Bio Bits:Early Blossoming Shadbush

The shad migration heralds in spring for many people in New England, as does the flowering of an understory tree known as shadbush (Amelanchier canadensis). Since these two events coincide, early settlers gave the tree its common name that forever associates it with the upstream spawning migration of the fish. 

Shadbush is a species of serviceberry that grows across much of the eastern United States. There are dozens of species of serviceberry (Amelanchier) found in North America, Europe and Asia. Though most are shrubs, some are considered small trees. These members of the rose family can grow up to 30 feet tall, but our local shadbush usually reaches heights of only 20 feet. Its multi-stemmed trunk and its habit of sending out suckers allow the shrub to spread to form a thicket. Look for it in damp areas of the forest understory. 

Racemes of snowy white flowers crowd the tips of the shadbush’s branches in early spring, just as its leaves are about to unfurl. These short-lived blossoms attract bees and other insects to pollinate them. Then, sadly, the five narrow petals of individual flowers will delicately drift to the ground as the blossoms fade. Small berrylike fruit will form in their place over the next couple of months, turning from red to a dark purple-black when ripe. 

Another common name for shadbush is Juneberry, in celebration of the early summer ripening of its fruit. Edible and quite delicious, the fruits are used in jams and pies. They were also collected and dried by Native Americans and early European colonists to be added to pemmican, a dried meat and suet food staple. But humans are not the only creatures who love shadbush fruits. Numerous birds, such as the gray catbird; American robin; eastern bluebird; veery; wood thrush; cedar waxwing; mourning dove; downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers; tufted titmouse; scarlet tanager; rose-breasted grosbeak; and wild turkey appreciate these ripe fruits so early in the season.  

This native tree is a great addition to a homeowner’s natural landscape plan. In addition to its early spring blossoms, the fruits are sure to attract many birds to your yard, often simultaneously. One homeowner in North Guilford witnessed six different species of birds crowding together in her shadbush to share in the bounty. 

Submitted by Cindi Kobak

Images: www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/.

Menunkatuck Audubon will have shadbush available to order from our Plant Sale for the Birds this spring.

Please visit our website www.menunkatuck.org for an order form.

(From the March, 2014 newsletter.)

Monarch Butterflies and Other Pollinators Are Declining – But We Can Help

As we could tell from their scarcity in our area last year, monarch butterflies are declining across their range. In early February, 2014, news reports from Mexico stated that the number of monarchs in the wintering area was the lowest ever recorded. The population of wintering migrants is measured by the number of acres of forest that the monarchs occupy. This winter there are only 1.65 acres with monarchs, a 44% decline over 2012-2013.

Researchers have identified several possible reasons for this alarming reduction in the number of monarchs. Climate change and resulting weather that makes reproduction difficult is one. Deforestation in the Mexican wintering areas is another. A third is the use of genetically engineered crops on which glyphosate herbicides can be sprayed. The herbicides are wiping out milkweed, the only plant on which monarch larvae feed.

Monarch butterfly on common milkweed.

As individuals, we cannot do much about climate change or deforestation in Mexico, but we can about the milkweed that monarchs need to survive. Planting milkweed in our gardens and encouraging our friends and neighbors to do the same can help alleviate the larval food problem.

Also troubling is the alarming drop in the number and biodiversity of native pollinators — bees and wasps, flies, butterflies and moths, and beetles. For example, a 2011 study reports that four species of North American bumble bees have had population declines of as much as 96% in the last 100 years and their ranges have restricted significantly (goo.gl/cmXf5Y). The Xerces Society Red List identifies the rusty patch bumble bee as Imperiled (at high risk of extinction) and the yellow banded bumble bee as Critically Imperiled (at very high risk of extinction). 

One of the primary reasons for the low pollinator numbers is loss of habitat. Here again we can do something to help. Pollinators have two requirements, food and nest sites. Native flowering shrubs and perennials will provide the nectar and pollen that they need from spring through fall. Nest sites can be patches of bare ground, brush piles, bundles of hollow reeds, or a nest block.

Pollinators will also be helped by avoiding the use of pesticides which either kill insects directly or impair their ability to reproduce.

Menunkatuck’s Plant Sale for the Birds is offering pollinator-friendly perennials as well as bird- and pollinator-friendly shrubs. Start your pollinator garden this spring. See the Plant Sale brochure in this newsletter or visit menunkatuck.org.

(For more about the decline in the monarch butterfly and wild bee populations, see Yale Environment 360 - goo.gl/kGHR86 and  goo.gl/HW97zI.)

