For the final two hours of daylight from the old year I headed out to the Woods. I finished a three day binge of sorting out student insect collections and put away all the bugs and boxes. I needed a break from the detailed work.
I drove to the SW gate and set out. I got to near the big hollow log before encountering new inundation.. the southwestern Woods slowing filling with water.
I was able to detour to the South Boundary Trail via the path through the Woods past the Two Friends.. the big bur oak and cottonwood that stand side by side. The cottonwood (tree #99), for a year or more, had one massive branch down. Now the main stem is broken thirty feet up. I think this will doom the tree. After a 100-130 years, the blizzard of 09 has done for it.
I followed the trail southeast to the south end of the Dune trail and then headed north to the Beaver Dam. The inundation had not reached the dam, in fact the water had spread eastward only as far as the old grandfather cottonwood.
I saw two white tail deer go bounding away in the central Woods flashing the white flags of their tails. I crossed the Wash on the Elm Bridge and then recrossed on the Bur Oak Bridge.. interesting to see the tracks of the dogs on the Bur Oak bridge crossing over.
I must clear small branches and some new down fall along the South Boundary Trail.
Interesting to think how the Woods could be used by Ecology in winter.
Decomposition studies with.. litter bags (request berlese or winklers for class)?
Stand dynamics..have the current trees arrived randomly over the past century, or in waves of species with recruitment of particular species when conditions were favorable?
Find the biggest tree.. find the oldest.
Each pair of students randomly assigned a 10 by 10 m or 5 by 5 m section of forest to follow through the spring, recording everything that changes.
Where are the snails? Why?
I thought twice I felt the touch of gossamer across my face..but that does not seem possible after the snow with max temp in the mid 30's.
The snow, now one week old, still covered 85% of the ground, except for the south-facing slope of the ridge, where it had melted. The shallow snow revealed the regular trails of deer and other wildlife.
The Woods are a remnant forest, a surviving block of trees from a forest that once stretched hundreds of miles along the North Canadian River. Not unchanged or virginal .. cows have grazed there and part of the Woods have been cleared for pasture; but the essential community of this highest floodplain forest survived and is holding on here.
The falling light of the sun dipping below the horizon hurried me along, heading back to the SW gate, I emerged at 5:25 in time to watch the last of the disk of the sun disappear in the trees to the west. The last of the daylight of 2009.
The forest is so clear in winter light.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Snowy Woods
December 24 2009 Christmas Eve brought a blizzard to central OK and the Woods. Fourteen inches of snow with strong north winds gusting to 55 mph. Drifts were 3 feet deep and more. Strongest winter storm for this area of OK since 1949. Deepest December snowfall in the history of OK records (since 1891). This morning after two days of sunshine I ventured out to see what the Woods looked like with a blanket of snow. I parked along Chautauqua and entered via the west central break in the fence line. I came to the main SW trail and followed it to the South Boundary Trail walking eastward.
Everywhere there were trails and tracks of wildlife.. white tail deer, mice, possums?, coons? skunks? I could not read all the tracks. But there in the snow was revealed the story of what animals lived in the Woods, where they made their homes, what old paths they normally followed; what interesting features of the Woods they passed by. I wondered who had made all the tracks. Were predator and prey walking together in the storm?
I came to the big hollow burr oak(?) log and saw lots of tracks at the dark mouth, wondered for a second who might have sheltered there in the storm, then heard growling and out burst three dogs; two black labs and one golden lab. I saw no collars. The dogs looked well fed and healthy. I wonder if they were abandoned, wild dogs or lived in homes in the area. They ran to the northeast, further into the Woods.
Dashing through the snow I saw a cottontail rabbit and two white tail deer. The snow revealed the deer beds used over the past three days, sets of three or four ellipses of bare leaves where the body heat of the deer had melted the snow.
Deer tracks were the principal tracks along the game trails. They followed pronounced trails leaving large areas of smooth unbroken, untracked snow.
Tracks were abundant up along the toe of the ridge and the Northern Loop trail, along the S. Dune Trail, the Barney Junction Trail, the Two Pecan Trail.
There were few tracks or none along the E-W Fence Trail, its west extension, Hackberry Alley, the Hollow Stump Cut-off; or the N Dune Trail.
The deer tracks often appeared to follow the long orange flagging someone had placed in the central and eastern woods. I wondered if the deer had learned to follow the flags or if the flags had been placed along routes marked by deer sign; of if both the deer and the flagger were following natural open trails.
There were fresh trees blown down: a large pecan blocking the E-W fence trail, a medium small dead elm across the Hollow Stump Cut-Off; a dead cedar blocking the west extension of the E-W fence line trail. All trees had been blown to the south by the north storm wind.
I saw mostly chickadees in the Woods, a wren in the cattails, a hawk over the South boundary and heard woodpeckers drumming.
On the west edge of the marsh about 80 feet east of the Chautauqua road bank in line with the power pole north of Andrea Drive I found a new(?) old orange painted survey post. I started to walk east from it searching for the next post but overtopped my snow boots in water and retreated.
There was open water around the edges of the ponds with the oily film from diatom growth and there was a reasonable flow of water out the south exit of the Woods by post G0.
Everywhere there were trails and tracks of wildlife.. white tail deer, mice, possums?, coons? skunks? I could not read all the tracks. But there in the snow was revealed the story of what animals lived in the Woods, where they made their homes, what old paths they normally followed; what interesting features of the Woods they passed by. I wondered who had made all the tracks. Were predator and prey walking together in the storm?
I came to the big hollow burr oak(?) log and saw lots of tracks at the dark mouth, wondered for a second who might have sheltered there in the storm, then heard growling and out burst three dogs; two black labs and one golden lab. I saw no collars. The dogs looked well fed and healthy. I wonder if they were abandoned, wild dogs or lived in homes in the area. They ran to the northeast, further into the Woods.
Dashing through the snow I saw a cottontail rabbit and two white tail deer. The snow revealed the deer beds used over the past three days, sets of three or four ellipses of bare leaves where the body heat of the deer had melted the snow.
Deer tracks were the principal tracks along the game trails. They followed pronounced trails leaving large areas of smooth unbroken, untracked snow.
Tracks were abundant up along the toe of the ridge and the Northern Loop trail, along the S. Dune Trail, the Barney Junction Trail, the Two Pecan Trail.
There were few tracks or none along the E-W Fence Trail, its west extension, Hackberry Alley, the Hollow Stump Cut-off; or the N Dune Trail.
The deer tracks often appeared to follow the long orange flagging someone had placed in the central and eastern woods. I wondered if the deer had learned to follow the flags or if the flags had been placed along routes marked by deer sign; of if both the deer and the flagger were following natural open trails.
There were fresh trees blown down: a large pecan blocking the E-W fence trail, a medium small dead elm across the Hollow Stump Cut-Off; a dead cedar blocking the west extension of the E-W fence line trail. All trees had been blown to the south by the north storm wind.
I saw mostly chickadees in the Woods, a wren in the cattails, a hawk over the South boundary and heard woodpeckers drumming.
On the west edge of the marsh about 80 feet east of the Chautauqua road bank in line with the power pole north of Andrea Drive I found a new(?) old orange painted survey post. I started to walk east from it searching for the next post but overtopped my snow boots in water and retreated.
There was open water around the edges of the ponds with the oily film from diatom growth and there was a reasonable flow of water out the south exit of the Woods by post G0.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Before the storm
Storm coming tonight. It may snow for Christmas Eve. Perfect.
Nice long afternoon, walking all over the Woods today. I entered via the SW gate and took the chain saw to clear a double trunked elm across the path running north from the D0 survey stake on the South Boundary Trail. East on the S. Boundary Trail I was surprised to come upon an area with numerous shells from fingernail clams. I guess water does stand there long enough.
Walking north between E0 and F0 I found a well used game trail crossing over the dune and clipped briers out of the way to see if it could be a good new path. It emerged on the north end near just west of the old grandfather hollow cottonwood.. but I don't think it is a trail worth clearing. Too thorny and congested.
Afterwards I wandered freely off trail through the Woods. If I am there with loppers clearing trail, I miss seeing new things. It is better to observe, with no set path to follow.. and it is nice now to have the marked paths so I can know approximately where I am as I wander.
I slogged NW up through the bottlebrush sedge west of the dense young ash stands. They are still quite wet even with no rain for weeks. Pools of standing water are mostly all gone; but the ground is wet enough so you can't walk far without getting wet feet. Not an area I think that is very attractive for a board walk. Too close to the traffic noise off Chautauqua.
The deer and game trails are particularly well developed now in the soft wet soil. Following a deer trail skirting the southern edge of the dense young ash I discovered another small steel survey rod (near the other flagged one - 200 ft east maybe). I painted it blue. These rods date from the early tree studies?
Further east I watched a pileated woodpecker inspecting one of the big dead snags.. first time I have seen one of those in Woods for a while. Further east still I came to the long, wandering ragged edge of the inundation zone.. marked by the end of honeysuckle ground cover. Further north and east I come to the massive ruin of the giant cottonwood blown down.. maybe the largest in the Woods. Came down in the ice storm of December 2007. North of there and east..just SW of the East Pond there is the big tree cluster. The largest standing cottonwood in the Woods.. and a big pecan, big double trunk green ash..etc. I should have a contest for students to find and measure the largest diameter tree of each of the several species: burr oak, ash, hackberry, elm, pecan, juniper, cottonwood, bumelia, sycamore, mulberry, catalpa, willow, coffee tree, shumard oak, post oak, blackjack oak, walnut, soapberry, cypress(?!), persimmon, boxelder, etc.
