Strong storm Friday evening brought heavy 1.1 inch rain to Norman. I packed my swing blade Saturday morning to trim some of the abundant trail side vegetation. Just in from the NE Gate, I was greeted by a box turtle on the trail by tree #14, out enjoying the damp morning. I ended up trimming all the Tree Loop and most of the northeast trails. The grasses, Symphoricarpos deerbrush, understory box elder and Elephantopus elephant's foot were really taking off. I think this was a good strategic time to trim. I hope the timing will keep the trails from becoming too overgrown.
I try to favor (not cut) the low Parthenocissus Virginia creeper. I also try to keep vegetation in place that looks like it may help prevent erosion. Luckily, this is not much of a problem in the Woods.
Clearing along the levee trail south of Island Crossing, I was delighted to spot a new fern species, Botrychium rattlesnake fern. I found this in August 2014, but had never been able to locate it again. There were three sporophytes widely spaced, 10 and 40 feet apart. I have never seen this anywhere else in the Woods. The only other fern I know there is Asplenium ebony spleenwort.
The water was quite high in the Wash. (Could not cross Isld Crossing. Elm Bridge was OK). Standing by the ferns, I heard and saw a kingfisher zooming up along the Wash with its distinctive rattling call.
I watched a bumblebee foraging on some late Ligustrum privet blooms. Most of this bloom is finished, but there are still little patches of privet's sweet fragrance remaining in the Woods.
The East pond is filled as high as I've seen.. 2.6 ft in depth.
The Woods had a fine smell of wet soil, of humus and rapidly growing plants.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Out this Sunday morning via the NW Pond entrance. There I disturbed (twice) a young great blue heron fishing. It flew a short distance and returned. The red-eared slider was back, basking on the same log.
I brought the saw and worked to clear the trail to the East Pond of the large diameter snag that fell on a mature Viburnum and an elm.
I changed into my water boots and took the saw along the West Trail to clear an elm killed by beetles and Ophiostoma elm disease.
Continuing (splashing) south through ankle deep water, I walked through the flooded western Woods and thought about the ecology of this becoming an intermittent wetland. Impact on earthworms, ants, spiders, other soil invertebrates, millipeds, annual herbaceous plants, forest stand composition.. all very interesting. Where will refugia for these be? What will they be? Stumps? Windthrow islands of raised soil? The higher sand dunes on the southside? How will recolonization happen, and how quickly? Again, a large population of mosquito larvae wrigglers enlivened the water but I did not see predators gerrids, dytiscids, odonates etc. Interesting opportunistic reproduction, rapid growth and feeding of wrigglers, then potential complete mortality if the shallow floodwater dries before wrigglers reach maturity.
I brought the saw and worked to clear the trail to the East Pond of the large diameter snag that fell on a mature Viburnum and an elm.
I changed into my water boots and took the saw along the West Trail to clear an elm killed by beetles and Ophiostoma elm disease.
Continuing (splashing) south through ankle deep water, I walked through the flooded western Woods and thought about the ecology of this becoming an intermittent wetland. Impact on earthworms, ants, spiders, other soil invertebrates, millipeds, annual herbaceous plants, forest stand composition.. all very interesting. Where will refugia for these be? What will they be? Stumps? Windthrow islands of raised soil? The higher sand dunes on the southside? How will recolonization happen, and how quickly? Again, a large population of mosquito larvae wrigglers enlivened the water but I did not see predators gerrids, dytiscids, odonates etc. Interesting opportunistic reproduction, rapid growth and feeding of wrigglers, then potential complete mortality if the shallow floodwater dries before wrigglers reach maturity.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Two Turtle Morning
Beautiful fresh morning for a walk in the Woods. I started from the NW entrance, walking in quietly to see if I could spot any large creatures playing in the enlarged flooded area of sedges and willows.
Just north of the water, right on the trail, I found the first box turtle of the year for the Woods, for me. Carpenter documented box turtles passing the winter burrowed in the deep leaf pack in the ravines just north of the water. With their 100+ year lifespan, this could have been one of the turtles Carpenter recorded.
A few more interesting insects this morning: a couple of jelly-bean-sized small wasps energetically searching margins of new leaves of annual herbs.. looking for caterpillars ? or spiders? or other; a female mosquito landing in vain hope of finding a snack, a few crane flies, one dragonfly (midst of 2 Pecan trail - none others observed).
Most of the spring flowers are bloomed out and gone now. A few Erigeron annuus (?) white and yellow fleabane daisies are newly blooming.
The NW Pond was at 2.55 ft and the East Pond was at 2.22 ft.
The wet soil along the trail looked to have been recently dug up - probably by armadillos, maybe raccoons. The soil smelled richly of humus.
