decimating of the bat population and was first discovered in New York State in 2006. It has now spread throughout North America. In Massachusetts since 2006, we have lost 90% of our bat population. White-nose syndrome is caused by a white colored fungus and is passed from one bat to another. It is considered one of the worst wildlife diseases in modern times killing millions of bats across North America. Bats live during the growing season in forests where the insects are plentiful. Except for some species that migrate south, most bats hibernate in caves during winter when there are no insects to eat. This is when they are vulnerable to White-nose syndrome. As of now, there is no cure for White-nose syndrome. Other reasons for bat population decline: Besides White-nose syndrome there are other reasons our North American bat populations are declining. Bats live in large forested areas, or what’s left of them, during the warmer months. Habitat loss and degradation of the environment due to logging, highway construction, commercial development and surface mining all continue to decimate important bat habitat. At this moment there is no answer to White-nose syndrome, however we can support our remaining bats by protecting what is left of our forests. How to support bats:
Be a bat ambassador by learning about bats and sharing what you learn with family and friends. By educating yourself and others, you can help dispel unfounded myths and fears about bats.
Note: Humans are mammals of the Order primates. The order Primates is the third most diverse order of mammals, after rodents and bats. How many primate species exist today is not clear since new species are still being discovered. Most estimates are in the range of 376-522 species depending on which classification is used. Over 25 new species were found in the 2000s, 36 in the 2010s and three in the 2020s. Primates arose 85 -55 million years ago from small terrestrial mammals, and adapted to living in the trees of tropical forests. Over this past growing season many of you have observed a drastic decline not only in monarchs but in all butterfly species. Maybe you have also noticed a decline in bees and other beneficial insects and song birds as well. As a home owner or gardener, you might have asked yourself the question, “What can I do to support our declining local wildlife populations?” Besides providing the right native plants and protecting your garden by not using pesticides, herbicides and insecticides, one of the most valuable things you can do to support pollinators, butterflies, beneficial insects and small vertebrates is to provide winter cover in the form of fall leaves and standing dead plant material. For many gardeners, not cleaning or tidying their gardens in the fall, is a hard pill to swallow. The act of cleaning the garden in the fall may be an annual habit, a matter of social and cultural conditioning, or a holdover of outdated gardening practices from yesteryear. For whatever reason, we just can’t seem to keep ourselves from wanting to tidy up the garden at the end of the growing season. Thus, we rake, mow and blow away every bit of nature that is essential to the survival of moths, butterflies, spiders, and dozens of beneficial arthropods. Personally, it took me a couple of years to wean myself from this archaic and harmful practice of annual fall cleanup. However, once decided, I’ve never regretted the choice. The only plants and plant materials I now remove from the garden in the fall are diseased. I leave EVERYTHING ELSE! This is the part that at first is hard to get used to. Your gardens do not look immaculate. However, in nature nothing is immaculate or perfect. By the action of not cleaning our gardens, we are emulating Mother Nature – and she is the best of teachers! So, what is the environmental case for leaving your gardens untouched in the fall? While monarch migration is a well- known phenomenon, it’s not the norm when it comes to butterflies. In fact, the vast majority of butterflies and moths overwinter in the landscape in different stages either as eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises, or adults. In all but the warmest climates, these insects, no matter in what stage they hibernate, use leaf litter for winter cover. Great spangled fritillary, Luna Moths, Baltimore Checkerspot Butterflies and wooly bear caterpillars tuck themselves into a pile of leaves for protection from cold weather and predators. Red-banded hairstreaks lay their eggs on fallen oak leaves, which become the first food of their caterpillars when they emerge. Luna moths and swallowtail butterflies disguise their cocoons and chrysalis as dried leaves, blending in with the real leaves. These are but a few of countless examples. Our native bees including bumble bees also rely on leaf litter for protection. At the end of summer queen bumble bees burrow only an inch or two into the earth to hibernate for winter. An extra thick layer of leaves is welcome protection from the elements. Other animals that hibernate in or under leaves include spiders, snails, salamanders, frogs, worms, beetles, millipedes, and mites. Next spring, they will support the chipmunks, turtles, birds and amphibians that rely on these insects for food. It’s easy to see how important leaves really are to sustaining the natural web of life. And, those dried hollow stalks from your raspberries, elderberries, Joe Pye weed, hydrangea and summer flowers are also a refuge for eggs of many native bee species, butterflies, moths and other beneficial insects. Remember, by leaving the dried flower heads on both your annuals and perennials, you are providing protein rich seeds that are valuable food for our native birds that will spend the winter here. So how do you utilize leaves? When it comes to lawns, if you must keep them clear of leaves in the fall and winter, try opting for raking or using a leaf vacuum to capture whole leaves, rather than shredding them with a mower. Shredded leaves will not provide the same cover as leaves that are whole, and you may be destroying eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises and other beneficial insects along with the leaves. Instead collect your leaves and create a leaf pile in the corner of your yard where you can allow them to break down naturally. If you have a compost pile you can add leaves to it. Such efforts will keep