East of there I found 5 small ellipses of flattened boxelder leaves where deer had bedded down for their winter night. With the long nights of the winter solstice the Eleagnus through the woods is beginning to drop its leaves.. silver ellipses standout on the bed of the earlier fallen leaves.
In the southeast corner of the Woods 2-3 of the largest new generation of cottonwoods along the southern boundary have recently come down. How can I use them for study of decomposition.. and when beetles emerge.
Who makes the "potholes" through the Woods.. big mystery. I need to consult Carpenter's turtle papers and see if he mentions this. (Probably left over from uprooted rotten snags.)
Green ephemerals in the south in the weeds include Stellaria chickweed, Viola, Lamium, (not amplexicaule), Avens? Euonymus?, others. I need to start a leaf herbarium for ID's. Note exotic shrub in Woods = Nandina.
Nice long afternoon, walking all over the Woods today. I entered via the SW gate and took the chain saw to clear a double trunked elm across the path running north from the D0 survey stake on the South Boundary Trail. East on the S. Boundary Trail I was surprised to come upon an area with numerous shells from fingernail clams. I guess water does stand there long enough.
Walking north between E0 and F0 I found a well used game trail crossing over the dune and clipped briers out of the way to see if it could be a good new path. It emerged on the north end near just west of the old grandfather hollow cottonwood.. but I don't think it is a trail worth clearing. Too thorny and congested.
Afterwards I wandered freely off trail through the Woods. If I am there with loppers clearing trail, I miss seeing new things. It is better to observe, with no set path to follow.. and it is nice now to have the marked paths so I can know approximately where I am as I wander.
I slogged NW up through the bottlebrush sedge west of the dense young ash stands. They are still quite wet even with no rain for weeks. Pools of standing water are mostly all gone; but the ground is wet enough so you can't walk far without getting wet feet. Not an area I think that is very attractive for a board walk. Too close to the traffic noise off Chautauqua.
The deer and game trails are particularly well developed now in the soft wet soil. Following a deer trail skirting the southern edge of the dense young ash I discovered another small steel survey rod (near the other flagged one - 200 ft east maybe). I painted it blue. These rods date from the early tree studies?
Further east I watched a pileated woodpecker inspecting one of the big dead snags.. first time I have seen one of those in Woods for a while. Further east still I came to the long, wandering ragged edge of the inundation zone.. marked by the end of honeysuckle ground cover. Further north and east I come to the massive ruin of the giant cottonwood blown down.. maybe the largest in the Woods. Came down in the ice storm of December 2007. North of there and east..just SW of the East Pond there is the big tree cluster. The largest standing cottonwood in the Woods.. and a big pecan, big double trunk green ash..etc. I should have a contest for students to find and measure the largest diameter tree of each of the several species: burr oak, ash, hackberry, elm, pecan, juniper, cottonwood, bumelia, sycamore, mulberry, catalpa, willow, coffee tree, shumard oak, post oak, blackjack oak, walnut, soapberry, cypress(?!), persimmon, boxelder, etc.
East of there I found 5 small ellipses of flattened boxelder leaves where deer had bedded down for their winter night. With the long nights of the winter solstice the Eleagnus through the woods is beginning to drop its leaves.. silver ellipses standout on the bed of the earlier fallen leaves.
In the southeast corner of the Woods 2-3 of the largest new generation of cottonwoods along the southern boundary have recently come down. How can I use them for study of decomposition.. and when beetles emerge.
Who makes the "potholes" through the Woods.. big mystery. I need to consult Carpenter's turtle papers and see if he mentions this. (Probably left over from uprooted rotten snags.)
Green ephemerals in the south in the weeds include Stellaria chickweed, Viola, Lamium, (not amplexicaule), Avens? Euonymus?, others. I need to start a leaf herbarium for ID's. Note exotic shrub in Woods = Nandina.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
New South Boundary Trail Connected
This late afternoon I returned to the SW gate and paint blazed the Southern Boundary Trail. It runs from the SW entrance to the southern end of the Dunes Trail at survey post G0, and the exit from the Woods there. Along the way the trail passes two or three wildlife highways that funnel animals through breaks in the southern fence.. good places for wildlife cameras.
The trail passes through open sunny, drier habitat. There are several patches of young boxelder or honeysuckle that need additional clearing along the way; but the trail is clear enough to follow now. The trail also passes survey posts E0,F0 and D0 (where a short trail is cut going north towards an area of larger diameter trees).
On the west central portion of the trail there are curious bare zones around the bases of many trees..where all the leaf litter has been blown away to the hard soil beneath. It might be good for ecology class to investigate the species of trees with these bare zones and see if any particular species (maybe hackberry,or juniper for instance) is more likely to have a basal bare zone than say elm, oak, ash or pecan might be. Relate to Elroy Rice allelopathy studies.
The trail passes through open sunny, drier habitat. There are several patches of young boxelder or honeysuckle that need additional clearing along the way; but the trail is clear enough to follow now. The trail also passes survey posts E0,F0 and D0 (where a short trail is cut going north towards an area of larger diameter trees).
On the west central portion of the trail there are curious bare zones around the bases of many trees..where all the leaf litter has been blown away to the hard soil beneath. It might be good for ecology class to investigate the species of trees with these bare zones and see if any particular species (maybe hackberry,or juniper for instance) is more likely to have a basal bare zone than say elm, oak, ash or pecan might be. Relate to Elroy Rice allelopathy studies.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Warm winter afternoon - storm coming.
Lovely, warm (55-60 F) afternoon in the Woods; but storm is coming. Along the East Wash there were flocks of robins and sparrows and other mixed species flocks moving in to shelter in the privet and under the eleagnus growing there. The Weather Service this morning issued a "Special Weather Statement" a significant winter storm is heading our way Christmas Eve Day possible rain and snow and colder.
Out in the Woods I heard (but did not see) a deer snort and looked again for the soapberry on the upper escarpment.. this time with GPS coordinates. I found the location but only smaller trees and dead. I'll look again in the spring with leaf out.
Why do I never see squirrels in Olivers Woods when they are abundant on campus? There are plenty of pecans and other hardwoods.
Russell and I cleared trail with loppers. I waded into the (cold!) East Wash to settle and firm the Elm Bridge logs. Better now.
I also painted more trees along the Northern Loop to replace the dark blue tape.. some is already falling. That loop trail is now well marked but needs additional clearing of small coral berry/ buckbrush/ Symphoriocarpos. Also marked more trees along the connector from the Fence Corner to the fallen pecan junction.
Friday last week Delong and I walked the loops from the NE. He would like to run the labs for Xiangming's spring Geospatial class there. Plots of trees, georeferenced, diameter, height with new instruments. We walked west from the Hackberry Alley trail to the sharp break in the honeysuckle cover at the edge of the inundation zone. With ecology class it would be good to run multiple transects across that break looking for snails to the east, under the honeysuckle there should be many of the terrestrial, flatter spiral snails and to the west in the litter that is sometimes inundated we should find the aquatic snails.. or their old shells.. other differences? .. ground spider species, ground beetle species, millipedes and centipedes? opilone daddy long legs, basidiocarps on the ground, green forbs Viola, Stellaria etc..
Going through old OWP correspondence, found letter from Gary Schnell to state about problems with beaver dam blocking drainage from Woods in 1994. Today the dam (all clay) is still there. I will reopen the drainage. Fifteen years of extra flooding from the dam.
A week prior I walked with Jason Julian around the same loop trails. He will bring his Physical Geography and his Soils classes down for lab exercises.. prepare a land cover analysis of photos from 1938 onward... prepare a high resolution Digital Elevation Map of the Woods. Delong is going to inquire if spectral analysis might give the location and dates of flooding.
Friday afternoon 18 December late I walked in via the SW entrance up to junction with SE running yellow wire flagged Hollow Log Trail. I walked SE to the old red OWP sign on the south fence line and then west past survey post F0 and on to post G0 by the south end of the Dune Trail. I should clear this trail for access to southern Woods.
Out in the Woods I heard (but did not see) a deer snort and looked again for the soapberry on the upper escarpment.. this time with GPS coordinates. I found the location but only smaller trees and dead. I'll look again in the spring with leaf out.
Why do I never see squirrels in Olivers Woods when they are abundant on campus? There are plenty of pecans and other hardwoods.
Russell and I cleared trail with loppers. I waded into the (cold!) East Wash to settle and firm the Elm Bridge logs. Better now.
I also painted more trees along the Northern Loop to replace the dark blue tape.. some is already falling. That loop trail is now well marked but needs additional clearing of small coral berry/ buckbrush/ Symphoriocarpos. Also marked more trees along the connector from the Fence Corner to the fallen pecan junction.
Friday last week Delong and I walked the loops from the NE. He would like to run the labs for Xiangming's spring Geospatial class there. Plots of trees, georeferenced, diameter, height with new instruments. We walked west from the Hackberry Alley trail to the sharp break in the honeysuckle cover at the edge of the inundation zone. With ecology class it would be good to run multiple transects across that break looking for snails to the east, under the honeysuckle there should be many of the terrestrial, flatter spiral snails and to the west in the litter that is sometimes inundated we should find the aquatic snails.. or their old shells.. other differences? .. ground spider species, ground beetle species, millipedes and centipedes? opilone daddy long legs, basidiocarps on the ground, green forbs Viola, Stellaria etc..
