Winter Birds

 

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius). 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

In the spring, as the days lengthen and temperatures warm, birders eagerly await the return of the neotropical migrants.  These birds spent the winter in warmer climes and they appear in waves, wearing their brightest colors and singing their brightest songs.  But winter brings its own special birds.  As the migrants wing their way south a whole suite of avian guests come from the north and spend the winter in Southeast. 

 

Sapsucker holes in the trunk of
Red Tip Photinia (Photinia x fraseri).
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker feeding on suet in mid-winter.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

One of our winter visitors is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius).  This medium-sized woodpecker has black and white stripes on the face, a bold white patch on the wing and some individuals show yellow on the belly.  Both male and female Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have a red on the top of the head but the males also have a bright red throat.  These birds breed across a wide swath of Canada and the Northern United States east of the Rocky Mountains.  They winter in the South Central and Southeastern US, the Caribbean and Central America.  Their name sapsucker comes from their habit of drilling rows of small holes with their chisel beak in tree trunks.  The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker does drink some of the sap that flows from these holes but also consume insects that come to feed on the sap. 

 

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) showing off its reddish-brown tail.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Hermit Thrush. 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

The Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) is another bird that spends the winter in our area.  These birds are a little smaller than their relative the American Robin (Turdus migratorius).  Hermit Thrushes have spots on the throat, a brown back and a reddish brown tail.  They also have a habit of drooping their wings when perched. Hermit Thrushes live in the forest understory and constantly bob their tail.  They breed from Alaska to the Canadian Maritimes and down the Rocky Mountains.  Hermit Thrushes spend the winter along the West Coast, the lower third of the United States and Mexico.  Their preferred food is berries but will also take insects, particularly in the breeding season. Hermit Thrushes, like other members of the thrush family, have a flute-like song but we rarely get to hear it in winter. 

 

Hermit Thrushes often droop their wings when perched.
Horry County, South Carolina.

Purple Finches (Haemorhous purpureus) breed, like the other winter visitors, in Canada and the Northern United States.  Males and females of this species look very different from each other.  The males have purple wash over their head, neck, and back.  Their breast white with pink stripes.  The great naturalist and field guide author, Roger Torrey Peterson, described the male Purple Finch as “Like a sparrow dipped in raspberry juice”.  Females have the same pattern as the males but are brown where the male is purple. Female Purple Finches are easy to tell from the similar female House Finches (Haemorhorus mexicanus) because they have a white line over their eyes that the House Finches lack.  Purple Finches are mainly seedeaters and have a large, seed crunching beak.  Some winters these finches are rare but when the seed crop in Canada is sparse, large numbers move south.  Purple Finches will visit bird feeders where they prefer sunflower and thistle. 

 

Female Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Female and male Purple Finches.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Another northern seedeater is the Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus).  These birds are also sporadic visitors to the Southeast and often show up with Purple Finches.  Pine Siskins are smaller than Purple Finches with a finer, pointed beak.  They have flashes of yellow on the wing and tail and a streaked breast.  Pine Siskins are even more voracious at the feeders than Purple Finches.  Some people who feed birds hate to see these flying pigs appear because they love thistle and that seed is expensive. 

 

Video of feeder action including a female Purple Finch, many 

Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus), a Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 

and a Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis).
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Five Pine Siskins and one American Goldfinch (Spinus tristus)
on a thistle feeder.  Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Three Pine Siskins and a female Purple Finch eating sunflower and suet. 
The Pine Siskins have yellow on their wings and tails.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

This year the Eastern Canada conifer seed crop was poor so Pine Siskins and Purples Finches are streaming into the south in what is called an irruption.  Even rarer northern birds may join them to spice up the winter months.  Keep an eye out for these and other winter birds.       

By Its Bark

 

Flowering Dogwood bark looks like alligator hide.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

The title for this blog is the answer to a bad riddle.  Here it goes.  “How do you tell a Dogwood tree?”  “By its bark”.  Get it?  By its bark.  I know, it is a bad riddle.

