Rain Garden in August

This is what our rain garden looks like the first weekend in August. The flower that is currently blooming is Chelone lyonii "Hot Lips".  This is a beautiful plant to add to your garden that can grow in full or partial sun and would prefer to have moist soils.  This garden has really filled in since installation!! Another fun fact, I have only weeded this garden three times since it was installed.  That really goes to show you how planting plants in proper communities and proper garden preparation can greatly reduce your long term maintenance. 

Indigo Bunting

In the last few weeks, I have heard and spotted numerous Indigo Buntings around the area.  I thought that we could go over a few quick ID tips on how to recognize these birds. 

The males are a small bird with bright blue coloration, much more brilliant than what you would expect from a bluebird with darker edges to their wings and a small conical shaped bill.  The females are light brown with streaking on the breast and a whitish throat.  Some of the females will have blue marks on the tips of their wings. 

They can typically be found in weedy and brushy areas where the field meets the forest.  They have a fairly recognizable song which can be heard by clicking HERE.



Above is a terrible picture of an indigo bunting that I found at Stateline Woods this week.  Can you find the bright blue bird in the top left corner of the photograph?  I also have a much better picture of a female indigo bunting.  An up close of a male indigo bunting can be seen when you click on the link to hear the song.   

Brightly colored bugs

 Oncopeltus fasciatus finally posed so that I could take her picture (these bugs are otherwise known as the Milkweed Bug.)  If you can pronounce it, I think they like it better if you use the Latin name as the common name sounds fairly disparaging--milkWEED and BUG or weed bug.  Who really wants to be known as the "weed bug".  

However terrible the common name may be, these bugs are actually fun to see in the summer time.  They are brightly colored with black and orange stripes (which to a bird means don't eat me--YUCK), and they eat the sap of Asclepias plants.  As much as we love all Asclepias, these plants certainly need predators to keep in check.  The insects like to hang out in groups on the plants which may add to the bright coloration and keep away predators. Apparently they also learn the adage "safety in numbers" from an early age!

They taste terribly because their favorite food is the milky rich sap of the Asclepias plant which do not taste very good.  I would encourage you not to test taste this at home, but I can tell you from the experience of getting the sap on my hands and eating something shortly thereafter, it is not that pleasant of a taste! 

Next time you visit one of our preserves, check out the milkweed plants to see what bugs are wandering around. 

Do you know this culprit?

I was walking in the woods the other day when I came across a gall on this Hamamelis virginiana or Witch Hazel shrub.  I didn't have a clue what insect made this gall on the tree so I thought I would do a little research.  I found out that it is an aphid (witch-hazel cone gall aphid or Hormaphis hamamelidis) which in a "vampirish" fashion finds a nice juicy intersection of veins and then proceeds to suck the sap from her needle-like jaws.  As the aphid feeds on the plant, she is inadvertently jabbing the leaf with her beak.  This results in a reaction from the plant which rises up to form a Wilbur Bud** shaped house around her.  This is the gall which actually saps sugar and nutrients from the plant that are given to the feeding insect.  The galls have a way of tricking a plant into thinking that it is forming a new leaf, which allows the phloem to go into the gall and feeds the insect.  

Most plants are not severely affected by the aphids, but some can be.  Check out what galls you may find when you are next walking in the woods!

**side bar, if you have never experience Wilbur Buds, I strongly recommend you do so.  They are a candy factory in Lititz, PA, and they make the most awesome candy I have encountered!!

Cardinal Flower

The common name of this plant alludes to the bright red robes worn by the Roman Catholic Cardinals.  The plant, Lobelia cardinalis, is a great addition to any damp or wooded garden area.  If you are always trying to attract hummingbirds to your  yard, this plant depends on hummingbirds for pollination.  It can be easily propagated from either seed, or sticking old stems in the ground.  The main catch with the plant is that it does not really like competition so you will typically find it growing where not too much else wants to grown.  If you plant it in your garden, the best way to keep it is to take a small hand rake and disturb the soil around where you planted the plant to eliminate it's competition.  

It can grow from 1'-6' in height and is quite showy.  This plant is looking for fairly moist or wet soil to flourish.  Here is a picture of cardinal flower that I found growing along the side of a creek today.  It was quite a pleasant surprise.  I apologize for the slightly grainy picture, the only camera I had was the one on my phone...

Nesting Birds in July?

You may think that we are well past the nesting season, but there is a bird who is just building and sitting on her nest as we speak, American Goldfinches.

These bright yellow and black birds will lay 4-6 pale blue eggs in a nest that is  4-14 feet above the ground in the fork of the tree.  The eggs will hatch after about 12-14 days of incubation.  The young will actually have feathers and be fledged from their nest 10-16 days after hatching.  Look out for an influx of Goldfinches at your feeder in the upcoming weeks!

American Goldfinches like to use the material from thistles, cat tails, and similar fibrous materials to make their nest.  This seems to be one of the reasons that they wait until this late in the year to actually build their nests. 

Keep your eyes peeled while you are out over the next few weeks, you may either find some young Goldfinches, or a nest with a female incubating her eggs.

Hidden in the Bushes

Check out this guy that I found on a property walk! He was almost camouflaged in the photograph!  I think we are looking at a Crescent of some description, but I did not have my trusty "Caterpillars of North America" guide handy for reference.