Going through old OWP correspondence, found letter from Gary Schnell to state about problems with beaver dam blocking drainage from Woods in 1994. Today the dam (all clay) is still there. I will reopen the drainage. Fifteen years of extra flooding from the dam.
A week prior I walked with Jason Julian around the same loop trails. He will bring his Physical Geography and his Soils classes down for lab exercises.. prepare a land cover analysis of photos from 1938 onward... prepare a high resolution Digital Elevation Map of the Woods. Delong is going to inquire if spectral analysis might give the location and dates of flooding.
Friday afternoon 18 December late I walked in via the SW entrance up to junction with SE running yellow wire flagged Hollow Log Trail. I walked SE to the old red OWP sign on the south fence line and then west past survey post F0 and on to post G0 by the south end of the Dune Trail. I should clear this trail for access to southern Woods.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Circles in the Woods
Nice December day in the Woods, after three of the coldest nights of the winter thus far. Down to 11 F and not above 24 F for 2-3 days. Cold enough to put ice on the East Wash and the East Pond. But this afternoon was overcast and pleasant low 50's.
I actually found a tick on my glove (amazing), one deer in the SW quarter and a male cardinal. There were also fresh strands of spider web gossamer on the trail west of the Burr Oak bridge..although I didn't see any webs.
I entered the Woods via the NE Jenkins Gate and crossed on the new Elm Bridge; then headed west along the EW Fence Line Trail to the Fence Corner and the Big Pecan. From there I defined and cleared the flagged trail north to the Trans OWP at the junction with the pecan blow down. That trail is largely clear now but will need substantial more lopper work to shape it up and keep it clear.
I headed back to the Tall Stump and south on the north end of the Dunes Trail to the beaver dam. The main SW Wash trail no longer had puddles of standing water but the soil and leaf litter was still moist..not muddy.
My moderate easy pace stroll with occasional momentary stops from the SW Gate, along the SW Wash trail to the Tall Stump Cutoff, north along Hackberry Alley to the Trans OWP and west on the Trans OWP to the East Pond; then north and east along the Northern Loop back down to the Burr Oak bridge; and back to the Escarpment Trail took 30 minutes. A nice traverse of the Woods.
I actually found a tick on my glove (amazing), one deer in the SW quarter and a male cardinal. There were also fresh strands of spider web gossamer on the trail west of the Burr Oak bridge..although I didn't see any webs.
I entered the Woods via the NE Jenkins Gate and crossed on the new Elm Bridge; then headed west along the EW Fence Line Trail to the Fence Corner and the Big Pecan. From there I defined and cleared the flagged trail north to the Trans OWP at the junction with the pecan blow down. That trail is largely clear now but will need substantial more lopper work to shape it up and keep it clear.
I headed back to the Tall Stump and south on the north end of the Dunes Trail to the beaver dam. The main SW Wash trail no longer had puddles of standing water but the soil and leaf litter was still moist..not muddy.
My moderate easy pace stroll with occasional momentary stops from the SW Gate, along the SW Wash trail to the Tall Stump Cutoff, north along Hackberry Alley to the Trans OWP and west on the Trans OWP to the East Pond; then north and east along the Northern Loop back down to the Burr Oak bridge; and back to the Escarpment Trail took 30 minutes. A nice traverse of the Woods.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Early winter day in the Woods
Cool gray early December day in the Woods. I went out at noon to clear the cobwebs from my head and do some trail work. Entering from the NE gate I came to the big cedar and looked west down the inviting slope into the East Wash.
With the green of summer gone it looked as if there might be a nice new route from the big cedar down to the low water crossing of the East Wash I had seen last year. The route was fairly open and easy down to the pipeline, across the East Wash and then on to the east bank of the West Wash by the big cottonwoods where I needed to clear a tangle of large diameter vines. A good new route.. maybe develop later; but that section is near the highway and the sound of traffic is loud.
I worked on clearing the southeastern end of the new North Loop and it is now reasonably good all the way to the junction with the Trans OWP trail at the big pecan blowdown (from 2007). North and west on the North Loop (from the Cottonwoods on) there remains some work for loppers but no large diameter stuff.
Walking the Trans OWP, I found 3 white tail deer; they stood 70 feet away and alertly watched me. The Woods is a shelter for them now with hunting season; and there is enough cover to provide some protection when the cold north wind blows strongly.
From the big pecan blowdown, the Northern Loop takes 12 minutes now to walk without pause at a modest pace. From the same starting point at the pecan log, a second loop west on the Trans OWP to Hackberry Alley; south to the tall stump; southwest to Barney Jct; north on the fence line trail and then north again back to the pecan log.. the loop is 10 minutes. From the pecan log south to the fence corner the trail is flagged with orange but is not clear. This should be a good goal after finishing the western end of the Northern Loop.
One more big area where a trail is needed for access is heading southwest from the elm bridge across the washout channels down to the south central entrance. Somewhere in there I am almost certain I found one lone bald cypress last year; but I have not been able to relocate it.
The floor of the Woods is greening up with winter annuals.. avens, grasses, violets, chickweed, various other species. I need to have a botanist walk there with me and help me identify the most common twenty green species. I also need to figure out the fairly common two meter tall exotic shrub with small single red berries and elliptical oblong leaves (still green) with rich scented white flowers in the summer. (Eleagnus sp.?)
Along both banks of the East Wash it is noticeable that the several largest diameter pecans and old burr oaks that came down in the winter of 2007-2008 are all oriented in one direction to the west southwest. I think the same is true of the blowdown cedars on the dune. It might be interesting to map the direction of fall of many of the blowdowns at OWP and record the age of the blowdown (from surrounding scarred survivors).. develop a picture of which winds typically produce blowdowns at OWP.
A new OWP first today, I encountered an opossum 30 meters south of the tall stump. It climbed a near elm and looked down at me as I passed by.
The wood borer community should be fairly abundant this spring and summer 2010. There is lots of evidence of thorough colonization of the broken and blowdown material from 2007-2008.
With the green of summer gone it looked as if there might be a nice new route from the big cedar down to the low water crossing of the East Wash I had seen last year. The route was fairly open and easy down to the pipeline, across the East Wash and then on to the east bank of the West Wash by the big cottonwoods where I needed to clear a tangle of large diameter vines. A good new route.. maybe develop later; but that section is near the highway and the sound of traffic is loud.
I worked on clearing the southeastern end of the new North Loop and it is now reasonably good all the way to the junction with the Trans OWP trail at the big pecan blowdown (from 2007). North and west on the North Loop (from the Cottonwoods on) there remains some work for loppers but no large diameter stuff.
Walking the Trans OWP, I found 3 white tail deer; they stood 70 feet away and alertly watched me. The Woods is a shelter for them now with hunting season; and there is enough cover to provide some protection when the cold north wind blows strongly.
From the big pecan blowdown, the Northern Loop takes 12 minutes now to walk without pause at a modest pace. From the same starting point at the pecan log, a second loop west on the Trans OWP to Hackberry Alley; south to the tall stump; southwest to Barney Jct; north on the fence line trail and then north again back to the pecan log.. the loop is 10 minutes. From the pecan log south to the fence corner the trail is flagged with orange but is not clear. This should be a good goal after finishing the western end of the Northern Loop.
One more big area where a trail is needed for access is heading southwest from the elm bridge across the washout channels down to the south central entrance. Somewhere in there I am almost certain I found one lone bald cypress last year; but I have not been able to relocate it.
The floor of the Woods is greening up with winter annuals.. avens, grasses, violets, chickweed, various other species. I need to have a botanist walk there with me and help me identify the most common twenty green species. I also need to figure out the fairly common two meter tall exotic shrub with small single red berries and elliptical oblong leaves (still green) with rich scented white flowers in the summer. (Eleagnus sp.?)
Along both banks of the East Wash it is noticeable that the several largest diameter pecans and old burr oaks that came down in the winter of 2007-2008 are all oriented in one direction to the west southwest. I think the same is true of the blowdown cedars on the dune. It might be interesting to map the direction of fall of many of the blowdowns at OWP and record the age of the blowdown (from surrounding scarred survivors).. develop a picture of which winds typically produce blowdowns at OWP.
A new OWP first today, I encountered an opossum 30 meters south of the tall stump. It climbed a near elm and looked down at me as I passed by.
The wood borer community should be fairly abundant this spring and summer 2010. There is lots of evidence of thorough colonization of the broken and blowdown material from 2007-2008.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Trail clearing and Inundation
Been a long time - several weeks.
Last two weeks I have been able to clear and flag or blaze more trail in the Woods. I extended the Dune Trail northward on the crest of a low ridge of clay.. beyond the drainage area, up to join with the east west fence line trail at the Tall Stump. From there I cleared a trail along Hackberry Alley north to the Trans OWP Trail not far from the East Pond. From the Tall Stump I also cleared a trail eastward to the fence line corner at the north end of the north south fence line midway across the Woods.
There is a clear trail running from the Tall Stump to Barney Junction on the north south fence line. And from the Tall Stump trail a trail runs southwest past the old snag into dense young ash (mostly dead 10-20? year old trees).. down to the main SW trail.
Today I worked from the northeast gate and extended the Escarpment Trail south to a gentler ravine descending to the stream/ dry wash to connect to the eastern end of the east west fence line trail.