For most of the year, you can identify trees by leaves, flowers and fruits. But in the winter, bark is one few clues we have for tree ID.  Bark’s main job is to provide a waterproof protective layer for trees, shrubs and woody vines.  The outermost layer of bark is called cork.  Cork Oak, Quercus suber, a tree that grows around the Mediterranean basin, produces abundant cork.  This cork is used to stopper wine bottles.  The Southeastern United States has many trees with interesting and diagnostic bark.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) is a small tree native to Eastern North American forests.  In early spring, Dogwood produces its familiar four bracted flowers that fill the woods with clouds of white. The flowers develop into red berries in autumn and are the favorite food of many migrating birds.  Dogwood bark is gray with small rectangular plates that give the tree the appearance of alligator hide.  So yes, you can tell a Dogwood by its bark.  

 

Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) bark is arranged 
in large plates.  
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) with the outer
layers of bark scorched by fire. 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Many pines (Pinus sp.) are adapted to live in environments with frequent fires and the bark is part of that adaptation.  Pine bark is dark brown, thick and scaly.  The bark is arranged in large plates that help make the tree fireproof.  A low ground fire will burn off the outer bark scales but allow the tree to survive. 

 

American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) bark.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) has light bark mottled with red, brown, gray and white patches.  The light bark color makes these trees glow in the winter woods.  As American Sycamore ages the bark on the lower parts of the trunk becomes scaly and peeling. 

 

This hollow American Sycamore is a townhouse
for Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis).  They are peeking
out from upstairs and down.  

Another tree with peeling bark is River Birch (Betula nigra).  Paper-thin strips of bark slough off the trunks of this wetland tree. A related species Betula papyrifera, Paper Birch, grows in the Northeastern United States and Canada.  Northern Indian tribes used the bark of this tree to make their iconic birch bark canoes. 

 

River Birch (Betula nigra) has peeling bark.
Mecklenburg, County, North Carolina. 

I think American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) has the most beautiful bark in our area.  The bark is clean, smooth and mottled light gray.  Being so smooth makes American Beech a favorite tree for carving initials and declaring undying love.

 

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) has smooth, gray bark.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

American Beech bark with carved graffiti.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) really does have shaggy bark. As you walk through the woods, you can see long strips of gray bark hanging from the trunks of mature trees.  Native Americans used Shagbark Hickory bark to make sugar and medicines.   

 

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) and its shaggy bark.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Northern Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) has interesting bark.  On the lower sections of the trunk, the bark makes ridges, nay even cordilleras, of cork.   Upper branches of the tree lack these odd ornaments.  This tree hosts the caterpillar of the Hackberry Emperor Butterfly Asterocampa celtis.  

 

Northern Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) with corky growths
on its bark.  Rowan County, North Carolina.

Closeup of Northern Hackberry cork ridges.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

                                 

Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis) caterpillars
develop on Northern Hackberry.  
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 

Winged Elm (Ulmus alata) gets its common name from the extensive wings of cork on the stems.  The bark proliferates on each side of a branch to make the wings.  Another tree that makes cork wings on its stem is Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua).  The function of the winged stems of these two trees is unknown.

 

Winged Elm (Ulmus elata) branch with cork wings. 
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

 

Stem of Sweetgum (Liquidamber styraciflua) with its winged stem.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The final example of interesting bark is a ringer from the tropics. Eucalyptus deglupta, Rainbow Gum, is a rainforest tree from the islands of the Southwest Pacific.  The bark of this tree has stripes of red, green, orange and blue.  Outside its natural range, Rainbow Gum is a horticultural tree grown in warm climates from the American tropics to South Florida, Texas and California.  We found this one, with is colorful bark, at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Coral Gables, Florida.  

 

Rainbow Gum (Eucalyptus deglupta).
Miami-Dade County, Florida. 

 

One more joke.  “Why do Dogwood trees make good pets?”  

“They have great bark and wooden bite.”   Groan.

Odd Fungi

 

An Elegant Stinkhorn (Mutinus elegans) fruiting body.
As the name suggest, these fungi have an 
offensive odor.  McIntosh County, Georgia. 

