This day marks

THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE DAYS of hearty, and joyful howling on Sherwood brought to you by the Sherwood Howlers.

THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE DAYS.

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY JUST AROUND THE CORNER. TWENTY-FOUR DAYS AND COUNTING.

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Tonight I am howling for

NORTH AMERICAN INSECT POLLINATORS

Specifically those in the family Megachilidae, that include leaf cutter, mason, carder, and resin bees, all very efficient and effective pollinators.

And cute little darlings they are.

We are entirely dependent on insect pollinators for many fruits and vegetables that we love so much.

JOIN ME TONIGHT TO HOWL FOR THE FACINATING CREATURES THAT GIVE US SO MUCH AND ASK FOR SO LITTLE IN RETURN.

HOWL UNTIL YOUR SCOPA (POLLEN CARRYING SACK) FILLS UP.

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BACKYARD WILDLIFE ISLANDS DEPARTMENT

We are lucky here on Sherwood. Folks like to keep their yards spruced up, especially this time of the year. Some of us have dedicated portions of our yards to native plants that attract pollinators, and have placed bird feeders, bat and bird houses, and other cool nature stuff in strategic places.

There are so many threats to wildlife worldwide. Pollution, habitat destruction and fragmentation, development, climate change, poaching, and deforestation come to mind. Every building, every parking lot, every housing development we build nibbles away at wild habitat.

On their spring trek to breeding grounds migrating birds habitually stop at familiar places to rest and fuel up in preparation for their long trip northward. The birds are following spring as it unfolds, taking advantage of insect larvae and other nature provided delicacies. When those “rest stops” get bulldozed to accommodate another gas station, the birds are forced to use precious energy to find other oases.

We are living smack dab in the middle of a great animal and plant extinction era, called by New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert “the Sixth Extinction”, in her book, The Sixth Extension, An Unnatural History. This extinction is like no other in that it is largely human caused. It is one of the great tragedies of out time and only we can fix it. The loss of many animal species in this Sixth Extinction is directly related to wild habitat loss.

Human beings, and so many are the poorest of the poor, need food and a place to live, just like every other living organism on the planet. War, famine, and pestilence are with us constantly it seems. As the list of threats grows, not only to wildlife but to us as well, one can become overwhelmed. It is easy to lose hope for a better day.

But there will be a better day. I am sure of it. We have the power and knowledge to change. All we need is the will.

The first thing is to believe in science and the scientific method, that system of logical and critical thinking and reasoning that has given us so much. It is mystifying and frightening that many among us, often our very leaders, reject science. Maybe its time for different leaders.

The second thing is to tell our children the truth, to teach them a respect for our brother and sister “other species” traveling with us on planet Earth. To teach them about how we are interconnected with other living species. To teach a new biology and ecology, one that espouses a belief that “other species” have every right to exist, and that they are not here just to feed and amuse us.

The third thing is to bite off little chunks. That is what today’s column is about.

Welcome to the Back Yard Wildlife Island Department in which I feature the work of Sherwood families who are working to create “wildlife islands” on our fragmented landscape.

Habitat loss is the primary threat to the survival of wildlife in the United States. Many human activities such as agriculture, oil and gas exploration, commercial development, or water diversion change natural habitat so that it no longer can provide the food, water, cover, and places to raise young that wildlife need to survive. Every day there are fewer places left that wildlife can call home.

We fill in wetlands, dredge rivers, mow fields, and cut down trees to make room for more manmade structures all fracturing and fragmenting wildlife habitat. Roads and fences impede natural animal migration. Dams and attendant reservoirs dramatically change aquatic species’ habitats. Many migratory fish species populations like salmon, for example, are at all-time lows. Its hard to get around a dam if you are a fish headed upstream to spawn, much less four or five dams on the same river.

Mowing. I hate mowing.

The loss and fragmentation of habitats makes it difficult for migratory species to find places to rest and feed along their migration routes. Think about the monarch butterfly that migrates south to a relatively small patch of unique forest in central Mexico and a few other places. As humans chip away at these monarch sanctuaries, these remarkable insects decline in numbers.

These are daunting, large scale problems requiring large scale solutions. Those solutions will come only with a change of heart, a change in our view of our relationship with our fellow “other species”, to a view that recognizes how dependent we are on each and all species that travel with us.

Let’s start in our back yards. There is lots we can do to make our own backyards more inviting to a variety of birds, insects, amphibians, and mammals.

Let’s start in Vickie and Carter Green’s backyard.

A time ago Vickie visited with Chris Lockhart of Staunton Plant Company who suggested she read Nature’s Best Hope, A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Douglas Tallamy.  Which she did.