It is now possible to walk a good loop from the northeast gate south to the new ravine descent, cross the creek on the low water crossing, then west on the east west fence line trail to the fence line corner, and on west to the Tall Stump, turn north along Hackberry Alley up to the Trans OWP Trail near the East Pond.. turn east back to the Burr Oak Bridge across the creek and rejoin the Escarpment trail.
Nice walk even when rain and high water inundates the SW woods.. as it recently did..
October 8 we received 2-3" of rain and 20-30 acres of Olivers Woods was inundated again.. I donned my knee boots and walked the familiar, although now inundated, SW trail. There were dragonflies ovipositing (not many.. maybe 4-6 I saw.) The water stayed long enough (2-3 weeks) to breed mosquitoes but they did not seem interested in getting a blood meal from me.
I noticed the water over a large area was backed by the low clay lens north of the Dune Trail. I cut the clay ridge and let the water begin to flow out more rapidly. I wondered if the ridge had been engineered by a bulldozer or by shovel work 30 years ago to hold water back in the Woods (maybe protect the service road on the south side?)
Last two weeks I have been able to clear and flag or blaze more trail in the Woods. I extended the Dune Trail northward on the crest of a low ridge of clay.. beyond the drainage area, up to join with the east west fence line trail at the Tall Stump. From there I cleared a trail along Hackberry Alley north to the Trans OWP Trail not far from the East Pond. From the Tall Stump I also cleared a trail eastward to the fence line corner at the north end of the north south fence line midway across the Woods.
There is a clear trail running from the Tall Stump to Barney Junction on the north south fence line. And from the Tall Stump trail a trail runs southwest past the old snag into dense young ash (mostly dead 10-20? year old trees).. down to the main SW trail.
Today I worked from the northeast gate and extended the Escarpment Trail south to a gentler ravine descending to the stream/ dry wash to connect to the eastern end of the east west fence line trail.
It is now possible to walk a good loop from the northeast gate south to the new ravine descent, cross the creek on the low water crossing, then west on the east west fence line trail to the fence line corner, and on west to the Tall Stump, turn north along Hackberry Alley up to the Trans OWP Trail near the East Pond.. turn east back to the Burr Oak Bridge across the creek and rejoin the Escarpment trail.
Nice walk even when rain and high water inundates the SW woods.. as it recently did..
October 8 we received 2-3" of rain and 20-30 acres of Olivers Woods was inundated again.. I donned my knee boots and walked the familiar, although now inundated, SW trail. There were dragonflies ovipositing (not many.. maybe 4-6 I saw.) The water stayed long enough (2-3 weeks) to breed mosquitoes but they did not seem interested in getting a blood meal from me.
I noticed the water over a large area was backed by the low clay lens north of the Dune Trail. I cut the clay ridge and let the water begin to flow out more rapidly. I wondered if the ridge had been engineered by a bulldozer or by shovel work 30 years ago to hold water back in the Woods (maybe protect the service road on the south side?)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Rain coming but paint first
This Saturday morning was soft humid and warm. The heat of the past week had moderated with a 0.30 inches of rain overnight and more rain was in the forecast.. but it was a quiet soft morning. I took Russell and Sesugh and new cans of blue tree marking paint and headed for the Woods.
Entering the SW gate off Chautauqua I experimented with the new paint and worked like a charm. I removed the masking tape temporary trial blazes I had placed there weeks ago and marked a permanent small vertical rectangle blaze.
Looking back after I had marked the first several trees, it appeared that the blazes were just right..not too big, but easily visible, good aids for students and walkers new to the trail, new to the Woods.
We'd been out maybe 10 minutes, when to my surprise, I saw Randy Lewis approaching. He was there with a bundle of red flags and tapes to lay out the plots for the coming week's ecology lab on green ash population sampling.
I marked the trail all the way out to the Dune Trail and then marked the Dune Trail southward to the south perimeter fence. Then I turned back north marking trees along the path running along the raised western edge of the lower central basin/ flood plain.
I found the Trans OWP Trail in the north and marked blazes from the Burr Oak bridge west to the eastern end of the Ponds Trail.
I circled and circled the north central Woods looking for the trail I had flagged winter 08-09..and eventually found and marked where it connected with the main SW trail. I marked the junction with a double blaze.
Much more to do in marking trails already roughed out or cleared out. I should blaze the NE Escarpment Trail. But enough for today. Russell and Sesugh were waiting and we left to go for lunch.
Almost no mosquitoes (2) in 3 hours. One large doe in the woods north of the gate; several robins.
Entering the SW gate off Chautauqua I experimented with the new paint and worked like a charm. I removed the masking tape temporary trial blazes I had placed there weeks ago and marked a permanent small vertical rectangle blaze.
Looking back after I had marked the first several trees, it appeared that the blazes were just right..not too big, but easily visible, good aids for students and walkers new to the trail, new to the Woods.
We'd been out maybe 10 minutes, when to my surprise, I saw Randy Lewis approaching. He was there with a bundle of red flags and tapes to lay out the plots for the coming week's ecology lab on green ash population sampling.
I marked the trail all the way out to the Dune Trail and then marked the Dune Trail southward to the south perimeter fence. Then I turned back north marking trees along the path running along the raised western edge of the lower central basin/ flood plain.
I found the Trans OWP Trail in the north and marked blazes from the Burr Oak bridge west to the eastern end of the Ponds Trail.
I circled and circled the north central Woods looking for the trail I had flagged winter 08-09..and eventually found and marked where it connected with the main SW trail. I marked the junction with a double blaze.
Much more to do in marking trails already roughed out or cleared out. I should blaze the NE Escarpment Trail. But enough for today. Russell and Sesugh were waiting and we left to go for lunch.
Almost no mosquitoes (2) in 3 hours. One large doe in the woods north of the gate; several robins.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Taking the measure of the Escarpment Trail
From 10 to noon I was on the northeastern Escarpment Trail leading from the North Gate 175 meters to the big walnut above the Burr Oak bridge. With a tape measure I flagged with masking tape 25 meter intervals along the trail.
Green pecan nuts are beginning to come down. I found many in patches along the trail.
A few landmarks:
35 m (or 114 ft) the funny Y-shaped old iron fence post
41 m (or 136 ft) old tin bucket used for vertebrate studies??
100 m young blackjack oak
125 m hawthorn?
One three-toed box turtle at the top of the slope down to the Burr Oak bridge near the walnut. Flocks of robins down by the walnut and the stream crossing.
The Trans OWP Trail was in surprisingly good condition from the Burr Oak Bridge westward.. not overgrown..still clear. Lots of Micrathena spiders along that section.
Need to measure and flag distances along that.. and complete the leg on out to the West Ponds Trail.
One tiny tick.
(A few early monarchs have been flying south through open fields around Norman last couple of days.)
Green pecan nuts are beginning to come down. I found many in patches along the trail.
A few landmarks:
35 m (or 114 ft) the funny Y-shaped old iron fence post
41 m (or 136 ft) old tin bucket used for vertebrate studies??
100 m young blackjack oak
125 m hawthorn?
One three-toed box turtle at the top of the slope down to the Burr Oak bridge near the walnut. Flocks of robins down by the walnut and the stream crossing.
The Trans OWP Trail was in surprisingly good condition from the Burr Oak Bridge westward.. not overgrown..still clear. Lots of Micrathena spiders along that section.
Need to measure and flag distances along that.. and complete the leg on out to the West Ponds Trail.
One tiny tick.
(A few early monarchs have been flying south through open fields around Norman last couple of days.)
Trail Blazing with Turtle and Bugs
I went to Olivers Woods this Sat. morning 10 to noon and it was pleasant.
I blazed the normal trail from the SW gate with big swatches of temporary masking tape stuck to the trees where I will paint blue blazes.
Saw a yearling white tail deer sprinting from near the Chautauqua side eastward into the Woods and one 3 toed box turtle and lots of Micrathena spiders.
The regular perch for the four libellullid dragonfly (siblings?, conspecifics at least) was occupied again but this time there were only three. They may be falling off with old age or being picked off by predators.
This species of dragonfly could be named the "patriot". It is red white and blue. The labial mask and front frons are increasingly turning a nice powder blue. The anterior portion of the abdomen is a handsome bright red and there are white stripes on the dark thorax.
I found two cicadas, one fluttered down in front of me seemingly exhausted. Green and black like Tibicen. Ants had found one recently deceased. I expect their singing (still loud) will begin to lessen from now with summer drawing to a close. I had not considered the effect of inundation on this population in their subterranean habitat.
I did not find the trail angling north east flagged with yellow flags. Sun blotches through the forest were the same color. I'll look again at a darker time early or late or cloudy.
Only two ticks (tiny).
I blazed the normal trail from the SW gate with big swatches of temporary masking tape stuck to the trees where I will paint blue blazes.
Saw a yearling white tail deer sprinting from near the Chautauqua side eastward into the Woods and one 3 toed box turtle and lots of Micrathena spiders.
The regular perch for the four libellullid dragonfly (siblings?, conspecifics at least) was occupied again but this time there were only three. They may be falling off with old age or being picked off by predators.
This species of dragonfly could be named the "patriot". It is red white and blue. The labial mask and front frons are increasingly turning a nice powder blue. The anterior portion of the abdomen is a handsome bright red and there are white stripes on the dark thorax.
