Grasshopper Sparrow – LIFE IN THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVER WATERSHED

May 10, 2026May 13, 2026

Scenes from a Managed Grassland Ecosystem

Pretty pictures…

Veery — Photographing Neotropical migrants as they arrive to nest in our local forests can be frustrating under closed canopies and diffused light conditions. We instead decided to focus our efforts and lenses on the grassland species at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area where, earlier this week, several prescribed fire burns were wrapping up the spring treatments for 2026.

Warm-season grassland — Managed warm-season grassland habitat at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Already tending nests containing eggs and young, Tree Swallows are scattered around the refuge’s grasslands to welcome newly arriving migrants, and human visitors!

Middle Creek is probably the best place in the lower Susquehanna valley to see ground-nesting Grasshopper Sparrows.

Grasshopper Sparrow and Tree Swallow — It’s a behavior that occasionally puts the newcomer Grasshopper Sparrow in conflict with a well-ensconced Tree Swallow guarding its nest box.

Eastern Bluebirds squeeze in among the Tree Swallows to find a vacant nest box within which they can raise their young.

Song Sparrows may be present year-round in grasslands with interspersed growth of early successional shrubs and briars, however the populations at a given location changes as birds migrate in and out of the area seasonally. Those individuals observed nesting here in the spring and summer are not usually the same birds seen during the late fall and winter.

As a species, the Savannah Sparrow, like the Song Sparrow, may be represented in the grasslands throughout the year, though the individuals vary with the changing seasons. Unlike the Song Sparrow which nests in shrubs, the Savannah Sparrow nests on the ground among thick grasses.

Still munching on the seeds of last year’s wildflowers, American Goldfinches are pairing up around the grasslands waiting for thistle down and other fibers to be available for nest construction. They will then build a small cup within the upper limbs of a small to medium-sized tree to shelter their eggs and nestlings.

The Common Yellowthroat, one of our Neotropical warblers, will reproduce in grasslands with scattered early successional thorny shrubs to afford a safe place to construct a nest. The males sing almost incessantly from the time they arrive in late April and early May until sometime in July, or even later.

Eastern Kingbirds are arriving from tropical wintering grounds to nest in grasslands and pastures throughout the lower Susquehanna region. They are a tyrant flycatcher that will ambush insects from a perch atop a tree, shrub, or tuft of tall grass.

Northern Mockingbirds are considered a resident species, though there may be some southward movement during severe winters when foods such as berries become scarce. At Middle Creek, some of these evacuees have returned to nest along the interface zone between the grassland and early successional shrub habitats.

Nesting Horned Larks apparently take advantage of the interface between the managed grasslands and nearly bare soils in spring-planted croplands at Middle Creek. They may be one of the few, possibly the only, species of bird life to take advantage of no-till farming for nesting on the ground.

Red-winged Blackbirds not only construct nests in cattails and other marsh growth, but in dense grasses and shrubs in and near grasslands and pastures. The males are easily seen displaying their plumage as they sing from a small tree, shrub, or a cattail seed spike.

Female Red-winged Blackbird — Less frequently seen is the female Red-winged Blackbird. She spends the majority of her time in the nest, but will periodically come out to join the ruckus when an intruder is being scolded into leaving the premises.

Another member of the blackbird family is the Eastern Meadowlark. It too is an energetic singer during the breeding season. Meadowlarks build their nests on the ground, often in pastures of cool-season grasses where harvests prior to August are fatal to eggs and young. Middle Creek’s managers delay harvests to allow the birds enough time to complete their reproduction cycle.

Another blackbird is the Bobolink, an obligate grassland specialist and a Neotropical migrant. One of its few uses for trees and shrubs is as a place to burst into display and song, though it will also perform these rituals on the wing and among the grass.

Bobolinks — As the males arrive, competition for suitable nesting sites among the grasses becomes intense, even before a female is anywhere in sight.

Did you know the Baltimore Oriole is a blackbird? Well, it is.

Baltimore Orioles — Competition for these ideal sites can get quite animated.

Western Cattle Egrets and Geese — It’s an unusual experience, watching Western Cattle Egrets feeding in a field of cultivated cool-season grasses alongside Snow Geese, though they certainly aren’t looking for the same thing.

We’ll have more on the Western Cattle Egrets and other interesting migrants at Middle Creek in an upcoming post. Check back soon!

April 14, 2026May 13, 2026

Managing a Grassland Ecosystem

If you’ve visited Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area anytime during the past month, you may have noticed quite a bit of activity around the large pole-mounted nest boxes placed out in the open fields.

