Prescribed Fire – 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.

August 3, 2025August 23, 2025

Disasters: The Big Three

Today’s NOAA/GOES satellite image serves as a little reminder of the big three. That’s right, it’s the three big “natural” disasters—wildfires, inland flooding, and coastal flooding (lucky for us, our region is at present millions of years removed from severe threats posed by the tectonic disasters—earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis—and is not particularly prone to frequent tornadoes). Each continues to cause an increasing volume of property damage and threaten a greater number of lives because of where and how we choose to make our homes and erect our structures.

Smoke from Canadian Wildfires and Tropical Storm Dexter — Earlier today, smoke from forest fires in central Canada sweeps through the skies of the Great Lakes, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic States north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Meanwhile off North Carolina, Tropical Storm Dexter is seen developing over warm ocean waters east of the Gulf Stream. (NOAA/GOES satellite image)

For all of human existence, the dynamics of the atmosphere have been shaping the topography and the ecosystems of the planet. In recent times, we’ve had the advantage of satellite technologies to show us spectacular images of atmospheric events as they happen. And through the various branches of science, we’ve come to understand the impact these events have upon the landscape and the people who live and/or work there.

Forestry sciences have helped us to understand how natural fuels, humidity, temperature, rainfall, soil moisture, wind, and human encroachment influence the frequency and severity of wildfires. These discoveries have led to changes in forest management and implementation of practices such as prescribed burns to reduce accumulated fuel loads. Because human development typically lowers soil moisture and brings along with it additional sources of ignition, many land managers and fire departments have warned of the ever increasing dangers of wildland-urban interface fires. These warnings have gone largely unheeded for more than four decades as millions of homes and other combustible structures have been erected within areas prone to fires capable of uncontrollable growth into disastrous conflagrations. The tinderbox wildlands—they’re a nice place to visit, but we ought not to live there!

Tropical storms and other sources of heavy precipitation bring about quite the hubbub over flooding. Meteorologists spend a lot of time explaining it all, but it’s almost as if no one pays any mind. For a people who check the weather forecast several times a day, every day of our adult life, just to get a leg up on how that weather is going to change day by day and hour by hour, you would think we would better anticipate the climatic events that happen over the long term. In particular, you would think we would have an awareness of our own individual susceptibility to flooding— a grasp of how, where, and why floods occur. You would think that repeated episodes of flooding would compel society to embrace an ethic that treated water as the valuable commodity it is. Yet, we all seem to follow the same patterns of behavior. First, we drain, dump, pipe, curb, channel, ditch, grade, pave, and pump to get the rain that falls upon our property off of our property. Then, the chump downstream gets really mad that we sent our water his way and flooded him out, so he takes the same measures to send even more water to the next poor slob down the line until finally the now polluted slurry of runoff floods the street, a cellar, a house, a business, or a stream—a stream that has been channelized so it no longer has a floodplain to absorb, hold, purify, and infiltrate the stormwater. Why was the stream channelized? So we could fill in the floodplain and build upon it of course. Two things come to mind here. First, if we’re going to be selfish enough to flood out our neighbors, then why shouldn’t we be totally selfish and keep for ourselves all the water that falls upon our place. After all, we’re going to need that water some day. And second, the floodplain is a nice place to visit, but we ought not to build there. Floodplains are for flooding; thousands of years of erosion have shaped them that way—it’s a gravity thing!

