This is the second edition to a recurring series highlighting flowering species within Oakland Township’s parks. Several of the species covered in this edition can be found in the beds at Bear Creek Nature Park. Over the past several weeks the stewardship team has worked to maintain the native diversity within the beds. We highly encourage you to check them out!
Wild Four O’clock (Mirabilis nyctaginea)
This species can be seen in the beds at Paint Creek Cider Mill. The bright fuchsia flowers of this perennial are dotted by bright yellow anthers (the pollen producing plant organ). This species has two specialist feeders. Both the four o’clock moth (Heliodines nyctaginella) and the wild four-o’clock bug (Catorhintha mendica) feed on this species. The common name four-o’clock is quite fitting, as the flowers of this species cannot be admired in the early morning. Rather, its blooms open in late afternoon (hmm, say about four o’clock-ish?) and remain open through the night. By morning, these night owl blooms are closed. Wild four o’clock belongs to the family Nyctaginaceae, the four o’clock family. This species’ native range is slightly southwest of the Great Lakes. It has spread further north and has established populations in southeastern Michigan.
Common Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)
This perennial can be immediately spotted as you pull into the parking area of Bear Creek Nature Park. Common spiderwort cheerfully stands (up to four feet high!) in the bed that divides the lot. This species has an extended blooming period of around one and a half months. This is due in part to only a few flowers blooming on an individual plant at one time. This plant is a favorite snack of rabbits and deer, and is pollinated by several bee species. Common spiderwort belongs to Commelinaceae, the dayflower or spiderwort family. Check it in the morning to see the full floral display. Spiderwort flowers often close by the end of the day.
Bear Corn (Conopholis americana)
Have you ever come across this species and thought it was a mushroom? If so, you are not alone. In fact, the nature of this species is akin to fungi in a significant way. This species does not perform one of the hallmarks of the plant kingdom- photosynthesis. Rather, this species is entirely parasitic. Like many species of fungi, bear corn penetrates the roots of host trees and thieves nutrients from them. Bear corn has specialized roots, called haustoria, that allow for this parasitism. This species specifically targets the roots of oak trees, but generally coexists well with them. This species belongs to the family Orobanchaceae. The bear corn pictured here was found at Charles Ilsley Park.
Prairie Phlox(Phlox pilosa)
These delicate flowers are beloved by a myriad of insects. You will find them to be quite busy with faunal visitors in the beds at Bear Creek Nature Park this time of year! Swallowtails, American painted ladies, and many skipper butterfly species visit prairie phlox. Prairies phlox even has a specialist feeder, the prairie phlox flower moth. Native phlox species look somewhat similar to dame’s rocket, an aggressive invasive species found in Michigan. An easy way to distinguish the two is to count the petals; dame’s rocket has four petals, whereas our native phlox species have five. Additionally, prairie phlox is quite low growing, commonly only reaching six inches to one foot high. Dame’s rocket can grow up to four feet high. Prevalence of this species is closely tied to the occurrence of fire in its preferred prairie habitat. Prairie ecosystems rely on wildfires to aid in the cycling of nutrients and limiting establishment of trees and shrubs, which increases the availability of sunlight. This species belongs to Polemoniaceae, the phlox family.
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Milkweed season is upon us! A perfect place to view the unfurling blooms (and smell their lovely fragrance) are the native plant beds at Gallagher Creek Park. This species can reach up to five feet in height and has large, oblong leaves that occur in opposite pairs. As can be seen in the photos above, the flowers of this species are arranged in spherical clusters. You will often find common milkweed in large groups. This is due to vegetative reproduction- through rhizomes! Rhizomes are thick underground stems that send up shoots, creating new plants. These underground stems allow for common milkweed to form dense colonies. Common milkweed, and other milkweed species, are famed for their association with the monarch butterfly, as this species is a crucial food source for monarch caterpillars. A documented additional 450 insects are known to feed on common milkweed (can you spot the ant and boxelder bug in the photo on the left?). This plant contains organic compounds known as cardiac glycosides that can potentially make insects toxic to predators when consumed in high enough quantity. The name milkweed comes from the opaque white latex that discharges from the plant when injured. Common milkweed is in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae.
Bristly Greenbrier (Smilax tamnoides)
While this vining species may not be your friend on a hike as it is covered in sharp, needle-like prickles, it is a lovely native plant worthy of highlight. This species is dioecious, meaning that the male and female flowers occur on different plants. Photographed here are male flowers. Though tough to see clearly, there are clusters of pale stamens (the male reproductive organ) located in the center of six green tepals. The ringlets seen in the photos above are tendrils, which are modified plant organs that serve to anchor vining plants. Come late fall, female plants of this species will be dotted with small inky berries. These berries are consumed by raccoons and many bird species (namely thrushes). The flowers are visited by flies and bees, and the foliage is nibbled by the caterpillars of several species of moths (such as spotted phosphila, turbulent phosphila, and curved-lined owlet). This species is common in forest edges and floodplains. The photos above were taken at Watershed Ridge Park.
Take a peek through the lenses of the stewardship team as we highlight native species that are currently flowering throughout the parks! This will be a recurring series, updated throughout the summer season as new plants unfurl their beautiful blooms. The majority of the species highlighted this week can be found in the native plant beds at Gallagher Creek Park. Since construction of the beds in 2019, the stewardship team has worked diligently to promote and maintain native plant diversity. We are happy to report that the beds are flourishing. They are abuzz with activity as happy pollinators weave through the blossoms. We hope that you get to spot these species on your next walk through our parks!
Golden Alexanders (Zizea aurea)
The aptly named golden alexanders are seen here in a photo from a native plant bed at Gallagher Creek Park. Golden alexanders is a perennial herb belonging to the carrot family (Apiaceae)! The upper leaves of this species are divided in two, whereas the lower leaves are divided in threes. The small yellow flowers of this species are arranged in a large umbel. This species is a larval host to the black swallowtail.
Common cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex)
Common cinquefoil is pictured here at Lost Lake Nature Park. As its name suggests, it is common. However it should not be overlooked! Its dainty flowers only last around a month, and are a joyous addition to the groundcover of a variety of habitats. This herbaceous species can be identified by its deep leaf venation and serrated leaves. The 1/2″ flowers have five yellow petals and roughly twenty stamens (pollen producing flower organ). Common cinquefoil belongs to Rosaceae, the rose family. The leaves of this species are often eaten by small mammals, and the flowers are visited by small flies and bees.
Golden ragwort (Packera aurea)
Golden ragwort can be seen at Paint Creek Heritage Area- Wet Prairie (photographed here). The flowers occur in clusters and are a shade of deep yellow. On a single flower, petal number can range from several to more than a dozen. Stewards Camryn and Cassie are pictured showing the height of golden ragwort, which can reach up to two feet. Golden ragwort belongs to Asteraceae, also known as the daisy family. Though past its peak flowering season, this species is too beautiful not to share!
