Waterfowl Migration

Hooded Mergansers

Waterfowl migration has begun! From now until nearly the end of December there will be an increase in the presence and abundance of various waterfowl species as they make their way south for the coming winter. Some species will stick around here for the winter along the Hudson River and Long Island Sound while others are merely passing through on a longer trip to the southern US.

Check any sizable body of water in our area and you're sure to see some "new" species. The Hooded Mergansers above were vigorously feeding on fish in the pond at the Bedford Hills Memorial Park. Other species on and near the water at the park included Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Canada Geese, and Ring-billed Gull.

The reservoirs along 684 will have more hoodies, in addition to other diving ducks like Buffleheads and Ring-necked Ducks over the next couple weeks. Byram Lake is another good place to look for various species of migrating waterfowl in the area. This quiet waterbody often has Pied-billed Grebe and Common Mergansers on our annual Christmas Bird Count as well.

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist

Reclaiming the Route 22 Field

Second only to environmental education, wildlife and habitat management is one of Westmoreland Sanctuary's most important initiatives. The forests and fields are largely left to grow and mature with very little interference except under conditions which are likely to lead to the habitat's decline or unsuitability for wildlife.

One habitat that needs periodic maintanence is the sanctuary's fields and meadows. Periodically it is neccessary to stop the invasion of woody shrubs that slowly (or not so slowly) invade the field habitat. Prior to this year, most attempts at keeping woody growth at bay involved a lot of manual labor, including cutting shrubs by hand as they reached an unruly size. One year we rented a super mower and spent the entire day push mowing the entire field adjacent to NY route 22 until the mower gave up on us.
Thankfully, the Bedford Riding Lanes Association donated a couple hours of time and their tractor with brush hog to help us mow down the field. Scott Vigliotti (pictured above), BRLA's trail man, was able to mow the entire field in a fraction of the time it would have taken us to do it with the rented super mower. The tractor and brush hog were able to mulch up any shrub standing in its way.

Pictured here are two of our most unwanted species growing in and around the edges of our fields and meadows. The thorny shrub in the above photo is Multiflora Rose. Mixed among its branches are an Asiatic Bittersweet vine with ripening fruit (surrounded by the yellow covering).

Probably the nastiest shrub invading our forest, fields, and meadows is the Japanese Barberry. Its needle-thin thorns, tough stems, and vigorous growth make it the most difficult to control and remove from the landscape. The specimen above was loaded with the red berries containing seeds poised to wreak more havoc in the field.

Thankfully, many of the unwanted shrubs were mowed down, a few young Red Cedar and Holly saplings were spared, and the field is cleared and prepared for next spring's growth of grasses, forbs, and wildflowers.

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist

Home Invasion

For the last 2 weeks, my home and the nature museum have been under assult by a variety of six-legged home invaders. It initially began with a sudden influx of Asian Multicolored Lady Beetles. They were swarming all over the outer surfaces of the building's siding looking for a place to rest during their winter hibernation.

No sooner did the ladybugs dissappear and new invader showed up looking for a place to hibernate as well. The assailant (pictured above) is the Western Conifer Seed Bug. Believe it or not, there really is such a thing as a bug. True bugs are taxonomically different than other groups of insects and there are many different types. They can usually be differentiated from other types of insects by their leathery wings and they way they lay flat across their backs when folded, often creating an X shape.

Western Conifer Seed Bugs belong to a group usually referred to as leaf-footed bugs because of the wide,flattened sections of the hind legs. They are a little obnoxious when trapped in the house but are mostly harmless. If handled roughly they may emit a bit of a smelly odor but are not apt to bite.

So if your home looks like this photo above, you can relate to the home invasion. The ladybugs and seed bugs are relatively harmless as they rest on or in your home. They are only intending to hibernate. Neither species eats wood or drywall or any other type of building material. If you do notice them in your home, it is best to remove them alive rather than spraying insecticides to kill them. In fact, common insecticides are rarely effective on these species since the spray was developed to kill more common house pests like ants, flies, mosquitoes, spiders, etc.

Finding the locations where these insects are entering your home will go a long way to reducing the number of individuals coming inside. Ted Gilman, Greenwich Audubon Naturalist, referred to them as "little energy conservationists". Where they come in will be the same place your home will be leaking cold air once winter comes. Seal it up for the bugs, and seal it up to reduce your heating costs! To safely remove large numbers of lady bugs or other insect invaders, use this handy trick to convert your vacuum to safely collect and release your bugs outside.

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist

Persistent Spider

Cross Orbweaver (female)

The Encarta World English Dictionary defines persistence as:

1. quality of persisting: the quality of continuing steadily despite problems or difficulties
2. act of persisting: the action of somebody who persists with something
3. long continuance of something: continuance of an effect after its cause has ceased or been removed
4. ZOOLOGY resilience of organism: the ability of a living organism to resist being disturbed or being altered

The Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus) living on the side of my chicken coop certainly exemplifies the definitions of persistence described above. She has continued to carefully reconstruct her web each evening along the side of the coop in hopes of capturing an unsuspecting arthropod. Her attempts to do so have been mostly fruitfull during the few mild evenings recently. And despite the rain and colder temperatures the last few nights, she continues to complete her evening ritual in hopes of a meal.

The Cross Orbweaver, also known as the Garden Orbweaver or Cross Spider, is a native of Europe but can be found throughout most of northern North America. The common name comes from the pattern of white spots on the anterior (front) of the abdomen that form the shape of a cross. Overall color patterns may vary from very light individuals to very dark individuals, though nearly all have a diagnostic "cross" on the abdomen.

Like many other orbweavers, they create intricate webs that sometimes span large distances in an attempt to capture prey. The spider is usually seen sitting face down in the middle of the web. Hungry spiders will eat their prey right away after quickly wrapping them into a bundle with their silk. Satiated spiders will wrap their catch and leave it attached to the web for later consumption.