Next, we look at the lessons from geology, more specifically coastal geomorphology. Through these disciplines we know that the coastal plain—the flat land that spent most of the last 35.5 million years (the time since the meteor strike at the present-day mouth of Chesapeake Bay) as a beach or a tidal marsh—today stands mostly less than three dozen feet above sea level. We know that the sands forming barrier islands along the Atlantic seaboard, which are only several feet above sea level, shift their shape and position with the tides. Over the decades and centuries, these islands migrate and compensate for changes in climate and tidal patterns as well as sea levels. Behind their shifting dunes, vast tidal marshes are protected from seasonal storms including the periodic nor’easter or hurricane. Despite the importance of barrier island dynamics to the integrity of the bays and estuaries they protect, and despite their vulnerability to coastal storm surges, winds, and flooding, we choose to build there. In fact, the greatest population densities in the United States, and in many other countries of the world, are on the beach. It’s not because these hundreds of millions of people are fishing or loading/unloading ships for a living—it’s mostly for the view. Despite their importance to fisheries and other coastal life, we continue to alter and destroy the near-tidal areas of the the barrier islands and bays. We go to great expense to “save” for our uses the lands that should be getting inundated by rising sea levels to create new shallow tidewater zones. We waste spectacular amounts of money pumping sand back onto beaches to keep naturally migrating sediments from changing their shape and position in response to the tides. We keep putting more people and more capital at risk by urbanizing these low-lying areas. Building on the beach is absolute madness. It’s an ecological catastrophe from day one and a human catastrophe soon after.

All of the lands impacted by these natural events have two things in common. Each becomes a potential disaster area if people choose to construct their homes or businesses there. And each, if left in its wild state and given a buffer space from human activity, reacts with natural time-derived mechanisms in response to the same events. These mechanisms are often essential for provision of the unique ecosystems required by many of our most threatened wildlife species. Human encroachment into floodplains, wetlands, tidal marshes, beaches, and xeric uplands is a double-edged sword. It first decimates populations of these uncommon species by destroying and fragmenting their specialized habitats. Then, it sets the stage for the fires, floods, and other disasters that endanger the lives and property of the people living there. Considering the ramifications of building in these fire and flood susceptible areas, we can and should live somewhere else, especially when the wildlife requiring these places often can’t.

Sunset over the Susquehanna at Chiques Rock — This evening’s smoky sunset over the Susquehanna at Chiques Rock was courtesy of Canadian wildfires.

May 9, 2025May 26, 2025

Their Songs Give Them Away

After repeatedly hearing the songs of these Neotropical migrants from among the foliage, we were finally able to get a look at them—but it required persistent effort.

Often found closer to the ground among shrubs and small trees, this Magnolia Warbler was a challenge to find in the upper reaches of a Chestnut Oak.

Not far away, we spied this Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Despite its status as probably the most common Neotropical songbird to nest in the deciduous woodlands of the lower Susquehanna valley, the Red-eyed Vireo is nevertheless notoriously difficult to locate among the leaves.

The Ovenbird spends much of its time on the forest floor where it builds a domed, oven-like nest.

The Worm-eating Warbler nests in understory thickets on steep forested slopes. Its rich chipping song is often the only indication of its presence.

Frequently easier to locate is the American Redstart, a Neotropical warbler that calls out its territory in damp woodlands from perches atop shrubs or among the lower limbs of trees.

Warbling Vireos nest near streams or other bodies of water in large deciduous trees like this Northern Hackberry.

Gray Catbirds are abundant in shrubby gardens and thickets. Most will come out of hiding to investigate disturbances like an observer making a pishing sound.

The Yellow-breasted Chat is a bird of early successional growth. To establish and defend a breeding territory, this one adopted a perch along the edge of a woodlands overlooking a field in which prescribed fire was administered less than two months ago.

Sometimes we have to count ourselves lucky if we see just one in five, ten, or even twenty of the birds we hear in the cover of the forest canopy or thicket. But that’s what makes this time of year so rewarding for the dedicated observer. The more time you spend out there, the more you’ll eventually discover. See you afield!

A singing Scarlet Tanager lurking in the shade of an oak.

April 4, 2025

Photo of the Day

A Ring-necked Pheasant forages among the fresh green growth two weeks to the day after prescribed fire was administered to this parcel at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area to turn back plant succession and maintain grassland habitat.

March 24, 2025March 24, 2025

Wildlife in the Burn Zone

During Saturday’s Prescribed Fire Demonstration at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, we noticed just how fast some species of wildlife return to areas subjected to burns administered to maintain grassland habitat and reduce the risk of high-intensity blazes.