American Kestrels at nest box — American Kestrels, a male and female, at a nest box at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Kestrels competing for nesting sites and territory. — Within the past week, we noticed that kestrels are still competing for nesting sites and territory, driving away unwanted trespassers. A pair of kestrels seemed to be occupying each of the four box sites we observed. That’s good news, but the presence of these man-made nest cavities is in no way wholly responsible for this positive response from these declining birds. It’s a matter of habitat, much needed grassland habitat.

Cool Season Grasses — Cool-season grasses including fescue (Lolium species) and non-native Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata) mature by late spring. If left standing, they continue to provide indispensable habitat for grassland wildlife through the summer. Mowing early and often for hay harvest has rendered most cool-season meadows death traps for nesting birds. By delaying cuttings until at least early August, ground-nesting birds are given adequate time to fledge their young and get the juvenile birds strong enough to fly away from a set of spinning blades.

Grasshopper Sparrow in Timothy — A male Grasshopper Sparrow sings to demarcate its nesting territory in a stand of Timothy, an introduced species cultivated for harvest as hay. An insectivore during the breeding season, he and his mate will attempt to raise their brood exclusively within the cover of these cool-season grasses.

Orchard Grass with Black-eyed Susans — Prior to being mowed, Orchard Grass provides the short, dense cover meadowlarks and other ground-nesting grassland birds need to successfully reproduce. Growing a cool season grassland can be as easy as delaying the mowing of a pasture, field, or oversize lawn until August, then have a farmer friend come and take off a cutting or two of hay or straw to prevent woody plants from becoming established.

Warm-season Grasses — More durable stands of native warm-season grasses including Big Bluestem, Indiangrass, Switchgrass, and Little Bluestem thrive in the summer heat and provide wildlife habitat throughout the year. These perennial “prairie grasses”, fed by root systems five to eight feet deep, are especially drought tolerant . From these entrenched anchors, the plants would quickly bounce back after the once great herds of hungry bison had grazed the landscape bare of surface vegetation before moving on. This adaptation also assured “prairie grass” regeneration following naturally occurring seasonal fires, events mimicked in eastern North America by its pre-Columbian human residents. They used recurrent fire to perpetuate early successional habitat for wildlife propagation, foraging, and agriculture. Today in the lower Susquehanna watershed, establishing warm-season grassland meadows requires soil prep and seeding to get things going again.

Precribed Burn — To prevent succession, warm-season grassland parcels are most commonly maintained using applications of prescribed fire every 3 to 5 years. Among their benefits, these burns invigorate native vegetation while inhibiting the invasive tendencies of many non-native plants. Well-planned periodic fire can significantly reduce fuel accumulations, particularly in tinderbox woodland tracts managed as fire-free zones for the past century or more. Many forest trees including oaks rely on sporadic fire events for regeneration.

LEARN HOW LAND MANAGERS UTILIZE PRESCRIBED FIRE

This coming Saturday, April 18, 2026, beginning at 10 A.M. (rain date April 25), the Pennsylvania Game Commission is hosting a “Prescribed Fire Festival” at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. Be certain to come out to the visitor’s center at 100 Museum Road, Stevens, PA, for this event. Land managers will be there to answer questions and to explain the planning and preparations involved in overseeing a prescribed burn. There will be guided walks of habitats preserved using fire of varying intensities. You’ll see the equipment and protective clothing used by certified personnel to administer a live prescribed fire burn right before your eyes. Then you can have lunch—food trucks will be available on site.

Prescribed Fire Demonstration — Visitors witness a prescribed fire demonstration at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in 2025.

After the burn demonstration, why not go for a walk or drive around the refuge. You can take note of how grassland and early successional plant communities are responding to previous doses of prescribed fire…

Greening up a week or two after the burn, Wingstem is blooming by June in areas treated using prescribed fire earlier in the spring.

Another scene from June: Four-foot-tall Joe-Pye-Weed amidst lush growth of goldenrod in early successional habitat where a prescribed burn eliminated accumulating wildfire fuel and turned back the growth of invasive plant species in March.

And how the grassland animals respond as well…

Ring-necked Pheasants in early successional habitat maintained by the periodic application of prescribed fire.

Eastern Cottontails prosper in the mosaic of warm-season grasses and early successional thickets on lands sustained using prescribed fire. Rabbits are herbivores, primary consumers eating mostly legumes and other plants, the producers that through the process of photosynthesis convert the energy of the the sun into food energy.