(From the March, 2014 newsletter.)

Invasive Plants Destructive to the Environment; Natives Are More Suitable Alternatives

With spring and a new gardening season coming in a few weeks, it is an ideal time to consider the invasive plants in our landscape and native plants that are suitable alternatives.

The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group defines an “invasive plant as a species non-native to the ecosystem under consideration, and whose introduction, whether accidental or intentional, causes or is likely to cause harm to the environment, economy or human health.”

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) was introduced into North America from eastern Asia. With fragrant flowers, the ability to grow in adverse conditions, and fruit that is eaten by dozens of bird species, autumn olive has been promoted as an ornamental and wildlife plant. 

If so many birds love its fruit, what is the problem with autumn olive? With the potential for a mature plant to produce as many as 66,000 seeds annually, it can quickly become the dominant plant in an area, outcompeting native plants. It also has allelopathic properties. It releases growth-compounds from its roots and other plants that try to establish themselves absorb the chemicals and die. Few insects feed on autumn olive  giving it little value for spring migrating and nesting birds.

Autumn olive. Photo: nps.gov

Three other plants introduced into North America from Asia, Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), winged euonymus (burning bush) (Euonymus alatus), and Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), can also become dominant plants in the landscape. They are especially harmful in the forest understory where they shade out native plants and result in a monoculture. And again, they do not support the insects that birds need for their growing chicks. 

Japanese honeysuckle. Photo: hort.uconn.edu/plants

More suitable native plant alternatives for these non-native plants include several of the plants that are included in Menunkatuck’s Plant Sale for the Birds. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata), red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia), and highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) all have berries that provide food for wildlife with the additional benefit of flowering in May, June, or July, attracting insects that nesting birds can feed their chicks. An alternative to Japanese honeysuckle is trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), a native vine that is attractive to ruby-throated hummingbirds.

Trumpet honeysuckle. 

Photo (color adjusted): hort.uconn.edu/plants 

Karen Bussolini will discuss more ideas for Landscaping with Native Plants: Healing Our Home Turf at Menunkatuck’s March 13 program. 

(From the March 2013 Newsletter)

Three Chapter Area Schools Embrace Audubon Schoolyard Habitat Program

Michelle Frankel and Taralynn Reynolds describe a program for children

King-Robinson Magnet School in New Haven and Melissa Jones Elementary School and Abraham Baldwin Middle School in Guilford are embracing the Audubon Schoolyard Habitat Program.

Melissa Jones students admire the Habitat Recognition sign that the school was awarded for its adoption of the Audubon At Home healthy habitat program.

The Audubon Schoolyard Habitat Program develops healthy schoolyard habitats for children and wildlife by providing schools with the guidance, training, and resources to create habitat for wildlife on the school grounds and integrate place-based nature education into the curriculum. The program is well aligned with the children and youth programmatic priorities at the schools. Access to a schoolyard habitat will provide all children at the school with access to nature on a daily basis and help them understand the connections between making healthy choices for themselves and for the environment. Activities will build skills in inquiry, observation, and math using experiential techniques, enabling children to be more successful at school. They will have the opportunity to work with adults, play leadership roles and make positive decisions by participating in the Garden Stewardship committee. Family education activities will provide opportunities for families to nurture and support children’s learning and encourage families to make healthy choices at home.

Place-based nature education is critical to the development of an environmentally aware citizenry. At a time when passive indoor activities and restrictions on outdoor play dominate children’s out-of-school time, youngsters have little direct experience in nature. There is an urgent need for place-based learning about the natural world, particularly in urban areas. Richard Louv documented the nationwide epidemic of “nature deficit disorder,” linking lack of nature exposure to rise in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. The American Association for the Advancement of Science urges teachers to take science out of the textbook and into reality.

Audubon Connecticut has been awarded a grant for $23,314 from the Carolyn Foundation to develop the Schoolyard Habitat Program at King-Robinson. The grant will expand on the three-year partnership Menunkatuck has had with King-Robinson to enable the establishment of a large wildlife meadow, development of a Schoolyard Habitat Educator’s Guide, teacher training, and field trips for the school children.Carolyn Foundation to develop the Schoolyard Habitat Program at King-Robinson. The grant will expand on the three-year partnership Menunkatuck has had with King-Robinson to enable the establishment of a large wildlife meadow, development of a Schoolyard Habitat Educator’s Guide, teacher training, and field trips for the school children.