Back Fire Ignition during prescribed burn demonstration. — Pennsylvania Game Commission crews ignite a back fire to contain a prescribed burn along its downwind/upslope perimeter during a demonstration at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area on Saturday.

Red-tailed Hawks and other raptors, including nocturnal owls, are frequently the first visitors attracted to the scene of a prescribed burn or wildfire. In grassland and successional habitats, they come looking for any vulnerable voles or mice that may be moving about looking for cover.

These three Eastern Meadowlarks spent the morning in the grassland areas adjacent to the prescribed fire site, mostly where a burn had been conducted one week prior. During the demonstration, one even perched and sang from the oak trees in the museum/visitor’s center parking lot.

Following the Prescribed Fire Demonstration, we decided to pay a visit to some of the parcels where burns had been administered one week earlier on the north side of Middle Creek’s main impoundment. We found a surprising amount of activity.

White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows — Apparently feeding upon slightly heat-treated seeds, sparrows were found by the dozens. White-crowned (left), White-throated (right), Song, and Savannah Sparrows were identified.

This Downy Woodpecker was finding something to its liking among the scorched leaves, stems, and twigs.

American Robins seem to find areas with lightly burnt vegetation and ash-dusted soil advantageous for finding invertebrates following a fire.

Mixed Flock of Blackbirds — We found this flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, Browned-headed Cowbirds, and a few European Starlings feeding throughout a grassland field cleared of early-successional growth by a prescribed fire administered one week ago.

American Kestrel at Nest Box — A male American Kestrel at a nest box located among Middle Creek’s warm-season and cool-season grassland habitats, the former maintained by prescribed fire, the latter by delayed mowing.

March 20, 2025March 20, 2025

Mark Your Calendar: Prescribed Fire Demonstration at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area

With relative humidity readings regularly dipping below 50%, the sunny days of March and early April are often some of the driest of the year. During recent weeks, these measurements have plunged to as low as 20%, levels not often observed in our region. As we’ve seen throughout the lower Susquehanna valley, windy weather and this extraordinarily dry air conspire to create optimal conditions for fast-spreading and often dangerous wildland fires.

On the brighter side, dry weather also provides the opportunity for foresters and other land managers to administer prescribed fire. These controlled burns are thoroughly planned to reduce accumulations of wildfire fuels and invigorate understory growth in forests. Their use also provides a number of effective methods for creating and maintaining wildlife habitats in non-forested areas.

Prescribed Fire in Grassland — Prescribed burns are currently underway on many state, federal, and privately-owned lands throughout the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.

This Saturday, March 22, 2025, crews from the Pennsylvania Game Commission will be hosting a Prescribed Fire Demonstration at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster/Lebanon Counties. The event begins at 10:00 AM in the refuge’s museum/visitor’s center parking area. A controlled burn to “reset” a parcel with early successional growth back to grassland will follow a presentation on prescribed fire uses, planning, safety, and implementation.

Prescribed Burn of Grassland — Prescribed fire treatment being used to prevent succession and maintain a warm-season grassland.

Prescribed Fire in Wetland — Prescribed fire being administered to eliminate successional woody growth from a sedge-rush wetland.

Prescribed Fire in Successional Growth — Pennsylvania Game Commission crews maintain a fire line along an area being burned to control invasive successional growth.

Ring-necked Pheasants Post-burn — Hen and cockbird Ring-necked Pheasants feeding in a pre-plowed fire break furrow along the northern edge of a prescribed fire plot burned during a south wind. These birds entered and fed in the area less than an hour after the flames subsided.

Prescribed Fire on Grassland — To provide refuge for evacuating animals, a completed prescribed burn leaves plenty of adjacent grassland acreage untouched. Within weeks, the fire area will be lush green and again hosting many species of wildlife for the breeding season. The scorch-free areas will each get a prescribed fire treatment sometime during the coming two to four years, the time period preceding this parcel’s next burn.

Don’t forget: Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area museum/visitor’s center parking lot on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 10:00 AM. See you there!