I found two cicadas, one fluttered down in front of me seemingly exhausted. Green and black like Tibicen. Ants had found one recently deceased. I expect their singing (still loud) will begin to lessen from now with summer drawing to a close. I had not considered the effect of inundation on this population in their subterranean habitat.
I did not find the trail angling north east flagged with yellow flags. Sun blotches through the forest were the same color. I'll look again at a darker time early or late or cloudy.
Only two ticks (tiny).
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Hellgrammite Lazarus
Sunday Aug 16 at 8 AM I came again to the SW gate on Chautauqua. The Clematis virgins bower growing on top of the fence was just beginning to open its white flowers. I walked north into the Woods to the old overgrown main west gate (now closed and blocked by young trees) then east about 600 feet through the sedges and moribund dense young ash stand to a huge old cottonwood tree fallen perhaps in the ice storm two years ago.
Under a small older rotten log by the cottonwood I was surprised to find a hellgrammite! Curled up under the moist log, it sprang into action twisting around when I picked it up. It appeared to be a last instar full-grown larva. The nearest water was probably 100 meters north. This iconic aquatic immature insect had hunkered down and was waiting for the area to be inundated again .. pretty amazing! I was reminded of finding in October 2008 a half grown diapausing belostomatid under another dry rotten log further south in the Woods.
It occurred to me that the habitat of these insects was defined not just by spatial distance to water but also by a time dimension to the recent water and the future return of water.
The rotten log was near a small depression, 2-3 m in diameter that looked to have retained water longer than the surrounding soil. In this depression there were the shell remains of hundreds of the small fingernail clams Sphaerium(?)Sphaeriidae bivalves and two other completely different bleached aquatic shells as well (Helisoma Planorbiid rams-horn snails and Physa (sinistral shell).
The depression was ringed by modest diameter (10-15 cm DBH?) green ash and elms. The bases of all these trees were each well equipped with lots of trunk roots or pneumatophores(?) that may have allowed them to survive longer and deeper inundation. The dry soil in the center of the depression had a whitish tinge of (calcium ?) as though a sort of leachate had formed ..like a floodplain caliche.
Clambering up on to the enormous old cottonwood log I found an egg sized lime encrusted fresh plasmodium of a Physarum? slime mold.. recently crawled up there and drying, forming a fruiting body, sporulating.
Down at the base of the massive log I stared at the broken stump and wondered why cottonwoods like this do not stump sprout. It could very possibly have quickly grown enough new stems and leaves to support the rest of the tree.
Nearby there were the first golden fallen mulberry leaves on the ground .. the first real fall colors.
Just east of the base of the big cottonwood there was a sharp transition or break in the forest vegetation. At that point the ground was maybe an inch higher and had not flooded. The vegetation changed abruptly. There was a general ground cover of Lonicera Japanese honeysuckle, Cornus dogwood, Symphoricarpos buckbrush/ coral berry, Rhus, and a
sparse but general cover of a tall stemmed grass, now dead and bleaching yellow.
East of the transition to higher drier ground a dry still hard small hackberry log had dozens of millipedes.. and under another similar log I counted 80 of the same species all clustered together. Why? Protection? Habitat preference?
Under the logs there was also a fourth snail species - this one terrestrial.. name??
The logs in the drier woods were covered with the black encrusting Loculoascomycete.. not as evident in the area of the previous inundation.
Under the dry logs there were also hundreds of pill bugs and a few colonies of very small ants. Why pill bugs and ants so often cohabit? Why no scorpions here? Too wet?
Spiders:
Under the same small rotten log there were a quick running large wolf spider.. half the bulk of a tarantula, carrying a large egg sac under its abdomen.. and a pair of daddy long legs. Walking through the knee high sedges I found a pair of Argiope the black and yellow garden spider. The female was huge. And scattered through the Woods I am starting finally to see more of the cinnamon colored Araneus. Plus there are still many of the Micrathena.
Under a small older rotten log by the cottonwood I was surprised to find a hellgrammite! Curled up under the moist log, it sprang into action twisting around when I picked it up. It appeared to be a last instar full-grown larva. The nearest water was probably 100 meters north. This iconic aquatic immature insect had hunkered down and was waiting for the area to be inundated again .. pretty amazing! I was reminded of finding in October 2008 a half grown diapausing belostomatid under another dry rotten log further south in the Woods.
It occurred to me that the habitat of these insects was defined not just by spatial distance to water but also by a time dimension to the recent water and the future return of water.
The rotten log was near a small depression, 2-3 m in diameter that looked to have retained water longer than the surrounding soil. In this depression there were the shell remains of hundreds of the small fingernail clams Sphaerium(?)Sphaeriidae bivalves and two other completely different bleached aquatic shells as well (Helisoma Planorbiid rams-horn snails and Physa (sinistral shell).
The depression was ringed by modest diameter (10-15 cm DBH?) green ash and elms. The bases of all these trees were each well equipped with lots of trunk roots or pneumatophores(?) that may have allowed them to survive longer and deeper inundation. The dry soil in the center of the depression had a whitish tinge of (calcium ?) as though a sort of leachate had formed ..like a floodplain caliche.
Clambering up on to the enormous old cottonwood log I found an egg sized lime encrusted fresh plasmodium of a Physarum? slime mold.. recently crawled up there and drying, forming a fruiting body, sporulating.
Down at the base of the massive log I stared at the broken stump and wondered why cottonwoods like this do not stump sprout. It could very possibly have quickly grown enough new stems and leaves to support the rest of the tree.
Nearby there were the first golden fallen mulberry leaves on the ground .. the first real fall colors.
Just east of the base of the big cottonwood there was a sharp transition or break in the forest vegetation. At that point the ground was maybe an inch higher and had not flooded. The vegetation changed abruptly. There was a general ground cover of Lonicera Japanese honeysuckle, Cornus dogwood, Symphoricarpos buckbrush/ coral berry, Rhus, and a
sparse but general cover of a tall stemmed grass, now dead and bleaching yellow.
East of the transition to higher drier ground a dry still hard small hackberry log had dozens of millipedes.. and under another similar log I counted 80 of the same species all clustered together. Why? Protection? Habitat preference?
Under the logs there was also a fourth snail species - this one terrestrial.. name??
The logs in the drier woods were covered with the black encrusting Loculoascomycete.. not as evident in the area of the previous inundation.
Under the dry logs there were also hundreds of pill bugs and a few colonies of very small ants. Why pill bugs and ants so often cohabit? Why no scorpions here? Too wet?
Spiders:
Under the same small rotten log there were a quick running large wolf spider.. half the bulk of a tarantula, carrying a large egg sac under its abdomen.. and a pair of daddy long legs. Walking through the knee high sedges I found a pair of Argiope the black and yellow garden spider. The female was huge. And scattered through the Woods I am starting finally to see more of the cinnamon colored Araneus. Plus there are still many of the Micrathena.
Tiger swallowtail burning bright
Sunday Aug 9 late afternoon and evening I took a weedwacker and reduced the luxuriant grass in front of the gate. In the forest one bright yellow tiger swallowtail (big female?) floated in the understory shade. The cicadas were singing loudly. On a damp log a golden streaming slime mold plasmodium was crawling up. East of inundation line the widespread sparse grass stems were yellow and laying over, through for the season. The trail down the dry wash above the dune trail showed by piling of litter that water moved west along the wash instead of east, surprise! The polygonum smartweed is growing abundantly more than knee high in the wash east of the Dune Trail.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Hot, humid and a south wind blowing
Hot afternoon 97 F, humid, under a bright sun with a south wind blowing. I wanted to see what life was like under the trees at the Woods. I entered from the southwest gate off Chautauqua. The first 100 yards the south wind was still noticeable but beyond that the shade and shelter of the bigger trees made all still and quiet and maybe 5 degrees cooler. The same species of light honey colored libellulid dragonfly perched again on the twig I held to clear spider webs.The cicadas were singing. There were a few more mosquitoes but not bad. Fresh patches of green ash seeds were on the ground. No deer observed. Couple of hackberry butterflies and a large beautiful Catocala moth with red and black underwings. Nice red sporulating slime mold and assortments of fungal sheets.. yellow, red, white.. spore producing reproductive tissue or just fungal tissue?
At the eastern end of the trail north of the dunes there were fresh sand eddies.. fine yellow sand had accumulated in the lee of small branches down on the ground. First time I've observed this. The line of sand deposits had a SE - NW orientation perpendicular to the prevailing southwest wind.
I stopped north of the big cottonwood near the orange post to cut a large poison ivy vine off a mature green ash tree. I started observing the leaves of the poison ivy and other low tree leaves and the degree to which they had been fed upon by herbivores.
I think I am ready now to mark some trails with paint blazes. First I'll finalize the southwest gate trail and mark trees along the route with masking tape for blazes. Blue paint. Double blazes for trail junctions or abrupt turns.
Along the southwest trail I may now be able to blaze the yellow flagged trail heading northeast out of the flood area past the big decaying pecan snag to the honeysuckle part of the Woods. (Can we map the spread of the honeysuckle with remote sensing?)
At the eastern end of the trail north of the dunes there were fresh sand eddies.. fine yellow sand had accumulated in the lee of small branches down on the ground. First time I've observed this. The line of sand deposits had a SE - NW orientation perpendicular to the prevailing southwest wind.
