Federation Blog

As luck would have it, a couple of weeks ago I was talking with the Choptank Riverkeeper (and former South Riverkeeper) Drew Koslow about a huge stand of wild rice (Zizania aquatica) I thought I saw while driving over the Choptank.  Drew confirmed that what I saw was, in fact, wild rice, near the Route 404 crossing of the river, and we chatted a bit about how I had seen patches of it on Flat Creek and elsewhere around the river.

Within minutes of hanging up, Drew called back.  He was crossing the headwaters on Route 450 and looking north up Bacon Ridge Branch he saw acres of wild rice stretching as far as the eye could see.  We were both audibly excited (we're kind of odd that way) and I told him I'd check it out next time I had the chance.  Well, today, out for a living shoreline site visit with Diana, we had the opportunity to see for ourselves and it was pretty beautiful (see below).

You may be saying to yourself at this point, "What's so special about wild rice?"  Well, among other things, it's not that common a site in the watershed, but historically it was quite abundant and was a very important food source for both waterfowl and humans.  The native Americans considered it a very important part of their culture and in many places today it is considered a culinary delicacy. That's to say nothing of the beauty of the plant's showy seed heads (below).

It also tends to occur side-by-side with phragmites, and I hold out some hope that eventually it may be able to crowd out the invasive wetland plant. 

The wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) has been in bloom for several weeks now, but even with its flowers almost spent the butterflies (I think this one is a Golden-banded Skipper (Autochton cellus)) are out in force harvesting its pollen.

Bergamot is in the mint family, and is a close relative of the more commonly known bee balm (Monarda didyma), which has brilliant red flowers of a similar shape.

Member John Koontz took this photo of one of the first monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) of the season. The butterfly below has landed on a "butterfly bush" (Buddleja davidii), which is a non-native that many pollinators are attracted to, but the monarchs are reliant on milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) to lay their eggs.  The newly hatched caterpillars feed on the leaves of the milkweed plant after hatching in preparation for their eventual flight to Mexico.

If you're interested in learning more, there is a website dedicated to attracting and tracking monarch butterflies called Monarch Watch.

Want to join field experts in identifying the plant and animal communities present in the headwaters of the South River?  Come spend some time during 24 hours of botanizing, birdwatching, and butterfly chasing.  From noon on June 27th to noon on June 28th, volunteers will be out scouring the South River greenway, cataloging all the insects, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and plants they come across.   

This area is very rich in wildlife and was designated as an important bird area by the MD/DC Audubon Society.

For more information or to get involved, contact: Alyssa Domzal, South River Greenway Coordinator for the Scenic Rivers Land Trust, alyssa@srlt.org or (248) 860-7635.

Below is the Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea), one of the forest interior dwelling birds that rely on large tracts of forest like those found in the greenway.

Late last year we finished weeding and planting rain gardens that the Federation and church had installed at Riva Trace Baptist Church on Central Ave (Rt. 214).  This spring we get to reap the rewards.

The area is dominated by very clay soils, which are common throughout Edgewater, and as a result, the gardens as initially installed took some time to drain.  This led to some of the plants that had originally been installed rotting, and weeds, like Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) moving in to the beds.  After a vigorous weeding, Federation volunteers installed plants that can tolerate wetter feet, such as common rush (Juncus effusus), three-square (Scirpus americanus), and blue flag iris (Iris versicolor).  As you can see below, these species, and several other species of rushes which have recruited naturally on the site, appear to be pretty happy.

This past Sunday, volunteers from the London Towne community, a local girl scout troop, and the South River Federation helped to plant the newly installed living shoreline along Shore Dr. in London Towne.  The planting involved using switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) to stabilize the steep slopes above the project, and saltmeadow cordgrass (Spartina patens) to stabilize the nearer shore portions of the sandy substrate.  Smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) was planted at the lowest elevations, as it can tolerate being submerged by the tides.

 Photo courtesy Jana Davis.

I confess, until recently, I couldn't tell the difference between an eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum) and a gypsy moth caterpillar (Lymantria dispar).  I didn't even realize that the eastern tent caterpillar was native to the eastern US (whereas the gypsy moth is a Eurasian invader). 

The tent caterpillars (below)  generally prefer fruit trees, such as cherries, plums, peaches, and pears, often eating much of their foliage.  It's no reason for concern however, as the damaged foliage generally grows back and the caterpillars have little adverse effect on host trees. Over 50 species of birds, frogs, mice, and skunks feed on the caterpillars as well.  If you feel strongly inclined to get rid of tent caterpillars on your property, just break the tent open with a stick, exposing the caterpillars to predators, rather than using a pesticide which might be more widely destructive.

The gypsy moth caterpillar is below.  It was brought to the US in 1869 in a failed experiment to start a silkworm industry (sound familiar?).  Since its arrival, it has attacked deciduous hardwoods, fruit trees, and even evergreens.  Information about what you can do if you find gypsy moths on your property is available here.

Believe it or not, there are carnivorous plants in the watershed.  The Wilenor stream valley restoration project contains a significant population of swollen bladderwort (Utricularia inflata), a floating plant that has small vacuoles (i.e. bladders) under the water surface that it uses to capture insect larvae as in the animation below.

Once trapped within the vacuole, the plant secretes digestive enzymes and dissolves the insect and absorbs it for its nutritional needs.  This time of year, this unique little pest controller sends up a single yellow flower mounted atop its pinwheel flotation structure as in the photo below.  

We took a quick jaunt up Gingerville Creek to look at the condition of some of the shoreline and ended up finding a substantial bed of horned pondweed at the top of the creek, as well as a number of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias).  It's an encouraging sign that reports of horned pondweed are coming in from all around the river.  Please drop us an email if you happen to see some on your creek.  A photo of the bed is below.  Water clarity still wasn't very good, but it did appear improved in the areas with the grass beds.

 Here's a picture of one of the herons who was hunting in the shallows of the creek.

The Federation has some significant restoration plans in the works for Church Creek and I had been hoping for weeks to get a look at Bywater Branch from the water.  Up that high into the creek, the water is incredibly shallow, even at high tide, and the bottom is comprised of 5+ feet of muck (we couldn't probe down to solid ground with the boat hooks that we had on board).  Below is a photo of the creek. 

The plant below was a somewhat encouraging find. It's the first SAV (submerged aquatic vegetation) of the year that we've come across: floating strands of horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustris). Recall that last year we had zero acres of SAV on the river.

 The horned pondweed will begin to give way in late June or early July as water temperatures increase, but if you happen to see some floating in your creek or on the river, please take a picture and send it on into the Federation office.

The trip up Church Creek was part of our regular weekly monitoring effort.  In the photo below, Diana and Riverwatcher John Gambel sample the mainstem under threatening skies.