The Nature of Delaware

By Derek Stoner, Conservation Project Coordinator and Jared Judy, Flintwoods Preserve Land Manager

The field of warm season grasses on March 29, 2011, just prior to burning. Image by Derek Stoner.

A new type of land managment tool is arriving in the Piedmont of Delaware, and this is one of the most simple techniques with which to revitalize grassland habitats:  Fire!

This past Spring, on March 29, for the first time in known memory a prescribed fire was conducted in the Piedmont region of Delaware.  The challenge of managing a fire and timing it safely so as not to damage surrounding habitats is crucial.  When the right conditions arrived in late March, the call was made for the fire crew to assemble and get to work.

Delaware Nature Society Land Steward Dave Pro lays down a line of fire using a drip torch, igniting the dry grasses behind him. Image by Derek Stoner.

Prescribed fire specialists from the Delaware Forest Service teamed up with staff from Flintwoods Preserve (led by land manager Jared Judy) and Delaware Nature Society Land and Biodiversity staff to conduct a prescribed fire on a 6-acre planted plot of native warm season grasses (Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, and Indian Grass) at Coverdale Farm Preserve.

Immediately after the last flames died out, the field resembles a black landscape of scorched ground. Image by Derek Stoner.

The burn went extremly well, and in less than 20 minutes, 6 acres of dried grasses were reduced to black ashes and a patch of ground that looked empty.  The ashes would help fertilize the growth of grasses from the rootstocks underground, and within just a few days the field would turn green and lush with  new plant life.

The idea for this prescribed fire came from Jared Judy, who brings extensive experience with this managment technique from his time in Texas working as a land manager of  extensive grassland habitat.  Jared writes:

I received my training in prescribed fire along the Gulf Coast of Texas with the Nature Conservancy.  Nationally, the Nature Conservancy has adopted the standards of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) for their prescribed fire operations, allowing them to partner with state and federal agencies to conduct burns.  Land managers and conservation staff within the Texas chapter are encouraged to obtain NWCG certification and training.  When a land manager had units on their preserve ready to burn they would put out the call and the other land managers would travel from around the state to assist with the fire.  It was termed the “fire militia”, as we all had other job responsibilities but understood that if we wanted to burn on our preserve we had to be there to assist others. 

When discussing warm season meadow establishment and management, prescribed fire must be part of the conversation.  The scale of fire will be very different on the Delaware Piedmont than it was from the Texas Coast, but its role in meadow management should remain undiminished.  Without the use of fire in our meadows on the Piedmont, their diversity and usability for wildlife will never reach its full potential. 

Prescribed fire associations, a collection of land managers and property owners interested in using fire as a management tool, are becoming common in many areas of the Midwest.  The establishment of such an association allows for each landowner involved to dip into a collective pool of resources and personnel to accomplish a burn on their property.  Also, grants are available to such associations to build an equipment cache to be shared among the members.  Developing a burn association in the Delaware Piedmont could be an effective way to reintroduce fire into the system on a broad scale.

Enjoy this fascinating video of the whole process of the prescribed fire at Coverdale Farm Preserve– you can hear the fire crackle and almost feel the heat!    And stay tuned for an update of how the field re-generates immediately after the fire.

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By Brian Winslow, Executive Director

I would like to introduce myself.  I am Brian Winslow, the new Executive Director of the Delaware Nature Society.  In the coming months I will be touring the Nature Society’s sites and facilities as I learn more about the programs and activities.  So I thought it would be a good idea to post a blog about some of my visits in the coming months.  Some of the sites might be familiar to you, but maybe you haven’t visited them in awhile and others may be entirely new to you.

After my first week on the job, I decided to take a hike at Ashland Nature Center on Saturday, January 7^th.   It was 55 degrees with partly cloudy skies.  On my drive over, I was pleased to see how many people were out enjoying the weather with full parking areas at Brandywine State Park and Woodlawn.  The roads were full of bikers as well (I wish I had brought my bike instead of cross country skis!).  When I arrived at Ashland there were many hikers there as well as a cub scout troop. 

Brian Winslow stands on Hawk Watch Hill at Ashland Nature Center. Brian is the new Executive Director of the Delaware Nature Society.

Hiking the Tree Top Trail was beautiful with great views of the Red Clay valley afforded only in winter with the leaves off the trees.  My favorite spot was where the trail goes between two large Tulip Poplar trees, almost as if a grand entrance to the mature woods.  On top of Hawk Watch Hill I met a young man, Sean, who had come up to watch the sun set and moon rise.  What a great place for panoramic views, bird watching and just relaxing!

A short distance down the trail I met former director Mike Riska with his wife enjoying the good weather.  I feel so fortunate to follow Mike as Director and I am grateful for all the amazing things he has done in growing the Delaware Nature Society to what it is today.  Seeing so many people outdoors hiking, biking, relaxing and learning affirms my belief in the value of open spaces, parks and scenic by-ways.  It was a great end to my first week here and a great beginning to continuing the good work of the Delaware Nature Society.

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By Derek Stoner, Conservation Project Coordinator

The sun is setting on the month of November, and this is bringing the Blog Blitz for Membership month to a close as well.  Thank you to all who tuned in this month and enjoyed the variety of new posts that we shared with you, our loyal readers.

There is plenty to look forward to in coming months, as we bring you more interesting stories, images, and highlights from Delaware Nature Society happenings.   There is lots of excitement about new programs and initiatives within the organization, and we look forward to sharing with you as we explore the Nature of Delaware.

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By Derek Stoner, Conservation Project Coordinator

A Great Blue Heron holds a large fish in its beak at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, in May 2009. Image by Derek Stoner.