I stopped north of the big cottonwood near the orange post to cut a large poison ivy vine off a mature green ash tree. I started observing the leaves of the poison ivy and other low tree leaves and the degree to which they had been fed upon by herbivores.
I think I am ready now to mark some trails with paint blazes. First I'll finalize the southwest gate trail and mark trees along the route with masking tape for blazes. Blue paint. Double blazes for trail junctions or abrupt turns.
Along the southwest trail I may now be able to blaze the yellow flagged trail heading northeast out of the flood area past the big decaying pecan snag to the honeysuckle part of the Woods. (Can we map the spread of the honeysuckle with remote sensing?)
Monday, August 3, 2009
New North Trail
The Escarpment Trail from the new North Gate was looking good this morning after our brief 15 hundredths of an inch of rain overnight. The cicadas were singing loudly and there was a wonderful wet decomposing fertile litter smell in the air. There were maybe a dozen Micrathena spider webs across the trail but otherwise the trail was in good shape. The trimmed brier and other forbs had not retaken the trail.. still clear walking all the way south to the big walnut above the Burr Oak Bridge. Removed 4 ticks when I returned home.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sunday mornings are the best time in South Olivers Woods
After a few weeks away I was curious to see what changes there were in the Woods. I entered the southwest Chautauqua gate at 9 am.
Cicadas were thrumming prominently. Several were singing in synchrony. Their sound began at a low pitch which increased in a wave of sound that then repeated after a few seconds.
Mosquitoes were essentially absent. I heard only two in two hours.
Ticks were also gone from the open shaded woods where I walked. I stayed in the closed canopy section, away from the beds of sedges. I found no ticks after two hours.
Small flock of robins (3-5 birds) were foraging in the woods near and northeast of the gate .. as they often are. Robins are the bird I see most commonly there and often the only bird I see.
Hackberry emperor butterflies were flitting about and courting in sun breaks north of the dune trail.
Orb web spinning spiders (Micrathena and others) were moderately abundant and their webs, illuminated by morning light filtering through the forest canopy, were beautiful in the shaded forest understory.
A honey-colored libellulid dragonfly perched with me for 2-3 minutes (on a stick I was carrying to clear webs). I wondered if any odonates, birds or other predators in the Woods would pick spiders out of their webs like the big Pseudostigmatid helicopter damselflies in the neotropics.. or chameleons. The spiders are a juicy bit of food, totally exposed.
It might be interesting to follow 30-50 webs for few days. Spend the days walking from one web to the next noting the position of the spider and any activity. What hours was it in the center of its web? Did the web last through the full day or was it destroyed?
Also might be interesting to look at size of web.. for a given species, does web size vary depending on size of the spider, food density of the micro habitat, architectural constraints of anchor points, or randomly? Did individual spiders tend to spend webs in the same location each day using the same anchor points?
One nice damselfly held its wing like a spreadwing lestid .. could have been ?
Two or three damp rotten logs laying on the forest floor had prominent fresh piles of frass beside them. I wondered if this might be from immature Dynastes Hercules beetles. Lifting one of the logs I found a couple of passalid beetles: one dark black (i.e. mature) adult and one late instar larva. This is a subsocial species with overlapping related generations occupying the same space.
New white bleached snail shells rested on logs which had been in the flooded zone.
I saw no deer but found a recent (?) track of a young faun.
Of the thousands of young seedlings (mostly green ash) that were abundantly growing after the spring inundation receded, I found none remaining.
Several nice displays of fungi: big fleshy Auricularia eared fungi the color of dried blood growing on a recently dead tree trunk perched off the ground. A dozen small pleurotid oyster mushrooms were growing from the first log across the trail (with saw cuts). The large polypore tower-like conks on the log by the big broken cottonwood snag had produced new conks of similar size from the same log. A nice patch of Marasmius-like agarics light gray brown was along the trail. Covers of white, yellow and orange decay fungi thalli were common under damp logs and around the base of standing dead snags.
Persimmons scattered through the woods had dropped abundant, green, full-sized fruit in patches. Some of the fruit had recently been chewed open (by rodents? opossums? raccoons? deer?)
Around the base of a few green ash and many elms there are evident small roots, half inch to one inch in diameter growing out of the trunk of the tree above the soil. I wonder how the prevalence of these roots correlates with the depth and longevity of inundation. Appears trees growing in the more flood prone sites had more of these adventitious or aerating roots (pneumatophores?); the rooting pattern could be a rough index of flooding.
Along the southwest Woods trail the Polygonum smartweed and sedges were growing well in sunny breaks.
At the north end of the cross dune trail Acer boxelders (several young canopy trees) had dropped their leaves, now bleached beige on forest floor.. (Caused by number of 100 + degree F days in July?) The trees were growing new leaves.
In the same spot Smilax green briar had fully formed clusters of fruit – still green; and a beggars’ lice Bidens, had yellow orange flowers beginning.
Along the dune trail weedy regeneration was dominated by compound leaved low shrub Rhus.
West of the north end of the cross dune trail the Woods trail had been cleared of all litter by water flowing from the east, leaves and twigs down to the soil along a 100 meter length, 2 meters wide. The litter was piled an inch or two deep along the side of the trail and in small debris rifts. Consequences for habitat patchiness for decay biota, arthropods etc.. are interesting.
In area of bare soil 2-3 inch (?) deep crevices have formed as soil dried with clay content. Crevices produced should serve as refugia for microarthropods and microflora and add diversity to forest floor biota.
Does the National Weather Service have an observing station across the highway that would give very accurate rainfall and patterns of temperature? Rainfall here is often very localized.
Along the Chautauqua fence Campsis trumpet vines were in abundant full orange bloom.
Cicadas were thrumming prominently. Several were singing in synchrony. Their sound began at a low pitch which increased in a wave of sound that then repeated after a few seconds.
Mosquitoes were essentially absent. I heard only two in two hours.
Ticks were also gone from the open shaded woods where I walked. I stayed in the closed canopy section, away from the beds of sedges. I found no ticks after two hours.
Small flock of robins (3-5 birds) were foraging in the woods near and northeast of the gate .. as they often are. Robins are the bird I see most commonly there and often the only bird I see.
Hackberry emperor butterflies were flitting about and courting in sun breaks north of the dune trail.
Orb web spinning spiders (Micrathena and others) were moderately abundant and their webs, illuminated by morning light filtering through the forest canopy, were beautiful in the shaded forest understory.
A honey-colored libellulid dragonfly perched with me for 2-3 minutes (on a stick I was carrying to clear webs). I wondered if any odonates, birds or other predators in the Woods would pick spiders out of their webs like the big Pseudostigmatid helicopter damselflies in the neotropics.. or chameleons. The spiders are a juicy bit of food, totally exposed.
It might be interesting to follow 30-50 webs for few days. Spend the days walking from one web to the next noting the position of the spider and any activity. What hours was it in the center of its web? Did the web last through the full day or was it destroyed?
Also might be interesting to look at size of web.. for a given species, does web size vary depending on size of the spider, food density of the micro habitat, architectural constraints of anchor points, or randomly? Did individual spiders tend to spend webs in the same location each day using the same anchor points?
One nice damselfly held its wing like a spreadwing lestid .. could have been ?
Two or three damp rotten logs laying on the forest floor had prominent fresh piles of frass beside them. I wondered if this might be from immature Dynastes Hercules beetles. Lifting one of the logs I found a couple of passalid beetles: one dark black (i.e. mature) adult and one late instar larva. This is a subsocial species with overlapping related generations occupying the same space.
New white bleached snail shells rested on logs which had been in the flooded zone.
I saw no deer but found a recent (?) track of a young faun.
Of the thousands of young seedlings (mostly green ash) that were abundantly growing after the spring inundation receded, I found none remaining.
Several nice displays of fungi: big fleshy Auricularia eared fungi the color of dried blood growing on a recently dead tree trunk perched off the ground. A dozen small pleurotid oyster mushrooms were growing from the first log across the trail (with saw cuts). The large polypore tower-like conks on the log by the big broken cottonwood snag had produced new conks of similar size from the same log. A nice patch of Marasmius-like agarics light gray brown was along the trail. Covers of white, yellow and orange decay fungi thalli were common under damp logs and around the base of standing dead snags.
Persimmons scattered through the woods had dropped abundant, green, full-sized fruit in patches. Some of the fruit had recently been chewed open (by rodents? opossums? raccoons? deer?)
Around the base of a few green ash and many elms there are evident small roots, half inch to one inch in diameter growing out of the trunk of the tree above the soil. I wonder how the prevalence of these roots correlates with the depth and longevity of inundation. Appears trees growing in the more flood prone sites had more of these adventitious or aerating roots (pneumatophores?); the rooting pattern could be a rough index of flooding.
Along the southwest Woods trail the Polygonum smartweed and sedges were growing well in sunny breaks.
At the north end of the cross dune trail Acer boxelders (several young canopy trees) had dropped their leaves, now bleached beige on forest floor.. (Caused by number of 100 + degree F days in July?) The trees were growing new leaves.
In the same spot Smilax green briar had fully formed clusters of fruit – still green; and a beggars’ lice Bidens, had yellow orange flowers beginning.
Along the dune trail weedy regeneration was dominated by compound leaved low shrub Rhus.
West of the north end of the cross dune trail the Woods trail had been cleared of all litter by water flowing from the east, leaves and twigs down to the soil along a 100 meter length, 2 meters wide. The litter was piled an inch or two deep along the side of the trail and in small debris rifts. Consequences for habitat patchiness for decay biota, arthropods etc.. are interesting.