Robin’s plantain (Erigeron pulchellus)
Robin’s plantain is shown here in the native plant beds at Gallagher Creek Park. The petals occur in a range of colors. Seen here in white, they can also be shaded lavender or blue. The basal leaves of this species are notably hairy and soft. This species, like golden ragwort, belongs to the family Asteraceae. Robin’s plantain propagates through stolons or rhizomes.
Sand coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Sand coreopsis can be found in abundance in Gallagher Creek Park’s native plant beds. This species is impossible to miss! It’s voluminous flowers perch proudly on peduncles that can reach up to 2 1/2 feet high. The photo on the right shows a coreopsis flower visited by a pearl crescent, a native butterfly. Pearl crescents lay their eggs on the leaves of various aster species. Sand coreopsis is a member of the Asteraceae family.
Wild lupine (Lupinus perennis)
Wild lupine has been seen in many parks over the past two weeks including Bear Creek Nature Park, Gallagher Creek Park, Charles Ilsley Park (pictured here), and Nicholson Prairie along the Paint Creek Trail. The palmately compound leaves of wild lupine are deeply divided into numerous leaflets. Flowers occur in clusters on stems that can reach up to two feet in height. The flowers are most commonly blue/purple, but can range from pink to white. Wild lupine belongs to Fabaceae, the legume family. Like other species within this family, lupine forms a symbiotic relationship with a group of bacteria called rhizobia. Rhizobia colonize and form nodules on the roots of legumes, wherein they fix and provide biological nitrogen to their host plants. This symbiosis is beneficial to the host plant, as nitrogen is an essential plant macronutrient.
Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Wild columbine is pictured here at Bear Creek Nature Park (left), and Gallagher Creek Park (right). This species is easily identified by its bell-shaped ‘drooping’ flowers. Five red and yellow petals are surrounded by five, paler red sepals. Wild columbine belongs to the family Ranunculaceae, also known as the buttercup family. This species attracts a variety of wildlife, including hummingbirds, butterflies, hawk moths, bees, and birds. It is a larval host to the columbine duskywing butterfly. When admiring this species, the lyrics of Townes Van Zandt’s 1969 song ‘Columbine’ never fail to get stuck in my mind…
“Cut yourself a columbine, Tear it from the stem, Now breathe upon the petals fine, And throw ’em to the wind.”
…Except follow better ecological practices than Townes- don’t cut them!
FalseSolomon’s-seal (Maianthemum racemosum)
The slightly hairy stem of false Solomon’s-seal supports alternating oval-shaped leaves. The stem terminates in a cluster of dozens of small white flowers. This photo was taken at Cranberry Lake Park, where you can also find this species cousin, true Solomon’s seal! True Solomon’s seal can easily be distinguished from this species by its small, drooping, bell-shaped flowers. This species is within the lily group. False Solomon’s seal is able to colonize areas through sturdy rhizomes. This species is occasionally browsed by deer.
Foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
Foxglove beardtongue can be seen in Gallagher Creek Park’s native plant beds and surrounding natural areas. Seen in the photo on the left is a flower stalk with many emerging tubular blooms. Small hairs can be found on the white flowers. The opposite leaves of this species are glossy and lightly toothed. Foxglove beardtongue belongs to the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. This species is frequently visited by bumblebees, and occasionally even hummingbirds.
Hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
Hairy beardtongue can be seen in Gallagher Creek Park’s native plant beds, and several spots along the Paint Creek Trail. The drooping, slender flowers of this species are pale violet in color. The hairy stem is a key identifier of this species, as seen in the photo on the right. Like foxglove beardtongue, this species belongs to the family Plantaginaceae. The descriptor ‘hairy’ is derived from the fifth stamen of the flower. This special stamen is infertile and has a cluster of small hairs.
Check back in toward the end of June for a new list of native flowering species. Among the species highlighted will be milkweeds, which will begin to flower over the next several weeks. There are eleven native milkweed species to the state of Michigan. Keep an eye out to see which species we find within Oakland Township’s parks!
As bright green leaves emerge each May, stewardship in our parks kicks into high gear. During the last two years, our township stewardship manager, Dr. Ben VanderWeide restored two wetlands with help from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and our township stewardship crew and volunteers restored a fragile woodland with a lot of muscle power and hard work.
In the last few weeks, work has moved forward, which will bring even more life and beauty to these three natural areas. And the changes wrought have already encouraged surprising new visitors and a renaissance of sorts. Come see….
At Blue Heron Environmental Area, A Rare Visitor and A First Sowing of Wild Seed
On May 4, as I passed Blue Heron on my way to monitor bluebird boxes, I saw Ben in the north field with my gifted photographer friends, Bob and Joan Bonin. Hmm… A few minutes later, I received a quick text from Ben that they suspected they were looking at a Willet, a bird I’d never heard of! Well, monitoring completed, I made a beeline to Blue Heron and yes indeed, it was a Willet (Tringa semipalmata), a shore bird rarely seen in Michigan. Be sure to click on the photos below to enlarge them so you can appreciate the detail the Bonins achieved!
Bob Bonin’s super photo of the Willet at Blue Heron – a rare sight here in Michigan.Joan Bonin caught a wonderful shot of the the mighty black and white striped wings of the Willet, a helpful field mark when they’re in flight!
Willets generally winter along the east and west coast of North America, the Caribbean islands, and the north coasts of South America. The eastern subspecies breeds during the summer farther up the northeast coast. The western birds breed out in the high plains area of the western U.S. and Canada. Our Willet had lighter colored feathers, so it appears to be a “western” bird. So it’s a mystery how this bird found its way to Blue Heron, but we are so glad it did! Evidently it needed some R&R after its wanderings and stopped by to rest on the shore of this blue oasis. The marshy edges of the new wetland were rich with food. Bob caught the moments when the Willet extracted a worm and when it latched onto what appears to be an insect larva from the water. Restoration of this wetland two years ago provided this wayward Willet with a safe haven. Ah, the rewards of good stewardship!
A worm makes an acceptable meal for a tired Willet. An very fine photo by Bob Bonin!Another great shot by Bob Bonin in which the Willet successfully forages for what appears to be an insect larva.
A few days later, the US Fish and Wildlife Service folks arrived to seed the north end of the field at Blue Heron. (The south end will still be farmed for now.) Native grass and wildflower seed sprayed from waggling, vibrating tubes at the back of the small tractor and a drag behind covered them with just a thin layer of dirt. The seeding happened a bit later than the stewardship crew had planned due to a busy season for USFWS. But Ben still hopes to see some new growth this summer. Native seed can take 3-5 years to reach full bloom.
A team from the US Fish and Wildlife Service plant seed above the north shore of the wetland at Blue HeronEnvironmental Area
Other Water Birds Dropped Down to the Pond for a Visit this Year
Last spring, the early arrival migrators were Black Ducks and the Greater Yellowlegs. Along with the Willet, other water birds arrived during this spring’s visits: a Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) poked about in the shallows during the seed planting before continuing its journey to Canada. And a female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), who likely lives in the area year ’round, lifted off from the pond as I skirted the shore.