February 26, 2025August 4, 2025

Winter Survival: Generalists and Specialists

We’ve seen worse, but this winter has been particularly tough for birds and mammals in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. Due to the dry conditions of late summer and fall in 2024, the wild food crop of seeds, nuts, berries, and other fare has been less than average. The cold temperatures make insects hard to come by. Let’s have a look at how some of our local generalist and specialist species are faring this winter.

House Sparrows and a House Finch — House Sparrows (bottom) and House Finches (top) are generalists. To survive and thrive, they are adapted to a variety of habitats and types of food. House Sparrows live almost anywhere man-made structures are found. They are true omnivores and will eat almost anything, especially if they see something else try to eat it first. The House Sparrow’s close association with humans has allowed it to become the most widespread and successful living avian dinosaur. On a cold night, they’ll take shelter either within dense vegetation alongside a building or within the structure itself. Though not nearly as cosmopolitan, the House Finch has successfully colonized much of the eastern United States after escaping from captivity as a cage bird in New York during the middle of the twentieth century. Upon being trans-located here from the arid southwest, they adapted to suburbs and farmlands consuming primarily a granivore diet of seeds supplemented with seasonally available berries. They quickly became accustomed to offerings at bird-feeding stations as well. To survive the harsh winters in the northern sections of their range, eastern populations of House Finches are developing a pattern of migration. These movements are most evident in late fall when dozens or sometimes hundreds can be seen heading south over regional hawk-counting stations.

Northern Flicker feeding on Poison Ivy — Though they require dead trees for nesting and as places to find the grubs and adult insects upon which they primarily feed, woodpeckers including the Northern Flicker are generalists, seldom passing by a supply of fruits like these Poison Ivy berries as a source of winter food. Flickers regularly visit suburban areas where they’ll drop by at bird-feeding stations for suet. During the warmer months, they are the woodpecker most frequently seen on the ground where swarms of ants garner their full attention.

The Pileated Woodpecker is seldom found outside of mature forests where it digs relentlessly to remove grubs and other infestations from dead wood. But it is not a true specialist…

Pileated Woodpecker eating Poison Ivy — …it too finds a supply of Poison Ivy berries to be indispensable during a cold winter day.

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a generalist, feeding mostly on insects, but also consuming small seeds and some berries, including those of Poison Ivy. It nests well to our north in tall spruces and other evergreens. During migration and in winter, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet may be found in deciduous trees, brush, and tall grass in habitats ranging from forests to parks and suburbia. This male is displaying its seldom-seen red crown.

The Golden-crowned Kinglet, seen here on a Poison Ivy vine, is more of a specialist than the Ruby-crowned species, though the two will often occur in mixed groups during the winter. The Golden-crowned Kinglet nests in Spruce-Fir forests and in conifers within mixed woodlands. Even during migration, and particularly in winter, these birds are seldom found far from a stand of large evergreens within which they find shelter for the night.

The Hermit Thrush’s generalist lifestyle allows it to survive cold season weather in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. During summer, it breeds in coniferous and mixed woods from the northern parts of our valley north into Canada and feeds primarily on worms, insects, and other arthropods. During migration and in winter, the Hermit Thrush becomes a regular visitor to deciduous forests, woody parks and suburbs, particularly where a supply of wild berries is available to supplement its diet.

Iconic as it pulls earthworms from lawns during the warmer months, the generalist American Robin is fully dependent upon a crop of berries to survive winter conditions in the lower Susquehanna valley. The drought afflicted wild food crop of 2024 has led to fewer robins spending the season here and has delayed the northward push of migrating birds until the ground thaws and the earthworms make the ground rumble once again.

It’s insects for the nestlings during spring and summer, then berries through the winter for the cheerful Eastern Bluebirds, another generalist species.

American Crows are an excellent example of a generalist species. They’ll go anywhere to find food and they’ll eat almost anything. Like the House Sparrow and several other generalists, they adapt very well to human activity and actually thrive on it. Garbage anyone?

