Beeches and Oaks (Fagaceae) – LIFE IN THE LOWER SUSQUEHANNA RIVER WATERSHED

November 11, 2023November 11, 2023

Getting a Head Start on Spring

Recently, we found these Chestnut Oak acorns setting roots into the leaf litter to secure their place among the plants that will turn the forest understory green in the spring. Individual acorns that germinate soon after falling to the ground in autumn may avoid becoming food for squirrels, turkeys, deer, and other wildlife, thus increasing their chances of surviving to later become adult trees able to produce acorns that pass this quick-development trait to yet another generation of oaks.

October 27, 2023October 28, 2023

Visit South Mountain for the Brightest Foliage Display You’ve Ever Seen

Where should you go this weekend to see vibrantly colored foliage in our region? Where are there eye-popping displays of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens without so much brown and gray? The answer is Michaux State Forest on South Mountain in Adams, Cumberland, and Franklin Counties.

South Mountain is the northern extension of the Blue Ridge Section of the Ridge and Valley Province in Pennsylvania. Michaux State Forest includes much of the wooded land on South Mountain. Within or adjacent to its borders are located four state parks: King’s Gap Environmental Education Center, Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Caledonia State Park, and Mont Alto State Park. The vast network of trails on these state lands includes the Appalachian Trail, which remains in the mountainous Blue Ridge Section all the way to its southern terminus in Georgia.

Pennsylvania State Parks on South Mounatin — In Pennsylvania, the forested highlands of the Blue Ridge Section of the Ridge and Valley Province are known as South Mountain. Much of South Mountain lies within the boundaries of Michaux State Forest. Stars indicate the locations of 1) King’s Gap Environmental Education Center, 2) Pine Grove Furnace State Park, 3) Caledonia State Park, and 4) Mont Alto State Park. A drive on US 30 between Gettysburg and Chambersburg will take you right through Michaux State Forest along an east to west axis while a scenic northbound or southbound trip along PA 233 will bring you in proximity to each of the state parks located therein. (Base image from NASA Earth Observatory Collection)

If you want a closeup look at the many species of trees found in Michaux State Forest, and you want them to be labeled so you know what they are, a stop at the Pennsylvania State University’s Mont Alto arboretum is a must. Located next door to Mont Alto State Park along PA 233, the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto covers the entire campus. Planting began on Arbor Day in 1905 shortly after establishment of the Pennsylvania State Forest Academy at the site in 1903. Back then, the state’s “forests” were in the process of regeneration after nineteenth-century clear cutting. These harvests balded the landscape and left behind the combustible waste which fueled the frequent wildfires that plagued reforestation efforts for more than half a century. The academy educated future foresters on the skills needed to regrow and manage the state’s woodlands.

Online resources can help you plan your visit to the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto. More than 800 trees on the campus are numbered with small blue tags. The “List of arboretum trees by Tag Number” can be downloaded to tell you the species or variety of each. The interactive map provides the locations of individual trees plotted by tag number while the Grove Map displays the locations of groups of trees on the campus categorized by region of origin. A Founder’s Tree Map will help you find some of the oldest specimens in the collection and a Commemorative Tree Map will help you find dedicated trees. There is also a species list of the common and scientific tree names.

The Yellow Buckeye (Aesculus flava) is a tree found in the forests of the Blue Ridge Section of the Ridge and Valley Province in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. You can see it in Pennsylvania by visiting the collection of trees in the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto.

The American Chestnut can be difficult to find due to the impact of chestnut blight, but you can see it in the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto.

Shagbark Hickory is a common tree in the forests of South Mountain.

The Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium), a native of Europe, is naturalized throughout eastern and south-central Pennsylvania and is one of the more than 150 species of trees in the arboretum’s collection.

Sweet Birch (Betula lenta) foliage is particularly bright yellow on South Mountain this autumn. It really “pops” against the backdrop of the evergreen Eastern White Pines and Eastern Hemlocks. During less-than-ideal years, Sweet Birch leaves can subtly transition from green to drab brown without much fanfare before falling.