With this species and similar species, the web is torn down and reconstructed every day. The valuable silk is not simply thrown away, but, like all things in nature, it is recycled. In this case the spider reingests its silk to save the valuable proteins and nutrients the silk contains. These ingredients will be reused for the next evening's newly reconstructed web.

I know one evening soon I won't see this pretty spider anymore. She will have accumulated enough energy through her nighttime meals to lay her eggs. Once she's completed this task, her life will soon be over. But until that time, she remains forever persistent.

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist

Remember Fall?

Does anyone remember Fall? You know, Fall? When the leaves shine crimson, orange, and yellow against a crisp blue sky? Cool, brisk morning temperatures are slowly warmed into comfortable afternoons? The sound of dry, rustling leaves underfoot while walking the trails? You know, THAT Fall? Anyone seen it lately?

Well, just in case you forgot, or like me, you are yearning to see it return, here are some photos I took during October 4th's Lost Pond Lunch Hike.
This spider was putting the finishing touches on her new web a few feet above the trail in a strong, warm beam of sunlight.

These White-flowering Dogwood fruits were gleaming in the light of early morning, beckoning Catbirds, Veery's, Swainson's Thrushes, and others to eat. These berries will nourish a variety of songbirds on their journey south while distributing the seeds in their feces across the forest.

The airspace above Lost Pond was full of Meadowhawk Dragonflies. This one perched on the bench between foraging flights and chases with others of its kind. There were many pairs mating and distributing eggs which will hatch and become next years population of Meadowhawks.

There were still a variety of Bullfrogs and Green Frogs moving around the edge and on top of the lily pads of Lost Pond. Dragonflies and other insects moving about in the sunshine could quickly turn into one of the last meals for these two frogs before hibernation begins.

White Ash trees were ablaze with yellow color amongst the still green tones of the other forest trees.

A variety of birds like this Common Yellowthroat were fueling up on insects in our gardens, forests, and fields during their migration.

And now we have this. Cold. Rain. And snow. We got it all this weekend. But there's hope on the horizon. Weather reports generally look optimistic. Slowly warming temperatures and sunshine will hopefully make our acquaintence again this week. Keep your fingers crossed.

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist

Wildlife Sightings: Breakfast with the Birds

Saturday morning's weather was less than ideal for finding and viewing birds. The damp and foggy conditions created difficult lighting conditions for clear viewing of birds in the confines of the understory, but forest clearings and the area around Bechtel Lake provided sufficient levels of light.

There was a lot of activity from migrant species in various locations. Near the beginning of Easy Loop, in the clearing designated as Nichol's Field, there were Gray Catbirds, Veerys, and Swaison's Thrushs, and Robins gulping down the ripening "fruit" of the Dogwood trees. Zipping back and forth in the same area were a few of Black-throated Blue Warblers.

Further along on the Catbird Trail, the first clearing was full of actively foraging White-throated Sparrows and a Magnolia Warbler. More Gray Catbirds and Robins were moving about the grape vines in the back of the clearing.

Along the rest of the Catbird Trail, feeding flocks of Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmouse moved through the mixture of Black Birch, Oak, and White Pine trees. Northern Flicker and Red-bellied Woodpecker made vocalizations indicating their presence in the viscinity as well.

The intersection of the Catbird and Chickadee trails gave a glimpse of Bechtel Lake where two Wood Ducks were paddling around. Moving toward the lake, a White-breasted Nuthatch flew over the trail.

After turning onto Easy Loop and traveling parallel with the shore of Bechtel Lake, a group of Wood Ducks (about 10 total) exploded off the water into the air and flew off into the forest. Traveling further down the length of the lake toward the boat house, there were more White-breasted Nuthatches, Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Eastern Phoebe.

Among the fragmites around the end of the lake were Song Sparrows and more Gray Catbirds. There was a Northern Cardinal and Eastern Towhee vocalizing from the Red Maples beyond the fragmites. Cedar Waxwings made a pass over the lake and disappeared over the towering Tulip Trees.

Working my way up the hill on Easy Loop, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers moved through the canopy.

23 species in total were observed. Not an overwhelming diverse crowd of species, but there were lots of individual birds to been seen and heard on this morning.

Join me November 1st for the next Breakfast with the Birds. We will observe birds visiting our feeding station from the comfort of the museum. We'll also discuss how to participate in various citizen science projects like Project Feeder Watch, Christmas Bird Count, and Great Backyard Bird Count.

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist

Fall Festival Amended

Sunday's forecast is anything but sunny. It may rain, but it won't rain on our parade. We are moving most of the festival's activities inside the nature museum. Pony rides and the petting zoo will be located on the second floor of the museum. JUST KIDDING! They won't be coming, but there will still be plenty to do from 11AM to 4PM.

There's no admission for Sunday's event. A few of the activities and food will still have small fees, but there's plenty to do for free. Here's the schedule of events for Sunday, September 27:

• 12 Noon and 2:30PM: Live Animal Program - get upclose and hands-on with some of the animals that reside in the nature museum. FREE.
• 11AM and 1PM: Woodworking for Wildlife - make a bathouse or bluebird nesting box to enhance the wildlife habitat of your backyard (while supplies last). MATERIALS FEE.
• 3:30PM: Snake Hike and Pond Study - search for snakes in Nichols Field and aquatic life in Bechtel Lake (weather permitting). FREE.

ALL DAY ACTIVITIES:

• Sand Art
• Track and Fossil Casting
• Face Painting
• Coloring station
• Food
• Explore the nature museum

We hope you'll join us despite the rainy weather!

-Adam Zorn, Naturalist