The water along the wash looked to be perturbed by something larg-ish, like a crayfish snake, or turtle, or something else; but I did not see a creature, until on the way out there was a good-sized red-eared slider basking up on a raised log on the south side of the NW Pond. First pond turtle I've seen there in a year or two(?) Interesting life, to be able to just suspend and not move around for months, or longer, if conditions are not the best.
Several of the large old pecan logs are sufficiently decayed now (soft rot, falling apart) that they may be just about right for finding Hercules beetles.
With mild temperature and recent fresh spring rains, this may be the time of greatest, most rapid growth in the Woods. They are exploding with life.
Just north of the water, right on the trail, I found the first box turtle of the year for the Woods, for me. Carpenter documented box turtles passing the winter burrowed in the deep leaf pack in the ravines just north of the water. With their 100+ year lifespan, this could have been one of the turtles Carpenter recorded.
A few more interesting insects this morning: a couple of jelly-bean-sized small wasps energetically searching margins of new leaves of annual herbs.. looking for caterpillars ? or spiders? or other; a female mosquito landing in vain hope of finding a snack, a few crane flies, one dragonfly (midst of 2 Pecan trail - none others observed).
Most of the spring flowers are bloomed out and gone now. A few Erigeron annuus (?) white and yellow fleabane daisies are newly blooming.
The NW Pond was at 2.55 ft and the East Pond was at 2.22 ft.
The wet soil along the trail looked to have been recently dug up - probably by armadillos, maybe raccoons. The soil smelled richly of humus.
The water along the wash looked to be perturbed by something larg-ish, like a crayfish snake, or turtle, or something else; but I did not see a creature, until on the way out there was a good-sized red-eared slider basking up on a raised log on the south side of the NW Pond. First pond turtle I've seen there in a year or two(?) Interesting life, to be able to just suspend and not move around for months, or longer, if conditions are not the best.
Several of the large old pecan logs are sufficiently decayed now (soft rot, falling apart) that they may be just about right for finding Hercules beetles.
With mild temperature and recent fresh spring rains, this may be the time of greatest, most rapid growth in the Woods. They are exploding with life.
Friday, April 22, 2016
Spring wet Woods
After a week of wet weather with 4 inches of good rain, Thursday was our first good drying day. I went to the NW Gate at 5 to see the Woods. The Woods is rapidly becoming its annual spring jungle.
Smilax greenbrier vines' new tendrils were encroaching on the trails, as were Symphoricarpos, buckbrush and Acer negundo box elder.
I'll need to clear trails with swing blade to keep them open.
Fungi should be growing well with the rain, and I found a patch of Auricularia jew's ear jelly fungus well fleshed out and a few agarics. There should be more in a week.
Multiflora rose was out in full white bloom perfuming the Woods with a sweet smell, here and there. The East Pond and NW Pond were both well-filled. I did not see any aquatic insect predators (odonates etc) there; and did not find any mosquitoes.
One white-tailed deer ran splashing through the shallow water to the south side of the NW Pond and then stood browsing and watching me. I sang and waved to it as it browsed, then I headed back east.
The old pecan log across the East West Trail, has decayed enough now so that it is breaking up. I found a large white scarab grub in the soft rotten wood and thought it might be Dynastes, our Hercules beetle. Not many other insects.
Tapping the Lindgren beetle trap with a long stick, I disturbed a Polistes wasp (nesting, no doubt) and I quickly stepped back 30 feet or so.
I watched one bumble bee as it searched the ground beside me, as though it was looking for its nest.
All looked beautiful and in good shape in the northern Woods.
Smilax greenbrier vines' new tendrils were encroaching on the trails, as were Symphoricarpos, buckbrush and Acer negundo box elder.
I'll need to clear trails with swing blade to keep them open.
Fungi should be growing well with the rain, and I found a patch of Auricularia jew's ear jelly fungus well fleshed out and a few agarics. There should be more in a week.
Multiflora rose was out in full white bloom perfuming the Woods with a sweet smell, here and there. The East Pond and NW Pond were both well-filled. I did not see any aquatic insect predators (odonates etc) there; and did not find any mosquitoes.
One white-tailed deer ran splashing through the shallow water to the south side of the NW Pond and then stood browsing and watching me. I sang and waved to it as it browsed, then I headed back east.
The old pecan log across the East West Trail, has decayed enough now so that it is breaking up. I found a large white scarab grub in the soft rotten wood and thought it might be Dynastes, our Hercules beetle. Not many other insects.
Tapping the Lindgren beetle trap with a long stick, I disturbed a Polistes wasp (nesting, no doubt) and I quickly stepped back 30 feet or so.
I watched one bumble bee as it searched the ground beside me, as though it was looking for its nest.
All looked beautiful and in good shape in the northern Woods.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Fine Spring Afternoon in the Woods
Beautiful spring day today.