Other small vegetation-eating rodents including mice and voles thrive in managed grasslands. Similar in appearance are the shrews. Though seldom noticed, Northern Short-tailed Shrews spend day and night foraging for food, even in the shallow waters of wet meadows and thickets. Unlike the aforementioned herbivorous rodents, shrews are insectivores, secondary consumers feeding mostly on primary consumers including a variety of insects and other arthropods.

Some years ago, we found this tiny Masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus) in a grassland area being preserved using prescribed fire. Like other shrews, Masked Shrews are secretive, but always on the go. They feed constantly to fuel their vast energy requirements, sometimes consuming three times their body weight in a single day. But their voracious appetite can get them into trouble, causing these incessant eaters to encounter numerous potentially infective parasites during their non-stop foraging missions.

Female American Kestrel — Patrolling the grasslands is the female American Kestrel, a secondary consumer. She’s on the lookout for primary consumers including large insects like grasshoppers or crickets. But perhaps more likely is a small rodent whose less-than-ideal vigor may cause it to slip up, creating an easy target. If she selects a careless shrew as her prey, she may be assuming the role of a tertiary consumer, eating a secondary consumer (the shrew) that fed on insects (the primary consumers) that derived their energy from photosynthesized plant matter.

The strictly nocturnal American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata), another secondary and sometimes tertiary consumer, takes the night shift, hunting unwary voles, mice, and shrews, often by sensing the sounds they make among runways in the grass. As a native predator in its favored habitat, the owl’s selection of each victim actually helps to keep the prey species’ population healthy, eliminating the weak and vulnerable to provide a qualitative service to the surviving wildlife of the grasslands. While we may not think of the barn owl as a direct consumer of insects, its positive influence on insectivorous shrew populations makes it an important functionary in maintaining balance in the ecosystems it calls home.

Male American Kestrel — As food becomes increasing plentiful in the grasslands, a female kestrel will remain mostly out of sight, performing the majority of the egg incubation duties while her colorful mate stands guard nearby.

The fate of an avian predator such as a kestrel lies at the mercy of the fate of its quarry. Because, you see, the sun’s energy, after being converted to chemical energy by photosynthesizing plants, flows upward through the trophic levels of the food chain—herbivores (primary consumers) such as rodents and insects to carnivores (secondary and tertiary consumers) including kestrels. Grasslands, when abundant and diverse, are correspondingly abundant and diverse with small mammals and insects and will therefore support thriving populations of American Kestrels and other predators. These secondary and sometimes tertiary consumers fulfill a role in cultivating healthier populations of their prey—the primary and secondary consumers in the food web—as a balanced component of a flourishing grassland ecosystem. Sparse and fragmented grasslands, on the other hand, beget negligible small mammal and insect populations, are stricken with broken food webs, and champion few if any American Kestrels or other predators. If the land it occupies is neat, tidy, manicured, exploited, or sprayed sterile and dead, the energy flow cycle of the ecosystem is dead as well. There’s nothing animal introductions, reintroductions, rescues, culling, stocking, or harvesting can do about it, because in the end, it’s all about the habitat.

May 19, 2025May 26, 2026

Back in the Day: Down on the Farm

Let us travel through time for just a little while to recall those sunny, late-spring days down on the farm—back when the rural landscape was a quiet, semi-secluded realm with little in the way of traffic, housing projects, or industrialized agriculture. Those among us who grew up on one of these family homesteads, or had friends who did, remember the joy of exploring the meadows, thickets, soggy springs, and woodlots they protected.

Low-intensity Farming — During much of the twentieth century, low-intensity agriculture provided a haven for wildlife. Periodic disturbances helped maintain cool-season grassland and early successional habitat for a number of species we currently find in decline.

For many of us, farmland was the first place we encountered and began to understand wildlife. Vast acreage provided an abundance of space to explore. And the discovery of each new creature provided an exciting experience.

Ned Smith's Birds of Field and Garden — Distributed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, artist Ned Smith’s wildlife posters introduced many residents of the lower Susquehanna region to its birds and mammals. This poster of “Birds of Field and Garden” helped us learn what to expect and search for during our forays to the farm.

Today, high-intensity agriculture, relentless mowing, urban sprawl, and the increasing costs and demand for land have all conspired to seriously deplete habitat quality and quantity for many of the species we used to see on the local farm. Unfortunately for them, farm wildlife has largely been the victim of modern economics.