Some might say all fungi are odd but I think some are odder than others.  A standard fungus is microscopic most of the time but on occasion, it make a respectable mushroom.  A mushroom made by one of these typical fungi is a reproductive structure, a fruiting body, with a stalk, cap and gills.  The fruiting body makes spores and sends them out into the world. But some fungi have dramatically different fruiting bodies.  Some of these odd fruiting bodies look like fingers, or coral or jelly or ears or horns.   These odd fungi are Basidiomycetes, the same group that also contains those respectable mushrooms.

  

Amber Jelly Roll (Exidia resica), a jelly fungus growing on
a maple branch.  These fruiting bodies are about 2 inches
in diameter.  Rowan County, North Carolina. 

 

Amber Jelly Roll.

Jelly fungi look like a dab of jelly on a tree limb and are traditionally classified in the class Tremellomycetes.  This name means trembling fungi.  However, their consistency is more like rubber than jelly.  We have a nice jelly fungus on the maple tree in our front yard.  Often when a dead limb falls from the tree, it has Amber Jelly Roll, Exidia resica growing on it.  This fungus is a wood decomposer and starts its work before a dead branch falls.  When the fruiting body is wet, it looks like jelly.  When it dries out it looks like a shriveled black mass. 

 

Tree Ears (Auricularia auricula-judae) on a 
dead limb.  Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Tree ears or wood ears really do look like ears growing from dead wood.  Auricularia auricula-judae is a common Tree ear with a worldwide distribution.  This scientific name is both descriptive and fraught with racist history.  The genus and first part of the specific name are both from the Latin for ear.  The second part of the species is derived from a familiar New Testament story.  Tradition has it that Judas Iscariot committed suicide by hanging after betraying Jesus.  Auricularia auricula-judae growing on a tree is reminder of Judas and his perfidy.  A common name for this fungus, Judas’ Ear and has been used for hundreds of years.  This name was corrupted to Jew’s Ear but in our more woke time, Tree Ear is preferred.  

 

A coral fungus (Ramaria sp.) on old leaves. This group of fruiting bodies was
about 3 inches tall.  Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Coral fungi make upright branched or unbranched fruiting bodies that resemble marine corals.  These fungi come in a variety of colors and may grow on soil, wood or in symbiotic association with plant roots.  Ramaria is a large genus of coral fungi with a global distribution.   Another coral fungus is Clavaria fragilis. It makes delicate, unbranched white fruiting bodies with the marvelous common name, Fairy Fingers. Golden Spindles, Clavulinopsis fusiformis, is another coral fungus that resembles Fairy Fingers but the fruiting bodies are deep yellow in color.

 

Fairy Fingers (Clavaria fragilis).  These delicate white structures are
two inches tall.  Watauga County, North Carolina. 

Golden Spindles (Clavinopsis fusiformis) fruiting bodies
are about 2.5 inches tall and bright yellow. 
Rowan County, North Carolina

Perhaps the oddest fungi are the stinkhorns. The fruiting bodies of these fungi smell like rotting flesh or feces.  These fungi attract beetles and flies that disperse the spores.  The spores are produced at the end of the stalk.  The fruiting body of stinkhorns resembles a penis and one genus is even named Phallus.  Mutinus elegans, the Elegant or Headless Stinkhorn, has an orange stalk and grows throughout Eastern North America. A mass of green spores are borne in a slimy mass at the end of the fruiting body. These spores can be removed by insects or washed away by rain leaving the bare stalk. 

 

The remains of the green spore mass of this Elegant Stinkhorn
are visible on the tip of this seven inch fruiting body. 
McIntosh County, Georgia. 

Scientists estimate that more than two million species of fungi share the Earth with us.  There is still much work to be done on this fascinating group, because only about 120,000 species have been described.  It is no surprise, that with these vast numbers, some fungi are odd.  

 

 

 

Poison Ivy

 

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) leaf in the fall.  
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is both a plant and an idea. Its genus, Toxicodendron mean poison tree.  This name is very apt because Poison Ivy causes severe contact dermatitis and is the leading cause of allergic reaction in the United States.  The medical aspect of this plant’s life inspired a hit song by the Coasters in the 1950s and the song led to an anti-heroine named Poison Ivy in the Batman universe from the 1960s to today. 

 

Poison Ivy leaf in summer with its three leaflets
and serrations.  Rowan County, North Carolina.