A Solitary Sandpiper foraged in the shallows while the seeding proceeded.(Photo by Robin Gwen Agarwal (CC BY-NC) at inaturalistA female Hooded Merganser flew over ahead during my second visit
Reliable Wetland Summer Residents
A few other creatures shared Blue Heron with me this spring – the ones that tend to show up since Ben restored the wetland. Slideshow below:
A wary Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) guards her eggs atop a muskrat den
A Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) with trademark yellow above its eye frequents the grasslands.
A female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) forages below the reeds.
The male Red-winged Blackbird keeps watch over the territory near the female.
A female Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) pretends she’s injured or nesting to distract me from finding her true nest.
A Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), part of nature’s cleaning crew, rides the wind near the pond.
Dozens of little spreadwing damselflies (g. Lestes) flutter above the muddy shore of the wetland.
Watershed Ridge Park Receives its Blanket of Native Seed as Summer Residents Arrive
The north fields at Watershed Ridge Park after seeding by US Fish and Wildlife Service on the same May dayas the work at Blue Heron.
The little USFWS tractor also tracked across the sloping landscapes of the two north fields of Watershed Ridge Park, depositing native wildflower and grass seed. Once the seeds germinate and begin growing, they should help prevent erosion into the newly restored wetlands – as well as adding a lot of beauty for us visitors! The following day Ben did some hand sowing of wetland seed and came across a lovely surprise at the edge of a wetland!
The two women from US Fish and Wildlife plant seed on the slopes of Watershed Ridge.While hand planting seed near a wetland, Ben came across the bright red mouths of a nest of baby Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula)!
My favorite surprise during my visits was a glorious male Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) high in a tree near the parking lot. His more modestly dressed mate poked about a snag nearby, but flew away as I slowly turned to take her portrait. Wood Ducks can nest as far as 50 feet up in trees and have hooks at the back of their webbed feet to navigate up in the canopy.
A male Wood Duck avidly watched his mate explore a possible tree hole in a snag.
I think Mrs. Wood Duck probably decided that the snag was not close enough to a wetland, since she prefers a location in a tree near a wetland. Ideally, there her young can make a soft landing in deep leaves when they jump from the nest and then trundle after her into a nearby pond – with only the help of their mother’s encouraging quacking! I’ve included below the photo of a female Wood Duck that I saw at Bear Creek Nature Park a few years ago. If you can spot her on the limb, you’ll notice her subtle attire.
A female Wood Duck high in a tree looking for a nest hole in Bear Creek Nature Park. She’s well camouflaged, isn’t she? The one at Watershed Ridge blended into her snag beautifully, too.
Migrators at Watershed Ridge Park Find A Stopping-off Site or a Nesting Spot Near the Wetlands
Besides the Grackle, other migrators peeked from hedgerows or sang in tangled greenery near the restored wetlands. Slideshow below.
A White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) stopped by on its way to breed in Canada’s far north.
The masked Common Yellowthroat sang “Witchedy witchedy” from a willow near a restored wetland.
A female Browned-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) postures with a bill tilt. Cornell’s website “Birds of the World” indicates she’s expressing her dominance over another female foraging with her.
An Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus Tyrannus) along the hedgerow at Watershed Ridge.
At the Wet Prairie an Open Canopy Creates Ideal Habitat for Two Special Visitors
The open canopy woodland near the Wet Prairie attracts interesting species and a native, diverse forest floor!
Please Note: No trails exist in the Paint Creek Heritage Area – Wet Prairie, but you can enjoy the wildflowers from the Paint Creek Trail, which runs along its entire eastern edge. In this sensitive natural area most stewardship work must be accomplished by hand to carefully preserve the unusual prairie and wetlands. So please, enjoy these special natural areas from the trail. I’ll give you a closer look at them below or feel free to search for other posts about the Wet Prairie on this website.
Birds often choose very specific habitats for breeding and foraging. For example, Cornell University’s ornithology website, allaboutbirds.org, identifies some of the most popular breeding habitats for species like the Red-Headed Woodpecker that seek out “deciduous woodlands with oak or beech, groves of deador dying trees, river bottoms, burned areas, recent clearings…” How lucky, then, that the open, moist woodlands near the Wet Prairie (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) turn out to be just such a habitat.
Though oaks stand tall in this forest, the canopy was thinned over the years by non-native infestations of Emerald Ash Borer and Dutch Elm disease that left dying trees and snags (standing dead trees). In this habitat, sunlight slips between the trees, dappling the earth below where woodland flowers and small native trees like oaks can thrive in the partial shade .
Dead trees leave spaces in the canopy for sunlight to reach the forest floor, nourishing small native trees and wildflowers. These dead “snags” are vital nesting spots for cavity nesting birds.
This open woodland also features the very “river bottoms” mentioned by Cornell. The original bed of Paint Creek (before the railroad moved it east into a straight channel) – filled now by snow melt, rainwater and rising ground water – still winds its moist path across the forest floor. In May, it flourished with Marsh Marigolds!
Marsh Marigolds flourish in the ancient bed of Paint Creek that still winds through the forest. The creek was moved east long ago to accommodate the railroad.
And even the required “burned areas” and “recent clearings” that Cornell lists exist here! In fall of 2020 and the following winter, the stewardship team worked long, hard hours to clear a dense jungle of invasive shrubs and vines in the forest near the Wet Prairie on the Paint Creek Trail. Non-native shrubs like Privet, Common Buckthorn, Glossy Buckthorn, Autumn Olive, Multiflora Rose, and Oriental Bittersweet vine were hand cut and huge piles of them were safely burned atop the winter snow.
Burning piles of invasive shrubs, trees and vines dotted the forest after removal and were burned on the snow in early 2021.
Two Visitors Came to Check Out this “Open Woods” Habitat
And guess what? All of those conditions that Cornell mentioned did indeed attract a Red-headed Woodpecker to our open woods this spring! In late May, this bird’s call and drilling attracted the gaze of Lisa, a volunteer pulling invasive Garlic Mustard with Ben and the summer stewardship technicians. Listen to the third call at this link to hear what the crew heard.
At first glance, she thought she was seeing the much more common male Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) with its brilliant red crest and nape (On left below). But no, the busy bird drilling a hole in a snag was indeed a Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus!) Check out the differences.
A male Red-bellied Woodpecker. Note the red cap and nape and beautifully pattern back and wings!The first glimpse of the Red-headed Woodpecker. Note the head covered in deep red and half white-half black wings/
According to Cornell’s Birds of the World migration maps , Red-headed Woodpeckers are more likely to be passing through our area to breed farther north in the top half of Michigan’s “mitten.” But some do nest here and we may have seen one that will finish its hole and raise a family near the Wet Prairie! Fingers crossed!
The Red-headed obliged me with a pose that shows its dramatic back and red head. What a treat!
