Scoter Sightings!

I can not tout the powers of observation enough.  Last weekend I was sitting on the beach looking out at the Delaware Bay when I noticed three slightly unusual looking birds on the surf.  I got my scope (actually my husband nicely went and got it for me) for a better look at these birds.  After viewing them, I thought they looked like Scoters, though I was not sure whether Scoters were common to the DE Bay, or what type of Scoter they were, so I went back to the house for a bird book for a little closer observation.  

After referencing the book, I came to the conclusion that I was looking at one male Black Scoter and one male Surf Scoter, and a Black/Surf Scoter Female.  As I have stated, I am definitely a very amateur birder, so I did not want to tell someone to have them get excited by the wrong bird.  I decided to just be happy that I thought I saw the Scoters because the markings were very distinguishable and in keeping with my bird book reference.  The beak of the male Black Scoter had what I would consider "Black Lipstick" and there was a large black dot on the beak of the male Surf Scoter, and he had a very noticeable white eye.  The bird book that lives at the beach is not the  most accurate, so I did not even attempt to decide on what the female was.  See the black "lipstick" in the photo above, and the dot on the beak in the photo below.

After I got home, I searched some more information about Scoter's and found this through the Cornell Ornithology Site: 

A black-and-white seaduck common on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts in winter, the Surf Scoter has a boldly patterned head that is the basis for its colloquial name "skunk-headed coot." 

A coastal duck that breeds in the subarctic, the Black Scoter is not well studied in North America. Only a few nests have ever been found. 

Given the above descriptions, I decided that maybe I did not see the Scoter's and had probably misidentified some more common duck..........

 Then an email popped up in my in-box from the DE-Birds listserve stating that someone had just seen Scoters on the DE Bay in Lewes, DE.  Lewes is the next beach south of where I thought I had originally viewed the ducks, and this was only a day later.   I was/and still am ecstatic that I actually saw these ducks and noted they were something different.  I take this as proof that my sighting was confirmed, perhaps someday I will feel confident in identifying these birds myself!! In the meantime, I'm going to stay observant and keep my bird book/scope/binoculars handy, because I never know what I may see.  

At least this time, I was not driving a car, and stopping traffic to decipher the strange waterbird! There's a first time for everything!

Monarda didyma

Monarda didyma (Bee Balm) is a wonderful addition to any garden planting that gets some shade or in an area where the soil stays consistently moist.  This plant is touted for attracting hummingbirds and is pollinated by bees.  This perennial plant spreads by rhizomes in the soil and can take over a large portion of your garden. I like to intermix it with other more aggressive plants, and let them duke out the soil space.

The leaves and young shoots are touted as edible, but eating plants out of my garden is typically not my cup of tea, so don't do it because I told you to! Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamort) is a closely related relative that is a light purple shade as opposed to M. didyma's reddish pink.  The Monarda's are definitely plants that should be described by their Latin name as some call M. didyma Bergamort and M. fistulosa Beebalm. Just another lesson in why learning the Latin, though obtrusive at times, especially when they keep changing species, genus, and families, is important in making sure that everyone is discussing the same plant! 

I'll leave you with a picture from my garden!

Great Study of Root Structure

Some trees will grow anywhere! I thought I would share this unique photograph of a Betula lenta (Sweet Birch) that I came across on a recent hike.  This just proves that native plants are much hardier than some of their non-native counterparts!  Where does the rock and and the roots begin?

Found in the meadow

We were out in the heat removing some invasive shrubs in a meadow when I came across a sight for sore eyes!  A native rose! I'm fairly sure it is Rosa palustris (Swamp Rose).  It was quite exciting to be able to focus on a NATIVE for once! I thought that I would share my excitement, and photographs with you.  Native roses are a great and typically more disease resistant alternative to the knockout's and other roses that are in abundance. 


Planting native roses is a great way to provide habitat and cover for birds throughout the year.  It can also help you with deer browse if that happens to be an issue. The photograph of the stem is one of the ways that you can distunguish the native roses from the infamous Rosa Multiflora.  The Multiflora Rose has more hairs on its stems and curved thorns as opposed to the more pleasant straighter thorns of our native roses.  My last word of advice on roses, if you are not sure of Rose ID, I would recommend purchasing the roses from a reputable native plant dealer so that you do not end up with the invasive Multiflora Rose!

Asclepias

 I was elated to see that my Asclepias tuberosa was blooming, it may be a little early in the season, but the insects are certainly happy about the blooms! Check out all the pollen on the stems of this plant, it has obviously been a big hit with the neighborhood insects.  

I'm sure you notice that I'm not using the common name of this plant, due to the bad name (Butterfly Weed) I have decided to only use the Latin name of the plant in an attempt to get more people to use this in their landscaping.  This plant is ideal if you are someone that lives near a farmer.  Farmers are not big fans of the Asclepias family, but this one does not spread as readily as another great Asclepias--Asclepias syriaca (Milkweed or MONARCH FLOWER) I encourage everyone to refer to this plant as Monarch Flower if you do not feel up to the Latin name.  With a slight name change, I bet this plant can become the center piece of any garden!  I must say that I enjoy the bright orange color of the A. tuberosa.  This past weekend, I actually ran out in the middle of a hayfield to rescue some from a farmer before he mowed it over.   Needless to say, that my friends all looked at me like I was crazy, the good news, is I have four more plants that I put in my home flower beds!!

Does anyone know the name of the  Lepidoptera that has landed on the MONARCH FLOWER in the fuzzy picture on the left? I'm still in the process of learning the zillions of butterflies and moths out there though I recently purchased a very helpful and awesome book at the Millersville Native Plant Conference by Dr. David Wagner.  This field guide is the most amazing that I have found, and I look forward to taking it out in the field with me to learn more about all of the caterpillars, moths, and butterflies.  TLC's summer interns are not quite as thrilled by the prospect, now I'll be distracted by one more thing while we are out on the preserves.....

Here's a link to the book: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7939.htmlv  I highly recommend it for all things Lepiodoptera!

In an effort to improve the health of the soil by removing harmful DDT, the Land Conservancy conducted a mycoremediation project on June 14th, 2012 at the Vincenti property. With the help of Peter Gray from Phillip's Mushroom farms, who delivered over nine tons of mushroom soil, 6 TLC interns and 4 Winterthur interns who worked tirelessly, the project was completed in just under 3 hours. The steps involved with the project were, spreading the soil, applying wood chips, dampening and applying small pieces of cardboard,  applying oyster mushroom spawn, and spraying water to provide adequate growing conditions for the mycelium. Thanks to everyone's effort, in three months to a year we will be able to plant fruits and vegetables that are fit for consumption and free of DDT. We can even consume the mushrooms because, instead of absorbing toxins, the mycelium excrete enzymes that chemically break down DDT.  Mycoremediation is a relatively simple and effective way to clean up soil, and has even been used to clean up areas effected by oil spills. Suffice it to say that our community, plants, and wildlife all benefit from a healthier ecosystem.

Thalictrum pubescens or Tall Meadow Rue, is a June blooming woodland plant that can be found in open woodlands, moist meadows, roadside ditches, or even in deep shade.  It gets approximately 3'-8' in height and has interesting leaves.  While this plant will not work for many garden situations keep your eyes open while you are hiking around a trail in the next few months as you may come across this plant.  Here is  photograph of a plant that I found growing on a rock, in the middle of a creek.  Not the most likely place for plant life, but I came across some pretty amazing plants on my trek.