Poison Ivy is in the family Anacardiaceae, a group of plants that includes; Poison Sumac, Poison Oak, Mango and Cashew.   It grows throughout Eastern North American from Texas to Canada.  The toxic nature of the plant has spawned some nursery rhymes so children could avoid it in the field.  These include; “Leaves of three, let it be” and “Hairy vine, no friend of mine”. 

 

The hairy vine of Poison Ivy in winter.  The hairs are actually
fine roots that fix the vine to the tree trunk. 
Clayton County, Georgia.

As the rhyme says, Poison Ivy is a vine.  It can sprawl across the ground or grow up trees.  The vine is not actually hairy, but rather covered with short roots that attach it to the tree trunk. The specific epithet in the scientific name, T. radicans, refers to these roots.  The other rhyme mentions leaves of three.  These are really three leaflets of a single compound leaf and the margins of the leaflets often have teeth.  In the spring, the leaves are shiny and plant makes small, inconspicuous, green flowers. As summer progresses the leaves lose their luster and green fruits develop from the flowers.  Birds, who suffer no ill effects from the poison, greedily eat the fruits.  Poison Ivy leaves turn a brilliant yellow and red in the fall. 

Early spring leaves of Poison Ivy. The young leaves start out red then turn green.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

 

Spring leaves and flowers of Poison Ivy.
The pale green flowers are borne in the leaf axils. 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Poison Ivy fruits in late summer.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Southeastern Poison Oak (Toxicodendron pubescens) is very similar to Poison Ivy in appearance, growth habit and toxicity.  A key difference between these species is the leaves of Southeastern Poison Oak are lobed, like those of oaks rather than toothed. 

 

Poison Oak (Toxicodendron pubescens) with fruit.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The poison in Poison Ivy is a compound called urushiol.  This oily mix of molecules is made in all parts of the plant so roots, stems, leaves, flower and fruits can all cause dermatitis.  It is possible to remove the oils from skin with immediate washing with soap and water.  But often, you don’t know you have come brushed up against the plant.  Upon contact with skin, the urushiol attaches to a protein on the surface of immune cells.  The combination of the urushiol and the cell protein cause an exaggerated allergic response.   A couple of days after someone comes in contact with Poison Ivy, they experience itching and angry red welts that fill with fluid.  A poison ivy rash often spreads.  The spreading rash is due in part to the initial immune cell stimulating other cells to produce inflammatory molecules.  Poison Ivy rash may last for a week or more.  Exposure to smoke of burning Poison Ivy plants is more dangerous. Inhaling the smoke can cause severe inflammation of the lungs and even death.  Treatments for a Poison Ivy induced dermatitis range from the traditional oatmeal bath to Calamine lotion to prescription steroids. 

 

Contact dermatitis caused by Poison Ivy.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

About 80% of the population is susceptible to the toxic oils in Poison Ivy.  I break out in a rash when I brush up against this plant and always try to avoid it. Even in winter, I stay away from the hairy vine that is no friend of mine. 

Amazing Spiders

The Golden silk Orb-weaver (Trichonephila clavipes) is a large
orb-weaver found in the Southeastern United States, Mexico, Central and
South America.  Another common name is Banana Spider. 
Palm Beach County, Florida.

Spiders hold a special place in the human psyche.  They are both feared and revered.  Many people suffer from arachnophobia, the fear of spiders.  This fear comes in part because all spiders produce venom that they use to paralyze or kill their prey.  A bite by members of a handful of species is painful but rarely fatal to people.  Two of the dangerous spiders found in the Southeastern United States are the Brown Recluse and the Black Widow.  But spiders are not hunting us. When spiders bite people it usually comes from accidently disturbing the spider.  Beyond the fear, spiders are honored in many cultures.  The nursery rhyme about an Eensy-weensy spider teaches young children persistence.  Anansi, the trickster spider of West African folklore, outwits the powerful and became a symbol of resistance for slaves in the Americas.  The twentieth century American mythos gave us The Amazing Spider-Man. In this familiar tale a radioactive spider bites mild-mannered Peter Parker and he takes on spider characteristics including wall climbing and web slinging . 