In area of bare soil 2-3 inch (?) deep crevices have formed as soil dried with clay content. Crevices produced should serve as refugia for microarthropods and microflora and add diversity to forest floor biota.
Does the National Weather Service have an observing station across the highway that would give very accurate rainfall and patterns of temperature? Rainfall here is often very localized.
Along the Chautauqua fence Campsis trumpet vines were in abundant full orange bloom.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Bambi is here
8 July
Walk with Jeff H. in through the north gate. The Northeast Escarpment Trail and the Trans OWP Trail all the way to the Ponds Trail had many, many Micrathena spider webs across the trail. They looked to be all the same species from a quick glance..no Araneus.
There is still good water below the Burr Oak Bridge in the wash. The trail down from the gate is in good condition. Nick Cz came to the wash below the bridge Wed 1 July and heard deer and owl close at hand..but heard no bats even with ultrasound equipment.
He writes: "saw raccoon and deer tracks in the mud along the creek in the preserve, and at dusk I heard a yellow-billed cuckoo, cardinals, and some other bird call I didn't recognize. Later as I sat there in the dark, sweating in the heat and humidity, a barred owl was hooting very near by part of the time, fireflies were everywhere, hundreds of mosquitoes kept me company as I tried to sit still, there were so many gray tree frogs and insects calling that it was very loud, and at one point a deer startled me when it snorted just a few feet behind me in the dark. It snorted at me three more times as it moved off somewhere to the north.."
Jeff and I spooked a spotted fawn of a white tail in the flat weedy woods west of the Burr Oak Bridge.
Through the southwest gate small tapering leaf bits of green twigs are rising from the previously flooded -- now good and dry forest floor.. maybe young 1-2 yr old persimmon?
The green sedges along the main path are full grown.
Walk with Jeff H. in through the north gate. The Northeast Escarpment Trail and the Trans OWP Trail all the way to the Ponds Trail had many, many Micrathena spider webs across the trail. They looked to be all the same species from a quick glance..no Araneus.
There is still good water below the Burr Oak Bridge in the wash. The trail down from the gate is in good condition. Nick Cz came to the wash below the bridge Wed 1 July and heard deer and owl close at hand..but heard no bats even with ultrasound equipment.
He writes: "saw raccoon and deer tracks in the mud along the creek in the preserve, and at dusk I heard a yellow-billed cuckoo, cardinals, and some other bird call I didn't recognize. Later as I sat there in the dark, sweating in the heat and humidity, a barred owl was hooting very near by part of the time, fireflies were everywhere, hundreds of mosquitoes kept me company as I tried to sit still, there were so many gray tree frogs and insects calling that it was very loud, and at one point a deer startled me when it snorted just a few feet behind me in the dark. It snorted at me three more times as it moved off somewhere to the north.."
Jeff and I spooked a spotted fawn of a white tail in the flat weedy woods west of the Burr Oak Bridge.
Through the southwest gate small tapering leaf bits of green twigs are rising from the previously flooded -- now good and dry forest floor.. maybe young 1-2 yr old persimmon?
The green sedges along the main path are full grown.
High Summer in the Woods
2 July 2009
Back through the new north gate after three weeks away I was happy to see the trail still open and in good shape.
Woolly aphids on previously cut vegetation: young hackberry, sprouts of greenbrier clematis etc.. a significant amount of this along the path from the southwest gate. What plants do they prefer? ( project !)
Reasonably good/ diverse assortment of birds singing along escarpment trail from northeast gate and down into the high woods.
Spiders webs Micrathena and others.. census along the northeast escarpment trail. Count number of webs intercepted along trail twice per week for summer and into early autumn. ( project !)
Traffic noise from highway 9 during morning commute.. note how sound changes (abruptly?) in quality (high pitch snare of tires drops out quickly, low base rumble of engines carries farther) and in volume. How does this affect bird sound at dawn? (project)
In one hour or less in Woods came up with a score of ticks or more so they are still abundant, in full size and seed tick size. Why are there so many ticks here?
I drove along south boundary service road from closed entrance gate to old compost facility. Feral (?) domestic cat running into SE corner of Woods with small mouse(?) in mouth. Road was dry and passable but grown up in weeds 2-3 feet high. Run light traps and beer traps or not?
Carabids attracted to banana slices.. mark, release, recapture along various portions of northeast trail.. upper northeast escarpment and woodland trail west of burr oak bridge. (project)
Lots (5-10) robins along shaded southwest trail.
Back through the new north gate after three weeks away I was happy to see the trail still open and in good shape.
Woolly aphids on previously cut vegetation: young hackberry, sprouts of greenbrier clematis etc.. a significant amount of this along the path from the southwest gate. What plants do they prefer? ( project !)
Reasonably good/ diverse assortment of birds singing along escarpment trail from northeast gate and down into the high woods.
Spiders webs Micrathena and others.. census along the northeast escarpment trail. Count number of webs intercepted along trail twice per week for summer and into early autumn. ( project !)
Traffic noise from highway 9 during morning commute.. note how sound changes (abruptly?) in quality (high pitch snare of tires drops out quickly, low base rumble of engines carries farther) and in volume. How does this affect bird sound at dawn? (project)
In one hour or less in Woods came up with a score of ticks or more so they are still abundant, in full size and seed tick size. Why are there so many ticks here?
I drove along south boundary service road from closed entrance gate to old compost facility. Feral (?) domestic cat running into SE corner of Woods with small mouse(?) in mouth. Road was dry and passable but grown up in weeds 2-3 feet high. Run light traps and beer traps or not?
Carabids attracted to banana slices.. mark, release, recapture along various portions of northeast trail.. upper northeast escarpment and woodland trail west of burr oak bridge. (project)
Lots (5-10) robins along shaded southwest trail.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Changes in West Woods
The west side of the Woods along Chautauqua is beginning to dry out, back to pre-inundation state. The forest floor is still mucky, soft and wet, well out from the cattail marsh but the pools of standing water are largely restricted to the cattails and the sedges surrounding them. I found a three toed box turtle in the wet sedge area near the cattails.
Elsewhere, the forest floor that was covered in standing water for 5-6 weeks is now dry, at least at the surface, and sprouting thousands of 1 cm tall dicot seedlings in the cotyledon stage.. two small rounded cotyledons or two elongate linear cotyledons (the latter almost certainly green ash .. only 2-3% as common as the smaller rounded ones).
Walking east from the zone that was flooded I think I can see a clear transition from mucky organic litter where the inundation covered all, to drier leaf litter that looks never to have been submerged. It might be interesting to run transects across the transition from wet to dry and see the variation in the soil arthropods. Might also be interesting to look at differences in soil gleying or pedology associated with inundation. Could also run transect for soil arthropods down the 25 foot tall escarpment to the area of inundation.. a few replicate transects.
Encountered a Morus mulberry and Sideroxylon (Bumelia) next to a Crataegus hawthorn(?) all a bit uncommon in the Woods.. (Maybe the result of one deposition of poop from a vertebrate omnivore?) They were together along the trail I am clearing from the East Pond eastward to the Trans OWP Trail.. nearer the west end. Same location I found a large diameter poison ivy vine (largest I've seen in the OWP).. like a bare, ash gray elephant's trunk up a tall arching walnut tree.
I've never studied a seasonally flooded forest. I imagine the fungi and other decomposers would be much more limited.. and probably more abundant.. bacteria and aquatic fungi I imagine would be important. Earthworms are going to be largely absent and many soil arthropods.
It would be interesting to see if satellite or remote sensing data could detect and delineate the changing area of the inundation.. and it would be interesting to see if tree stress during the inundation is visible in the canopy spectral picture.
Elsewhere, the forest floor that was covered in standing water for 5-6 weeks is now dry, at least at the surface, and sprouting thousands of 1 cm tall dicot seedlings in the cotyledon stage.. two small rounded cotyledons or two elongate linear cotyledons (the latter almost certainly green ash .. only 2-3% as common as the smaller rounded ones).
Walking east from the zone that was flooded I think I can see a clear transition from mucky organic litter where the inundation covered all, to drier leaf litter that looks never to have been submerged. It might be interesting to run transects across the transition from wet to dry and see the variation in the soil arthropods. Might also be interesting to look at differences in soil gleying or pedology associated with inundation. Could also run transect for soil arthropods down the 25 foot tall escarpment to the area of inundation.. a few replicate transects.
Encountered a Morus mulberry and Sideroxylon (Bumelia) next to a Crataegus hawthorn(?) all a bit uncommon in the Woods.. (Maybe the result of one deposition of poop from a vertebrate omnivore?) They were together along the trail I am clearing from the East Pond eastward to the Trans OWP Trail.. nearer the west end. Same location I found a large diameter poison ivy vine (largest I've seen in the OWP).. like a bare, ash gray elephant's trunk up a tall arching walnut tree.
I've never studied a seasonally flooded forest. I imagine the fungi and other decomposers would be much more limited.. and probably more abundant.. bacteria and aquatic fungi I imagine would be important. Earthworms are going to be largely absent and many soil arthropods.
