VMN Banshee Reeks Chapter

VMN Banshee Reeks Chapter The Banshee Reeks Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists.

For today's invasive highlight, let's look at Burning Bush (Eunonymus alatus). A popular landscaping shrub that was intr...
12/01/2023

For today's invasive highlight, let's look at Burning Bush (Eunonymus alatus). A popular landscaping shrub that was introduced in the 1860s, this plant is regularly used in landscaping for residential areas despite its negative impact on local wildlife. It is hardy and can grow in a number of varying soil, moisture, and light conditions. It can reach 20 feet in height and produces a substantial number of seeds that are eaten by birds. In addition, builders and landscapers plant this shrub frequently when doing large scale plantings.

With no natural predators and the ability to spread thick root systems under the ground and grow under mature forest canopies, this plant is a significant danger to hardwood forests. It pushes out native plants and reduces the food available for native wildlife. Cutting the plant and applying herbicide is an effective control strategy. An additional strategy to limit the spread of this particular plant is working with builders and landscapers to prevent its introduction to new area.

In today's native plant highlight, let's look at the American Hazelnut (Corylus americana), a thicket growing, deciduous...
11/29/2023

In today's native plant highlight, let's look at the American Hazelnut (Corylus americana), a thicket growing, deciduous shrub that can grow from 9 to 12 feet tall and produces delicious and nutritious hazelnuts. It is fast growing and can grow 1 to 2 feet each year along one main stem while producing additional stems from the root system. Hazelnuts will begin appearing numbers within 2-3 years after planting. The nuts and leaves of the shrub support various native mammals and birds. The American Hazelnut is in the same genus as the European Hazelnut, which was a staple of early European gatherers and is the base for Nutella.

Planting a hazelnut shrub or two is a great way to attract native wildlife, provide useful habitat, and get some delicious nuts for your own use.

Today we should mention a well known and often seen bird in our area, the Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). This hawk...
11/28/2023

Today we should mention a well known and often seen bird in our area, the Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). This hawk is one of the larger avian predators in our area, though it is smaller than the osprey and bald eagle. Identifiable by it's characteristic red or rufous colored tail feathers, it is often seen perched on power/telephone lines along roadways. Red-tailed hawks feed primarily on terrestrial species of small mammals, reptiles, and birds with food being taken up to a perch for feeding unless too large to carry.

Red-tailed hawks are widespread across North America and may be mistaken for black vultures when viewed soaring at a distance, though their white and speckled chest feathers are a clear identification mark. Most sightings are of single hawks, though seeing a noisy pair is a treat. In Loudoun you may also see an individual hawk being harassed by a group of crows or blue jays, as these smaller birds are quick to chase hawks out of their nesting areas.

For today let's look at the invasive Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). This is a rapidly spreading vine that gro...
11/24/2023

For today let's look at the invasive Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). This is a rapidly spreading vine that grows up trees and will engulf smaller shrubs. It can strangle trees in their early spans, either killing the tree outright or, in the event the honeysuckle is removed, leaving the trunk with a corkscrew shape. It maintains its leaves late into the winter and sprouts them very early in the summer, allowing for vigorous growth. Once the vine has made it far enough to catch the sunlight it can spread to nearby trees, creating a mass of vines that can prevent trees from obtaining the necessary light and can actually pull down weaker trees from accumulated weight. In a number of thickets in Northern Virginia, much of the greenery is actually heavy masses of Japanese Honeysuckle.

For more information on identifying and removing you can find the Blue Ridge Prism Fact Sheet here:https://blueridgeprism.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Japanese-Honeysuckle-Fact-Sheet-Blue-Ridge-PRISM.pdf

Let's look at an edible native plant that many people already have in the area; the Black Walnut (Juglans nigra). This t...
11/22/2023

Let's look at an edible native plant that many people already have in the area; the Black Walnut (Juglans nigra). This tree can grow between 50 and 150 feet tall and provides edible black walnuts that ripen in October. The nuts can be hard to extract and may be missed by many as they fall to the ground within both a shell and an external covering that resembles a green, leathery tangerine. Removing the external covering is relatively easy and those who walk through parks or on trails have probably stepped on many of these large seeds. The interior shells are difficult to open and often leave black stains on the fingers, but the walnuts are tasty.