 

A spider exoskeleton left in a web after molting.
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Spiders are a major group in the class Arachnida that also contains ticks, mites, scorpions and horseshoe crabs.  Spiders have eight jointed legs, a cephalothorax and abdomen, fangs that inject venom and silk-producing organs in the abdomen.  Spiders have an exoskeleton and go through several molts to achieve the adult size.  A molting spider’s exoskeleton will split along the top of the cephalothorax and the spider will crawl out leaving the old exoskeleton behind.  Female spiders are often larger than the males and in some species the female eats the male after mating.  With nearly 50,000 described species, spiders are a very successful group and live on all continents except Antarctica. 

 

Web of an orb-weaver spider.  This web shows the radial and spiral silk
threads typical of this group. The spider is waiting in the middle.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Detail of an orb-weaver spider web decorated with dew. 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

The silken web of spiders is one of their most interesting features.  Silk is a protein that is strong and light.   Spiders use their webs to catch prey on silk threads. Spiders have other uses for their silk.  They can suspend themselves by a thread; some use it to weave egg cases and others use threads to fly.  That’s right, some spiders can fly.  A spiderling can shoot fine silk threads from structures called spinnerets.  The threads catches a breeze and off fly the baby spiders. This amazing feat is called ballooning and allows spiders to disperse over long distances.  Ballooning spiders are among the first predators to arrive on newly formed volcanic islands.   

 

Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) is also know as the Writing Spider.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Closeup view of the Yellow Garden Spider on its web.
The body of females may be over an inch long. 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Spiny Orb-weaver (Gasteracantha cancriformis).  This orb-weaver has a large
abdomen with red spines.  The specific name is from Latin meaning "crab form" and its
resemblance to a crab is evident.  Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

One common group of spiders is the Orb-weavers in the family Araneidae.  These spiders are often brightly colored and make the familiar web with radial strands and circular threads.  Their webs can be quite large and are usually vertically oriented.  Most people have the experience of walking through the woods and getting a face-full of Orb-weaver web.  Some Orb-weavers,  called Writing Spiders, weave a zigzag design in the center of web.  This may help attract prey to the web or allow the spider to hide in the center.  Orb-weavers usually make a new web each day.  The spider eats the old web, digests the silk protein and reuses it in the next-day’s web. 

 

Marbled Orb-weaver (Araneus marmoreus).  This spider has a leaf fragment
caught in her web and is removing it.  Rowan County, North Carolina.

This female Marbled Orb-weaver's abdomen is very large and she is 
about to lay eggs. Another common name of this spider is Pumpkin Spider,
for obvious reasons.  Marbled Orb-weavers are found in Europe, Asia 
and North America.  Rowan County North Carolina.  

Orchard Orb-weaver (Leucauge venusta).  This spider makes a horizontal web
and has delicate green and yellow markings on the abdomen. 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Arrowhead Orb-weaver (Verrucosa arenata) has a large,
white triangular shield on its abdomen. 
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 

The body of Golden Silk Orb-weavers can be over 2.5 inches long. 
Its web is very strong and yellow in color. 
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Some spiders do not use a web to capture their prey.  A major group is the Wolf Spiders in the family Lycosidae.  These spiders have eight eyes and make burrows in the soil.  Wolf spiders rush from their burrows and chase down their prey.  Female Wolf Spiders make a silk egg case and carry their eggs with them.  After the eggs hatch, the tiny spiders ride on the female’s abdomen. 

 

Wolf Spiders (Tigrosa sp) do not make webs but like wolves,
run across the ground hunting their prey.
This female is carrying her silk egg case behind her.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Another group of spiders that do not make webs is the Ground Crab Spiders in the genus Xysticus.  Ground Crab Spiders are ambush predators.  They wait for a small animal to come by, seize it with their long front legs and kill it with a venomous bite. 

 

Ground Crab Spider (Xysticus sp).  This spider waits to ambush
its prey rather than making a web. Rowan County, North Carolina.

Fall is coming on and spiders are abundant now.  With the first frost, some adult spiders will hibernate and others will die.  Many baby spiders will spend the winter tucked into a silk egg case.  When spring comes, the juvenile spider will emerge and begin another year of amazing activity.  

Tiny orb-weaver spiderlings are setting out into the world.
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.