insects and other species safe and allow you to benefit from the rich garden gift that falls from the trees above. Better still would be to reduce your overall lawn footprint, replacing it instead with gardens of native plantings that can be future repositories for fall leaves and habitat that support insects and wildlife. Leaves in your flower gardens provide many benefits. To mimic the natural ecosystem a layer of leaves needs to be at least two inches thick. Leaves will decompose naturally and as they do; they provide valuable organic matter and build up healthy soil. They feed not only earth worms but the many forms of micro-organisms that live in the soil. Fallen leaves have the same weed suppression and moisture retention properties of shredded wood mulch – and they are free! In the past, gardeners may have worried that fall leaves, matted down by snow or rain, would have a negative impact on their perennials. In reality, a thick layer of leaves provides additional insulation against bitter cold weather and can protect newly planted perennials when frost-heave may expose tender roots. Anyone who has spotted fragile spring ephemerals popping up in the woods knows that all but the frailest of plants will burst through the leaf litter in spring without trouble. A trick I use in the spring is to brush the remaining leaves under and around my newly emerging plants and perennials. Within two to four weeks, the plant’s new growth hides the remaining leaves. Because of last year’s leaves, I now have my mulch, water retention, weed suppression and compost all set in my gardens for the upcoming growing season! The bottom line: You have provided your insects with flowers, bushes and trees for food, fuel, shelter and a place to nest. You planted native plant species and avoided pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Don’t carry all of that hard work out to the curb or land fill. Simply put, when we treat leaves and old plant debris like trash, we are tossing out the beautiful moths, butterflies, pollinators and insects that we’ll surely miss and worked so hard to attract. The idea is to leave the leaves and other garden vegetative matter for all the benefits mentioned above. If you still decide you need to clean up the garden and remove the leaves in the spring, make sure you wait until late in the spring season, around mid-May, until hibernating insects have had a chance to emerge so as not to destroy all the life you’ve so worked to protect! Or, you can, choose like me to “leave the leaves”! “The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.’ Joseph Campbell An Introductory note: Seasonal migration is one of the most fascinating and miraculous feats of the animal world. At this very moment it is occurring all over our planet in the air, sea and by land. Our planet is a living and breathing entity. It has daily, monthly, biannual and yearly rhythms that all interweave with and are an intricate part of the wonderous Web of Life. Indigenous peoples everywhere are much more attuned to the heartbeat of nature and their environment. They know instinctively that they are only a part of the web of life and are taught to respect and revere it. Because of this, they know who they are and what their purpose in life is. Since I was a young child, nature has always been a fulcrum for me both in the exploration of the world around me, but also the world inside me. My wish for you is that you experience Nature as the miraculous gift it is and that it stimulates in you the sense of wonder and the most essential of all questions, what is my purpose on this most unique of planets. This blog is about a few of the many migrants I observe from where I live in Ipswich, MA, a coastal town north of Boston. By the middle of August, the three necessary and indispensable native plants needed for the annual bird and insect migration south, are in place up and down the Atlantic coastline. They are the aster, goldenrod and jewel weed. Think of these three plants as the McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts, (a well-known donut business in New England), of the highway. They can be found easily and reliably up and down the entire eastern coastline which is the major migratory highway, called a flyway, for our hummingbirds, songbirds and monarch butterflies. You might think that August is a tad bit too early for migration south since humans in this area consider the summer season to be at its peak in August. However, it is not by the human calendar that species decide when to migrate. All migrating species know when to journey south both by an internal biological calendar, including hormones, and triggers in the environment like sensing the decline of daylight. Depending on the species the journey could be a short, medium or a long distance migration. Why and how animals migrate? Humans have pondered the whys and hows of migration for thousands of years. We now have a better understanding of migration, although, many questions about how animals navigate still remain a mystery. Scientist believe that animals, birds and Monarchs use a combination of olfactory, celestial navigation and earth’s magnetic fields as a compass to navigate during migration. Researchers are still trying to determine specifically how migrating animals use this information. We know that animals and insects move between two locations to take advantage of better seasonal habitats. Climate, where an area is too hot or too cold during part of the year, is a major determining factor for migration. Climate also determines whether there are food sources for animals. In many parts of the world, such as New England, food sources are only seasonally available. If there is no food available, animals either need to hibernate, adapt to the cold in other ways or migrate to habitats where food sources are plentiful. In New England, as our temperatures become increasingly colder, our growing season ends usually by mid fall or the first frost. Our annual flowers die and our perennial flowers die back to the ground to their annual winter hibernating form. At the same time, our insects, because there is no longer pollen or nectar from flowers, have taken shelter and are hibernating under leaves, in the ground, in hollow stems, in logs or behind the bark of trees. There, in adult, larval or egg form, they evade the cold. Without insects, birds and other