Landscapers may have difficulty with this tree as it produces a compound called juglanase that can make it difficult for many plants to grow underneath the tree. Black walnuts are slow growing and can take 6 years to produce nuts and as much as 20 years for a noticeable harvest. The tree wood is also highly prized for its strength and density.

Since we're getting to the colder part of the year, let's look at how one native animal survives the winter. The America...
11/20/2023

Since we're getting to the colder part of the year, let's look at how one native animal survives the winter. The American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) overwinters underground. This toad digs in to loose soil and burrows one to two feet underground to get below the frost line. However, these toads will also use existing burrows and even ant mounds or cracks in home foundations when necessary. It is also thought that they may use the same overwintering locations each year.

The American Toad is an opportunistic feeder of insects and other invertebrates. In addition to hibernation in cold months, during particularly hot and dry times the toad can aestivate to avoid harm. The glands seen on the back of the toad produce a toxin that is generally not harmful to humans, but can irritate the mucus membranes of predators.

For today's invasive highlight, meet the semi-evergreen plant Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei), also known as Fortune's...
11/10/2023

For today's invasive highlight, meet the semi-evergreen plant Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei), also known as Fortune's Spindle. This plant can act as ground cover, a shrub, or a woody vine that can displace native vegetation and kill trees in both urban and forested areas. It is a semi-evergreen plant that creeps in a vine form and can form new roots when the woody branches touch moist ground or aerial rootlets when in the presence of a tree, wall, or other support system.

Wintercreeper operates in a manner similar to English Ivy, which also crowds out native vegetation and can pull down or smother trees through dense growth. It is still sold as a ground cover for landscaping, but better alternatives exist within the realm of native plants, including Virginia Creeper, various phlox plants, wild ginger, and others. Removing wintercreeper is a tough job that requires destroying the entirety of the plant and removing all roots. Truly a plant that should be avoided and removed.

As we enter the winter, let's look at a tree we'll be able to see bloom early next year, the American Hornbeam (Carpinus...
11/08/2023

As we enter the winter, let's look at a tree we'll be able to see bloom early next year, the American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), also called the Ironwood. It has also been called Musclewood because of the appearance of its bark, which is generally smooth with muscle like bumps. Ironwood trees are slow growing, deciduous, and only grow 20 to 30 feet high. It will begin to bloom in February and start to produce its seeds in the early spring.

The Ironwood and Hornbeam monikers come from the extremely hard wood produced by this tree. It is strong and can take a high, horn like shine. It was used for ox yokes, bowls, tool handles, and other implements of every day life. However, the trees do not produce much wood per tree, making it difficult to use this tree commercially. As a part of the habitat it plays a useful role as an understory tree and provides early habitat and food for birds and pollinators. An excellent if underappreciated plant for smaller plots of land.

For today's wildlife spotlight, let's look at a lesser known and lesser scene species for our area, the Gray Fox (Urocyo...
11/06/2023

For today's wildlife spotlight, let's look at a lesser known and lesser scene species for our area, the Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). This fox is sometimes called the Cat Fox or Tree Fox because it is one of two canid species that can climb trees, which is made possible by its rotating wrists and semi-retractable claws. While climbing up a tree may be easier, the Gray Fox still has trouble with climbing down and can easily be injured in this endeavor.

Like other foxes, the Gray Fox is omnivorous and opportunistic. They will eat almost any meat, fruit, vegetable, or insect they can, but seem to prefer cottontails. Primarily a nocturnal hunter, the Gray Fox also stays away from urban and human settled areas, making these among the least likely foxes to see when outside. They are also relatively small, coming in at about 4 feet in length and 6 to 15 pounds in weight.

While you may not see these foxes, if you're lucky you can still hear their calls at night near forested areas. They make similar calls to other foxes, which may make it difficult to tell them apart. As we lose more forest land and gain more edge habitat, these foxes lose more habitat. Red foxes and coyotes push into more settled areas, displacing Gray foxes and pushing them farther to the margins. Maintaining deep forest will help ensure the continued existence of this and other species that depend on larger forest habitat.