I entered the North East Gate and wandered down the track to the western arm of the Tree Loop. The persimmon leaves are just coming out on the young trees there. The Wash at Island Crossing has pools of water above and below, but no flow.
The Woods has closed in with green. The sound of the traffic on Highway 9 is now quieter, muffled by the production of tons of leafy green biomass.
I walked to the North Rim trail and found one surviving Ailanthus Tree of Heaven, and then three more smaller - all in the same location where we four had uprooted all that we could find, a couple of years ago. I flagged all four with yellow, and will follow (and eventually eliminate before it can spread.)
The Woods' trails were in good shape, no standing pools of water remained, except in the far west, along Chautauqua. The East Pond depth had declined to 1.88 ft. Tomorrow, most of the Woods will be flooded. Forecast largest rainstorm of 2016 so far. Maybe 4 inches.
Along the Pipeline at the big cottonwoods, I was happy to see a giant swallowtail Papilio cresphontes.
At Tall Stump, there were three white-tail. Looked like a yearling and two larger does.
Along the East West Trail, I ran into Joe B, OU CompSci student, out to enjoy a walk in the Woods.
Not too many flowers. I found Sisyrinchium, blue-eyed grass in bloom. Some Lamium purpureum dead nettle, small white flowers of Valerianella corn salad (along the south boundary road) and smaller white flowers of Cryptantha(?) Lots of Cardamine, bitter cress with its exploding seed pods.
One elm down across the trail near the swampy section by Chautauqua and the southern set of stepping stones along the trail, needs clearing.
Leaving the Woods I noticed a black hickory had a ring of young brown dead leaves surrounding each group of new green leaves. Looks like the tree may have broken bud in an early warm spell and then had a freeze cold enough to kill the new leaves. I'll have to look and see if there are other trees like this. I also noticed that several junipers had fairly widespread 'burned' branch tips with the distal centimeter of needles dead. I thought maybe Gymnosporangium cedar apple rust.. but might it have been a late cold snap?
I entered the North East Gate and wandered down the track to the western arm of the Tree Loop. The persimmon leaves are just coming out on the young trees there. The Wash at Island Crossing has pools of water above and below, but no flow.
The Woods has closed in with green. The sound of the traffic on Highway 9 is now quieter, muffled by the production of tons of leafy green biomass.
I walked to the North Rim trail and found one surviving Ailanthus Tree of Heaven, and then three more smaller - all in the same location where we four had uprooted all that we could find, a couple of years ago. I flagged all four with yellow, and will follow (and eventually eliminate before it can spread.)
The Woods' trails were in good shape, no standing pools of water remained, except in the far west, along Chautauqua. The East Pond depth had declined to 1.88 ft. Tomorrow, most of the Woods will be flooded. Forecast largest rainstorm of 2016 so far. Maybe 4 inches.
Along the Pipeline at the big cottonwoods, I was happy to see a giant swallowtail Papilio cresphontes.
At Tall Stump, there were three white-tail. Looked like a yearling and two larger does.
Along the East West Trail, I ran into Joe B, OU CompSci student, out to enjoy a walk in the Woods.
Not too many flowers. I found Sisyrinchium, blue-eyed grass in bloom. Some Lamium purpureum dead nettle, small white flowers of Valerianella corn salad (along the south boundary road) and smaller white flowers of Cryptantha(?) Lots of Cardamine, bitter cress with its exploding seed pods.
One elm down across the trail near the swampy section by Chautauqua and the southern set of stepping stones along the trail, needs clearing.
Leaving the Woods I noticed a black hickory had a ring of young brown dead leaves surrounding each group of new green leaves. Looks like the tree may have broken bud in an early warm spell and then had a freeze cold enough to kill the new leaves. I'll have to look and see if there are other trees like this. I also noticed that several junipers had fairly widespread 'burned' branch tips with the distal centimeter of needles dead. I thought maybe Gymnosporangium cedar apple rust.. but might it have been a late cold snap?
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Possum and Slime Mold
At the base of an Ampelopsis fox grape there was an odd patch of red that caught my eye. From a distance, I could not make out what I was seeing. A burnt reddish orange, it looked like it could be a piece of flotsam litter washed into the Woods along the Wash. I was curious and walked over to see what it was. Up close, I saw a large 30 cm long section of the old vine covered in a thick slime mold, the color of milky tomato soup. I could not remember seeing anything quite like that. It fully enclosed the vine. It looked like it had crawled up there overnight.
It was a beautiful spring afternoon Easter Sunday. I went to the Woods via the NW Pond entrance.
The pond and surrounding area were full.. the NW Pond was 2.48 ' in depth. The East Pond was 2.06'.