animals that depend on the protein insects provide, must migrate to other habitat. One of the first migrants in my area heading south is the male hummingbird. By the middle or end of July his breeding period is complete and with that, he migrates south. At that time, in my area of Massachusetts, the mature females are sitting on their second and last nest of the season. The new chicks from their first clutch of eggs have fledged and are busily collecting nectar from the local flowers and our hummingbird feeders. This year in August I had so many new fledglings, that some days I was filling my two hummingbird feeders 3 times a day! The female hummers will be the next to fly south as soon as their second clutch of chicks are mature enough to leave the nest and collect nectar for themselves. That is usually from the middle to the end of August. And finally, the first and second batches of this year’s new hummingbirds, after they have gorged themselves and increased their weight by 25 – 40%, will start the migration south. They will carry this extra weight in the form of fat. It will be stored in special pouches under the skin of their breast and wings. These new hatchlings will leave my gardens in the last weeks of August. By the first two weeks of September, even with my resident hummers now gone, my hummingbird feeders will still be busy with new migrants every day that arrive from lands north of me, as they too head south. Usually by the middle of September I will be saying goodbye to the last few stragglers of the season. It is always a sad day when I take down my hummingbird feeders, clean them and store them away for the next year. Those little acrobatic jewels have been daily companions of mine throughout the summer and their delightful antics will be sorely missed during the long, cold days of our New England winter. Some interesting facts about migrant hummingbirds: It is about 2,500 miles from New England to their winter home in Central America. They average flying about 23 miles a day. Those hummers who have traveled the migration route before, will remember the location of every hummingbird feeder and every patch of flowers they have previously encountered. And, of course, there is the bountiful supply of asters, goldenrods and jewel weeds along their migration route. With good winds, it will take them up to 22 hours of non-stop flight over the Gulf of Mexico. I never cease to marvel that with their BB sized brains, they know the migration route to Central America, even if they were just born this year and this is the first time migrating south! The Monarch butterfly is also preparing to fly south. Monarchs right now are fueling up on nectar preparing for the long journey south. They will migrate south while the weather is still warm so they can collect nectar to fuel their journey along their migration route to the Oyemel Fir forests in central Mexico. They start arriving to this destination about the middle of November. Once there, a journey of over 2,000 miles, they will be able to safely hibernate in the shelter of the fir forests from winter’s cold temperatures. This special generation of Monarchs that were born at the end of August and into the first weeks of September is referred to as the “Methuselah” generation. Methuselah was an Old Testament patriarch who was recorded in Genesis to have lived 969 years. This generation of Monarchs is unique in that it will live up to eight months. It is the generation that will migrate all the way to the Oyemel Fir Forest of central Mexico. This generation is the only generation of monarchs that does not sexually mature when emerging from its chrysalis. It doesn’t waste energy looking for a mate but instead uses all its energy to find nectar sources and migrate. It will be next February or March, when the weather is warm enough for the local butterfly weed plant, (Asclepias), to emerge in central Mexico, that this Monarch generation will leave the safety of the fir forests, sexually mature and find a mate. At that time the males and females from the Methuselah generation, after mating and laying eggs on the Milkweed plants as they head north, will finally die. It will take another 3-5 generations of monarchs, that live only about 2 to 6 weeks each , to finally reach Massachusetts next June or July. Interesting migration facts about Monarchs: Monarchs migrate during the day. During the migration south, Monarchs congregate during the night in large numbers called roosts. This is where they rest after a long day of traveling. Researchers have been puzzled if these roosts are a place to exchange information on travel conditions, routes or food (nectar) sources. A brief note on migrating songbirds. Basically, the birds that migrate south are those that rely on insects as the main component of their diets or have not evolved to adapt to our cold climate. Most migrations are driven primarily by the availability of food. Dozens of species of warblers, thrushes, vireos, orioles, flycatchers, tanagers, grosbeaks and many other bird species are, now and through November, in process of their migration south. They migrate mostly at night to avoid the suns drying affects and land near dawn, if they are over land. If they are over water, they continue to fly. Simply speaking, birds migrate to where the food sources are. In winter, in many habitats, the availability of insects and other food sources drop or are non-existent. In New England some of our species of birds that overwinter are the Black-capped Chickadee, Dark Eyed Junco, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Cardinal and, of course, doves and pigeons to name a few of the most common and well know species. Although these birds will eat insects during the growing seasons, they have all adapted to a winter diet that includes our native seeds, berries and sometimes nuts. Interesting note: The much maligned Poison Ivy plant is native to many parts of the United States including New England. It is an important and essential wildlife food source. Its grape like cluster of berries provide an important natural food source of much needed fat, vitamins and nutrients for our overwintering birds as well as other animals. These berries are also available for our south bound migrants. Epiphany: A sudden illuminating discovery, realization or disclosure. An intuitive grasp of reality. For the longest time I found