Vickie has always loved birds.  She still has two birdhouses her mom gave her some time ago.  Carolina Wrens have always made nests in them and have been safe. She added 3 new houses this year.  She started visiting the Cornell University “All About Birds” website at

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/

Cornell University has one of the best ornithology departments in the country.

One interactive page is called Right Bird, Right House, see: https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/right-bird-right-house/ .

It helps one pick a bird house for your area and gives you the specs for the house.  Vickie chose a Flicker house, a Flycatcher, and a Barn Swallow house. Armed with specs one can build the houses or have a neighbor handyman do it.

 

Vickie’s Carolina Wren Nesting Box

Then a motivated Vickie moved on to bees, specifically Mason bees and Leafcutter bees.   She and her able assistant Carter researched what bee “houses” looked like, contacted a Virginia Tech entomologist, got specs, and built their bee condos themselves.

Mason and Leafcutter bees are excellent plant pollinators, both for natural flowering plants and many vegetable garden plants. Also a plus, these are rather docile bees that do not aggressively defend territories like honey bees and bumblebees, thus are much less likely to sting. No worries neighborhood children.

Vickie and Carter Mason/Leafcutter “spaceship” bee nest.

Interior of Vickie and Carter’s Mason and Leafcutter Bee nest. One bee “family” will occupy the nest.

Next came plants.

Vickie did her homework to decide which plants to grow, thus seeds to buy. She created a database to keep track.

“The database helped me make decisions based on several criteria (shade/sun, height, wet/dry, etc.). But my main criteria was to find the most beneficial native plants for birds, insects, butterflies, and especially hummingbirds.”

She ended up buying a variety of 40 or so different seeds, including those of common yarrow, lyre-leaf sage, spiderwort, bee balm and wild bergamot, partridge pea, white turtlehead, wild ginger, a variety of sunflowers including ox-eye and narrowleaf, great blue lobella, different varieties of blazing stars, phlox, mints, and coreopsis, black and brown-eyed-Susan, goldenrods and aster, and tons of weeds, weeds, weeds, jewelweed, joe-pye weed, butterfly weed, and milkweed.

Then the real work began. In the garage/shed/music venue Vickie, once again assisted by the ever so faithful Carter, filled donated egg cartons with dirt and native plant seeds.  The seeds came from several online locations, including locally from Monticello and Wood Thrush Natives in Floyd, Virginia.

“Some of the seeds take two years to germinate (like the Black Cohosh), so a bit of patience is required.  Some of the seeds had easy instructions: 60 days of cold stratification, that’s it.  Others were a bit more complicated.  Time will tell how well I did.  The seeds are still in the cartons in the garage.  I will start bringing them out in April.”

What a project. Good luck Vickie and Carter.

I am looking forward to tours of the Vickie and Carter Green Wildlife Island this spring and summer.

Vickie has amassed an encyclopedia of websites and other references she is happy to share.

Here are some of them.

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“The websites I visited were Audubon,; National Wildlife Federation’s Native Plant finder, see: https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder ; regional native plant list, see: http://www.plantnative.org/rpl-mdvawv.htm; Native Plants of NOVA, see: http://nebula.wsimg.com/54e6449bca41f4358dfc9cf0a2cae51d?AccessKeyId=3787409C771EB71DC1CC&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 (a VA Dept. of Env. Quality program); Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center, see: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/   ; and the most helpful site was from DCR Virginia, see: https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/native-plants-finder .  I also liked the DWR Virginia website, see: https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/habitat/ .”

vickiejomontigaudgreen@gmail.com

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How to Combat Habitat Loss

Combat habitat loss in your community by creating a Certified Wildlife Habitat® near your home, school, or business. Plant native plants and put out a water source so that you can provide the food, water, cover, and places to raise young that wildlife need to survive.

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SIXTY SECOND NATURAL HISTORY NOTE

Mason and Leafcutter Bees

Mason bees and Leafcutter bees, a large family of native North American bees, are named as such to reflect the materials from which they build their nest cells (soil or leaves, respectively). Some species in this family use plant or animal hairs and fibers and are called carder bees. Others use plant resins in nest construction and are correspondingly called resin bees. All species feed on nectar and pollen. They carry pollen loose and dry on their hairy bellies, which makes them effective pollinators. Both types of bees are easy to raise, fun to watch, and safe for families with pets. They are rather docile and do not aggressively defend territory and thus not likely to sting.

Most of the species in this family build their nests in above-ground cavities, or on Sherwood Vickie and Carter Green hope the bees use their “custom built “bee condos”. The Green bee condos have hollow tubes just the right size for the bees to utilize in housing and feeding their young.