During my visit, another bird that seeks out open woodlands, the Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus), landed in a tree near the woodpecker and was spotted by Camryn, our sharp-eyed summer technician. Luckily it paused for a look around. It’s also a cavity nester so let’s hope it decides to raise young here as well.
A Great Crested Flycatcher flew in and perched on a snag in the open forest. Watch for that yellow belly and the chocolate back and wings!
These fairly common flycatchers, with their distinctive “wee-eep” and vibrating “burrrr” calls, love to hawk insects from high in the canopy, making them hard to see. So what a treat to see one at the tip of a snag! It didn’t sing or call for us, but the sight of its chocolate brown head and back and that lemon yellow breast, plus the sighting of the Red-headed Woodpecker, definitely made my rush down to the trail worth the effort! Thanks to Lisa for spotting the woodpecker and to Camryn for spotting the flycatcher and taking me near the location for both!
Native Wildflowers Stage a Comeback after Invasive Shrub Clearing
Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea) basking in the dappled sunlight along the ancient bed of Paint Creek
This May, spring’s rain and pale sunlight once again reached native wildflowers that had been buried under the tangle of non-natives for many long years. And like a miracle, they emerged in the forest’s dappled light and bloomed! Whenever this happens after clearing or prescribed burns, it fills me with delight. Some already existed as single blooms and now spread in glorious profusion, like the Golden Ragwort above. Others may not have been seen here for years. Here’s a sampling of the plants that waited so long for their days in the sun.
Wild Geraniums (Geranium maculatum), a forest favorite of mine, loves dappled shade.
Trilliums (Trillium grandiflorum) found their way up through the oak leaf litter.
Great banks of Ostrich Ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) swirl like green cyclones up from the forest floor.
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) bloomed all along the original bed of Paint Creek in early May.
The fuzzy white bloom is White Baneberry (Actaea pachypoda), an unusual plant in our woodlands!
White Baneberry fruits give this plant its other name, Doll’s Eyes. They are toxic but humans, but not for birds.
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) had finished blooming. But seed pods were forming for next year’s appearance.
Bloodroot, one of the first spring ephemerals, appear before the trees leaf out when sun is more plentiful
Sizable stands of May Apples (g.Podophyllum) spread under the open canopy with their apple-like buds waiting shyly under the leaves.
The May Apple’s flower is hidden beneath its umbrella-like leaves.
Restorations Require Death – and then, New Life!
A thick carpet of Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea) moved onto the edge of the Paint Creek Trail once invasive brush was removed last year. What a sight, eh?
One of the odd aspects of stewardship work is that it involves removing living plants so that others, plants that nourish our local food web, re-emerge and thrive. But it’s occurred to me lately that gardeners have experienced this dilemma for centuries. Gardens require the removal of plants and grasses that infiltrate the borders. Sometimes even beloved but too exuberant flowers need to be thinned for their own health and the health of plants around them.
So inevitably, restorations mean eliminating aggressive, invasive non-native plants and trees that, if left in place, would eventually blanket a whole prairie or forest. Our stewardship crew spends days and weeks clearing invasive, non-native plants brought to America for their beauty or usefulness by settlers, landscapers and gardeners or as unseen hitchhikers in overseas shipments. Without the competition, predators and soil conditions of their Eurasian habitats, they can quickly smother, shade out, or choke off native plants.
The importance of native plants can’t be overemphasized. Because they evolved and thrived here for aeons, they can survive droughts, freezing temperatures, even fire. In fact many native plants require freezing winters or periodic fire to germinate! But they have no defenses against the rapid spread of non-native plants, because they’ve only been living with them for decades or perhaps hundreds of years, rather than thousands of years. Adaptation and evolution are very slow processes.
When native wildflowers and trees flourish, so does all other life around them. Native bees and butterflies can be attracted to non-native blooms, but their caterpillars can’t feed or develop normally on them. The leaves of native plants provide rich nutrition for caterpillars, the little creatures that nourish nearly every baby and adult bird we see. Later in the year, the berries of native plants provide migrators and winter birds with much more energy and nutrition than berries from non-native plants. Nature worked out an interlocking system of sustenance and shelter for life that we humans have altered dramatically over long years.
So what a delight it was to see that funny little tractor shaking out native seed at Watershed Ridge Park and Blue Heron Environmental Area! Or Ben and his crew hand spreading native seed collected right here in the township. Or even watching the removal of invasive thickets one year – and the next, seeing the plants nature intended rising from the soil after having waited decades to feel the rain, the sun, and the wind once again! I hope it’s not impious to describe those moments as little miracles, little resurrections – because that’s how they feel to me. I hope they lift your spirits as they did for me.
The native grass that I wandered through as a childwhich I later learned was native Big Bluestem.
As happens so often in life, I sort of backed into being a stewardship volunteer. I spent my childhood in Oakland Township forging paths through abandoned farm fields filled with tall grass. On a flannel blanket scented by the warm earth beneath, I settled beside a small wetland to read. My father knew where wild asparagus grew on Collins Road and rushed back home one afternoon to report seeing a trumpeter swan. We watched birds on a simple feeder in a bush outside the kitchen window. My brother and I could be gone all morning in the fields as long as we returned when the dinner bell rang. Being outside meant disappearing from adult supervision for hours on end, and we loved it.
Text and photos
by Cam Mannino
When my husband I moved back to this area, we began Sunday walks in Bear Creek Nature Park, just an abandoned farm when I was child. At a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting in 2015, I took the opportunity to ask the Oakland Township Stewardship Manager, Dr. Ben VanderWeide, about a giant tuft of stiff grass that jutted out at the edge of a field at Bear Creek. Did someone plant some exotic grass in our park? It looked very odd and ungainly. Ben explained that it was Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), a native grass that had once covered large areas of our township – part of our ancient natural landscape. Really? He suggested coming to a presentation that he’d planned to describe that pre-settlement landscape and the role of periodic prescribed fire in restoring and preserving it. Fire as a preservation technique? I took the bait and arrived home from that event bubbling with ideas about Michigan’s prairies and how they might be restored to us. That huge tuft of grass at Bear Creek Nature Park, it turned out, was probably a remnant of the grasses through which I’d roamed years ago, grasses which had emerged after field fires during my childhood.
That eye-opening presentation marked the starting point of what is now my seven-year journey into deepening my relationship with the natural world. I continue to appreciate nature in ever more intimate detail – and it never fails to simultaneously fascinate and soothe me. Through volunteering in a variety of ways, I’ve come to understand that I have a part to play in healing the landscape that nurtured me as child and still does. And in doing so, I experience a bit of healing myself.
So here’s my invitation to join us in this reciprocal process of enriching the native diversity of our natural areas while enriching ourselves. Perhaps you’ll discover an activity that suits your gifts or interests. For details on monthly events, click on a date on the calendar page at this link. [See the blue bar at the top of the linked calendar page.]
Why Not Literally Be “For the Birds?”
If our feathered neighbors intrigue you, perhaps these activities are for you!