myself not able to fall asleep nightly due to ruminating about poplar bears drowning due to melting ice in the Arctic, the intentional burning of the rainforests in Brazil to make more space for meat cattle or growing coffee, the rounding up and slaughter of wild horses in the west to make more space available for ranging cattle and the abuse of animals, both wild and domestic, throughout the world. These were only some of the many environmental and humane issues that routinely bothered and perplexed me daily and nightly. At that time in my life, I was a designer of gardens and environments hired by businesses and homeowners who wanted show stopping landscapes. I was successful at what I did and proud of my artistic accomplishments. However, year after year, no matter how many causes I supported, all the issues that haunted me, continued and grew worse. One night, about 15 years ago, while again pondering the issues of the world, and especially my inability to change any of them for the better in any significant way, I had one of those ‘light-bulb’ moments. I realized that I could reimagine my landscape business and completely transform it by only utilizing native plants. I could modify one property at a time, whether it was a home owner’s, a public space or a business environment and do so by planting native plants. By this simple act, I would be supporting the constantly diminishing numbers of native insects, birds and animals that live in my environment. I now had a mission in life that did not depend on other people or organizations. This mission has given me a purpose and passion that sustains me today and every day. I can change the world for the better and I can start on my own property! According to Douglas Tallamy in his best-selling book, ‘Bringing Nature Home’, a native plant is the term used to describe a plant that is endemic, indigenous, or naturalized to a given area, ecosystem, in geological time. It is a plant that can function within a community that historically has shaped it. In North America, a plant is usually considered native if it was present before colonization by Europeans. Exotic and invasive plants are species whose evolutionary history occurred elsewhere. In their habitat, ecosystem, native plants must be able to interact with other native plants, insects, animals, soil conditions (pH factors), soil’s microorganisms, climate conditions (including weather and temperatures), specific environmental terrain, rain level and local diseases spread by insects and plants. This is possible because all the habitat’s animals, insects and plants have coevolved with each other. Each member of the habitat constantly influences the evolution of the other members of their unique environment. Because native plants have co-evolved with all members of their ecosystem, they do the best job of providing food and shelter for native wildlife including animals, insects and birds. All plant species have a unique leaf chemistry. It is Mother Nature’s defense system for a species rooted in the ground that can not just walk away when insects attack them. All leaves manufacture and can also change the chemicals in their leaf cells to make them more volatile, and nasty tasting and even toxic to chomping insects. Plants also send out chemical messages into the air to attract specific predatory insects to eat the herbivores that are munching on their leaves. The unique leaf chemistry of each plant develops over evolutionary time. All plants in an ecosystem use this defense system to deal specifically with the insects they have evolved with. Perhaps, the most well know example of leaf chemistry is the relationship of butterflies to hosts plants. The monarch caterpillar, over a significantly long period of time, has developed a resistance to the chemicals of the milkweed family, so that its caterpillar can eat the leaf of this specific plant without harm to itself. In fact, each species of butterfly has evolved to be able to eat only a specific family of green plants. Within an ecosystem or habitat, some plants will be eaten by some insects and other plants by other insects. However, because of the uniqueness of their individual defense system, leaf chemistry, no species of plant will be eaten by all the native insects of the habitat it has evolved in. This long evolutionary process of co-evolvement of native plants with all the aspects of an ecosystem, brings us several gardening advantages. Here are some of the main benefits of planting native plants in our gardens:
1. We save water - Once established, native plants need minimal irrigation beyond the normal rainfall of the ecosystem they have evolved in. 2. Low maintenance - Native plants need little or no maintenance because they have already adapted to the local environment over geological time. Besides less watering they need no fertilizer, (they have evolved to interact with the microorganisms and the pH level of their soil). As a bonus, you spend more time admiring your landscape and less time working in it! 3. Pesticide freedom – Native plants have developed their own defenses (leaf chemistry) against many of the specific insects and diseases of their habitat. According to most studies, a full 95% of insects that live in our gardens are beneficial to their environment. Since most pesticides kill indiscriminately, beneficial insects become secondary targets in the fight to eliminate pest insects. Eliminating pesticides lets Mother Nature’s natural pest control and checks and balances take over. It also keeps garden toxins out of the soil and water of our watersheds. We need as many insects as possible in our gardens to feed our native birds and animals. Bottom line, we should be gardening for insects! The greater variety of native plants = the greater variety of native insects = the greater variety of native birds and other animals. 4. Wildlife attraction – Native plants, birds, butterflies, bees, pollinators, insects and animals have co-evolved together to interconnect. Research shows that native wildlife prefer native plants for food and shelter. 