As the year winds down many people will begin putting out bird feeders to help overwintering birds. First a PSA, make su...
11/03/2023

As the year winds down many people will begin putting out bird feeders to help overwintering birds. First a PSA, make sure to thoroughly clean bird feeders with soap and hot water before putting them out and continue to clean them regularly throughout their time in use (probably every 1-2 weeks). If you see a bird with crusty eyes then clean the feeder immediately as bird feeders can be a vector for avian conjunctivitis, which can impair vision and cause bird deaths.

One bird we're likely to see a lot of is the invasive House sparrow (Passer domesticus). House sparrows were introduced in the late 19th century in New York Eugene Schieffelin, possibly for the purpose of maintaining his imported trees. Several more intentional importations followed and the house sparrow populations soared. The birds did exceedingly well in the disturbed areas of human settlement and filled niches where human building pushed out other wildlife.

House sparrows eat mostly seeds and grain and tend to live in human settled areas. They don't migrate, which allows them to displace other native birds from nesting sites. In addition, house sparrows will attack native birds, destroy eggs, and even kill incubating females to drive native birds from nesting areas. This has significantly impacted the native bluebird populations as the house sparrows have been very aggressive. Discouraging house sparrows from nesting boxes and bird feeders can be a useful way to limit their ability to displace native birds. Even removing bird feeders can be useful as most native birds either migrate or have other means of finding food and removing this food source will not negatively harm native birds but may discourage house sparrows from hanging around.

While there are native sparrows, the house sparrow is stouter and has distinctive markings on the wing and males have a distinctive black bib on the throat.

For today's native plant highlight, let's look at witch-hazel, one of the last native plants to bloom this year. America...
11/01/2023

For today's native plant highlight, let's look at witch-hazel, one of the last native plants to bloom this year. American witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a large shrub or small tree that generally grows in a dense, multi-stemmed clump. It can grow up to 30 feet tall and form a stand 20 feet wide. The flowers bring a yellow color to the garden while other plants are dying back. The flowers are pollinated by owlet moths and late season bees. The seeds go dormant over the winter and are forcibly expelled the following autumn, shooting up to 20 feet.

The witch-hazel plant has been used for medicinal purposes, with the bark mainly used to create extracts or oils to soothe cuts and insect bites. However, early settlers were also fond of witch-hazel for its purported use in divining water locations. Witch-hazel branches were used as dowsing rods as a means to locate wells and other hidden water sources.

With Halloween tomorrow, we'll turn to Poe to give us our wildlife spotlight, the Common Raven (Corvus corax). Like the ...
10/30/2023

With Halloween tomorrow, we'll turn to Poe to give us our wildlife spotlight, the Common Raven (Corvus corax). Like the crows we highlighted 2 weeks ago, the Common Raven is a corvid. It can be distinguished in a few ways from the 2 crow species that frequent the area. Ravens are larger than crows and are similar in size to a red-tailed hawk. Ravens also have a thicker bill with bristles covering about half of the length and a "shaggy" neck as a result of elongated feathers. In flight, ravens will have a noticeably wedge shaped tail as opposed to the curved or straight tail of the crows. Finally, ravens have a croaking call, though ravens are talented mimics and can even learn to talk better than some parrots.

Like other corvids, it is a scavenger and opportunist. Raven's have a varied diet that can include carrion, insects, grains, fruits, live meat, eggs, and even human food waste. Ravens are highly intelligent and have a brain to body ratio similar to humans. They can learn to speak, are skilled at both finding and making tools, and have even demonstrated the possession of theory of mind, allowing them to recognize when other individuals (including humans) may have knowledge of use or detriment to the raven. For this reason, ravens have been shown to make false food caches.

Ravens, like other corvids, can learn human faces and distinguish between people. They can also spread this knowledge to other ravens, making it possible for entire groups of ravens to recognize and harass individuals who have harmed or threaten one of their number. Ravens have also been shown to ally with wolves in western states by directing wolves to recently killed or injured large mammals and sharing in the meal. Ravens have even been filmed playing with wolf pups.

Based on the intelligence of the common raven, Poe's poem might not have underestimated the bird's abilities at all.

Address

21085 The Woods Road
Leesburg, VA
20175

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when VMN Banshee Reeks Chapter posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to VMN Banshee Reeks Chapter:

Shortcuts

Share

Category