Ramble the Parks with the Wednesday Morning Bird Group
Birders at Cranberry Lake Park watching several different migrating warblers in a nearby tree. Photo by Tom Korb, a member of the group
Every Wednesday year ’round (with a few weeks off in December), a group of us gather at one of the township parks. We come with binoculars (or Ben can loan us a pair) and head out on the trails. Some of the birding group members are amateurs. Others have birded for years and can recognize a bird by its song or its pattern in flight overhead. Learn, laugh, hang out with kindly people in all kinds of weather and be a citizen scientist at the same time! The data collected each week by Ben and stewardship specialist, Grant Vanderlaan, is reported to the Cornell University Ornithology Department’s ebird website where it can be used by researchers to learn more about our feathered neighbors.
Get “Upclose and Personal” with Birds by Monitoring Nest Boxes
A female Bluebird bringing nesting material to her box.
We volunteers participate in another citizen science project, Cornell University’s NestWatch Project. Each volunteer takes responsibility for monitoring a set of bird boxes in one of our parks. After a yearly session on the do’s and don’ts of monitoring, we visit our boxes once or twice each week. I’ve peeked within the nest boxes of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis), Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), and House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) to record the date of the first egg laid, the hatch date, the fledge date and other data. As a result, I’ve seen baby birds hatch, feed from their parents’ beaks and sail out into the big bright world on their first solo flight! What fun! I recommend it to you.
A baby Eastern Bluebird emerges from its egg one spring morningA clutch of hatchlings begging for food.A fledgling Bluebird takes a first look around the big bright world outside its box.A Bluebird fledgling on its first flight lands in a tree and looks up to its male parent for comfort, protection and food.
Need A Little Excitement in Your Life? Volunteer with the Prescribed Burn Crew!
Two trained burn crew volunteers, a woman dripping low flame, a man carrying water for dowsing when required
Many of our native plants are “fire-adapted,” which means they benefit from fire or actually require it to germinate! After a low burn, the nutrients of dry plants nourish the soil, the blackened fields absorb sun for a longer growing season and room is created for native plants and the creatures which need sun and rain. So although Ben hires contractors for complicated burns, he also provides training each year for members of a volunteer fire crew. All adults are welcome, regardless of gender. The volunteers don protective equipment provided by the Parks and Recreation Commission and that, plus training and on-site supervision by Ben, makes for a dramatic, interesting and safe experience. So add a bit of adventure to your life and provide our stewardship team and nature itself with some badly needed help!
This could be you! Trained and ready to help restore our natural areas with prescribed fire.
Share an Ancient Tradition: The Gathering and Preparing of Native Seed
Two volunteers gathering native wildflower seed at Charles Ilsley Park.
Gathering the Seed
On a lovely autumn afternoon, Ben invites us to gather in a prairie to collect native seed, something humans have done for thousands of years. I love these autumn events; they’re so incredibly peaceful , relaxing and so easily productive. Ben chooses the site where desirable seeds are plentiful and gives us brief instructions on how much we can harvest. We then move out into the fields and slip seeds from their stalks, dropping them into a labeled bag later to be cleaned and sown where needed in our parks.
Former Stewardship Specialist, Alyssa, gathering coneflower seeds among the Big Bluestem at Charles Ilsley Park.
Preparing the Seed for Sowing
Volunteers cleaning seed and Stewardship Specialist Grant VanderLaan weighing it on the right.
Early in December, volunteers and staff gather at the township’s pole barn on Buell Road to separate the seed from its pods or seed heads. We dress warmly, snacks are on hand and we set to work pushing the seeds through screens into tubs, bagging the stalks and stems for compost. Some seeds need to be rubbed through a coarser screen while standing in order to break them off sturdy seed heads. The seed for each species is individually weighed, its origin and collection date recorded and then stored away for sowing. We chat while we work and the whole feeling of the event is a bit like an old-fashioned barn raising or quilting bee!
Seed cleaning brings folks of all ages – a great group event!
Sowing the Seed
Ben sowing seed by hand in early spring after a burn the previous fall.Ben sowing native grass and wildflower seed with a crank spreader after forestry mowing at Bear Creek.
Native seeds need to be sown in late fall or early spring, when nature drops many of its seeds; wild seeds usually require cold temperatures in order to germinate. It lands on the soil surface and moves into the soil by the force of rain or snow during freeze/thaw periods. Many are tiny, almost dust-like, and ignored by the birds. Some seeds are carried below ground by animals or insects.
Our collected native seeds are most often sown by hand or occasionally with a hand-cranked seed spreader. Ben and his crew recreate nature’s process in our parks by spreading it on the surface of prairie sites prepared by burns or mowing, on the edges of wetlands or for aquatic plants, even on pond ice. Natives may need three or more years to reach full bloom because they first establish deep roots. Unlike non-native nursery plants, they’re tough survivors who’ve evolved to grow without fertilizer or much other human intervention in Michigan’s unpredictable weather!
The stewardship crew planting in early spring, 2021
Scoop Up Tiny Shrimp and Other Tiny Aquatic Critters: Vernal Pool Monitoring
Volunteers monitoring a vernal pool in the early spring
Vernal pools are seasonal wetlands that form in low areas in the spring. They fill with snow melt and rain water, and then dry up in warm weather. As a consequence, these pools don’t support fish, which makes them a safe place for many creatures to breed and lay eggs. Tiny orange Fairy Shrimp (Order Anostraca) and appropriately named Fingernail Clams (Pisidium moitessierianum) are indicator species in these freshwater pools. Who knew shrimp and clams live and breed right in our parks? Likewise, our Wood Frogs (Lithobates syvaticus) and some species of Salamanders court and lay eggs here after overwintering in the uplands. Periodically Ben trains volunteers to record data from the vernal pools so that it can be reported to the Michigan Natural Features Inventory – a third kind of citizen science! Ben provides small nets and clear boxes and we don our high boots and wade in, learning first hand how to identify what dwells in these temporary pools that team with life that most of us have never seen before!
A tiny Fingernail Clam attached to a leaf found during monitoringSpotted salamander eggs in a vernal poolA Wood Frog courting in a vernal poolA tiny freshwater Fairy Shrimp (1/4-1/2 inches long) with its egg sack
Enjoy Taking on the “Bad Guys?” Try Invasive Species Management!
Glossy Buckthorn is a very aggressive invasive shrub that spreads into dense thickets.Common Privet creates dense thickets like Glossy Buckthorn does.Autumn Olive looks and smells lovely in the spring but is super invasive.Bradford/Callery Pear spreading into Bear Creek from a nearby subdivision.