5. Our gardens can duplicate natural habitats - According to Tallamy, only 5% of our original wild lands are still pristine and functioning in the United States. Our gardens can duplicate these critical natural habitats and serve as connectors and bridges to these wildlands. In the past people chose to garden because: it was an enjoyable hobby; they love nature as a whole; they experience enjoyment and satisfaction by creating something beautiful; it increased the aesthetic and hence economic value of their property; they enjoyed collecting rare or unusual species of plants; they loved the exercise and fresh air or they enjoyed watching things grow. For me and many others, gardening has taken on a role that goes beyond the needs of the gardener. By using native plants in our gardens, we go beyond our own needs and are now actively supporting our nation’s wildlife. As Tallamy says, “It is now within the power of the individual gardener to do something that we all dream of doing, MAKE A DIFFERENCE!” I invite you to join me and many others, in using your own property to make the world a better place. Who knows, you might even sleep better at night! Note: I am often asked what are my favorite native plants? If I could plant only one tree it would be the oak (Quercus rubra or Quercus alba). More than 500 different species of caterpillars can eat the leaves of the oak tree. That’s a lot of food for birds to feed their chicks! And then there are the acorns – food for deer, squirrels, chipmunks, wild turkey, crows, rabbits, opossums, blue jays, quail, raccoons and wood ducks - more than 100 U S. vertebrate species eat acorns! My first choice for a bush is the high bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). The small white flowers bloom early in the spring and provide an early nectar and pollen source for our many species of native bees and pollinators. It is the host plant for the Striped Hairstreak, Spring Azure, Brown Elfin and Henry’s Elfin. The blue fruit is loved by many species of small and large birds including turkeys as well as many mammals including bears, foxes, deer, rabbits, skunks and of course humans. My choice for a perennial is a tie between Goldenrod (Solidago) and New England Asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae). Both provide nectar and pollen at the end of the growing season for countless pollinators and butterflies. They are the indispensable fall food source up and down the Atlantic coast for our migrating insects and birds including the hummingbird and the Monarch Butterfly. The Aster is the host plant for the Pearl Crescent and Checkerspot Butterflies. There are 25 different native Goldenrod species in Massachusetts. They are the hosts plants to over 115 species of butterflies and moths – more than any other native perennial plant. Beavers, like pit bull dogs, more often than not, only make the news when there is a problem. With the hope of changing the public perception of beavers being labeled ’nuisance’ animals, this article will take a brief look at their life and explain the importance and significance of beavers in our regional ecosystem. First, a little history. Beavers have been part of the New England landscape for thousands of years. They once numbered greater than 60 million but now are 10 million. The commercial trapping of beavers, due to the demand for their fur, started in Massachusetts in 1636 at a trading post in Springfield. Beavers were an easy prey because of their sedentary nature and the ease of finding their lodges. So successful were the first trappers that by the beginning of the 1700’s there were no beaver lodges in Massachusetts. By 1850 beavers were exterminated from all of New England. Beavers were first reintroduced to New England in southern Vermont in 1921. It took until 1979, 58 years later, before the first beaver activity was detected in the Ipswich River. In 1991 a beaver dam was sighted at the Mill Pond property of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. Now, their populations are again climbing. Beavers are mostly nocturnal herbivores eating aquatic plants and the bark of trees. After they strip the bark, they use the wood to build dams and lodges, or they bring the twigs back to their lodge and cache it in the mud on the bottom of their lodge to eat during the winter. Dams are built so that the water level rises to protect their lodges from predators and also to get to the next level of trees safely on the banks of the wetlands they create. Their slow gait on land makes them an easy target for foxes, coyotes and other predators so it is necessary for their food supply to be as close as possible to water. Some interesting facts about beavers: Beaver’s teeth are orange. Their long incisors get their orange color from an iron-rich coating of enamel. They grow continuously throughout their life but daily use keeps them self- sharpened and trimmed. The average weight of a beaver is between 40 to 60 pounds. The heaviest known beaver was 110 pounds. Beavers are another of the rare mammals that mate for life. The life span of a wild beaver is approximately 10 years. Beavers slap their tails against the surface of water to warn family members of danger. They also use their tails as a rudder in water and as a balance prop on land. We have all heard the old saying, “Busy as a beaver”. The fact is that beavers are indeed busy and capable of felling an 8’ tree in 5 minutes. In water, they can swim up to 6 miles per hour. Their oversized lungs allow them to stay submerged for up to 15 minutes while traveling over half a mile. Their rear feet are webbed and work well in water while their front feet are digited and work well on land. Beavers are social animals that form strong family bands. Each group is made up of one breeding pair, this year’s kits (babies) and yearlings, (last year’s offspring). Beavers are a keystone species, a species that helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. Beavers build and create one of the richest and most diverse ecological environments in our region. Through the building of their dams and lodges they are responsible for the creation of a rich assortment of wetland ecosystems. Without them, these valuable ecosystems and all their inhabitants would disappear. The wetland environment they establish and maintain provides habitat for many sensitive plant and animal species while ameliorating water quality. Their dams filter pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides and fertilizers. Ponds and wetlands created by beavers attract a wide variety of other fur bearing animals including mink, muskrat and racoons. Their pond building skills dramatically increase biodiversity