After bellying up to the Thanksgiving table yesterday and filling up on too much food, many of us probably feel like we’ve eaten more than humanly possible.

For a bird, though, our consumption rate relative to our body size may not seem like much.  Many birds routinely eat 10 to 20 percent or more of their body weight each day.  Imagine an average-size human eating 20 pounds of food at a sitting!  That’s extreme!

Today’s photo shows a Great Blue Heron that may have grabbed more than it can swallow.  A large fish shows evidence of the heron’s stabbed with its beak, but with no teeth to cut the fish into pieces, the heron is struggling to swallow the fish whole.  I did not witness the conclusion of this heroic eating attempt, but we can only guess that the heron tried its best to devour the fish!

Prize Alert!

Can you identify the species of fish to its proper family?

The first correct answer posted in “Comments” will receive a copy of Delaware’s Freshwater and Brackish-Water Fishes. 

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By Kristen Travers, Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator

Hiking along the new birding trail at Middle Run Natural Area it’s hard not to gaze up at the glorious fall foliage.  As the trail meanders along the tributary of
White Clay Creek, leaves from the forest canopy flutter toward the ground.  I watch one leaf as it falls into the creek and begins to float downstream.  The leaf doesn’t float far until it becomes lodged in front of a large rock along with a clump of other leaves.  Looking along the creek other clumps of partly submerged leaves, called leaf packs, are scattered. 

A leaf pack in a small stream.

I reach under the water and grab a leaf pack that looks to have been in the water for a period of time – the tree leaves are covered in a slimy biofilm of fungi and bacteria that are beginning to decompose the leaves.  Slowly pulling the leaves apart reveals a hidden habitat for aquatic insects.    A large crane fly, a common leaf pack inhabitant this time of year, wriggles out from under a leaf.

Crane fly larvae (Family Tipulidae). Photo by: R. Heringslack

These strange looking insects spend most of their life under the water as larvae using the leaf packs as both a habitat as well as a food supply. Often referred to as shredders, crane flies, along with other aquatic insects that feed on tree leaves, provide an important ecosystem function shredding leaves into smaller pieces that then become food for other aquatic invertebrates.  After living about a year under the water, the larvae pupate and change into the terrestrial adults.  Adult crane flies, commonly seen during summer months, are often mistaken for large killer mosquitoes but fortunately are harmless.  They  may feed on nectar, if anything, as adults.

A face only a mother could love? Actually this view is the end of the abdomen – the two dots are spiracles used to obtain oxygen. The head of the crane fly is small and can be pulled back into the body rather like a turtle. Photo by: R. Heringslack

The next time that you’re out hiking near a stream, look for leaf packs – scoop up a handful of leaves, the slimier the better, and see what you can discover!  Help a stream – and a crane fly – by planting native trees or shrubs in your backyard or at a DNS tree planting event.  Native tree leaves provide a better quality food supply for our local aquatic and terrestrial insects.

Prize Alert:

What is the official aquatic macroinvertebrate of Delaware?

The first person to answer correctly will win the book Delaware’s Freshwater and Brackish-Water Fishes by Maynard Raasch.  Use the “Comments” section to submit your answer (press the little number below the date at the top to comment if you don’t see a comment form).

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By Derek Stoner, Conservation Project Coordinator

Travelling back in time to Spring, let’s re-visit an amazing series of observations:

As surely as April showers gave way to May flowers, so does the world of birds spring forth with new life.  Everywhere you look, birds are building nests, incubating eggs, and feeding babies.  Baby birds grow quickly and in seemingly no time at all are ready to leave the nest.   During this critical time of pre- and post-fledging, baby birds sometimes have difficulties and wind up in the hands of a concerned human.  The following is a story to help us all better understand the world of baby birds.

A female Mourning Dove sits on her nest, incubating two eggs. Image by Derek Stoner, March 28, 2011.

On March 15 we noticed a pair of Mourning Doves outside of the Ashland Nature Center conference room, courting and then mating.  Within minutes, both doves could be seen carrying small twigs up to the top of a stone support pillar, where a protected shelf area would hold their nest.  Interestingly, the doves built their nests atop an American Robin nest from the year before. 

On March 18, I checked the nest and found two white eggs.  Every single Mourning Dove nest I have ever seen contains two eggs, so I knew that the clutch was complete and the female would start incubating the eggs.  With an expected incubation period of 14 days, that meant the eggs should hatch on March 31.

A 2-day old Mourning Dove nestling, or squab, nestled briefly in the palm of my hand. Image by Derek Stoner, April 1, 2011.

The last two weeks of March had typically cold and wet weather, with some night plunging below freezing  and a low of 25 degrees on March 25.  Through it all, the female Mourning Dove stayed on the nest, keeping the eggs at a constant 102 degrees F.   On schedule, two tiny, naked nestlings entered the world on March 30.

On April 1, I visited the nest and began the careful documentation process of these baby birds.  With the mother away briefly, I lifted one baby dove out of the nest, held it in my palm, and snapped a few photos with my other hand.  Replacing the baby in the nest, I watched the mother return within less than a minute.  Although I could not see the activity, I could tell that she was feeding her babies. 

Mourning Doves (and other members of the pigeon/dove family) feed their young “crop milk” which is an extremely nutritious protein-enriched fluid excreted by the crop of both male and female doves.  For the first few days of life, baby Mourning Doves are fed an exclusive diet of crop milk.   Not surprisingly, this diet helps the babies grow very quickly!

Stay tuned for part two of this story, and see how these baby Mourning Doves grew and successfully fledged from the nest.   

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