And the Red Admirals Arrive in a HUGE way...

Now that the migration of the Red Admiral butterfly is on my mental radar, I am seeing those butterflies everywhere.

In yesterday's posting, I told about seeing them over the weekend when temps were unseasonably cold.  They got my interest, those little butterflies... the fact that it was so cold and cloudy made me wonder why I was seeing them at all.  Most insects go quiet and slow down during cooler temps -- especially the butterflies.  And it still seemed early to me.  Weren't they just beginning the season?  A few googled minutes later and I was eager to learn more about the Red Admiral's migration mysteries.  As the cold rain poured down last night I poured over websites and my through my guidebooks.

But this morning we woke up to more seasonable weather.  Its muggy and hot here today...  much more like you'd expect to find in DC in early May.

And the butterflies are everywhere!!!  During my morning break I went outside with a cup of coffee and found myself encircled by them.  I only had to stand still in one spot of the yard for five minutes and I was surrounded.  We've had at least a dozen sightings so far this morning.

And now that I've boned up on my ID-ing skills I know for sure that is what they are.  No confusing it.  What we are seeing this morning is the Red Admiral, for sure.

The question is, are we seeing the same ones over and over, or different ones all making the stop in our yard on their way through as they migrate?  No way to know with out tagging or teeny tiny radio telemetry I guess.  And of course that isn't an option.

This is how one gets addicted to watching wildlife in unexpected places.  Just when you think there's nothing new to learn, you find out something really fascinating -- like the fact that some butterfly species other than monarchs migrate.  The dreary curtain of urban living is lifted and suddenly you're in a dynamic, pulsating ecosystem...

As usual with any migrating species, I stand in the back yard and hear the sound of the Capital Beltway rumbling away near my house -- the dozens of lanes of traffic that just keeps going and going like a broad, gray river -- and I think, what do these creatures see when they fly over?

What does this concrete-covered space look like to these regional travelers?  How do they process it?

Is my property, crammed full of nectar-rich native plants -- a highlight of the passage?  (Hope so!)

How do they know to stop here? Where else do they stop along the way?

Wish I could make the flight myself.  Closest I can manage is to snap a picture,  which I will post later when I have time to download.

I am hooked.  I am loathe to do anything other than sit outside with my camera and wait.  But work inside beckons...

Seen These Butterflies Lately???

I often get red admirals and painted ladies mixed up. (...butterflies – did I mention that I meant in the butterfly world?)

Anyhow, over the weekend, I kept seeing a lot of them, landing on branches, looking for nectar, basking in the sun. Even when the clouds and cold temperatures made our teeth chatter over the trays of plants at the local nursery, they were out flying around.  What was making them fly around despite the cold?  And which "them" were we seeing?

Every year I learn the way to tell these two butterfly species apart, and every year I seem to have to relearn it.  I love both species, and love seeing them.  

In any case, it always fascinates me when a large number any species turns up again and again during one small time span. This weekend we saw both species everywhere – as we rode south toward DC along the local bike path, visiting the plants for sale at the National Arboretum Plant Sale and Garden Fair, and along the branches on our neighbor's Japanese maple.  I later learned that both species are migrating this time of year.  This may be the reason for the large numbers of them over a huge swath of the DC area this past weekend.  

In  fact, when I googled around a bit I found this cool research project involving the migration patterns of the two species.   "Much remains to be discovered about their habits and how their behavior and seasonal distribution varies by geographic location," says the site's author, Royce Bitzer.  "Observers and experimenters ranging from casual to serious can discover new and valuable information about these butterflies."   

Okay, Mr. Bitzer.  That does it.  My curiosity is piqued and now I have to learn once and for all how to tell them apart conclusively in order to email you my interesting observations!  

Red admirals, my son finally pointed out, have the lines going across the tips of their wings. “Like the guys in  the navy, Mom. Admirals, get it?”

Painted ladies are not all female, but must have reminded some early naturalist of a lady wearing too much make-up. I guess that naturalist couldn't have been working too long ago, right? I mean, only since ladies wore make-up a couple of centuries back, I joked.

"No, no," pointed out my daughter, the amateur historian. “Even ancient Egyptian women wore make-up.”

Finally, I dropped my weeding tools and went in to the house to retrieve the butterfly books so I could make a positive ID.  

And  only then did I stop seeing both of them altogether. It seems that like so many creatures they have a sixth sense about my guidebooks... the minute any creature comes with a few yards of one of those helpful books it flies off, never to be seen (or identified) again.

*sigh* 

Mr. Bitzer, I will keep you posted.  I am sure once the books are safely stored back on the shelf both types of the butterflies will return in great numbers....