Invasive species – like Bradford/Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana), Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), Glossy Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), Common Privet (Ligustrum vulgare), Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) and many others – are a big problem because they didn’t evolve here. In their original habitats in Eurasia and elsewhere, they did what our native plants do here, providing food and shelter for native species. But of course here, they are not among their native species. Consequently, they’re much less productive for our habitat. Their seeds may last longer in the fall, but offer little useful nutrition to our migrating birds – too much sugar, not enough fat. Butterflies may sip at non-native blossoms, but their young (the caterpillars) generally can’t/won’t eat non-native leaves, or if they do, fail to thrive into adulthood. Most caterpillars only feed on plants they’ve evolved with for centuries. Since caterpillars and their native plant hosts anchor the food web that feeds our birds and other creatures, the lack of caterpillars means a less healthy, more hungry habitat. Also, the predators that kept invasive species in check in their original habitats (insects, animals, fungi) aren’t present here – so invasives can quickly spread across the landscape with little opposition – robbing our native plants of the sunlight, rain, soil nutrients and pollination they need.
So here are a couple of examples to show how you might help preserve the rich diversity of our natural areas by eliminating non-native, invasive species:
Lend a Hand at Cutting and Burning Invasive Shrubs and Vines
Volunteers and stewardship staff took on clearing a large area of invasive shrubs and vines at the Wet Prairie on the Paint Creek Trail in late 2020. Forestry mowing would have damaged the fragile ecosystem there. After weeks of work, clearing was complete and the resulting piles were burned on the winter snow. See the transformation process in the slideshow below.
A tangle of invasive shrubs and vines at the Wet Prairie before removal
An area after invasive removal at the Wet Prairie
Staff and volunteers worked together for weeks cutting and piling invasives.
Huge piles of invasive plants prepared for burning.
The piles were burned on the snow during the winter.
Attend Garlic Pulls on a Spring Morning
No, garlic pulls are not at all like taffy pulls, unfortunately. Just nice folks who go out into woodlands with Ben and Grant to remove the nefarious, invasive Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata). This introduced European plant crowds out many species of our native woodland wildflowers like Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum, May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), and Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). Garlic Mustard, named for its scent, is easy to pull! A four-year-old delighted in helping me pull some near my home and did a fine job. The following year, a native wildflower emerged from the seed bank – the kind of reward we hope to see again in our natural areas! (Notice the historical photo below of the forest floor at Bear Creek in 1979!)
Garlic mustard,a highly invasive non-native, in bloom Bloodroot, a native woodland wildflower. Notice the one within its cloak-like leaf!Native Spring Beauty among the mosses at the foot of a treeBear Creek Nature Park in 1979, native Trillium and May Apple carpeting the forest floor. Photo by the Tomboulian family
Who Benefits More? Me or the Natural Areas?
The Eastern Prairie at Charles Ilsley Park four days after a prescribed burn.Eastern Prairie 3 weeks after a prescribed burnEastern Prairie at Charles Ilsley Park in full bloom in July after wildflower seeding
I’m sure it’s happened to you, too. We volunteer because we want to be of use and what we discover is that the greatest benefit has been to ourselves! Working with Ben and the other stewardship folk, I have learned to be of use to nature. I’m happy to provide data to researchers learning to protect nesting and migrating birds or tiny shrimp. And it’s such a thrill to see a diverse tapestry of native plants emerge from the soil after decades of being buried beneath a heavy load of invasive shrubs or grasses. It invariably feels like I’m privileged to witness a small resurrection.
But what I’ve experienced is that the benefits for me often outweigh the relatively small part I play in the process. I’ve made bright, interesting friends both in person and here on the blog. What a delight to enjoy and learn from kindred spirits! I’ve stimulated my aging brain with new information that matters to me. I’ve exercised both my mind and my muscles as I head out in the fields to see what nature is ready to show me. This kind of volunteering makes me feel more alive!
But most importantly, through stewardship work, I’ve come closer to the natural world. In fact, I’ve come to feel embedded in it. We humans aren’t just walking on the earth, after all. We are an integral part of a vast and intricate system that feeds us daily, quenches our thirst, supplies our oxygen, clothes us, heats our homes, provides materials for the very roof over our heads and the tools we use every day – and nature does all that while gifting us with beauty! A field full of wildflowers, sunlight streaming through a break in the clouds, bird song and the whisper of leaves, the dance of tall grass in a summer breeze – all of that glorious art is gratis once we step out our door.
So I hope you’ll find a way to join us. More than 1500 acres of preserved natural areas in Oakland Township could use your attention and if possible, your helping hands. I guarantee that nature will richly reward your efforts.
The North Pond at Blue Heron Environmental Area in Spring 2021The North Pond at Blue Heron in Autumn of 2021
Quite a transformation, eh? In March of this year, I posted a blog concerning the progress of wetland restorations in Oakland Township. In the fall of 2020, the wetland at Blue Heron Environmental Area had been planned and constructed by the township’s Natural Areas Stewardship Manager, Dr. Ben VanderWeide, and his colleagues from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By spring of 2021, the berm built as part of that restoration had created a truly startling change. Where Ben had noticed a significant wet area in a farmed field, a large pond now lay like a slice of blue sky dropped into the sere March stubble.
Text and photos by Cam Mannino
So I returned this fall curious to see what nature had since contributed as our partner in the restoration project. The surrounding field was still striped with furrows left by a local farmer harvesting his crop; his work keeps the fields free of invasive plants until Ben can restore the native grasses and wildflowers that once grew there. When I crested a slope above the pond, though, I broke into a grin and whispered, “Wow!” The pond was now encircled by swaying green cattails and among them stood a Great Egret. I could tell from a distance that smaller plants had already populated the muddy shore as well, creating new habitat for wildlife. As I picked my way slowly through the wet ruts in the stubble, I hoped to see even more life flourishing around this newly restored pond – and I was not disappointed! ,
Summer Birds Forage In and Around the Pond, Preparing for Migration
When I got my first glimpse of the pond this autumn, what a delight to see the glorious Great Egret (Ardea alba). [Click on any photo to enlarge.]
A Great Egret wading the North Pond at Blue Heron Environmental Area
This elegant bird waded slowly and carefully around the southern shore of the pond searching for prey. Finally it plunged its head into the water and came up with something to eat! But evidently the bird had extracted its prey from the mud below because it quickly dipped its catch back in the water, flicked its head about to give it a few vigorous swishes in the air and swallowed it down that long elegant neck. Then my glorious companion moved on into deeper water.
The Egret successfully caught prey -perhaps a crayfish or frog?
The Egret dipped its prey in the water and then flicked it about, perhaps to remove mud.
The Egret repositioned the prey in its beak before swallowing it down..
As the egret approached deeper water, it stretched its neck vertically as if to get a good look around – or maybe it needed to “get the kinks out” after fishing so long with its head down. Who knows? As the water reached its breast, it took on a slower, even more careful gait, thrusting its neck forward with one step and looking carefully downward with the next. It appeared that the thrusting neck helped it move forward in deeper water and the slowness made it easier to spot potential prey.
The Great Egret looked about before venturing into deeper water.
The Egret stretched out its neck as the water reached its breast.
After each step, it paused looking down for prey.