For old time’s sake, we recently passed a nostalgic afternoon at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area examining what maintenance of traditional farm habitat has done and can do for breeding birds. Join us for a quick tour to remember how it used to be at the farm next door…

Always found nesting under the forebay of the barn, the Barn Swallow relentlessly pursued flying insects over the pond and meadow.

In the cherry grove down by the creek, the Orchard Oriole would be singing incessantly to defend its territory.

Normally seed eaters through the colder months, American Goldfinches would regularly find a source of protein in the occupants of Eastern Tent Caterpillar nests.

Along the wet margins of the creek, Yellow Warblers would nest in the shrubs and small trees.

The “Traill’s Flycatcher” was a familiar find in low-lying areas of successional shrubs and small trees. Today, “Traill’s Flycatcher” is recognized as two distinct species, the Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) and the Willow Flycatcher. In the lower Susquehanna valley, the latter (seen here) is by far the most common of the two.

During the nineteenth century, Eastern Bluebirds became a rarity on lower Susquehanna farms due to a combination of factors: pesticide (DDT) use, habitat loss, and competition with other birds for nest sites. The species saw a resurgence beginning in the 1970s with discontinuation of DDT applications and widespread provision of nesting boxes. Around human habitations, competition with invasive House Sparrows continues to be detrimental to their success.

Purple Martins and Tree Swallows — Purple Martins suffered a similar fate to the bluebirds. The potential for their recovery remains dubious and they continue to be very local breeders, fussy about selection of suitable man-made provisions for nesting. After considerable effort, Purple Martins have at last been attracted to nest in the condos placed for their use at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. In the artificial gourds, there are nesting Tree Swallows, a species which also benefits from the placement of boxes intended for bluebirds.

Abandoned fields and other successional habitats were and continue to be favored homes for Field Sparrows.

At almost any time of year, roving bands of Cedar Waxwings would suddenly visit old field habitat looking for berries among the shrubs and other pioneering woody growth. In early summer, after most species have already hatched their young, nesting would commence and these fruit eaters would transform into accomplished fly catchers.

During the twentieth century prior to the 1980s, Ring-necked Pheasant populations in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed were composed of breeding descendants of introduced birds supplemented by additional releases to maintain numbers sufficient for hunting. Year-round populations did and can reside in mosaic landscapes of early successional and grassland habitats, the latter including hay fields left unmowed through the nesting season.

August 31, 2024August 31, 2024

A Prescribed Fire Site After the Burn

Back on March 24th, we took a detailed look at the process involved in administering prescribed fire as a tool for managing grassland and early successional habitat. Today we’re going turn back the hands of time to give you a glimpse of how the treated site fared during the five months since the controlled burn. Let’s go back to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area for a photo tour to see how things have come along…

Prescribed Fire application in March — Pennsylvania Game Commission crews administering prescribed fire on a grassland demonstration site back on March 16.

Prescribed Fire Site in May — By late May, native herbaceous perennial wildflowers including Joe-pye Weed had re-greened the site. One of the goals of the burn was to kill fire-sensitive woody plants, thus preventing the process of succession from reforesting the site.

Yellow-breasted Chat in May — Because prescribed fire is administered in a mosaic pattern that permits some early successional growth to remain until the next burn, birds including this thicket-nesting Yellow-breasted Chat are able to take advantage of the mixed habitat during their breeding season in May and June.

Prescribed Fire Site in August — By August, the site is a haven for native plants and animals.

Native Warm-season Grasses and Wildlflowers in August — The burn has promoted the growth and late-summer bloom of fire-tolerant native wildflowers and warm-season grasses…

Indiangrass in Flower — …including Indiangrass,…

Thin-leaved Coneflower, a plant also known as Brown-eyed Susan. — …Thin-leaved Coneflower (Rudbeckia triloba), a plant also known as Brown-eyed Susan,…

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail collecting nectar from Joe-pye Weed.

Black-morph Eastern Tiger Swallowtail — A black-morph Eastern Tiger Swallowtail collecting nectar from Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea steobe micranthos), a non-native invasive plant found growing in an area of the burn site missed by this year’s fire. While many non-native plants are unable to survive the flames and heat produced by prescribed fire, it isn’t an absolute cure-all. It doesn’t eliminate all invasive plants, it just keeps them from dominating a landscape by out-competing native species. Left unmanaged, Spotted Knapweed is a tough perennial invasive that can easily become one the species able to overtake a vulnerable grassland. It can be a stubborn survivor of some prescribed burns. On the plus side, butterflies really like it.