(The photo above -- by the way -- shows a lovely Painted Lady butterfly, perched on some late summer goldenrod.)  

Native and EDIBLE! Plants for Sale on May 5

For the last couple of years, Brookside Gardens here in Wheaton, Maryland has put itself on the forefront of the edible garden movement by hosting talks on urban farming, backyard vegetable gardening, etc.

On May 5 they plan to take the locavore concept one step further, by hosting a sale of native AND edible plants.

I took at look at their plant list and it is FANTASTIC.  This event promises to be very rewarding.

I do wish they weren't hosting a sneak peek plant sale the night before during the lectures on the Brooklyn High Line (details can be found on page page nine of the Brookside Xperience). Both of those books and authors look great, but I have trouble thinking of paying that much money to attend an event where someone will be trying to sell me their book for that same amount of money.  If I wanted to spend that much money I would just buy the book itself.  Or more plants for my own garden....

I know that Brookside needs to think of ways to make money, but this one is just a bit too pricey for me.  Maybe I could justify it if it was a lecture where I'd be learning something to apply in the garden, along the lines of the Lahr Symposium and plant sale which is hosted by the Friends of the National Arboretum?  Or a social event/fundraiser?  (I don't know...  maybe I'm just being cheap and cranky, but when I saw that in the Brooksider this spring I was at first excited and then totally startled and dumbfounded by the price they were asking.)

Anyway, for more details on the plant sale and a TON of other great garden related events, you can visit the Brookside events calendar.

Sligo Naturalist Column: Keeping Your Eyes on the Creek

The following post was originally published in the Voice newspapers of Montgomery County in early April 2012.  Thanks to Julius Kassovic for letting me use the great photo!

What an odd non-winter we had. I missed the snow, and the recharge it usually brings my spirit. My garden never got the re-charge either --although some plants died back completely in September, others just kept on going as if we were now gardening in California.

My rosemary, for example, has been blooming nonstop since October of last year even though most years the whole thing would have died with December's first hard freeze. Although the little purple flowers are gloriously pretty I somehow feel as if I am cheating. Its not a good feeling – its mixed a bit with climate change and worry – as if bragging about a fancy necklace at the bedside of a very sick friend.

Even if the cold never really came for us this year, the arrival of longer days always means the arrival of migratory animals and new arrivals and settlers. Migratory birds are the most fun to spot. Occasionally even our urban neighborhood is host to orioles and kingbirds, tiny warblers and birds of prey, as they all move through to their summer nesting grounds further south.

The new settlers are also exciting, although not always welcome. Take, for example, the beaver that decided to show up in the southern part of Sligo Creek early this year. By some accounts more than thirty trees were felled by this busy fellow, who seemed to think that the section of the creek near Park Valley Road would be an ideal location for a new dam. Apparently he missed the news that dams are no longer in fashion, even if their buttress' are made of sticks. After the trees were downed the parks department was alerted to the situation so that a solution could found. (A photo journal and some eyewitness accountswere posted to the Friends of Sligo Creek website in late February.)

Farther up north, on the Northwest Branch, hikers were excited to see tracks that look like those of river otters. Although the otter itself has not yet been seen or photographed, a public query regarding the topic brought back a surprising reply; others had seen what looked to be tracks from mink in the same area, near Randolph Road. (My first reaction to this news was this: river otters and mink living here? Wow! Are you sure? Cool!)

Humans around here are doing almost as much building as the animals these days... which has a lot of stream advocates uneasy and worried. It is great to see the downcounty get some needed upgrades and improvements – keeping this area livable, walkable, safe, modern and aesthetically pleasant might help slow down sprawl in the outer suburbs and maybe help reduce traffic and other environmental problems. But the construction often has many impacts downstream, as debris, chemical pollution, and sediment is often washed off of the building sites and into streams where it can cause tremendous damage.

The only way to make sure the damage is minimized is to be vigilant. Even well-intentioned construction managers rarely leave their work sites and may not know the pollution is occurring. And sadly not all construction managers are environmentally attuned or attentive to the importance of run-off problems. So if you are out anywhere this spring enjoying a walk by a creek and you see anything that seems like dumping, run-off or pollution, report it immediately. (If it is possible and safe to do so, take a photo as well.)

If you walk along any local stream or in any local park in the area you should have two things pre-programmed into your phone. The first is the emergency number for park police: 301-949-3010. (Although a call to 911 can help in an emergency, the park police can often locate a caller more quickly when a street number is not available – they are more familiar with park locations and park names.)

The second number to pre-program is the one for reporting dumping or pollution emergencies anywhere in Maryland, which is the MD Department of the Environment at 1-866-633-4686. In some cases dumping or pollution may also warrant a call to park police at the above number, too.

