Despite Cool Nights and No Rain Bird Nesting Peaks in the Piedmont of NC

With widespread drought and predictions of a strong El Nino year, it is no surprise that we have received virtually no rain in the Piedmont of NC. One benefit is that the grass is hardly growing so mowing is suspended for now. But animals and plants are undoubtedly suffering from the unusual weather. Yet bird breeding seems to be proceeding as normal. I show just a few indications of this for four species that I encounter daily. Yellow throated warblers are presumably breeding in the very tall pines over my house; I hear them singing and the adults come to my dripping water bath and collect insects in my yard- here is a photo of one adult with a mouthful of bugs destined for some hungry mouths no doubt. Cliff swallows are very active around the nearby bridges over the Haw River; they collect mud and build remarkable nests high up under the edges of the bridge. It is interesting that they do this in a communal manner. It may be that the proper type of mud/clay is only found in a few areas where all join together to collect it. The dome like mud nests are a marvel of engineering and the colony is quite busy rebuilding nests destroyed by last years flood in July and by the gradual erosion of time.

There are many cardinals in my yard and I have found two nests. One was destroyed by a predator and the other had three eggs on April 28 which were large nestlings 11 days later. It is very interesting that this nest was found in a dense non-native bush, a Japanese Euonymus, which also had a nest of a chipping sparrow very close by. You can see from a photo of this bush that it is completely in the open of a yard and yet seems unusually appropriate for bird nests due to its very dense foliage. Standard procedures emphasizing native plants in preference to non-natives would have recommended cutting this bush down and planting a native to replace it. While this would have been sound advice in some respects it would have probably provided poorer nesting habitat, certainly in the short term, since no native bush has such dense foliage. In addition most native plants are eaten by the over-abundant deer population. When you assume the role of gardener you become in a sense the “god” of your domain and have to deal with such difficult issues!

Butterflies remain rather scarce as flowers are still yet to bloom in large numbers. This zinnia was blooming in a botanical garden and attracted a silver spotted skipper. A number of asters are blooming in weedy areas and these illustrate the unusual and very successful flower types of these highly specialized plants. Asters or composites are of course made up of a large number of flowers or florets of two types, the central disks and peripheral rays. Some flowers such as dandelions and hawkweeds have only ray florets whereas daisies have both disc and ray florets. This is in distinct contrast to primitive flowers such as magnolias which have only a single large flower. Elderberries have just started to bloom and illustrate a very different arrangement of flowers grouped in an umbel.

There are many box elders (a type of maple) growing along the Haw River and they support a large population of box elder bugs which are quite evident in the Spring. Juveniles or nymphs are found crawling around the plants and group together in large aggregations. These bugs are bright red presumably to warn predators that they are distasteful. Why they group together is less obvious although it might be a means of maximizing the value of aposematic coloration among related insects. A similar grouping is found among related juvenile lubber grasshoppers.

Reptiles are quite obvious in the Spring sunshine. It is unusual along the Haw River for snapping turtles to bask yet numerous cooter turtles do so on rocks and logs. Snakes are becoming obvious both in the water and on land. The northern water snake is a common species that feeds in and along the edges of rivers and ponds. The black rat snake is the most common large predator which likely preys on bird nests. I have seen two green anoles or American chameleons recently which is unusual. Our most common lizards are the blue tailed skinks. I found this dead skink minus its tail which was presumably chewed off by a predator. In this case the lizard also died but was left uneaten possibly due to distastefulness.

I have noted several clues of “forest forensics” recently on my rambles in the woods. Trees are often blown down in storms especially if the ground is wet. These treefalls result in a “gap” in the canopy which can cause a sudden growth of shade intolerant plants which had been suppressed by the canopy closure. You can see a bright area of sunlight illustrating this effect here. One of the trees that is completely dependent on such gaps or a complete clearing of the forest for growth is red cedar. So the occurrence of a living red cedar in a woodland illustrates that this area is of recent origin. This dead cedar blown down across the trail shows us that this area was cleared in the not too distant past and a hardwood forest is now replacing the pines and cedars that grew here immediately after agriculture ceased.

Nature is constantly offering us lessons in how the earth’s ecosystems operate in good times and bad. Take time to both enjoy nature in all of its splendor and to listen to these lessons. A closer observation of natural events will offer great solace to the human soul and teach us how to better manage the world’s ecosystems.