Another career generalist is the widely worshiped White-tailed Deity, a species adapted to nearly all man-made landscapes with adequate vegetation upon which to browse. Pushed to the limit during severe weather, some individuals will consume carrion and even resort to cannibalism.

You might think the Great Blue Heron is a specialist. Nope, it’s an accomplished generalist. Great blues will live, feed, and breed on almost any body of fresh or brackish water. And their diet includes almost anything that swims. In winter, you’ll even see them in fields hunting mice and voles.

The Red-shouldered Hawk is a generalist with a diet ranging from amphibians and reptiles to small rodents and large insects. Mostly regarded as a species of bottomlands, they’ll frequent woodland edges, roadsides, and suburbia during the winter months.

During its periodic winter visits to the region, the American Tree Sparrow feeds on seeds among the grasses and forbs of semi-open country with scattered short shrubs and trees. A generalist species, it will show up at backyard bird-feeding stations, particularly during periods of inclement weather. In summer, the American Tree Sparrow nests in tundra with growths of stunted willows and spruce and their diet includes insects as a source of protein for themselves and their young.

The White-crowned Sparrow has similar winter habitat preferences to the tree sparrows…

White-crowned Sparrows — …it becomes adaptable and something of a generalist when searching for food during bad winter storms.

Dusk and dawn during the short days of winter are the prime hunting times of a mammal specialist, the Short-eared Owl. Its presence in the lower Susquehanna valley is dependent on two dominant factors: extensive grassland habitat and an adequate population of the owl’s favored food, the Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus). The Short-eared Owl’s requirements as a specialist species make finding a suitable place to live difficult. Unlike the generalist birds and mammals that often adapt to the widespread man-made disturbances in the region, populations of specialists frequently become fragmented, reduced in abundance, and subject to extirpation.

The Meadow Vole is a generalist rodent that can be abundant in grasslands, early successional growth, fallow fields, marshlands, and, of course, meadows. They are primarily herbivores, but will occasionally consume insects and other arthropods. Usually nocturnal, some individuals venture out along their surface runways during daylight hours becoming vulnerable to diurnal raptors including kestrels, harriers, and buteos.

Short-eared Owl patrolling a grassland for Meadow Voles — A Short-eared Owl in near darkness patrolling a grassland for Meadow Voles.

The eastward expansion of the Coyote (Canis latrans), a species of western North America’s grasslands and scrublands, and its progressive mixing with the Wolf (Canis lupus) in these eastern extensions of its range, has produced an expanding population of very adaptable generalists we call Eastern Coyotes (Canis latrans var.). These omnivorous canines colonized the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed during the last four decades to replace extirpated wolves as the top-tier natural predator in the region. Their primary diet includes Meadow Voles in grasslands and other small mammals along woodland edges and in successional habitats. Seasonally, they consume the berries of numerous wild plants. Slightly larger than their western ancestors, Eastern Coyotes with the admixture of Wolf genetics can subdue small ungulates. Like other apex predators, they are attracted to vulnerable prey and thus play a crucial role in culling the weak and diseased among their potential quarry species to assure the health and potential of populations of these species as long-term sources of food energy. The benefit to the prey species is however largely diluted in populous areas of the northeast; most venison consumed by Eastern Coyotes here is in the form of road kill. During periods of extended snow cover when small rodents and other foods become inaccessible, Eastern Coyotes, particularly young individuals, will wander into new areas seeking sustenance. Sometimes they venture into cities and suburbs where they explore the neighborhoods in search of garbage and pet foods placed outside the home. (Video clip courtesy of Tyler and Grace Good. Click image to view.)

Wildlife certainly has a tough time making it through the winter in the lower Susquehanna valley. Establishing and/or protecting habitat that includes plenty of year-round cover and sources of food and water can really give generalist species a better chance of survival. But remember, the goal isn’t to create unnatural concentrations of wildlife, it is instead to return the landscape surrounding us into more of a natural state. That’s why we try to use native plants as much as possible. And that’s why we try to attract not only a certain bird, mammal, or other creature, but we try to promote the development of a naturally functioning ecosystem with a food web, a diversity of pollinating plants, pollinating insects, and so on. Through this experience, we stand a better chance of understanding what it takes to graduate to the bigger job at hand—protecting, enhancing, and restoring habitats needed by specialist species. These are efforts worthy of the great resources that are sometimes needed to make them a success. It takes a mindset that goes beyond a focus upon the welfare of each individual animal to instead achieve the discipline to concentrate long-term on the projects and processes necessary to promote the health of the ecosystems within which specialist species live and breed. It sounds easier than it is—the majority of us frequently become distracted.

