May 7th update for Eberwhite Woods

New species appearing in the woods this past week:
contact: eberwhitewoods1946@gmail.com

There is a fairly predictable succession of plants and animals each spring in Eberwhite Woods. Kids feel very empowered and connected to the natural world when they can name and identify the plants and animals around them. A strategy to help not feel overwhelmed and start learning the plants and animals is to go look for new species as they appear in the woods each spring. Here's what's happening this week:

Wildflowers:
The first wildflowers to bloom were trout lilies and then came the bloodroot, cutleaf toothwart, and spring beauties. Now the Jack-in-the-pulpit, Trillium, Mayapple, and bellwort are starting to bloom, while the bloodroot have finished flowering.

Jack-in-the-pulpit, Trillium, Mayapple, Bellwort

Frogs and Toads:
The spring peepers were the first frogs to appear in the woods, then the woods frogs, and American toads soon afterwards. The woods frogs have already finished their breeding and left the ponds, and now the western chorus frogs have shown up and are calling each night with the spring peepers.

American toad, western chorus frog (stock photos)

Insects:
A lot of neat insects are also coming out of the woodwork. There are many different kinds of solitary bees who are important early-season pollinators, many of them nest underground. Look for their nest entrances on bare ground - the entrances are ringed by little piles of dirt that the bees can be found coming in and out of. Carpenter bees are early emergers and have come out of their deep, winter burrows and can be seen visiting flowers throughout the woods. These are one of the most fun insects to watch and observe with kids. They live in mated pairs and the males are very aggressive and territorial, but they don't sting. If they think you are invading their territory, they will challenge and chase you. Remind your kids they won't sting and see if you can get them to stand still while the male bee darts around in front of their faces challenging them to a fight. It's a fun experience for kids! Carpenter bees are easy to find in the woods now - for a little more of a challenge, see if you can find a click beetle. They are often found on decaying wood, on the ground, or under bark. Their name comes from the loud click they make when they "snap" the two sections of their thorax.

solitary bee, carpenter bee, click beetle (stock photos)

Birds:

Bald eagles, and warblers, and ducks, oh my...

Eberwhite Woods was crazy with fun and exciting bird activity this weekend. A highlight: Eberwhite Elementary's own mascot - the bald eagle - made an appearance. At the intersection of Eberwhite Blvd/Madison/Mt. Vernon/Mt. Pleasant,  a bald eagle was putting on an aerial display by continuing to dive bomb a pine tree, swoop back out, and then circle back in. Eventually he disappeared into the branches, where there was a little commotion, then two mature, adult bald eagles flew out together. They circled back around, landed in the tree one more time, then took off for the Eberwhite Elementary kindergarten playground. Kids and parents - keep your eyes out for a large bird of prey with a white tail and head! While bald eagles are pretty easy to find and see along rivers and lakes, a display like this at our school so low to the ground and in the trees is a pretty unique event.

Eberwhite Woods Migratory Bird Fallout

During the Friday high-wind warning that proceeded a number of storm systems pushing birds north, Eberwhite Woods experienced a migratory bird fallout. Wikipedia: 

"Bird fallout or migration fallout is the result of severe weather preventing migratory birds from reaching their destination as they return to their breeding grounds. Due to the distance travelled, birds will not have enough energy to continue flight when encountering high winds. This exhaustion results in many birds resting in one area. This may be very stressful on the birds and on the surrounding ecology. Bird fallout is not particularly common, as it stems from the chance event of severe winds found in inclement weather. Due to the rare occurrence of a migratory fallout, as well as the abundance of birds resting in a single location, it is a sought-after event for birders."

Usually, these small, flighty, migrants are harder to spot than the cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays, etc..., but during the fallout, it seemed they were everywhere. From May 2-4, 11 different species of warblers were found in EWW (blackburnian, orange-crowned, Nashville, yellow, chestnut-sided, yellow-rumped, blue-winged, black-throated blue, black-throated green, palm, and Tennessee). The blue-winged warbler was a record - the first for EWW - and spotted by the sharp-eyed Benjamin H - an Eberwhite Elementary alum.

Blue-winged warbler in EWW. Photo by Benjamin Hack

Male black-throated blue warble in EWW. Photo by Benjamin Hack

Following the warblers, what's next...

If you are wondering - "what should I be looking for right now?" The warblers won't be here much longer, but try to  head out this week looking for them. Next, if you want to learn a few new birds you don't see everyday in the woods that should be coming in the next wave, here's a suggestion. Learn the calls of the indigo bunting, song sparrow, and baltimore oriole. They are amazing birds to see and listen to, and since you will often hear them before you see them, it is helpful to learn their calls. 
Right now the male song sparrow has planted himself at the NW corner of the meadow on a small tree and sings all the time. It is a beautiful song and nice to stop and appreciate a sparrow - poor guys  often get a bad rap because of all the invasive house sparrows around here (those are the ones that nest in all the Eberwhite school bells). The indigo buntings and baltimore orioles are gorgeous birds that are bright and easy for kids to see. The baltimore orioles have started to arrive and the indigo buntings will hopefully make their appearance soon. They are easy to spot in the meadow by the church and in the row of trees that border it. 
Other neat species that have been spotted in the woods recently - wood ducks (look for them near the ponds), orchard orioles, and the yellow-billed cuckoo (look for the last two in the trees bordering the meadow). Most of all, enjoy your time out in the woods. It's an exciting time to get out there and explore - you're almost guaranteed to see a colorful bird that catches your eye.

Male and female woods ducks in EWW. Photo by Karen Coupland

Great Mother's Day gift idea by our local, Eberwhite Elementary author

Eberwhite parent and expert birder in the woods, Emily Strelow just published her debut novel - The Wild Birds (it can be found at both Literati and Nicolas). Her book is a great choice for a book club and a nice way to support local authors and bookstores.

Cast adrift in 1870s San Francisco after the death of her mother, a girl named Olive disguises herself as a boy and works as a lighthouse keeper’s assistant on the Farallon Islands to escape the dangers of a world unkind to young women. In 1941, nomad Victor scours the Sierras searching for refuge from a home to which he never belonged. And in the present day, precocious fifteen year-old Lily struggles, despite her willfulness, to find a place for herself amongst the small town attitudes of Burning Hills, Oregon. Living alone with her hardscrabble mother Alice compounds the problem―though their unique relationship to the natural world ties them together, Alice keeps an awful secret from her daughter, one that threatens to ignite the tension growing between them.

Emily Strelow's mesmerizing debut stitches together a sprawling saga of the feral Northwest across farmlands and deserts and generations: an American mosaic alive with birdsong and gunsmoke, held together by a silver box of eggshells―a long-ago gift from a mother to her daughter. Written with grace, grit, and an acute knowledge of how the past insists upon itself, The Wild Birds is a radiant and human story about the shelters we find and make along our crooked paths home.