You might have a difficult time finding a Common Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) growing wild in Pennsylvania, but you can find it in the Arboretum at Penn State Mont Alto.

The autumn leaves will be falling fast, so make it a point this weekend to check out the show on South Mountain.

August 10, 2023August 14, 2023

Butterflies and More at Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area

If you’re feeling the need to see summertime butterflies and their numbers just don’t seem to be what they used to be in your garden, then plan an afternoon visit to the Boyd Big Tree Preserve along Fishing Creek Valley Road (PA 443) just east of U.S. 22/322 and the Susquehanna River north of Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources manages the park’s 1,025 acres mostly as forested land with more than ten miles of trails. While located predominately on the north slope of Blue Mountain, a portion of the preserve straddles the crest of the ridge to include the upper reaches of the southern exposure.

American Chestnut at Boyd Big Tree Preserve — A grove of American Chestnuts (Castanea dentata) planted at Boyd Big Tree Preserve is part of a propagation program working to restore blight-resistant trees to Pennsylvania and other areas of their former range which included the Appalachians and the upper Ohio River watershed.

Fortunately, one need not take a strenuous hike up Blue Mountain to observe butterflies. Open space along the park’s quarter-mile-long entrance road is maintained as a rolling meadow of wildflowers and cool-season grasses that provide nectar for adult butterflies and host plants for their larvae.

Butterfly Meadow at Boyd Big Tree Preserve — A view looking north at the butterfly meadow and entrance road at Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area. Second Mountain is in the background.

Walking a Meadow Path — Mowed paths follow the entrance road and a portion of the perimeter of the meadow allowing visitors a chance to wander among the waist-high growth to see butterflies, birds, and blooming plants at close range without trampling the vegetation or risking exposure to ticks.

A Silver-spotted Skipper feeding on nectar from Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) flowers. — A Silver-spotted Skipper feeding on nectar from the flowers of Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum). Like the milkweeds, Indian Hemp is a member of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae).

An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail feeding on Common Milkweed.

Great Spangled Fritillary on Common Milkweed. — A Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) on Common Milkweed.

A Black Swallowtail feeding on Common Milkweed nectar. — A Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) feeding on Common Milkweed nectar.

A Pipevine Swallowtail on Common Milkweed. — A Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) on Common Milkweed.

A Pipevine Swallowtail on visiting Butterfly Weed. — A Pipevine Swallowtail visiting the brilliant blooms of Butterfly Weed, a favorite of a wide variety of pollinators.

A Black Swallowtail on Butterfly Weed — A Black Swallowtail with damaged wings alights atop a Butterfly Weed flower cluster. Note the pair of parallel rows of red-orange spot on the underside of the hindwing.

A Monarch on Butterfly Weed — A Monarch feeding on nectar from the flowers of Butterfly Weed.

A mating pair of Eastern Tailed Blues. — A mating pair of Eastern Tailed Blues on a Timothy (Phleum pratense) spike.

A female (left) and male Great Spangled Fritillary. — A male Great Spangled Fritillary (right) pursuing a female.

Butterflies aren’t the only colorful insects patrolling the meadows at Boyd Big Tree Preserve. Dragonflies including Common Green Darners are busily pursuing prey, particularly small flying insects like mosquitos, gnats, and flies.

Juvenile Broad-winged Hawk — Dragonflies themselves can become prey and are much sought after by Broad-winged Hawks. This very vocal juvenile gave us several good looks as it ventured from the forest into the skies above the upper meadow during midday. It wasn’t yet a good enough flier to snag a dragonfly, but it will have plenty of opportunities for practice during its upcoming fall migration which, for these Neotropical raptors, will get underway later this month.

Do yourself a favor and take a trip to the Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area. Who knows? It might actually inspire you to convert that lawn or other mowed space into much-needed butterfly/pollinator habitat.

