The first half of winter 2015 was rather unremarkable at
Blue Jay Barrens. We had some cold
weather and a few light snowfalls, but overall it seemed that we were headed
for a nice winter. That seemed only fair
since I didn’t feel fully recovered from the trials of the previous winter’s
persistent cold and snow. Then really
cold weather arrived and I began to wonder what that would do to exposed
plants. When a light snow was forecast
for Presidents Day, I felt that a couple of inches of snow cover over the
plants would be a good thing. I hadn’t
counted on three storms in a row leaving us with over a foot of snow. I guess that snow was valuable as an
insulating blanket against the several mornings of below zero temperatures that
followed. Three mornings were in the
minus teens and the coldest morning temperature bottomed out at -23oF.
A bit of freezing rain managed to put a nice crust atop the
snow layer. Sunny days caused a bit of
snow melt, but the wet surface froze even more solid each night. The resulting crust was strong enough to
allow medium sized mammals to walk across the snow without breaking
through. These conditions make it tough
for most birds to forage for seed on the ground.
Fortunately, most of the snow fell as dry powder and did not
stick to plant stalks. Seed heads
remained well above the snow line. Stout
stalks like those of the Orange Coneflower were common across the prairies, but
I wondered if they still contained any seed.
I checked a few seed heads and found some seed in each
one. I also found seed on stalks of
Monarda, Goldenrod and various grasses.
The curious thing was the absence of any evidence that the birds were
utilizing this food source. If birds had
been feeding on these seed heads, debris from the disturbed head would litter
the snow.
Dried Sumac fruit hung in full clusters, untouched by any
feathered foragers.
Snow beneath the Sumacs didn’t show any signs of debris
falling from above.
The Sumac fruit itself looked just as did three months
ago. I guess the birds weren’t being as
stressed by the weather as I had imagined.
Some birds are not stopped by a little bit of crusted
snow. Wild Turkeys can claw through the
snow and forage in the leaf litter below.
Exposed areas like this also provide feeding opportunities
for small bird and mammal species.
Cedar branches managed to catch and hold a significant
amount of the snowfall. The dark cedar
needles allowed sunlight to warm the branches and melt the snow. Sunlight angling in from the south was then
able to melt the shallow layer of snow beneath the tree. These grass islands beneath the cedars
provide additional snowfree areas in which the birds can forage.
This is where the snow halted my cedar maintenance
activities a couple of weeks ago. I’m
hoping the snow disappears within the next couple weeks so I can get in here
and complete work in this field. I hate
to leave things half done.
The foot bridge is looking like railroad tracks. The bridge supports held the cold and slowed
snow melt on the deck above. The center
of the bridge was exposed to air from beneath and experienced accelerated
melting as a result of circulation of sun warmed air along with heat rising
from the creek water.
Deer took advantage of every patch of open creek water. Deer consistently broke through the snow
crust and provided about the only tracks to be found in the woods.
Several inches of snow still cover the barrens. I keep wondering how the Leavenworthias and
Drabas are doing beneath this winter cover.
The Indian Grass has managed to stay upright through every
storm. This is the grass species that is
most likely to hold up under adverse weather conditions. Many bird species spend the cold nights
tucked down into the tall grass.
The golden colored grass absorbs heat from the sun and melts
the snow around its base. The tall grass
patches are the first to become snow free.
Most of the snow has disappeared from the standing Indian
Grass on the left side of the trail. To
the right, in the mowed field, six inches of snow still covers the ground.
A warm rain brings up clouds of water vapor from the
remaining snow. March 3 saw 50oF
temperatures and heavy rain moving through in advance of a major winter storm
due in tomorrow night. Snow totals
tomorrow are predicted to reach 10+ inches followed by another dip into the
subzero temperatures before conditions become more seasonal next week. Winter weather often has a significant impact
on plant growth the following summer, so I keep records of winter conditions
just in case I’m looking for an explanation of strange plant behavior later on.
I suppose there's still plenty of lean-time before things get real desperate and every seed head gets investigated. We have staghorn sumac around the yard and every now and then it's the most popular shrub in the yard... and then for months it's untouched.
ReplyDeleteHi, Frank. I guess the birds know better than I do where they should be looking for food.
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