Being an individual from a population of a very successful generalist species is no guarantee of survival. This Eastern Gray Squirrel fell from a tall tree when the limbs became ice covered during a storm earlier this month. Just a freak accident? Maybe, but mistakes like this are often fatal in the natural world. This squirrel’s passing may seem brutal, but it provides a better opportunity for other squirrels and animals that share its food and cover requirements to make it through the winter. And those survivors that didn’t suffer such a fatal mistake or, more importantly, don’t possess a vulnerability that may have contributed to such a mishap will have a chance to pass those traits on to a new generation. This squirrel as an individual is gone, its species lives on, and may be stronger for its passing.

Prescribed Burn of a Grassland — Pennsylvania Game Commission crews maintain a grassland ecosystem for Short-eared Owls and other specialists using prescribed fire to prevent succession beyond its earliest stages. Among the additional specialist species benefiting from this management tool are Monarchs and other butterflies whose host plants survive early-season fire, but not competition with woody vines, shrubs, trees, and invasive herbaceous growth.

On the wider scale, it’s of great importance to identify and protect the existing and potential future habitats necessary for the survival of specialist species. And we’re not saying that solely for their benefit. These protection measures should probably include setting aside areas on higher ground that may become the beach intertidal zone or tidal marsh when the existing ones become inundated. And it may mean finally getting out of the wetlands, floodplains, and gullies to let them be the rain-absorbing, storm-buffering, water purifiers they spent millennia becoming. And it may mean it’s time to give up on building stick structures on tinderbox lands, especially hillsides and rocky outcrops with shallow, eroding soils that dry to dust every few years. We need to think ahead and stop living for the view. If you want to enjoy the view from these places, go visit and take plenty of pictures, or a video, that’s always nice—then live somewhere else. Each of these areas includes ecosystems that meet the narrow habitat requirements of many of our specialist species, and we’re building like fools in them. Then we feign victimhood and solicit pity when the calamity strikes: fires, floods, landslides, and washouts—again and again. Wouldn’t it be a whole lot smarter to build somewhere else? It may seem like a lot to do for some specialist animals, but it’s not. Because, you see, we should and can live somewhere else—they can’t.

The Allegheny Woodrat (Neotoma magister), a threatened species in Pennsylvania and a critically imperiled species in Maryland, is a habitat specialist requiring the forested rocky slopes, talus-flanked ridgetops, and caves of the Ridge and Valley Province for its nest sites and survival. Isolated populations survived within similar environs in the lower Susquehanna River valley’s Piedmont Province and on South Mountain through at least the first half of the twentieth century, but have since been extirpated. Human encroachment that fragments their habitat and promotes exposure to parasite-hosting mammals including the Raccoon (*Procyon lotor)*, carrier of the Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascarius procyonis), could prove fatal to remaining populations of this native mammal. (National Park Service image by Rick Olsen)

The American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) is a specialist species that uses its highly adapted bill to feed on marine invertebrates including mollusks, few of which are actually oysters. Reliant upon tidal ecosystems for its survival, many of the seashore animals that make up this wader’s diet are themselves specialist species. Oystercatchers spend nearly their entire lives in tidal marshes or within the intertidal zone on beaches. They also frequent rocky jetties, particularly during high tide. This individual was photographed near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in Northhampton County, Virginia, a location that, when the waters of the Atlantic started rising over 10,000 years ago, was the lower Susquehanna valley about 60 miles from the river’s mouth at present-day Norfolk Canyon along the edge of the continental shelf. Get the drift?