For larger birds like turkeys and pheasants, an abundance of Carolina Grasshoppers are providing a protein-dense food source in managed grasslands.

And tiny flying insects, a nuisance to us as we take a stroll alongside the grasslands, are a meal taken on the wing by dragonflies including this Black Saddlebags.

Elsewhere around the refuge at Middle Creek, prescribed fire and other management techniques are providing high-quality grassland habitat for numerous species of nesting birds…

Bobolink in Hay Field — …and in hay fields where mowing was delayed until the nesting season, including the fledging process, was completed earlier this month.

We hope you enjoyed this short photo tour of grassland management practices. Now, we’d like to leave you with one last set of pictures—a set you may find as interesting as we found them. Each is of a different Eastern Cottontail, a species we found to be particularly common on prescribed fire sites when we took these images in late May. The first two are of the individuals we happened to be able to photograph in areas subjected to fire two months earlier in March. The latter two are of cottontails we happened to photograph elsewhere on the refuge in areas not in proximity to ground treated with a prescribed burn or exposed to accidental fire in recent years.

These first two rabbits are living the good life in a warm-season grass wonderland.

Eastern Cottontail with ticks. — Eastern Cottontail at a site not subjected to any recent fire activity.

Oh Deer! Oh Deer! These last two rabbits have no clock to track the time; they have only ticks. Better not go for a stroll with them Alice—that’s no wonderland! I know, I know, it’s time to go. See ya later.

May 25, 2024May 26, 2024

Photo of the Day

March 24, 2024May 13, 2026

Prescribed Fire: Controlled Burns for Forest and Non-forest Habitats

Homo sapiens owes much of its success as a species to an acquired knowledge of how to make, control, and utilize fire. Using fire to convert the energy stored in combustible materials into light and heat has enabled humankind to expand its range throughout the globe. Indeed, humans in their furless incomplete mammalian state may have never been able to expand their populations outside of tropical latitudes without mastery of fire. It is fire that has enabled man to exploit more of the earth’s resources than any other species. From cooking otherwise unpalatable foods to powering the modern industrial society, fire has set man apart from the rest of the natural world.

In our modern civilizations, we generally look at the unplanned outbreak of fire as a catastrophe requiring our immediate intercession. A building fire, for example, is extinguished as quickly as possible to save lives and property. And fires detected in fields, brush, and woodlands are promptly controlled to prevent their exponential growth. But has fire gone to our heads? Do we have an anthropocentric view of fire? Aren’t there naturally occurring fires that are essential to the health of some of the world’s ecosystems? And to our own safety? Indeed there are. And many species and the ecosystems they inhabit rely on the periodic occurrence of fire to maintain their health and vigor.

**For the war effort-** The campaign to reduce the frequency of forest fires got its start during World War II with distribution of this poster in 1942. The goal was to protect the nation’s timber resources from accidental or malicious loss due to fire caused by man-made ignition sources. The release of the Walt Disney film “Bambi” during the same year and the adoption of the Smokey the Bear mascot in 1944 softened the message’s delivery, but the public relations outreach continued to be a key element of a no-fire policy to save trees for lumber. Protection and management of healthy forest ecosystems in their entirety has only recently become a priority. (National Archives image)

Man has been availed of the direct benefits of fire for possibly 40,000 years or more. Here in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, the earliest humans arrived as early as 12,000 years ago—already possessing skills for using fire. Native plants and animals on the other hand, have been part of the ever-changing mix of ecosystems found here for a much longer period of time—millions to tens of millions of years. Many terrestrial native species are adapted to the periodic occurrence of fire. Some, in fact, require it. Most upland ecosystems need an occasional dose of fire, usually ignited by lightning (though volcanism and incoming cosmic projectiles are rare possibilities), to regenerate vegetation, release nutrients, and maintain certain non-climax habitat types.

But much of our region has been deprived of natural-type fires since the time of the clearcutting of the virgin forests during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This absence of a natural fire cycle has contributed to degradation and/or elimination of many forest and non-forest habitats. Without fire, a dangerous stockpile of combustible debris has been collecting, season after season, in some areas for a hundred years or more. Lacking periodic fires or sufficient moisture to sustain prompt decomposition of dead material, wildlands can accumulate enough leaf litter, thatch, dry brush, tinder, and fallen wood to fuel monumentally large forest fires—fires similar to those recently engulfing some areas of the American west. So elimination of natural fire isn’t just a problem for native plants and animals, its a potential problem for humans as well.