In the eastern portion of the central Woods I caught sight of a slow-moving possum. It kept a suspicious watch on me and made its way to a box elder tree (#448). I watched it climb 30 feet up to a large cavity - perhaps a broken trunk or branch. The possum eyed me for another minute or two and then slowly disappeared into the cavity.
In bloom were:
Viola, Cardamine, Galium aparine, Lamium purpureum & amplexicaule and a small white flower superficially like a small Apiaceae.
There were Morels (2) by the E Pond south shore and by the Wash. There are Ailanthus? and Lonicera maackii on the south shore of the East Pond.
It was a beautiful spring afternoon Easter Sunday. I went to the Woods via the NW Pond entrance.
The pond and surrounding area were full.. the NW Pond was 2.48 ' in depth. The East Pond was 2.06'.
In the eastern portion of the central Woods I caught sight of a slow-moving possum. It kept a suspicious watch on me and made its way to a box elder tree (#448). I watched it climb 30 feet up to a large cavity - perhaps a broken trunk or branch. The possum eyed me for another minute or two and then slowly disappeared into the cavity.
In bloom were:
Viola, Cardamine, Galium aparine, Lamium purpureum & amplexicaule and a small white flower superficially like a small Apiaceae.
There were Morels (2) by the E Pond south shore and by the Wash. There are Ailanthus? and Lonicera maackii on the south shore of the East Pond.
Hunting for White Tubular Flowers
Saturday was warm and sunny (mid 70's F) in the Woods. I went on a hunt for Lonicera maackii, Amur honeysuckle. This invasive shrub has quietly launched an invasion of the eastern Woods and has a reputation of producing impenetrable thickets which out compete native vegetation. The Lonicera shrubs are between 3 and 10 feet tall. Early April is the best time to pick them out with their bright array of white, tubular, half-inch to inch long honeysuckle flowers. I cut and treated the stems of a dozen or more stem clusters. I also cut the unique trifoliate orange, and the re-sprouts from the largest Albizia mimosa. I was selective and did not cut any of the common Ligustrum privet or Elaeagnus autumn olive invasive shrubs. Another time maybe.
Along the west facing slope of the Wash, north of the Elm Bridge, there were quite a few of the larger Lonicera in places that were steep and difficult to access.
The same slope was the warmest location in the Woods. I saw a goatweed nymphalid butterfly, a couple of checkerspots, a couple of the common orange skippers, a couple of big bumble bees and the first tiger swallowtail of the year. The swallowtails along with monarchs and others are usually abundant on the blooming Elaeagnus.
Down along the Main Southwest trail, the route was not flooded for the first time in weeks. The ground is still soft and wet. There were clouds of mosquitoes resting on the wet soil but when I disturbed them, they only flew a foot or two up and none were biting. I think they may have all been early hatched males waiting for adult females to emerge.
This is the time in the spring when the green island of the slightly-raised sand dune stands out. Like a bathtub ring, everything a cm or two lower is subject to inundation and has little or no herbaceous greenery. This was also evident walking northeast from Heather's physiology plots towards the junction at Tall Stump. Lots of deer tracks but I did not see deer. A few dog tracks in the soft mud. I'll have to watch for those. One tiny tick. Frogs leaping into the ponds but I saw no sign of turtles.
The small white borage is blooming (Pl???) and leaves of Polygonum are getting going. Also blooms on Stellaria chickweed, lots of scattered Viola, and both Lamium's amplexicaulae and purpureum.
Along the west facing slope of the Wash, north of the Elm Bridge, there were quite a few of the larger Lonicera in places that were steep and difficult to access.
The same slope was the warmest location in the Woods. I saw a goatweed nymphalid butterfly, a couple of checkerspots, a couple of the common orange skippers, a couple of big bumble bees and the first tiger swallowtail of the year. The swallowtails along with monarchs and others are usually abundant on the blooming Elaeagnus.
Down along the Main Southwest trail, the route was not flooded for the first time in weeks. The ground is still soft and wet. There were clouds of mosquitoes resting on the wet soil but when I disturbed them, they only flew a foot or two up and none were biting. I think they may have all been early hatched males waiting for adult females to emerge.
This is the time in the spring when the green island of the slightly-raised sand dune stands out. Like a bathtub ring, everything a cm or two lower is subject to inundation and has little or no herbaceous greenery. This was also evident walking northeast from Heather's physiology plots towards the junction at Tall Stump. Lots of deer tracks but I did not see deer. A few dog tracks in the soft mud. I'll have to watch for those. One tiny tick. Frogs leaping into the ponds but I saw no sign of turtles.
The small white borage is blooming (Pl???) and leaves of Polygonum are getting going. Also blooms on Stellaria chickweed, lots of scattered Viola, and both Lamium's amplexicaulae and purpureum.
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