by creating habitat for wildlife species including fish, ducks, amphibians, turtles, frogs, herons and reptiles. Beavers stay in a pond only as long as their source of food, tree bark from willows, aspens, cottonwoods oaks, ashes and sugar maples, is plentiful and easy to obtain. Their chief building materials are the same trees as their preferred foods. Once their source of food is about 200 feet from the pond’s edge beavers abandon their dam and lodge and move on to another area. This whole process can take anywhere from 5 to 20 years. The abandoned pond over time may become a marsh or meadow dominated by sedges, rushes and cattails. In time, this marsh may become a shrubby swamp with willows, alders, dogwoods and viburnums. With the further increase and buildup of organic matter, the swamp may dry enough to support a forest of trees that are tolerant of wet conditions such as maples, oaks and aspens. Thus, we must thank the beaver. For without its presence and activity this incredible cycle of successional change and intense ecological diversity would not exist in our environment. In New England, there simply is no other species that is capable of creating such a rich habitat upon which so many other diverse species are dependent. NOTE: The top three species on this planet that are capable of significantly modifying and altering their environment are, in order of extent of change, humans, elephants and the beaver. Only the second and third species change their environment in such a way that is beneficial not only to them but to all the other species, including plant, insect and animal, that live in the same ecosystem. Humans historically have changed their environment for their own purposes, often with short sighted goals that are both detrimental to the environment they live on and to the lives of other species that might share that space with them. NEXT BLOG: The Importance of Native Plants Although the Monarch butterfly is probably our most well know butterfly, the mysteries of its incredible life have only become known since publication of an historic article in National Geographic Magazine in August, 1976. The author, Dr. Fred Urquhart, entitled his article, ‘Found At Last – The Monarch’s Winter Home’. Up until its publication no one had ever imagined that it was possible for an insect, the weight of a postage stamp, to migrate annually 2,500 miles from as far north as Canada, to central Mexico. Monarch's remarkable life starts as an egg the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That egg must be laid only on the milkweed plant. The Monarch and the milkweed plant have co-evolved over millions of years. As with all members of the butterfly family, each species has only one specific host plant that it can lay its eggs on. Depending on temperature, in about 3-6 days the egg will hatch into a caterpillar. The caterpillar’s main purpose in life is to be an eating machine. It is genetically programmed to eat and digest the leaves from its specific host plant, the milkweed. Over the next 9 – 14 days it will shed its skin 5 times. Each time it sheds its skin it will emerge larger than before until finally reaching its goal of around two inches. Because nothing is wasted in nature, the caterpillar at each shedding of its skin, will also consume its discarded old skin that provides valuable protein and nutrients! At two inches it is now ready for its next and final stage. It will travel up to 40 feet away from the milkweed plant and finds a safe place to attach itself to a twig. There it sheds its skin for the last time. The new skin underneath is green and becomes the cover of the chrysalis. In the chrysalis, the caterpillar’s body digests itself from the inside out and will completely dissolve into a pool of liquid DNA. In 9 to 14 days, it will emerge reconstituted into a totally new being, the magnificent Monarch Butterfly. What an example of metamorphosis! No wonder that the ancient Greeks and Aztecs revered this unique insect. They, like many others before and after them, marveled at how a lowly crawling caterpillar could transform itself into a magnificent, resplendent flying jewel. And yet, this is not the end but only the beginning of an incredible story. Each generation of Monarchs lives about 2 to 4 weeks. In late August, early September when the days are shorter and cooler, the Monarch that emerges from the chrysalis is different from the four to five generations that preceded it. This generation of Monarchs has a special name attached to it. It is called the Methuselah generation named after the prophet from the Old Testament that reportedly lived 900 years. It is this unique generation that will live about 5-6 months and make the arduous annual migration to central Mexico, including flying non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico. This generation of Monarchs will not sexually mature after emerging from its chrysalis but instead will drink copious amounts of nectar to fuel its 2,500 mile flight to Mexico. Its unique fate is to winter in the trees of the Oyemel Fir forests in central Mexico with millions of other Monarchs. The following February or March, as the first milkweed plants start to emerge in Mexico and reach the height of 4”, the Monarchs leave their winter roost, sexually mature, mate and lay their eggs on the milkweed plants as they head north. After laying their eggs they will die, and a new generation will be born. It will take about 3 or 4 generations before we see the Monarch in New England again in early summer. Their arrival here is timed just as our milkweed plants start to emerge. And so the cycle of the Marvelous Monarch begins again! This past winter the population of wintering Monarchs in central Mexico was at the lowest number ever recorded in the 29 years of record keeping. How much of that decline is due to the continued loss of the natural environments of milkweed plants along the eastern seaboard due to urban sprawl and to monoculture farming or to other factors such as harsh weather conditions or the use of pesticides, has yet to be determined. No matter what the cause or causes, each one of us can make a difference in the success of the Monarch by planting its host plant, the milkweed plant, in our gardens, or even pots on a balcony or patio. Look for the milkweed plant called Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), or Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) at