While you’re out, you can identify your sightings using our photographic guide—Butterflies of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed—by clicking the “Butterflies” tab at the top this page. And while you’re at it, you can brush up on your hawk identification skills ahead of the upcoming migration by clicking the “Hawkwatcher’s Helper: Identifying Bald Eagles and other Diurnal Raptors” tab. Therein you’ll find a listing and descriptions of hawk watch locations in and around the lower Susquehanna region. Plan to visit one or more this autumn!

March 3, 2023August 14, 2023

Plantings for Wet Lowlands

This linear grove of mature trees, many of them nearly one hundred years old, is a planting of native White Oaks (Quercus alba) and Swamp White Oaks (Quercus bicolor).

Imagine the benefit of trees like this along that section of stream you’re mowing or grazing right now. The Swamp White Oak in particular thrives in wet soils and is available now for just a couple of bucks per tree from several of the lower Susquehanna’s County Conservation District Tree Sales. These and other trees and shrubs planted along creeks and rivers to create a riparian buffer help reduce sediment and nutrient pollution. In addition, these vegetated borders protect against soil erosion, they provide shade to otherwise sun-scorched waters, and they provide essential wildlife habitat. What’s not to love?

The following native species make great companions for Swamp White Oaks in a lowland setting and are available at bargain prices from one or more of the County Conservation District Tree Sales now underway…

The Red Maple is an ideal tree for a stream buffer project. They do so well that you should limit them to 10% or less of the plants in your project so that they don’t overwhelm slower-growing species.

The River Birch (Betula nigra) is a multi-trunked tree of lowlands. Large specimens with arching trunks help shade waterways and provide a source of falling insects for surface-feeding fish. Its peeling bark is a distinctive feature.

The Common Winterberry with its showy red winter-time fruit is a slow-growing shrub of wet soils. Only female specimens of this deciduous holly produce berries, so you need to plant a bunch to make sure you have both genders for successful pollination.

American Robins feeding on Common Winterberry. — An American Robin feeding on Common Winterberry.

Common Spicebush is a shrub of moist lowland soils. It is the host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly and produces small red berries for birds and other wildlife. Plant it widely among taller trees to provide native vegetation in the understory of your forest.

Common Spicebush foliage and berries. — Common Spicebush foliage and berries in the shade beneath a canopy of tall trees.

The Common Pawpaw a small shade-loving tree of the forest understory.

The Buttonbush is a shrub of wet soils. It produces a round flower cluster, followed by this globular seed cluster.

And don’t forget the Eastern Sycamore, the giant of the lowlands. At maturity, the white-and-tan-colored bark on massive specimens makes them a spectacular sight along stream courses and river shores. Birds ranging from owls, eagles, and herons to smaller species including the Yellow-throated Warbler rely upon them for nesting sites.

Yellow-crowned Night Herons Nesting in an Eastern Sycamore — Yellow-crowned Night Herons, an endangered species in Pennsylvania, nesting in an Eastern Sycamore.

So don’t mow, do something positive and plant a buffer!

Act now to order your plants because deadlines are approaching fast. For links to the County Conservation District Tree Sales in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, see our February 18th post.

February 18, 2023February 23, 2023

Time to Order Your Trees for Spring Planting

County Conservation District Tree Sales are underway throughout the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. Now is the time to order for pickup in April. The prices are a bargain and the selection is fabulous. For species descriptions and more details, visit each tree sale web page (click the sale name highlighted in blue). And don’t forget to order bundles of evergreens for planting in mixed clumps and groves to provide winter shelter and summertime nesting sites for our local birds. They’re only $12.00 for a bundle of 10—can’t beat that deal!

Cumberland County Conservation District Annual Tree Seedling Sale—

Orders due by: Friday, March 24, 2023

Pickup on: Thursday, April 20, 2023 or Friday, April 21, 2023