Indiangrass on Fire — Indiangrass (seen here), Switchgrass, Big Bluestem, and Little Bluestem are native species requiring periodic forms of disturbance to eliminate competition by woody plants. Intentional fires ignited by pre-Columbian human residents of eastern North America may have been at least partially responsible for the survival and distribution of burn-reliant species in the post-glacial landscape. These warm-season grasses develop roots that penetrate deep into the soil, sometimes to depths of six feet or more, allowing them to survive severe drought and flash fire events. In the tall grass prairies, these extensive root systems allow these grasses to return following heavy grazing by roaming herds of American Bison (Bison bison). Without these habitat disturbances, warm season grasslands succumb to succession in about seven years. With the periodic occurrence of fires, these plants thrive and provide excellent wildlife habitat, erosion control, and grazing forage.

To address the habitat ailments caused by a lack of natural fires, federal, state, and local conservation agencies are adopting the practice of “prescribed fire” as a treatment to restore ecosystem health. A prescribed fire is a controlled burn specifically planned to correct one or more vegetative management problems on a given parcel of land. In the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, prescribed fire is used to…

- - Eliminate dangerous accumulations of combustible fuels in woodlands.
  - Reduce accumulations of dead plant material that may harbor disease.
  - Provide top kill to promote oak regeneration.
  - Regenerate other targeted species of trees, wildflowers, grasses, and vegetation.
  - Kill non-native plants and promote growth of native plants.
  - Prevent succession.
  - Remove woody growth and thatch from grasslands.
  - Promote fire tolerant species of plants and animals.
  - Create, enhance, and/or manage specialized habitats.
  - Improve habitat for rare species (Regal Fritillary, etc.)
  - Recycle nutrients and minerals contained in dead plant material.

Let’s look at some examples of prescribed fire being implemented right here in our own neighborhood…

Prescribed Fire at Fort Indiantown Gap — Prescribed fire is used regularly at Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, to keep accumulations of woody and herbaceous fuels from accumulating on and around the training range areas where live ordinance and other sources of ignition could otherwise spark large, hard-to-control wildfires.

Prescribed fire in grassland. — A prescribed fire in late winter prevents this grassland consisting of Big Bluestem and native wildflowers from being overtaken by woody growth and invasive species. Fires such as this that are intended to interrupt the process of succession are repeated at least every three to five years.

Prescribed Fire to Control Invasive Species — In its wildlife food plots, prescribed fire is used by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to prevent succession and control invasive species such as Multiflora Rose, instead promoting the growth of native plants.

A woodlot understory choked with combustible fuels and tangles of invasive Multiflora Rose. — An example of a woodlot understory choked with combustible fuels and dense tangles of invasive Multiflora Rose. A forester has the option of prescribing a dose of dormant-season fire for a site like this to reduce the fuel load, top kill non-native vegetation, and regenerate native plants.

Precribed Fire to Eliminate Woody Growth — A dose of prescribed fire was administered on this grassland to kill the woody growth of small trees beginning to overtake the habitat by succession.

Precribed Fire Education Sign at middle creek Wildlife Management Area — The Pennsylvania Game Commission employs prescribed fire at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area and on many of their other holdings to maintain grasslands.

Prescribed fire is used to eliminate invasive species including Multiflora Rose from grasslands at Middle Creek W.M.A. Annual burns on the property are conducted in a mosaic pattern so that each individual area of the grassland is exposed to the effects of fire only once every two to five years. Without fire or some type of mechanical or chemical intervention, succession by woody trees and shrubs would take hold after about seven years.

Prescribed fire is planned for a fraction of total grassland acreage at Middle Creek W.M.A. each year. Another section of the mosaic is targeted in the following year and yet another in the year that follows that. Because burns are conducted in the spring, grassland cover is available for wildlife throughout the winter. And because each year’s fire burns only a portion of the total grassland acreage, wildlife still has plenty of standing grass in which to take shelter during and after the prescribed fire.

Prescribed Burn Maintains Savanna-like Habitat — On a few sites in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed , prescribed fire is being used to establish and maintain savanna-like grasslands. This one, located on a dry, south-facing slope near numerous man-made sources of ignition, can easily be dosed with periodic prescribed burns to both prevent succession and reduce fuel accumulations that may lead to a devastating extreme fire.