your favorite garden center or nursery store in June. Pick a nice sunny spot in your flower garden. This perennial plant has a long tap root and once planted cannot be easily moved. If you have a large area you can plant Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), which has a tendency to spread. Please make sure the plants you are buying do not have the chemical insecticide neonicotinoid in the soil. This is a systemic insecticide and will affect any insect including the monarch caterpillar that eats the plant. With education comes understanding that brings appreciation and love which fosters the wish to help preserve and protect the environment and all its inhabitants so future generations can appreciate and enjoy the gifts we have today. This year you can choose to make a difference and help the Monarch butterfly increase its population by utilizing whatever property you have and plant just one milk weed plant. Note: Maria Sibylla Merian, (born 1647 in Frankfort, Germany), was a 17th century painter, entomologist and scientific adventurer. As a pioneering naturalist it was she who linked caterpillars to butterflies. She also observed and reported that caterpillars feed on host plants. Merian’s work on caterpillars showed that life arose only from life. The opposing view of that day claimed that life arose from inanimate matter,(such as flies arose from rotting meat). NOTE: This is blog #8. For complete information on how to design a butterfly garden see blog #4. The next blog is all about the invaluable services to the environment that the beaver provides and why it is a cornerstone species. This is a truly magical time of year. Spring’s energy is working on over drive and every day is full of new surprises plus reacquainting with old friends in the form of flowers blooming, trees leafing out and insects and birds returning to our home gardens and landscape. One of my favorite rituals of spring is putting out my two hummingbird feeders. This year it was on Saturday, May 8th once the nights were consistently above 45 degrees. To my joy, as soon as I was back inside my house and looked through my kitchen windows at the feeders, I saw two male hummers, one on each feeder. This blog is a homage to one of my favorite ‘characters’, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird, a little star in my spring and summer garden experience. Evolutionary History: Scientist believe the first hummingbirds evolved in South America, near and around the Andes mountains around 22 million years ago. They originated from the swifts in Eurasia and crossed over the Siberian land bridge. The oldest fossils of hummingbirds are only 10,000 years old so much is left to conjecture. Once hummingbirds established themselves throughout South America, a few species spread to Central America, the Caribbean and eventually mainland North America. There are now nine distinct groups of hummingbirds today, all of which live only in North, Central and South America. Out of the 338 known species of hummingbirds in the New World, there are only 20 species north of Mexico and only one species, The Ruby Throated Hummingbird, east of the Mississippi River. Did you know that the hummingbird and tubular shaped flowers co-evolved? Both have shaped the other, one to have a longer bill and the other to have a longer tubular shaped flower. The hummingbird has profoundly affected the evolution of the New World flora via this tubular co-diversification. In other words, there would be no tubular shaped flowers if not for the cross pollination of hummingbirds, and hummingbirds would not have a long bill if not for the tubular shaped flowers. This is not an issue of which one came first, it is an example of one species co-evolving at the same time with another. Hummingbirds have also evolved with red flowers. The color red means food, and a flower with a good source of nectar. Nectar is to hummingbirds, as gasoline is to our cars. Noteworthy And Fun Facts About Hummingbirds: Everything about hummingbirds is extreme! They are the smallest bird species in the world ranging in size from the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba at just 2.4” to the Patagonia Hummingbird of Chile and Argentina at 9.1”, (measurement is from the tip of their beak to the tip of their tail). For their size, ounce for ounce, they are the most aggressive birds on the planet. The Ruby Throated Hummingbird adult is about 3.75”. The adult female weighs more than the male at about .1 to .12 oz, (the weight of a penny). A baby at birth weighs about 1/50 oz, (the weight of a 3” square post It Note). Only the male Ruby Throated Hummingbird has the red gorget, (bib), in his throat area under his bill. He flashes his gorget to ward off potential male rivals and also to attract females. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly upside down and backwards. They can also fly up, down, sideways and hover. They can perch. However, they can’t walk. Because they can hover and they are so talented at flying, they never learned or needed to learn how to walk. They have oversized chest muscles that are nearly a third of their body weight. This is the equivalent of 50 lbs of pectoral muscles on a person that weighs 150 lbs! They have a wing beat of up to 60 times per second. They can fly 30 mph and dive as fast as 60 mph with up to 200 wings strokes per second (in a dive) and 60-80 strokes /second in regular flying. They are able to do this because they move their wings in a unique figure 8 pattern as opposed to the up and down wing beat of other birds. This figure 8 pattern gives them constant lift. They have the fastest metabolism of any species on the planet. Their hearts can beat up to 1,260 times per minute in a dive and as little as 4 times a minute in a state of torpor. Torpor is a state of extreme non-mental and non-physical activity. Putting themselves in a state of torpor is the only way they can rest, and sleep and is also utilized to avoid harm from cold temperatures. Because they do not have down feathers to keep themselves warm, they must compensate by constantly moving and eating. They empty their full stomach every 20 minutes. They consume about half their body weight in bugs and nectar each day, more during the migration period. To help them get enough daily nectar, they have a split