November 8, 2024November 8, 2024

Photo of the Day

Be Extra Cautious Right Now — With low relative humidity, gusty daytime breezes, and little or no rain in the forecast, many counties and local municipalities in the lower Susquehanna basin have enacted bans on open burning to prevent accidental wildfires. With these dangerous conditions prevailing, you know enough not to burn trash and leaves, or to carelessly discard ashes or smoking materials. And you’re smart enough to keep close watch on fires used for cooking and to keep them within approved enclosures such as a grill with a lid. But have you thought of eliminating another common form of ignition, this one originating from your car or truck? Your motor vehicle’s catalytic converter is hot enough to ignite dry leaves, grasses, and crop residues like corn shocks upon contact, so be extra careful where you park. Be certain that your pollution control device remains free and clear of combustibles!

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.

August 30, 2024August 31, 2024

Aphrodite Fritillary

The Aphrodite Fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite), also known simply as the Aphrodite, is a brush-footed butterfly of deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests. We found this female in a grassland margin between woodlots where prescribed fire was administered during the autumn of 2022 to reduce accumulations of natural fuels and an overabundance of invasive vegetation. A goal of the burn was to promote the growth of native species including the violets (Viola species) favored as larval host plants by this and other fritillaries.

By the time these adult butterflies make their reproductive flights in late summer, the violets that serve as larval host plants have gone dormant. To find patches of ground where the violets will come to life in spring, the female Aphrodite Fritillary has an ability to sense the presence of dormant roots, probably by smell. Upon finding an area where suitable violets will begin greening up next year, she’ll deposit her eggs. The eggs overwinter, then hatch to feed on the tender new violet leaves of spring.

August 29, 2024August 30, 2024

Allegheny Vine

Here’s a native plant you don’t see very often, but Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have a knack for finding and adoring it within the limited habitat where it still exists.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird at Allegheny Vine — Seen here creeping atop a small Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) tree, Allegheny Vine seldom escapes notice by the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a primary pollinator of the plant.

Not likely to thrive in deep forest cover, Allegheny Vine is a denizen of edge habitat. The species is dependent on some type of disturbance to maintain suitable growing conditions. The plants seen here were found flowering in an area that had experienced a fire prior to last year’s growing season. It is therefore quite possible that the fire completed the stratification process and triggered long-dormant seeds to germinate last spring or summer to develop a basal plant which matured and flowered during this second summer of the biennial’s growth. On a forested slope opposite this site, a first-ever prescribed burn was conducted in March of this year to eliminate accumulated fuel and replicate a natural fire cycle. With a little luck, this forest management approach may prompt additional long-dormant Allegheny Vine seeds to germinate and form basal plants this year for maturation in 2025. Without man-made disturbances, Allegheny Vine may remain viable as a species by enduring seed dormancy periods of 40-100 years or more between fires, lightning strikes, wind storms, ice accumulations, and other events which clear the canopy and encourage growth.

May 22, 2024May 23, 2024

Photo of the Day

Paulownia in Flower — While in flower, this extensive stand of Princess Trees (Paulownia tomentosa) straddling Second Mountain north of Harrisburg might be mistaken for a series of boulder outcrops. Native to eastern Asia, the fast-growing Princess Tree has escaped cultivation to become naturalized in many parts of eastern North America. You’ll currently notice the showy purple blooms on many forested ridges and hilltops throughout the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. Paulownia tomentosa is also known as the Phoenix Tree, a name derived from its ability, due to its extensive root system, to regenerate following fire. This fast-growing invasive therefore calls for measures in addition to prescribed burns for control within infected forests. Mechanical and/or chemical methods of removal are frequently required.

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 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.

