Federation Blog

Driving up Muddy Creek Road this morning, stopped, waiting for the light at 214 to turn green, I noticed a healthy stand of trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) in bloom.  Its bright orange flowers are showy are hard to miss, but looking a little more closely, I saw two hummingbirds (I think they were ruby-throated (Archilochus colubris)) flitting in and out of the blossoms, sipping their nectar.

It's rare enough to see one hummingbird, but to see two together is quite a treat.  If you've got trumpet vine growing up a nearby trellis or tree, keep your eyes peeled and you may spy one of these little marvels yourself.

It's rare that you'll hear me touting the virtues of invasive plants.  Very rare. But during this time of year, I'm willing to make one exception.  In late June or early July, the wineberries (Rubus phoenicolasius) are out in full force, and if you can find them when they're ripe, they're an exquisite, locally-grown, organic (most likely) treat.

Whether popping them in your mouth by the handful, or putting them on top of an ice cream sundae, these deep red berries are sweet relief in the dog days of summer. As a rule, the darker the berries, the riper (and sweeter) they are.  

Wineberry bushes are often found at the edge of disturbed forests, or along road edges where they haven't been completely shaded out.   A visit to one of our local parks late last week confirmed that now is the time to go out and start harvesting if you're a fan of these juicy treats.

Eating the berries yourself has the added environmental benefit of keeping those seed-laden morsels from wildlife who have helped to spread the invasive plant far and wide through their droppings.

 Disclaimer: Before you eat any wild fruits or berries, please make sure that you have properly identified them.   It is possible to get sick (or worse) from eating poisonous plant parts.

Just as the trees and shrubs in the watershed have exploded in green in the past couple of weeks, the river's ephemeral sub-aquatic vegetation (SAV) has begun to spring forth.  The photo below from member John Koontz was taken on Flat Creek and shows the first sprouts of horned pondweed taking hold in the bottom of the creek.   Unfortunately, because the horned pondweed gives way when the water warms up in June, it is not counted on annual surveys of SAV.  Nevertheless, we always appreciate updates from people using the river if they happen to seen any SAV present.

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.