Pitch Pines in Savanna-like Habitat — One year following a prescribed burn, this is the autumn appearance of a savanna-like habitat with fire-tolerant Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida), Bear Oak, warm-season grasses, and a variety of nectar-producing wildflowers for pollinators. These ecosystems are magnets for wildlife and may prove to be a manageable fit on sun-drenched sites adjacent to man-made land disturbances and their sources of ignition.

Red-headed Woodpecker Adult and Juvenile — Savanna-like grasslands with oaks and other scattered large trees, some of them dead, make attractive nesting habitat for the uncommon Red-headed Woodpecker.

Wild Turkey in Savanna-like Habitat — Prescribed fire can benefit hungry Wild Turkeys by maintaining savanna-like grasslands for an abundance of grasshoppers and other insects in summer and improving the success of mast-producing oaks for winter.

In the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, the caterpillar of the rare Eastern Buck Moth feeds on the foliage of the Bear Oak, also known as the Scrub Oak, a shrubby species that relies upon periodic fire to eliminate competition from larger trees in its early successional habitat.

Leaves of the Bear Oak in fall. The Bear Oak regenerates readily from top kill caused by fire.

Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) is a native cool-season grass with a colorful inflorescence in spring. But given the right situation, it can aggressively overtake other species to create a pure stand lacking biodiversity. It is one of the few native species which is sometimes labelled “invasive”.

Prescribed Burn to Reduce Prevalence of Reed Canary Grass — Prescribed fire can be used to reduce an overabundance of Reed Canary Grass and its thatch in wetlands. Periodic burning can help restore species diversity in these habitats for plants and animals including rare species such as the endangered Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii).

On the range areas at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, disturbances by armored vehicles mimic the effects of large mammals such as the American Bison which periodically trampled grasses to prevent succession and the establishment of woody plants on its prairie habitat. To supplement the activity of the heavy vehicles and to provide suitable habitat for the very rare Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia) butterflies found there, prescribed fire is periodically employed to maintain the grasslands on the range. These burns are planned to encourage the growth of “Fort Indiantown Gap Little Bluestem” grass as well as the violets used as host plants by the Regal Fritillary caterpillars. These fires also promote growth of a variety of native summer-blooming wildflowers to provide nectar for the adults butterflies.

Depiction of Pennsylvania's Last American Bison, Killed in Union County in 1801. (Exhibit: State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg) — A last record of a wild American Bison killed in Pennsylvania was an animal taken in the Susquehanna watershed in Union County in 1801. The species is thereafter considered extirpated from the state. Since that time, natural disturbances needed to regenerate warm-season grasses have been limited primarily to fires and riverine ice scour. The waning occurrence of both has reduced the range of these grasses and their prairie-like ecosystems in the commonwealth. (Exhibit: State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg)

A male Regal Fritillary on the range at Fort Indiantown Gap, where armored vehicles and prescribed fire provide suitable prairie-like habitat for this vulnerable species.

Honey Bee Collecting Minerals After Prescribed Burn — Prescribed fires return the nutrients and minerals contained in dead plant material to the soil. Following these controlled burns, insects like this Honey Bee can often be seen collecting minerals from the ashes.

Fly Collecting Minerals from Burned Grasses — A Greenbottle Fly gathering minerals from the ash following a prescribed burn.

In Pennsylvania, state law provides landowners and crews conducting prescribed fire burns with reduced legal liability when the latter meet certain educational, planning, and operational requirements. This law may help encourage more widespread application of prescribed fire in the state’s forests and other ecosystems where essential periodic fire has been absent for so very long. Currently in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, prescribed fire is most frequently being employed by state agencies on state lands—in particular, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources on State Forests and the Pennsylvania Game Commission on State Game Lands. Prescribed fire is also part of the vegetation management plan at Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation and on the land holdings of the Hershey Trust. Visitors to the nearby Gettysburg National Military Park will also notice prescribed fire being used to maintain the grassland restorations there.

For crews administering prescribed fire burns, late March and early April are a busy time. The relative humidity is often at its lowest level of the year, so the probability of ignition of previous years’ growth is generally at its best. We visited with a crew administering a prescribed fire at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area last week. Have a look…

Members of a Pennsylvania Game Commission burn crew provide visitors to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area with an overview of prescribed fire. — Members of a Pennsylvania Game Commission burn crew provide visitors to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area with an overview of prescribed fire and the equipment and techniques they use to conduct a burn.

Burn Boss Checking Weather — Pennsylvania Game Commission Southeast Region Forester Andy Weaver will fulfill the role of Burn Boss for administering this day’s dose of fire. His responsibilities include assessing the weather before the burn and calculating a probability of ignition.