It would be interesting to see if satellite or remote sensing data could detect and delineate the changing area of the inundation.. and it would be interesting to see if tree stress during the inundation is visible in the canopy spectral picture.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The water is gone
Wednesday afternoon I returned to the SW entrance with Mark Walvoord. We walked up the old trail and I was surprised to see that the acres of inundation, there since mid April were gone. Everywhere there had been a continuous shallow lake, the water had drained away leaving either sodden, now mushy organic packs of leaves, bark and forest litter or bare thin mud. I wondered about the fate of the populations of mosquito wrigglers I had seen there days earlier. I believe there may still be standing water further north along Chautauqua but there has been a large area drained - not quite dry in the past few days.
We exited the Woods at the mid point of the south boundary where water was still ponded up a few feet in depth. Water was also still slowly flowing a foot deep in the south ditch and out the drainage culvert towards the Canadian River.
We exited the Woods at the mid point of the south boundary where water was still ponded up a few feet in depth. Water was also still slowly flowing a foot deep in the south ditch and out the drainage culvert towards the Canadian River.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Another Tuesday Morning on the Trail
This morning I returned to the Trans OWP trail project with loppers and weedwacker. I cut grass, vines, young tree twigs, and shrubs to push the trail further west. There had been a light rain in the Woods. Grasses and shrubs were a little wet. We had had no rain on the west side of Norman less than 1 mile northwest.
After two hours working on the trail I found only two ticks. I wonder if the ticks are abundant along established trails wildlife (deer) commonly traverse.
New green Smilax briar shoots regrowing from stubs I'd cut previously, are densely covered in fine thorns. Interesting ontogenetic switch.
No deer, turtles or rabbits sighted today. I found the beautiful clerid beetle, Enoclerus(2) out foraging on surprisingly small woody stems and an odd looking mantisfly on my way out of the Woods.
After two hours working on the trail I found only two ticks. I wonder if the ticks are abundant along established trails wildlife (deer) commonly traverse.
New green Smilax briar shoots regrowing from stubs I'd cut previously, are densely covered in fine thorns. Interesting ontogenetic switch.
No deer, turtles or rabbits sighted today. I found the beautiful clerid beetle, Enoclerus(2) out foraging on surprisingly small woody stems and an odd looking mantisfly on my way out of the Woods.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Turtles and Ticks.. Working on the Trans OWP Trail
This morning I took loppers and weedwacker to Olivers Wildlife Preserve to work on a trail cutting across the north Woods. I entered from the northeast and enjoyed the clear path down to the bur oak bridge across the creek (approx 175 meters or 575 ft south of the north boundary fence).
I noticed a small school of 3 minnow sized fish feeding in the pool under the bur oak bridge and I am hoping that is bad news for mosquitoes. I flagged a more or less direct route from the bur oak bridge to the East Pond end of the Ponds Trail. The East Pond is lovely, covered in floating tufts of white seeds from the cottonwoods. All the cotton seems to be down now. I didn't see any more drifting from the sky.
Along the way I encountered three 3-toed box turtles (2 mating..I don't remember seeing that before). There was also a fleeting glimpse of one or more white tail deer disappearing in the brush along the eastern escarpment above the bur oak bridge; and one cottontail rabbit scooting away in the brush. I also came upon the recent remains of a nice 50 cm snake.. mocha colored, without head. Flies were busily gorging themselves on anterior portion with nicely revealed skeleton while the posterior two thirds were largely intact. Some predator must have dispatched it, partially consumed it and left the rest there.
In addition to the trail I flagged today from the bridge to the Ponds, I plan to flag a trail from the bridge going southwest to connect to the Oliver North South Fenceline trail. This would connect to both the southern service road, midway along the southern border of the Woods.. and make a connection to the main Southwest trail leading to the South West Gate on Chautauqua.
Some portion of the understory vegetation is now producing prolific numbers of small round green "stick tight" seeds and my socks are a mess.
The ticks today were pretty amazing. I removed 16 from my clothing, feet and legs when I returned home. (And I suspect that total is not final.)
I noticed a small school of 3 minnow sized fish feeding in the pool under the bur oak bridge and I am hoping that is bad news for mosquitoes. I flagged a more or less direct route from the bur oak bridge to the East Pond end of the Ponds Trail. The East Pond is lovely, covered in floating tufts of white seeds from the cottonwoods. All the cotton seems to be down now. I didn't see any more drifting from the sky.
Along the way I encountered three 3-toed box turtles (2 mating..I don't remember seeing that before). There was also a fleeting glimpse of one or more white tail deer disappearing in the brush along the eastern escarpment above the bur oak bridge; and one cottontail rabbit scooting away in the brush. I also came upon the recent remains of a nice 50 cm snake.. mocha colored, without head. Flies were busily gorging themselves on anterior portion with nicely revealed skeleton while the posterior two thirds were largely intact. Some predator must have dispatched it, partially consumed it and left the rest there.
In addition to the trail I flagged today from the bridge to the Ponds, I plan to flag a trail from the bridge going southwest to connect to the Oliver North South Fenceline trail. This would connect to both the southern service road, midway along the southern border of the Woods.. and make a connection to the main Southwest trail leading to the South West Gate on Chautauqua.
Some portion of the understory vegetation is now producing prolific numbers of small round green "stick tight" seeds and my socks are a mess.
The ticks today were pretty amazing. I removed 16 from my clothing, feet and legs when I returned home. (And I suspect that total is not final.)
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Dobsonfly, Gerid, More on Decomposition, Falling Blossoms
Another noon day stroll/ wade in the Woods. I noticed here and there beautiful catalpa blossoms falling into the water. The "cotton" was falling abundantly from the cottonwood trees and their seeds were floating all across the flooded Woods. In patches there were lots of white miniature bell persimmon blossoms looking like they've been floating on the water for a few days. Under one largish persimmon tree there were also somewhat mysteriously hundreds of fresh green mature persimmon leaves on the ground. They were without blight or injury and looked to have been freshly stripped from some part of the upper canopy by a bird or other animal. Very odd.
There were also more predators! I saw one water strider gerid and one Corydalid Dobsonfly. The Dobsonfly was just finishing off metamorphosis and eclosion and was drying its wings. I picked up the piece of wood where it had perched and watched it for 15 minutes.
I wondered about this individual. It did not seem like the Woods had been flooded long enough for it to have hatched from an egg and gone through full development to an adult. I wondered if it may have gone through all the late summer, autumn, winter and dry early spring in diapause, partially developed and waiting for inundation to return for completion of its development.
Are these partly developed diapausing predators the first early arthropod control species for the exploding population of mosquito wrigglers? What are the first agents that can begin to naturally suppress or slow down the mosquitoes? Could one keep mosquitoes down to lower abundance by importing early predators earlier? What if you brought in a few hundred water striders or gyrinid whirligig beetles a week or two earlier than they typically get going?
A flock of blackbirds (grackles?) were investigating the wet woods.
Entering through the SW gate and walking along the southern fence line, there was an interesting mosaic of wet areas of forest, some with standing water adjacent to other larger, slightly raised, dry areas that looked never to have been inundated. This should set up a mosaic of soil organisms too. Along the inundated paths, earthworms and micro-arthropods will be reduced. But they will be able to rapidly recolonize from adjacent dry refugia. Prediction would be a very different pattern of decomposition and richness, abundance, diversity of decomposing organisms in this mosaic contrasted with the broader areas of solid inundation fifty meters north into the Woods.
There were also more predators! I saw one water strider gerid and one Corydalid Dobsonfly. The Dobsonfly was just finishing off metamorphosis and eclosion and was drying its wings. I picked up the piece of wood where it had perched and watched it for 15 minutes.
I wondered about this individual. It did not seem like the Woods had been flooded long enough for it to have hatched from an egg and gone through full development to an adult. I wondered if it may have gone through all the late summer, autumn, winter and dry early spring in diapause, partially developed and waiting for inundation to return for completion of its development.
Are these partly developed diapausing predators the first early arthropod control species for the exploding population of mosquito wrigglers? What are the first agents that can begin to naturally suppress or slow down the mosquitoes? Could one keep mosquitoes down to lower abundance by importing early predators earlier? What if you brought in a few hundred water striders or gyrinid whirligig beetles a week or two earlier than they typically get going?
A flock of blackbirds (grackles?) were investigating the wet woods.
Entering through the SW gate and walking along the southern fence line, there was an interesting mosaic of wet areas of forest, some with standing water adjacent to other larger, slightly raised, dry areas that looked never to have been inundated. This should set up a mosaic of soil organisms too. Along the inundated paths, earthworms and micro-arthropods will be reduced. But they will be able to rapidly recolonize from adjacent dry refugia. Prediction would be a very different pattern of decomposition and richness, abundance, diversity of decomposing organisms in this mosaic contrasted with the broader areas of solid inundation fifty meters north into the Woods.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wanted: 10,000 Dragonflies, Hungry
I went for a walk in Olivers Woods Friday 22 May 2009 at 1:30. What a remarkable change! I entered the Woods from the SW gate off Chautauqua and set off up the trail that I and scores of ecology students had taken dozens of times from January through April. But I got only about 50 feet along the way before encountering shallow standing water.. and not just a puddle. I was at the edge of acres and acres of 6 inch deep water. Everywhere I looked, shallow water covered 85 % of the forest floor. The water was a light golden color from dissolved organics – leached from the decaying wood and leaves it had recently covered; but mostly clear enough to see the details of the submerged forest floor.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Spring In Oklahoma
The ticks are plentiful, the poison ivy is abundant, and the chiggers are crawling. Is there a better time to be out in the field in Oklahoma?
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