Human beings have a mutually beneficial relationship with bees in this family. Many of the species are important in agricultural and horticultural pollination thus are provided nesting structures to encourage their presence.

Mason and leafcutter bees are active during a different part of the season. Mason bees emerge from their cocoons in early spring and are superior pollinators of apple, pear, almond, cherry, blueberry, and strawberry plants. Leafcutter bees emerge from their cocoons in early summer and are great pollinators of squash, melons, peas, and other summer fruits and vegetables. Both bees are generalists and will visit a variety of flowers in your garden, including may of the native plants going in Vickie Green’s garden this year.

What fun!

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AMERICAN TRAVELS

0800, Friday, May 15, 2014, Intracoastal Waterway, Swansboro, NC. Tied up at the town dock.

I had the good fortune to run into Dave Owen, the chef at the Saltwater Grill, near our dock. The Saltwater Grill is known for its she crab soup, which I had devoured copious quantities of, along with a equally copious quantity of local IPA beer, the night before. He had heard that some country boy from Virginia who played a hot blues harmonica last night with a local band was raving about the she crab soup. That would be me. He wrote down the recipe and gave it to me. Very gracious.

We left the dock at dead low tide. Touched bottom in the slip and had to drive out. Passed into and through Bogue Sound, a broad, shallow water body, with a gentle N breeze, partly cloudy skies. Bogue Sound is separated by a sparsely developed narrow strip of dune lands from the Atlantic Ocean.

Continued past Hoop Pole Woods to the east, and finally Morehead City to the west and into a deep harbor with the state port terminal to our port, with a very large vessel parked there. The harbor was filled with tug boats, barges coming and going, and lots of powers boats buzzing about.

To the east is Beaufort, NC (not to be confused with Beaufort, SC) and the class A Beaufort Inlet. We turned north away from the Inlet and reentered the ICW, passing into and crossing the Newport River and then entered the Adams Creek Canal and finally Adams Creek where we anchored at ICW mile 187 after a forty-one mile run.

Near sundown. Grilling chicken. Watching turns and laughing gulls flying by. A frog chorus strikes up just at sundown and a woodpecker begins some intense drumming nearby.

Speaking of drumming, coincidentally I just read a story about a Mr. Jack Hammer, a mechanical engineer who grew up in rural Missouri listening to woodpeckers drum and actually got the idea for and eventually designed and produced the “jackhammer” that we all hear occasionally around construction sites. Mr. Hammer recorded woodpeckers drumming and determined the frequency for various woodpecker species and decided to set his jackhammer at a similar frequency because he figured if it was good enough for woody woodpecker it was good enough for Jack Hammer. Mr. Hammer decided that he had discovered a universal constant of some sort.

Emily thinks that actually the woodpeckers got the drumming idea from Jack Hammer. So much for the theory of evolution.

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Wikipedia will tell you that the jackhammer (pneumatic drill) was invented by a William Mcreavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady King, an American engineer, entrepreneur, automotive pioneer, artist, etcher, musician, poet, architect, mystic, industrialist, and inventor and that my story is a bunch of crap.

But you know me better than that. Would I lie?

Tomorrow, onward to Oriental and then Belhaven, NC.

Sweet Dreams.

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COVID 19 IN VIRGINIA, STAUNTON, AND AUGUSTA COUNTY

Today’s Trends and Notes

1. The state seven day positivity rate is 5.5% holding steady for ten days.
2. New cases per capita in Virginia has been steady at 225 for the past two days.
3. New cases in last 24 hours in Staunton and Augusta County are in single digits.
4. Augusta County and Staunton’s case curves still trending down.
5. The average 14 day case rate for all localities I follow is stable but no longer falling.
6. In the past 24 hours VDH reported that 1,035 people are in hospitals currently with COVID 19.
7. Virginia administered a total of 2,940,103 vaccinations to date.
8. Yesterday’s (one day) total was 69,202.
9. Since vaccinations started, Virginia has averaged 45,558 vaccinations per day. At this rate it will take 165 days to get to full population vaccination and approximately 140 days to herd immunity.
10. 1,075,770 people have received two doses.
11. 5% of Virginians are fully vaccinated.

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The pandemic is far from over, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The pandemic is like a ticking time bomb. We are carefully and methodically defusing it. But we can’t stop doing what the scientists and doctors tell us we must do. Unfortunately, there are still blockheads among us that will not follow the guidelines. Sadly enough, many of them are posing as our leaders in Congress, pontificating about personal freedom and such other nonsense.

Shame on them.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.

Albert Einstein

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