tongue that folds into two tubes that allows them to sip nectar up to 15 times per second. They must eat all day long and need to visit between 1,000 to 2,000 flowers a day collecting nectar. They are super pollinators. While visiting flowers, pollen collects on their heads and thus they pollinate all the flowers they visit while gathering nectar. Although their brain is the size of a BB, its memory abilities are amazing. They have the largest hippocampal formation in the brain of any bird. The hippocampus is tied to special learning. In hummingbirds it allows them to remember even the most minute details such as which specific flower species has the most nectar to offer and where to find it an any garden they have ever visited even if it was a garden they visited last year. This ability also will bring last years hummers back to your feeder! The female Ruby Throated hummingbird builds one of the most complicated nests of any bird species and it’s only the size of ½ of a walnut. Among other nesting materials, she uses spider webs to give it elasticity so it expands as her babies grow. Lichen is used on the outside of the nest as a camouflage. Hummingbirds have many predators including other birds, snakes, squirrels, chipmunks, cats, lizards, bats, and large insects such as the praying mantis. At best, only 20% of newly fledged birds make it through their first year. They can live up to 9 years but their normal life span is 3 years. The Ruby Throated Hummingbird like all other hummers in North America is a Neotropical bird. It nests in our country and migrates south for the winter because there is not enough nectar and insects here in our winters. It is a marathon migrator that can fly up to 2,500 miles to its winter home in Costa Rica including a nonstop 600 mile crossing over the gulf of Mexico. With good winds, this water crossing takes 18-22 hours. And, the Ruby throated humming bird does this twice a year! Hummingbirds need only water, nectar and insects as a food source. They have adapted and are thriving with the human population especially because many people have hummingbird feeders. And it’s easy to feed them. You just boil together I cup of white refined sugar and 4 cups of water. Let it cool and add it to your feeder. Gardening Tips To Attract Hummingbirds: Hummingbirds are most attracted to backyard landscapes that offer a variety of flowers, shelter and feeders. To hummingbirds the color red means food. Along with trumpet shaped flowers, hummers evolved with flowers that are red. The color red also stands out better against green or in low light. Finding the right flower quickly is especially important to hummers that need to visit 1,000-2,000 flowers a day just to get their daily requirement of nectar. Although various shades of red, pink and purple are favored, hummers also visit blossoms of other colors especially on trumpet shaped flowers. Here is a short list of plantings for your garden that will help you attract hummingbirds: Perennials: Monarda fistulosa (Bee Balm), Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower), Aquilegia canadensis (Red Columbine), Huechera sanguinea (Coralbells), Hemerocallis (Daylilly), Digitalis species (Foxglove), Agastache cana (Hyssop), Penstemon species (Penstemon), Phlox species (Phlox), Chelone glabra (White Turtlehead), Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed). Annuals: Delphinium cardinale (Delphinium), Nicotiana alata (Flowering Tobacco), Mirabilis jalapa (Four O’clock), Fuchsia species (Fuchsia), Alcea rosea (Hollyhock), Tropaeolum species (nasturtium), Salvia elegan (Pineapple Sager), Salvia splendens (Red Salvia), Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon), Zinnias. Vines: Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle), Campsis radicans (Trumpet vine). Shrubs/Bushes: Azalea (some have trumpet shaped flowers), Kolkwitzia amablis (Beauty Bush), Buddleia alternifolia (Butterfly Bush), Chaenomeles speciosa (Flowering Quince), Hibiscus rosa-sinesis (Hibiscus), Aesculus pavia (Red Buckeye), Clethra altinifolia (Summersweet), Weigela florida (Weigela). Trees: Malus floribunda (Flowering Crabapple), Prunus (Wild cherries and wild plums), Crataegus species (Hawthorn), Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip tree). Note: Hummingbirds get all their water needs met from nectar. However, when you add any water sources to your garden, you will attract more birds. They use the water to not only to quench their thirst but also to enjoy a daily bath. All birds need to keep their feathers in prime shape. Hummingbirds LOVE a fine mist. You can buy a mister device at a garden or bird store or when you are watering your garden, just switch to ‘Mist’ and watch how fast the hummers will find you and zip in and out of the fine spray! A reminder: Never use pesticides in your gardens or landscape! Pesticides destroy the insects that all birds including the hummers depend on and need as a critical part of their diet. A note on feeders: Please attach hummingbird feeders to the shady north or northeast side of your house, preferably near a window where you can easily observe them. If you place the feeders in the sun, it will heat the sugar water up and it will quickly become moldy. This moldy water, (it looks cloudy), can kill a hummingbird. Do not add red food dye to your sugar water. There is no red nectar in nature! For additional Fun: When refilling your hummingbird feeder with sugar water, wear a red hat or shirt. I suggest also wearing glasses or sunglasses. This is an opportunity to meet a male hummer up close and personal as it will think you are a rival in his territory and will try to scare you away. Enjoy! Reading suggestion: Fastest Things on Wings – Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood by Terry Masear Each chapter tells you the story of an individual hummingbird Terry has rescued, rehabbed and released. Most of the stories end in success, a few don’t. By the end of this book, you will know what makes these birds so special, want to help them thrive and make them part of your summer experience. Next blog: In anticipation of the Monarch butterfly’s return, the next blog will be on this most popular of butterfly species. |
AuthorConsultant, designer and educator transforming commercial and residential landscapes sustainably Archives
March 2023
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