This slope at King-Robinson Magnet School will be transformed into a meadow.

The Guilford schools have each received grants from the Guilford Fund for Education.

Melissa Jones school social worker Lorrie Shaw was awarded $3500 in 2011 and has used the funds to establish a native wildflower and shrub garden that was used by the K-4 students as part of their classwork. She was also able to purchase binoculars and field guides for the students to use. Melissa Jones was awarded the Audubon at Home Habitat Recognition Award for its commitment to establishing the school as a healthy habitat.

Baldwin science teacher Sue Kennedy received $3500 this year. With the help of students from the Guilford High School Ecology Club, a monoculture courtyard area has been transformed into a garden space with native perennials and fruit bearing shrubs. A sloped area that has been ignored and is overgrown with non-native plants will become a meadow with pollinator-friendly plants. Additionally, Sue will be purchasing binoculars and field guides.

This courtyard at Baldwin Middle School is being converted from a garden of day lilies to one with a variety of native perennials and fruit-bearing shrubs.

The courtyard garden is starting to take shape.

The Schoolyard Habitat Recognition Program addresses core content standards and outdoor environmental education provides the perfect format for students to improve their scientific inquiry skills. The students will have the opportunity to describe basic natural phenomena such as the seasonal changes in plants or the life cycle of insects found in the garden.

Melissa Jones students study plants and insects in the garden.

Students will be able to use the wildlife gardens to develop authentic research projects, such as examining factors that affect plant growth, seed preferences of birds at feeders, and parental care at nest boxes. Students will use the appropriate tools including hand lenses, binoculars, tape measures, and simple data collection sheets. Students could have ‘magic spots’ where they go every week to observe seasonal changes of the gardens. Such hands-on experiences encourage students to set questions for themselves rather than simply to respond to questions set by teachers and engage in authentic research and learning experiences.

The Schoolyard Habitat gardens provide an outdoor learning space in which the students can improve their scientific inquiry skills

The first step in adopting the Audubon Schoolyard Habitat Program is an assessment of the school campus habitat followed by recommendations for making it more wildlife-friendly. Contact Taralynn Reynolds (treynolds@audubon.org) for more information about having your school become part of this exciting program.

Michelle Frankel is a Conservation Biologist and Taralynn Reynolds is the Audubon At Home Coordinator for Audubon Connecticut.

Bio Bits: The Other Dogwoods The Other Dogwoods

As we eagerly await spring and the showy “blossoms” of the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), many people may not realize that several other native dogwood species can be found in Connecticut’s woodlands, thickets, and wetlands. Though not as showy as the flowering dogwood, they all provide an abundance of late spring blossoms and summer fruit so important to insects and birds. It’s time to get to know and appreciate our lesser-known dogwoods.

Members of the dogwood family can be identified as such by their distinctive foliage: the primary veins on dogwood leaves radiate from the midrib in a curve toward the leaf tip. While the leaves of each species may differ in size and shape, their veins all form this same basic pattern. All of our local species have opposite leaves (leaves are paired opposite one another along the branch), except for the alternate-leaved dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), which, as its name suggests, bears leaves that alternate along its stems. 

Silky dogwood leaves and flower.

Clusters of small green or white flowers form on the ends of the branches, but unlike those of the flowering dogwood, our other dogwoods’ flowers are not surrounded by large white or pink bracts. Most bear flat-topped flower clusters, except for the gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa), which has loose cone-shaped clusters. Several species of native bees, wasps, butterflies, and beetles find dogwood blossoms irresistible. While the insects busily feed on nectar and pollen, they help to pollinate the plants, which can then produce fruit.

Silky dogwood fruit

Most of these dogwoods are considered shrubs, varying in size from only three to ten feet tall. Again, the exception is the alternate-leaved, which can reach heights of twenty-five feet in its upland woodland habitat. While not gaining the height of their cousin, the red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) and gray dogwood will spread to form thickets. A welcomed sight in winter, the red osier’s striking red branches provide some much-needed color along a chilly stream or woodland swamp. The silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) also thrives in wet areas and bears blue berry-like clusters of fruits, while the red osier’s fruits are an opaque white. White fruit on red stalks identifies the gray dogwood along hedgerows and thickets; the alternate-leaved dogwood’s mature fruit is a deep purple on red stalks. 

Whether red, white, blue, or purple, a dogwood’s fruit will provide an important food for local and migrating birds this summer and fall. Wood ducks, wild turkeys, northern flickers, eastern bluebirds, and northern cardinals are some of the colorful avian visitors attracted to dogwoods.

