Warbler Trees and Other Benefits of My Job

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Henry

During the second week in May, arguably the peak of the spring season for eastern migratory birds, I had the enormous pleasure of going birding in different locations with different groups of staff, volunteers, and supporters. It was a tough assignment, but somebody had to do it!

It started Wednesday when I joined an enthusiastic group of more than 30 participants at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for Wednesday Morning Birding, led by our knowledgeable, patient, and indefatigable Joppa Flats sanctuary director, Bill Gette. The day was perfect, bursting with sunlight streaming over the magnificent coastal landscape.

On our right we scanned the tidal marshes and salt pannes for egrets, shorebirds, gadwalls, ospreys, and eagles—seeing them all. On our left, the low trees and shrubs were exploding with hungry warblers. At one point we gathered under an oak tree that looked like it was literally blossoming with migrants: blackpoll, black-and white, blackburnian (in full flaming orange, truly one of the most beautiful birds in North America), black-throated blue, black-throated green, northern parula, and yellow-rumped warblers, along with a blue-headed vireo. In just three hours, we ended up seeing more than 60 species.

Early the next morning, I was invited to join a reunion of loyal participants in Mass Audubon’s Natural History Travel Program organized and led by Chris Leahy, Mass Audubon’s Bertrand Chair of Ornithology, and Karen O’Neill, the director of our travel program. The group was informal and worldly, and they had formed strong bonds of friendship and affection during their international adventures. We walked through the iconic landscapes of Mount Auburn Cemetery and saw species like scarlet tanager, greatcrested flycatcher, and of course more warblers.

Finally, on Saturday, it was time for my first Bird-a-thon, Mass Audubon’s premiere fundraising birding event, which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year. Teams of birders, ranging from nationally recognized experts to eager beginners, form teams and try to see (and hear) as many species as they can during a 24-hour period, taking pledges for the number of species recorded, and donating the proceeds to Mass Audubon. This is a fun, mission-driven event, and it raises substantial support for our organization.

I determined my own pledge and joined Jeff Collins, our Director of Ecological Management, and Gary Clayton, Vice President of Conservation on Saturday morning. We took a long walk at the Assabet National Wildlife Refuge in Sudbury, carefully making our way through expanses of woodland, wetlands, and grasslands. We saw or heard swamp and field sparrows, scarlet tanagers, and a group of common nighthawks, flying high and incongruously in the sun-filled sky. Beyond the birding, I learned from Gary and Jeff about the fascinating land-use history of the former military base and current refuge.

And if that wasn’t enough, I also visited Mass Audubon’s Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Norfolk and Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in South Dartmouth, meeting with staff and advisory committees. All in all, it was a packed and delightful week of birding, a continuation of my orientation, and time exceptionally well-spent with Mass Audubon’s committed supporters and staff.  I hope I’ll have many more weeks just like this one!

– Henry Tepper, president Mass Audubon

Attack of the Garlic Mustard

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Rosemary

The name of this plant may conjure thoughts of a tasty meal. But for gardeners and native plant lovers, garlic mustard has a bitter flavor: it’s an invasive species brought over by the settlers in the 1800s, and it’s taking over yards and forest floors.

How did garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) move from spicing up a few colonial gardens to dominating the northeast? Here are just a few of this plant’s clever adaptations:

  • Its roots leach chemicals that destroy the important fungal partners of nearby plants.
  • It makes a type of chemical antifreeze that helps it stay green in cold weather, allowing it to shoot up as soon as the snow is gone.
  • Each plant can release a thousand or more seeds.
  • Even after you remove the plant from your yard, its seeds can hang out in the soil for five years (or more).
  • It is toxic to some insects. Some types of butterfly eggs laid on its leaves will fail to hatch.

How to ID Garlic Mustard

Garlic mustard’s most iconic features are its green heart-shaped leaves with deep veins and tiny four-petaled white flowers. Note that the flowers don’t appear during the plant’s first year. You can also employ the smell test: true to its name, when crushed it gives off a garlicky smell.

Removing Garlic Mustard

May into early June is the best time to remove this plant from your yard. Many of the plants are flowering, making them easy to identify, but they haven’t yet had time to make seeds.

To remove a garlic mustard plant, grab it at the very base, and twist while pulling upwards. If the soil is loose, you may be able to pull up the roots, eliminating any chance that the plant could regrow. But even if you’re only able to pull up the above-ground portion, you will have at least stopped the seed-making process for this year.

Once you’ve picked the plants, put them in a plastic bag for disposal. Don’t dump them in your compost heap, or they may re-root or release seeds. Whatever you do, be sure to keep at it—because of those long-lasting seeds, you may be battling garlic mustard for years to come.