I turned to look down the lake and heard a splash behind me. When I quickly turned back, the egret’s big yellow beak was filled with a stringy mess of wet greenery which it impatiently tossed aside. The egret had missed its prey and I’d missed a shot of an exasperated egret.
High overhead that afternoon, a flock of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) flew south, following the leader of their flying chevron. In autumn, geese seem to do frequent practice runs before migrating. I noted that eight of them seemed to be tagging along behind one leg of the “V.” When eight geese flew back north a minute or two later, I couldn’t help imagining that these eight were the stragglers from the “V” who had decided they’d worked out enough for one day and turned back for a quick snack.
A “V” of Canada Geese with eight too many on one leg of the formation
Eight Canada Geese heading north – perhaps the stragglers from the V formation?
Each time I visited this pond, the piercing cry of a pair of Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) fell from high above me. Finally the two landed during my final visit. These dapper little characters spend the summer with us, scraping out their shallow, seemingly vulnerable nests in any bare earth they can find. Luckily, their striped heads and brown backs make them almost invisible in a vegetated field which apparently is enough to keep the Killdeeer and their young alive; I see them in the same fields year after year. I caught this one approaching a puddle in the grass and then turning its orange eye skyward, perhaps checking for predators who could snatch it up in flight, like Cooper’s Hawks and others in the genus Accipiter.
A Killdeer apparently keeping an eye out for flying predators
A pair of Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) stood surrounded by a small flock of Canada Geese on the south shore of the pond. The geese flew away, but the Cranes slowly moved off into the field. One of them balanced with its wings while trying to navigate those water-filled ruts! After quietly grazing a bit, poking their beaks into the soil, they too took off heading south.
Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese at North Pond
A Sandhill Crane used its wings for balance when walking into the field
A Sandhill heading south from the pond
Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) kettled in a spiral above the forest west of the pond. Biting midges killed several deer in Michigan during our warm, wet fall. I wondered if the vultures, important members of nature’s clean-up crew, had found one dead near a forested wetland. Later a solitary vulture flew overhead while I watched a small flock of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) enjoying the quiet sunlight on the North Pond. And as I left one day, a Savanna Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) hopped and pecked its way along a tractor rut, plucking up whatever appeared to be edible.
Turkey Vultures kettling above the forest to the west.
A solitary Turkey Vulture flying low over the park
A flock of Mallards enjoyed this restored wetland.
Ben helped ID this Savanna Sparrow that pecked its way across the stubble in the rutted farm field.
A Mammal, Fish, Amphibian and even Crustacean Also Explored the Pond’s Possibilities
Besides the ubiquitous White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that leave their hoof prints in the mud around the pond, a few other creatures are evidently trying out this habitat. I’d noticed some cattails draped across a log on my first visit and thought perhaps a muskrat had pulled them to the surface, since cattails are a favorite food. Ben later showed me an area where a muskrat may have tried to burrow into the berm that holds the wetland water, although the berm isn’t sturdy enough for winter quarters. Ben also pointed out an area where cattails had been felled and piled into what looked suspiciously like the beginnings of a muskrat’s feeding platform – a place to get out of the water to eat.
A wedge-shaped pile of harvested cattails hints at the presence of a muskrat building a feeding platform.
A week or so later, the log I had seen earlier had more cattails on it and something else quite unusual that I couldn’t identify. At first, I thought that it might a large fungus. But a helpful member of the Mushroom Identification Facebook group told me it looked like Cyanobacteria (genus Nostoc). Hmm… considering its common name, Blue-Green Algae, I wondered how that flat green stuff on ponds could look like this?
Clumps of colonized cyanobacteria on a log in the North Pond.
My curiosity piqued, I eventually found my way to Michigan State University Extension Educator Beth Clawson who confirmed that it was indeed cyanobacteria and sent me some useful research links. It turns out these very ancient organisms can also form dome-shaped colonies on the bottom of lakes and ponds. The ones at North Pond, Ms. Clawson informed me, are harmless, unlike the summer algae blooms that can be toxic. So it seems most likely that the muskrat pulled up cattails to eat their roots and these clumpy cyanobacteria colonies came up with them.
Imagine! These bacteria are descendants of the very ones that changed life on our planet 3.5 billion years ago! As these particular cyanobacteria performed photosynthesis, they produced oxygen unlike other organisms that didn’t. As cyanobacteria thrived in the early oceans, the environment became ever richer with oxygen, making the evolution of oxygen-breathing creatures like us possible. So, funny-looking blobs on a log set me thinking about the origins of life on ancient earth! No wonder I love doing this blog!
By the way, the muskrat never showed up on any of my visits. Perhaps I just missed it, or perhaps it didn’t find suitable winter housing in this newly restored wetland and moved elsewhere. Or maybe the food sources beyond cattails were too scanty. Muskrats usually supplement their largely vegetarian diet with frogs, crustaceans and fish. Evidence of all three of its prey species exist at the pond but some may be in small numbers.
Prey Species at the North Pond that Might Interest Water Fowl or Muskrats
In late August, heavy summer rains were causing the pond to flow out toward the woods on the northeast edge of the pond. Ben noticed a small fish swimming upstream, against the current toward the pond! Evidently some fish from a nearby forested wetland had discovered the stream and decided to give it a try. We don’t know how many made it there, but what a discovery! I hope these adventurous little fish arrived and remain in their new habitat. If they did, though, they may be providing a dietary supplement for egrets or the elusive muskrat.
A small fish swimming upstream toward the pond in a downhill overflow stream
On my first three visits to North Pond, I repeatedly heard little “plops” as I walked the watery edge of the wetland, but didn’t see a frog. Once I heard the telltale squeak of a startled Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens) but no sightings. During my last visit, though, my sharp-eyed husband spotted one traversing the uplands near the pond.
A Northern Leopard Frog in the field beyond the North Pond
The other possible prey for a muskrat or bird is crayfish. In spring, their “chimneys” erupt from the soil as they climb out of their underground burrows to lay eggs. They can be found all over the field and around the North Pond. At this point, crayfish may be the most numerous food source for creatures visiting this wetland. We have crayfish species in Michigan, but unfortunately the most prevalent is an invasive one, the Rusty Crayfish (Faxonius rusticus). I can’t be sure if that’s the species that built the chimneys at the North Pond. According to MSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife website, for most of the year “they build and occupy a deep and complex subterranean tunnel system that goes at least as deep as the ground water table.” So that’s probably where they are now. Below is Ben’s photo of a Rusty Crawfish taken at Bear Creek Nature Park and mine of last spring’s slightly worn chimney at the North Pond in October.
A Crayfish carrying her eggs at Bear Creek (Photo by Ben VanderWeide)
A Crayfish “chimney” where the crustacean cllimbed out in the spring to lay eggs in North Pond.
