Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Winged Garden Visitors
One of the wonderful birds that I often see in The Garden is the Anhinga. Often called the Snake-bird because of its propensity to swim with only its long neck and head above water, it is also know as Water Turkey, Darter, or American Darter.
The Anhinga resembles the Double-Crested Cormorant. I tell them apart by looking at their bills. The bill of the Anhinga is straight and pointed (like the letter A) and the bill of the Cormorant has a hooked top (like the letter C)!
The wings of both of these birds do not contain oils. This makes it easier for them to dive and retrieve their underwater prey. I often see them sitting with their wings unfurled as they dry them out in our hot Florida sun.
If you have a photo of a favorite bird, send it to me. I will post the best ones on my next blog!
Friday, February 27, 2009
For the Birds
This past fall we also treated the cattails in the South Wetlands Preserve to allow the native spartina, sawgrass and rushes to reclaim its habitat. Though cattails are native to many areas of the United States, alteration of hydrology, nutrient loading in our wetlands, and species hybridization have caused them to spread as a monoculture through many areas, choking out other native habitat and wildlife. Over the past few years, the acreage of the South Wetland Preserve covered by cattail has slowly grown while the number of birds we have seen has slowly decreased. Since the treatment of the cattails, a visit to the tower provides you with a view of several species of wading birds and birds of prey. On a recent birding tour, we identified over 20 species, including pied-billed grebes, great blue herons, great egrets, tricolored herons, wood storks, ospreys, American kestrels, common moorhens, and a juvenile bald eagle. Each new day seems to bring more birds to the Preserve.
Treating invasive exotic species is rarely a one time occurrence and we will likely be battling against both melaleuca and cattails for the coming years. In the meantime, nature has repaid our efforts with the return of many species of birds to the Preserve. I am excited to see what the rest of this spring’s bird migration brings to us. If you have had a sighting of any exciting birds this year in Collier County, please leave us a comment so that we can begin watching for them here at your Garden!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Holiday Color in Our Wetlands
Brazilian pepper was originally imported to Florida as an ornamental in the mid-1800’s to be sold as "Florida holly". It has since become one of the worst invasive plants in the state, shading out hundreds of thousands of acres of native habitat. It produces a profuse amount of fruits that attract songbirds and other wildlife which can then spread the seeds across several miles. Once the plants get a foothold in an area, they produce a chemical that prevents the growth of other species, allowing them to outcompete native vegetation. The shrubs are often found growing in almost complete monocultures, leaving a habitat devoid of complex structure for wildlife. Brazilian pepper can be identified by its alternate, pinnately compound leaves that smell of turpentine when crushed. You must use caution, however, when handling the leaves as pepper is a member of the same family as poison ivy and may cause a skin rash.
The dahoon holly (pictured) is a small native tree that is also found growing in low moist areas. It usually forms the midstory component of a complex habitat with both accompanying overstory trees and groundcover. As a part of this complex habitat, it provides great cover for a variety of wildlife while producing fruits that attract songbirds, fowl, deer, and other small mammals. Dahoon holly can be identified by its stiff, shiny, simple, dark green leaves with pointed tips. Much like the Brazilian pepper, the dahoon holly is dioecious, meaning individual plants have either male or female flowers. It is the female of either species that produces the loads of red fruits. If you want to plant dahoon in your landscaping, be sure to select plants of both sexes to ensure the most color. You should also select plants for their color as the fruits can range from red to yellow to orange. While they are normally found growing in wetlands, dahoon holly can be planted in drier areas as a landscape plant if they are supplemented with irrigation.
Now that you know the important differences between dahoon holly and Brazilian pepper, see if you can spot the two as you see them in wetlands along our roadsides. And if you are thinking about a new tree for your home, consider planting a dahoon holly and you will be rewarded with holiday color each year while providing a great source of food and cover for our native wildlife.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Blazing-stars
Monday, September 15, 2008
Notes from Our Summer Intern
With the school year quickly approaching, I will soon return to Providence, Rhode Island to begin my sophomore year at Brown University and must bring my internship at the Garden to a close. After working with Chad Washburn and the Horticulture Department for the last 2 months, I have learned a great deal about ecological restoration and day-to-day garden operations. From exotic species removal and chainsaw maintenance to drip line installation and grafting, my time at the garden has been a great learning experience.
My work with Chad in ecological restoration has tied in well with my interests in environmental science. Primarily, ecological restoration involves returning an environment to its natural state. For my internship, I developed a restoration plan for Rookery Island in Deep Lake. Rookery Island is comprised primarily of spoil, a unique soil composition that required restoration plans that take into account the poor soil quality and dry conditions. The island was also covered with Brazilian pepper that had to be removed before native species could be introduced onto the island.
Access to Rookery Island required a dirt path to be built so exotics clearing could begin; however, we were immediately reminded of a Golden Rule in ecological conservation immediately after the path was finished, "Mother Nature always has the last say." Tropical Storm Fay dumped three to seven inches on to the site and covered much of the Island and the path. However, problem solving is what makes ecological restoration a unique and challenging field. Shortly after Fay had passed SW Florida, Chad and I resumed clearing Rookery Island, with the help of wading boots. With most of the area cleared of invasive exotics, we were able to introduce several varieties of epiphytes to compliment the already existing epiphytes on the Island. Several native hammock plants were also purchased from the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, including Beauty Berry and Mastic, which will be planted when conditions improve on the island. In the future, Rookery Island will provide a beneficial area for bird nesting as well as provide an aesthetically pleasing view for the garden's visitors.
Overall, my time at the Garden has been an exceptional learning experience. More than that, working at the Garden has allowed me to comprehend both the tremendous potential it holds in becoming a world-class botanical collection and the commitment by all the staff in reaching this goal.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Renewal in the Marsh
It has been almost three months since a lightning strike near the Garden ignited a wildfire that burned 12-acres of scrub and marsh, including the southern portion of the Preserve. In the short time since the blaze, the sand cordgrass (Spartina bakeri) marsh has nearly recovered. The only visible reminders of the fire are the charred melaleuca trunks along the edge of the marsh, and the firebreak created to stop the blaze. The burned areas of cordgrass stand verdant in contrast to the brown of last year’s growth in the unburned areas.
The blaze was not devastating to the marsh, but a natural part of the renewal process for the ecosystem. Immediately following the fire, carbon and nutrients held in the aboveground parts of the plants were released to the soil. These natural soil amendments stimulate the rhizomes, or underground stems, producing a lush green carpet of new growth. In addition to renewing growth, periodic fires reduce competition from other species, making the continuation of healthy cordgrass communities dependant upon fires for renewal.
Cordgrass rhizomes survive fire by growing beneath saturated soils, which act as an insulation from the fire’s heat. If the conditions here had been much drier, the high temperatures of the blaze could have killed off cordgrass areas of the marsh. Luckily a lack of water in the burned area of the marsh was not a problem for us. Since the fire, water levels throughout the Preserve have begun to return to normal, also helping to stimulate new growth in the marsh. We received over 9 inches of rain in June, putting us back on track towards a more typical South Florida summer. While wildfires can be dangerous in some conditions, we were fortunate this spring to have had a controllable fire that has brought renewal to the garden.
Chad Washburn
Naples Botanical Garden
4820 Bayshore Drive
Naples, FL 34112
Phone: 239.643.7275