If you see pollution you'll also want to call the county at 311 so that the county officials can be alerted.

Depending on where you walk you might also find it helpful to contact the stream stewardship group for that location and get their help. Most of the stewardship groups can be found online easily at this helpful county website:

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dectmpl.asp?url=/Content/dep/water/localgroups.asp

A lot of other helpful information can be found on the county's fantastic new “My Green Montgomery” website, which is:  The site includes ways to volunteer in the area, including many litter clean-ups which are scheduled in the month of April.

Earth Day Photo Contest Announced

Here's a cool way to celebrate Earth Day:  take photos and enter them into a contest.  


If your photo wins you might receive a free river trip, a free rain barrel or a backpack filled with binoculars, a map set, a water bottle and a coupon to REI.   


The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin is sponsoring this contest, so the shots need to be related to things happening in the Potomac watershed on April 22 this year.  Photos that qualify might include birds, wildlife, insects, scenic shots, wild plants, people, and Earth Day events.


Audra Lew, who works for the Commission, explains it this way:  "These photos will help us highlight all the terrific places, people, and events on Earth Day that we couldn't see without your help. We hope to develop a database and interactive map for the public using these images."

Very cool!  For complete contest rules, entry info and model release waivers, you can visit www.potomacriver.org. Direct questions to info@icprb.org.

Free Trees from Pepco, but you need to act NOW

UPDATE:  Moments after finishing the post, below, I was notified that Pepco has run out of trees.  Hmmm. Seems they underestimated how much people in this area love their leafy streets...

************************

Our local power company, Pepco, has developed the strangest relationship with trees in the last few years.

When customers complained that the company's service was barely adequate and downright AWFUL during storms, the company responded by ripping into neighborhood trees with a frightening vengeance, despite the fact that most of the complaints from customers were focused on things like the lack of communication during outages and the failure to update transformers to modern standards.  The trees, Pepco said, were causing all the trouble.

(In our own neighborhood, for instance, we  have seen transformers blow out on sunny, clear days when there was nothing but a light breeze in the air.  And when we recently tried to inform them that a streetlight they repaired recently had failed right after bulb replacement, their operators persisted in telling us it was indeed repaired and in good working order.  It got so bad we made jokes about sending them an invitation to a nighttime party under the darkened light, which they would have trouble finding in the dark... It is hard to see how any of this is the trees' fault... they seem like innocent bystanders to me.  Trees, as the Lorax will tell you, cannot speak for themselves and so they make GREAT scapegoats.)

Anyhow, this awful company has at least been trying to make amends in one good way.  They are giving away free trees.  

I regret that this did not make it to my radar before now.  If it had I would have posted something here.  Apparently the company began the give away back in early March but didn't really publicize it, although yesterday a panic swept through every local environmental listserv in the DC area about it as everyone tried to get the word out.

The panic, you see, comes from the deadline.  You must act before April 7, 2012 (that's this Saturday) to take advantage of their great offer:  if you map out your property using their cool online tools you can get a free tree delivered to your house.  

Visit the Pepco website and read their press release for more info, or visit www.arborday.org/pepcotrees .  You can also call 1-855-234-3801.   

I think in order to get this kind of information regularly you have to follow Pepco's twitter feeds.  The thought of that is just to much for my soul to bear.  I am sure that they send out all kinds of BP-like updates which will tell me on a daily basis what a great job they are doing for their customers and how their work is so beneficial for the environment.

Ugh. No thanks.

Wonderful Week for a Moondance

It has been a really beautiful week here, with redbud trees blooming in misty mornings, cherry blossoms sparkling against clear, azure afternoon skies, and birds arriving from the south in multitudes all day long.

We had a tiny flock of cedar wax wings alight on the branches of our backyard trees last Sunday, and a somewhat befuddled redwing blackbird kept calling out, too, as if it had lost the rest of its flock somewhere nearby. Geese honk along in the dark just after dusk, although we have no idea where their nest is hidden in our mostly dry neighborhood.

Thursday night we took a walk in the spreading twilight. The moon wasn't remarkable, but it was still the kind of night that inspires off-key renditions of Van Morrison's song Moondance... neither of us wanted to go in even when we got home. We were especially delighted to see bats careening above us in the darkening sky...

In fact I broke the peace of the evening by whooping a joyful and loud: “HEY!!” when I saw the first one. I couldn't help myself – just the sight of the bat up there hunting so freely filled me with relief.  "Welcome back," I thought.  "Glad you made it through the winter."

The bats, as you might already know, are facing a serious struggle these days. White Nose Syndrome continues to emerge in more and more locations, the future of bats seems dire indeed... some biologists have even wondered if our mostcommon bats will survive at all.