January 3, 2024March 30, 2024

Birds of the Sunny Grasslands

With the earth at perihelion (its closest approach to the sun) and with our home star just 27 degrees above the horizon at midday, bright low-angle light offered the perfect opportunity for doing some wildlife photography today. We visited a couple of grasslands managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to see what we could find…

Grasslands and Hedgerows — On this State Game Lands parcel, prescribed fire is used to maintain a mix of grasslands and brushy early successional growth. In nearby areas, both controlled fire and mechanical cutting are used to remove invasive species from hedgerows and the understory of woodlots. Fire tolerant native species then have an opportunity to recolonize the forest and improve wildlife habitat. This management method also reduces the fuel load in areas with the potential for uncontrolled wildfires.

The sun-dried fruits of a Common Persimmon tree found growing in a hedgerow. — The sun-dried fruits of a native Common Persimmon tree found growing in a hedgerow.

Savanna-like Grasslands — Just one year ago, mechanical removal of invasive trees and shrubs (including Multiflora Rose) on this State Game Land was followed by a prescribed fire to create this savanna-like grassland.

White-throated Sparrows were also abundant, but prefer the tangles and shrubs of the thickets.

In grasses and tangles on wetter ground, about a dozen Swamp Sparrows were discovered.

Dark-eyed Juncos were encountered only in the vicinity of trees and large shrubs.

A tiny bird, even when compared to a sparrow, the Winter Wren often provides the observer with just a brief glimpse before darting away into the cover of a thicket.

Standing Clump of Timber — Within grasslands, scattered stands of live and dead timber can provide valuable habitat for many species of animals.

A "snag" with an excavated nest cavity. — Woodpeckers and other cavity-nesting birds rely upon an abundance of “snags” (standing dead trees) for breeding sites.

This Red-bellied Woodpecker and about a dozen others were found in trees left standing in the project areas.

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker soaks up some sun.

Just as things were really getting fun, some late afternoon clouds arrived to dim the already fading daylight. Just then, this Northern Harrier made a couple of low passes in search of mice and voles hidden in the grasses.

August 31, 2018March 30, 2024

Noxious Benefactor

It’s sprayed with herbicides. It’s mowed and mangled. It’s ground to shreds with noisy weed-trimmers. It’s scorned and maligned. It’s been targeted for elimination by some governments because it’s undesirable and “noxious”. And it has that four letter word in its name which dooms the fate of any plant that possesses it. It’s the Common Milkweed, and it’s the center of activity in our garden at this time of year. Yep, we said milk-WEED.

Now, you need to understand that our garden is small—less than 2,500 square feet. There is no lawn, and there will be no lawn. We’ll have nothing to do with the lawn nonsense. Those of you who know us, know that the lawn, or anything that looks like lawn, are through.

Anyway, most of the plants in the garden are native species. There are trees, numerous shrubs, some water features with aquatic plants, and filling the sunny margins is a mix of native grassland plants including Common Milkweed. The unusually wet growing season in 2018 has been very kind to these plants. They are still very green and lush. And the animals that rely on them are having a banner year. Have a look…

The flowers of the Common Milkweed were exceptionally fragrant this year. At their peak in early June, their hyacinth-or lilac-like aroma was so prevalent, it drifted into our building and overwhelmed the stink of the neighbor’s filthy dumpster that he had placed 12 feet away from our walls (100 feet from his).

Common Milkweed attracts a pollinating Greenbottle Fly (Lucilia species). The dumpster attracts the invasive House Fly (Musca domestica), carrier of dysentery, typhoid, and other wonderful diseases. Are you following this? Remember as we proceed, milkweed is “noxious”.

Busy Eastern Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa virginica) load up with pollen from the flowers of the Common Milkweed.

A Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) munches on a tender fresh Common Milkweed leaf in mid-June.

Following the pollination of the flowers, seed pods will begin to grow. We trim these off the plants. The removal of the extra weight allows most of the stems to remain erect through stormy weather. You’ll still get new plants from underground runners. As you may have guessed, we’re trying to keep these plants upright and strong to host Monarch butterfly larvae.

We’ve planted a variety of native grassland species to help support the milkweed structurally and to provide a more complete habitat for Monarch butterflies and other native insects. This year, these plants are exceptionally colorful for late-August due to the abundance of rain. The warm season grasses shown below are the four primary species found in the American tall-grass prairies and elsewhere.