Wet-footed Plants Settle In, Creating Habitat
The cattails that encircle the North Pond are not our native ones, but the aggressive, non-native Narrow-leaved Cattails (Typha angustifolia) that grow near the road. They may take over the pond eventually, turning it into a marsh. Fortunately, though, many native plants have also found their way to the pond. A seed of Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) must have arrived stuck to a bird’s foot or in its droppings; I only saw a single stem in late September. Until mid-October, Nodding Bidens (Bidens cernua) ringed the pond with both seed heads and a few bright yellow blooms. Wood Sorrel (Oxalis stricta) sported tiny yellow blossoms. If they are pollinated and produce seed pods, they will be able to project their seeds up to several feet away from this original plant and add more Sorrel to the wetland habitat. Ben introduced me to Celery-leaved Buttercup (Ranunculus sceleratus), a look-but-don’t-touch plant; crushing or bending its leaves raises lesions on human skin. But as long as we leave it alone, it produces interesting leaves and cheery little yellow flowers from May to September. And of course Duckweed (genus Lemna) covers parts of the water surface like sprinkles on a cupcake.
A solitary stem of Blue Vervain
Bidens still bloomed in mid-October.
Tiny blooms of Wood Sorrel
Don’t crush or bend the toxic leaves of Celery-leaved Buttercup
Duckweed, a food source for humans and other creatures
I first got acquainted with two of the North Pond’s native plants at Watershed Ridge Park in August. When I saw Southern Water Plantain (Alisma subcordatum) there, I admired its tiny white blooms on delicate stems. And I also admired the polka-dot effect of its seed heads at North Pond in October. Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) made a nice contrast to the Water Plantain with its spiky stalks springing up like green and yellow fireworks both around the pond and in the field.
Southern Water Plantain (Alisma subcordatum) seeding
A spiky fountain of Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus)
Ben decided to try adding to the pond’s plant life by bringing in rhizomes, the underground stems and roots of two native aquatic plants: Whorled Loosestrife (Decodon verticillatus) and Yellow Water-lily (Nuphar variegata). The Whorled Loosestrife is a native plant as opposed to the invasive species Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). Ben planted the cuttings he took from Draper Twin Lake Park into the mud below the water close to shore, its preferred habitat.
The Yellow Water-Lily rhizome required deeper water to float its leaves. So Ben moved to the bank at the deepest part of the pond, tucked a few rhizomes in the mud and tossed any remaining small pieces far out from shore. It’ll be great to see if either of these settle in at the North Pond next summer!
Ben with Whorled Loosestrife rhizome
Ben planting Whorled Loosestrife near the shore of North Pond
Ben with the large Yellow Pond-Lily rhizome.
Ben tossing chunks of the Pond Lily rhizome into deep water at the North Pond.
Whorled Loosestrife by wanderingeden at inaturalist (CC BY-NC)
Yellow Pond-Lily by inaturalist.org photographer nambec (CC BY-NC)
Insects Dancing, Posing and Staring Me Down!
Insects, as I’ve noted before, could be real pests this year – but fortunately, the ones I encountered at the North Pond had no interest in me. Some were beautiful, others especially interesting. Let’s start with the ballerina of the group.
When I consulted Dr. Gary Parsons, director of Michigan State University’s Bug House, he informed me that the crane fly that I’d seen pause in its frenetic fluttering to cling to a grass stem was a male. Its blunt abdomen was the clue. But since hundreds of look-alike crane species from five different families live in Michigan, he couldn’t identify this one from a photo.
A very small male Crane Fly
Close by, a larger female Crane Fly performed what I dubbed “The Dance of the Hundred Eggs.” She hopped above the bright, green moss, her body held vertically, wings outstretched, as she poked individual eggs into the ground with her ovipositor. Dr. Parsons tells me the eggs will hatch there, the young will scavenge, and then larvae will pupate before emerging as adults next year. If only I had the appropriate music to accompany this skipping choreography!
A female Crane Fly poking her eggs into moss on the shore of the North Pond.
On the surface of the pond, Whirligig Beetles (family Gyrinidae) danced too. These gregarious little insects whirl, spin and gyrate in large groups. Most sources seem to think it’s a way to avoid predators, or at times, to secure a mate – but no answers are definitive. I just enjoy the dance! I didn’t take a video at the North Pond because they were too far away, but here’s a group portrait of its corps de ballet. A spinning, scooting, gyrating group of Whirligig Beetles.
I have a particular fondness for Katydids, especially when they pose for me on a grass stem. Their antennae are astonishingly long and their green, cartoon-like faces look slightly humorous to me. Katydids are active July to September when they mate, lay flat eggs on stems, soil or leaves and hatch the following summer. For me, the best way to tell katydids from grasshoppers and crickets is their long antennae, often 1.5 times longer than their body. Grasshoppers and crickets have shorter antennae, usually only half to 2/3 of their body length or less. Anyway, let me introduce you to the little female Meadow Katydid (genus Orchelimum) that I saw by the North Pond. I love her beady, yellow eyes and red, extravagant antennae!
A female Meadow Katydid blends in nicely with her surroundings.
On my visits, I repeatedly came across one species of dragonfly, a male Meadowhawk (genus Sympetrum), and one damselfly, a male Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile). (Click on the damselfly to see his spiky surface!) I remain hopeful that their variety and numbers will increase next summer if I get there in warmer weather. A Red-legged grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum) gave me a baleful stare in the field nearby.
Male Meadowhawk dragonflies fly late in the fall.
A male Familiar Bluet damselfly appeared on each visit.
A Red-legged Grasshopper gave me a careful once-over.
Given a Chance, Nature Shares the Work of Native Habitat Restoration
The Great Egret is a beautiful part of nature’s contribution to the restoration of the North Pond.
Nature itself is the very best stewardship partner. Here at Blue Heron Environmental Area, Ben began restoration by creating a berm to hold the water in the middle of a field. Once it was built, nature got to work. Thunderstorms repeatedly brought water down from the sky and up from the water-soaked earth. Cattails by the highway sent seeds sailing on stormy winds toward the muddy edges of the pond where they quickly took hold. Taking advantage of the plentiful moisture, seeds thrust their way out of the seed bank, arrived on the wind or were left at the pond edge by thirsty creatures. Seeing this rippling, blue expanse from above, birds dropped down to the pond to probe the shore for food or spend the night safely hidden among the cattails. A muskrat may have crossed the road late one night, survived the traffic and slipped into the dark water. Frogs, fish and flying insects found the new pond by hopping, swimming or winging their way from nearby wetlands or hatching from the wet soil as the summer progressed. Gradually, a small community of plants and wildlife made a summer home at Blue Heron’s North Pond. This fall we hope to seed native plants into the uplands around the pond, and next summer sprigs of native grasses and wildflowers will help knit the uplands to the wetland.
The outcome of restoration can be unpredictable. Yet working to recreate and preserve nature’s complex, interdependent web of life is always worth the effort. I am surprised and delighted by how quickly nature joined us in restoring the North Pond. I’ll be eager to see what else nature contributes to its restoration in the coming year. I hope you’ll be here, watching with me.
Natural Areas Notebook 