Burn Boss Briefing Crew — The Burn Boss briefs personnel with information on site layout, water supply location(s), places of refuge, emergency procedures, the event’s goals and plan of action, crew assignments, and the results of the weather check: wind from the northwest at 5 miles per hour, temperature 48 degrees, and the relative humidity 63%. Today’s patient is a parcel of warm-season grasses receiving a dose of fire to eliminate invasive non-native plants, woody growth, and thatch. The probability of ignition is 20%, but improving by the minute.

Prescribed Fire Test Burn — To begin the burn, a test fire is started in the downwind corner of the parcel, which also happens to be the bottom of the slope. Fuel ignition is good. The burn can proceed.

Igniting the Fire — Crews proceed uphill from the location of the test fire while igniting combustibles along both flanks of the area being treated.

Prescribed Fire Crew Member with Equipment — A drip torch is used to ignite the dried stems and leaves of warm-season grasses and wildflowers. Each member of the burn crew wears Nomex fire-resistant clothing and carries safety equipment including a two-way radio, a hydration pack, and a cocoon-like emergency fire shelter.

Wildfire ATV — An all-terrain vehicle equipped with various tools, a fire pump, hose, and a small water tank accompanies the crew on each flank of the fire.

Effective Fire Break — With green cool-season grasses already growing on the trails surrounding the burn zone, very little water was used to contain this prescribed fire. Where such convenient fire breaks don’t already exist, crews carry tools including chain saws, shovels, and leaf blowers to create their own. They also carry flame swatters, backpack water pumps, shovels, and other tools to extinguish fires if necessary. None of these items were needed to control this particular fire.

Halting the Process of Succession in a Grassland with Prescribed Fire — This fast-burning fire provides enough heat to damage the cambium layer of the woody tree and shrub saplings in this parcel being maintained as a grassland/wildflower plot, thus the process of succession is forestalled. Burns conducted during previous years on this and adjacent fields have also controlled aggressive growth of invasive Multiflora Rose and Olives (Elaeagnus species).

Containing the Fire on the Flanks — Crews proceed up the slope while maintaining the perimeter by igniting dry plant material along the flanks of the burn zone.

The Crew Monitors the Burn — Ignition complete, the crews monitor the fire.

Prescribed Fire: Natural Mosaic-style Burn Pattern — The Burn Boss surveys the final stages of a safe and successful prescribed fire. The fire has left behind a mosaic of burned and unburned areas, just as a naturally occurring event may have done. Wildlife dodging the flames may be taking refuge in the standing grasses, so there is no remedial attempt to go back and ignite these areas. They’ll be burned during prescribed fires in coming years.

By June, this grassland will again be lush and green with warm-season grasses and blooming wildflowers like this Common Milkweed being visited by a Great Spangled Fritillary.

And later in the summer, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails on Joe-pye Weed.

Bobolinks in Indiangrass — Bobolinks glow in the late August sun while taking flight from a stand of warm-season grasses maintained using springtime prescribed fire. The small dots on the dark background at the top of the image are multitudes of flying insects, many of them pollinators. The vegetation is predominately Indiangrass, excellent winter cover for birds, mammals, and other wildlife.

Prescribed burns aren’t a cure-all for what ails a troubled forest or other ecosystem, but they can be an effective remedy for deficiencies caused by a lack of periodic episodes of naturally occurring fire. They are an important option for modern foresters, wildlife managers, and other conservationists.

July 30, 2023August 25, 2023

Some Good Reasons to Postpone Mowing Until Mid-August

Here in a series of photographs are just a handful of the reasons why the land stewards at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area and other properties where conservation and propagation practices are employed delay the mowing of fields composed of cool-season grasses until after August 15 each year.

At places like Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area where a mix of grasslands, early successional growth, and even some cropland are maintained, the Blue Grosbeak has extended its range well north of the Mason-Dixon and has become a regular nesting species during recent decades. Good habitat management does pay dividends.

Right now is a good time to visit Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area to see the effectiveness a delayed mowing schedule can have when applied to fields of cool-season grasses. If you slowly drive, walk, or bicycle the auto tour route on the north side of the lake, you’ll pass through vast areas maintained as cool-season and warm-season grasses and early successional growth—and you’ll have a chance to see these and other grassland birds raising their young. It’s like a trip back in time to see farmlands they way they were during the middle years of the twentieth century.