We will be offering both silky dogwood and red osier dogwood for sale this spring at our Native Plant Sale for the Birds. Please visit our website for ordering information.

Submitted by Cindi Kobak

Photos: www.hort.uconn.edu/plants

(From the March 2012 Newsletter)

Citizen Science: IPANE

Invasive species exhibit these biological traits

• grow rapidly
• produce seeds early in the growing season
• produce massive amounts of seeds or propagate vegetatively
• produce chemicals that prohibit the growth of other plant species
• adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions

These characteristics result in the invasive plants overwhelming native ones to the detriment of native insects which are unable to use the non-natives as a food source. As is described in the article on page 1, native insects are vital for sustaining bird populations.

You can help identify locations with invasive plants as a volunteer for IPANE.

The Invasive Plant Atlas of New England is a multi-faceted project designed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information about invasive plants in New England. The goals of the project are to facilitate education and research leading to a greater understanding of the dynamics of plant invasions, and to support the early detection of new invasions, which will enable rapid management responses.

The project includes a web-accessible atlas with images and descriptive information for the invasive and potentially invasive plants in New England. Collection databases constructed from herbarium specimens and current field records document the dates and locations of invasive plant occurrences, making it possible to generate maps that depict the distribution and spread of invasive plants across New England.

The intent is to provide public access to an online interactive resource that can act as an effective tool for students, researchers, land managers, conservationists, scientists, government agencies, the green industry, and the interested public.

The project is actively creating a network of trained volunteers who inventory habitats throughout New England for the presence and absence of invasive plant species. The data collected by our professionals and volunteers is used to continually update the collection databases, and plays a central role in IPANE’s goals of academic research and early detection.

Visit nbii-nin.ciesin.columbia.edu/ipane/ for complete details.

(From the March 2012 Newsletter)

Native Plants Support Native Insects; Native Insects Help Sustain Bird Populations

Most of us are aware that many birds are fond of the fruits and berries found on non-native plants as well as natives. 

One of the ways non-native plants spread and become invasive is through the guts of birds. Birds act as seed dispersers moving from one location to another taking invasive plants with them from your backyard to another backyard and often, into wild spaces.

Non-native plants ultimately cannot sustain bird populations because they do not support native insects. Native plants act as host plants and nectar sources for an insect’s entire life cycle, from larvae to adult. 

Native insects have evolved such that in their larval form they feed on a small number of plants and do not see non-native plants as food. For example, native plant expert Doug Tallamy writes that while the Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa), a species from China, supports no insect herbivores in North America, our native flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) supports 117 species of moths and butterflies! Oaks are hosts to an astonishing 532 species of caterpillars. 

Blueberry plants, such as this lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium - myrtilloides) support 288 species of Lepidoptera.

Photo: www.hort.uconn.edu/plants

Many invasive insects thrive here because birds do not recognize them as food. Perhaps you’ve heard of the gypsy moths that are destroying our hardwood forests or experienced hemlock woolly adelgid in your own backyard. Birds seek out indigenous insect species.

Spring azures are one type of Lepidoptera for which blueberry is a host. 

Photo: en.wikipedia.org/

Healthy insect populations are vital for birds during spring migration. During nesting season 96% of songbirds feed their young on insect protein.

During spring migration black-and-white warblers can be seen crawling up and down tree branches foraging for insects in bark crevices. Photo: education.eol.org

It starts with native plants. NATIVE plants + NATIVE insects = healthier bird populations.

Menunkatuck’s Native Plant Sale for the Birds offers trees and shrubs that will host native insects and feed birds. Please visit our website for ordering information. 

(From the March 2012 Newsletter)

A Plant Sale for the Birds

The excitement created by our recent project of planting native trees and shrubs at the Guilford Salt Meadows Sanctuary has not worn off. We’d like to share our experience with our members and the public, so next spring Menunkatuck Audubon will hold a plant sale.

And not just any plant sale. In an effort to discourage the continued planting and spread of invasive garden species, and to promote native plants that provide valuable food for birds, Menunkatuck will offer several native trees and shrubs that produce delicious fruits for some of our much loved birds.

Shadbush Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) blooms in early spring with a profusion of small white flowers. This tree is adaptable to a wide variety of habitats, from wet swampy areas to dry uplands. Shadbush, or shadblow or Juneberry, grows from 10 to 20 feet tall and flowers best in full sun. It suckers quite freely. The hard red fruits ripen in June, providing an early summer feast for many species of birds, including scarlet tanager, rose-breasted grosbeak, American robin, hermit thrush, red-bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, tufted titmouse, cedar waxwing, blue jay, and gray catbird. 

Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) is a hardy shrub that grows to about 8 feet in height, and half that in width. It can tolerate both wet and dry soils.  Full sun produces the most fruit. Nice leaf color in the fall. It has small white flowers that produce clusters of bright red berries later in the summer that attract several birds, including wild turkey, black-capped chickadee, eastern meadowlark, and cedar waxwing. 

Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum)  is a multi-stemmed tree with a rounded growth habit, growing to about 10 feet tall and wide. Umbels of creamy white flowers bloom in late spring, with deep blue clusters of fruits in the summer.  Likes moist soils and is a good plant to use on wet sites for mass border plantings. The fruits attract many birds, including wood duck, wild turkey, northern flicker, downy woodpecker, gray catbird, thrushes, northern mockingbird, and northern cardinal.  

Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) is a shrub dogwood with a multi-stem habit and grows to 10 feet or more.  Umbels of white flowers bloom in late spring. The late summer fruit are round white drupes that can be quite spectacular.  The stems turn a brilliant scarlet red in the winter, dramatic against snow cover. This dogwood likes moist soil and is an excellent plant to use for stream bank stabilization. Adaptable to other soil types as well. Birds attracted to the fruit include wild turkey, northern flicker, downy woodpecker, brown thrasher, eastern bluebird, purple finch, and white-throated sparrow. 

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) ‘Jolly Red’ can grow 10 to 15 feet in height. Its tiny white flowers bloom in June; you’ll need at least one male plant to pollinate the female plants to produce berries. Unlike other hollies, the dark green leaves are deciduous and its bright red berries crowd its bare winter stems, making a spectacular show. Winterberry is a plant of wet areas, but will do reasonably well under dry conditions.  Acid soil is preferable, and full sun will produce the most berries. It is a favorite of many bird species including American robin, hermit thrush, eastern bluebird, yellow-bellied sapsucker, and white-throated sparrow. 

Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)  is a twining vine with round to oval leaves.  The lovely, tubular flowers make quite a show in late spring to early summer and are a favorite of ruby-throated hummingbirds. Prefers well-drained neutral soil. Encourage vine to climb a trellis or other support. Two varieties available: ‘Alabama Crimson’ blooms are darker red than usual type; ‘Manifich’ is orange with a clear yellow throat.  

Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium - myrtilloides) is a wonderful little groundcover that is not too fussy as to soil type.  Grows to about 18 inches tall, with shiny leaves. White urn-shaped flowers in early summer produce small blueberries in August. Birds known to enjoy the bonanza include wild turkey, scarlet tanager, American robin, eastern bluebird, northern flicker, gray catbird, blue jay, and orioles.

Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is a 6 to 8 foot shrub with glossy leaves that turn spectacular colors in the fall, including dark mahogany. Though it grows in dry, open fields, it is happiest in wet, boggy areas where soil is peaty and acidic. White urn-shaped flowers in early summer produce delicious berries in mid-summer that are loved by wild turkey, scarlet tanager, most thrush species, black-capped chickadee, tufted titmouse, gray catbird, blue jay, eastern towhee, and orioles. 

Possumhaw  Viburnum (Viburnum cassinoides/nudum), aka Witherod, grows about 8 to 10 feet in height and produces flat-topped clusters of small white flowers in early summer. Its fruits turn from green to pink with purple centers as summer progresses. Peaty damp soil is preferred; it can grow along the edge of ponds in very wet conditions. Also adaptable to drier soils.Wild turkey, brown thrasher, American robin, eastern bluebird, northern cardinal, pileated woodpecker, and cedar waxwing eat the fruits.

Cranberrybush Viburnum (Viburnum trilobum) ‘Wentworth’ grown in full sun can be quite spectacular when in bloom with its showy white 3 to 4 inch wide flower clusters.  This large shrub grows 8 to 10 feet in height with a spread of about the same.  It has three lobed, shiny leaves and likes moist soil with good drainage.  Bright red fruit clusters mature in September and can hang on the plant into the winter, providing food for wild turkey, various thrushes, cedar waxwing, and northern cardinal.  

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Though many of these plants grow in the understory in the wild, all will produce more flowers and fruit when grown in full sun.

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Watch for the native plant sale brochure in March.

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Images: Hermit thrush - beidlerforest.blogspot.com/, fruits -  www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/.