January 11, 2018

By Linda McElroy

Meeting a Moose at Midnight

This WildAware article is submitted by Acton resident, Linda McElroy. Linda founded the Acton Land Stewardship Committee in the mid-1990s, and the Trail Through Time in the mid-2000s. The TTT, a Community Preservation Act project, highlights local Native American and Colonial landscape artifacts. Please visit https://trails.acton-ma.gov/trail-through-time/ for more information.

I arrived at my Maine cabin-in-the-woods very late one August evening. Following my routine upon-arrival ritual, I first took the path down to the brook to listen to its voice and say “hello” to the creatures who live there. Then, I jogged along the short path to the pond, lantern in hand, carefully flashing its light from side to side so as not to startle anyone browsing in my woods.

Bursting out of the woods into the clearing beside the pond, I immediately sensed a strong rank odor. “I don’t remember the Beavers being that smelly”, I thought to myself. Scrambling up the embankment beside the dam, I scanned the entire area with the lantern. All was still. But I did notice that there seemed to be a rather long smooth opaque panel where brushy vegetation had always grown. “Better check that out”, I thought.

I moved a few steps closer, and trained the light on one side of the opaque panel, still puzzling why there was no definition of leaves and woody structure. Gradually, I swept the light along this panel to its other side. Toward the end of this scan, an extremely large eye was calmly studying me. “Moose!” my mind screamed, and my feet took off before I remembered that was not the thing to do.

This cow moose had had twins that year. I had observed them from my kayak at the marshy end of the pond, where she fed on the rich underwater grasses almost constantly, to provide enough milk for the two buff-colored calves, out of sight among the reed clumps. She would dip her entire horse-sized head–except for the ears–into the murky water for a few moments, then come up for air and a vigilant look around, while buckets of water poured off her head and shoulders. Thus, I had not expected to see her at my end of the pond.

At maturity, a cow moose weighs between 500 and 700 pounds, (bulls up to 1,000 pounds), may stand 6 feet at the shoulders, and first gives birth at three years of age. The largest member of the deer family, moose range throughout much of North America. They were abundant in Massachusetts until European settlers cut the forests for agriculture. But since the 1980s, a few are seen again in Eastern Massachusetts, as hunting restrictions have caused the population to burgeon.

Moose are browsers, and prefer wetland habitats, though they will keep mainly to forested areas. Calves born in mid-May remain with their mothers for about a year, when they are driven away as the cow prepares to give birth again. With birth weights of about 20 pounds, they can grow to nearly 300 pounds by the fall. Bulls, much larger, are also much darker than cows, who may be light-bodied.

A moose’s size and strength prevent predation from other animals, but human hunters, vehicles, and, more recently, ticks, claim quite a number of lives. Ticks do not transmit the diseases they carry to moose, as is also true with deer, but the sheer number of ticks now everywhere in Northern New England may weaken them through blood loss. An animal thus weakened may be taken by a bear.

In my hasty flight, I stumbled, fell, lost the lantern, and arrived at the cabin safely but completely out of breath. A better tactic, should you meet a moose, is to back away slowly and steadily without making eye contact. Never get between a cow and her young. Once a moose is aware of your presence, usually it will just majestically blend into the forest, and be gone.

Paula Goodwin is a member of the Acton Conservation Commission who introduced WildAware with Acton Natural Resource Assistant Bettina Abe. WildAware is a program sponsored by the Town of Acton Natural Resources Department that began in September, 2015. The purpose of WildAware is to educate the community about the existence and habits of wild creatures, and the goal is increased community awareness of shared habitats. For information, call 978-929-6634 or send email to nr@acton-ma.gov.

December 28, 2017

By Maggie Abe

 Textured Trunks: Exploring Exfoliating Bark

Today’s WildAware article is submitted by Acton resident, Maggie Abe. Maggie is a local artist who is a member of the Board of Directors of The Friends of the Acton Arboretum, Inc.

As winter approaches, the landscape grows starker. The green of summer dulls, then goes dormant. All too soon, fall’s conflagration flares and fizzles, the leaves becoming brittle and brown. One might think the Arboretum has little to offer in these bare months, but this is a wonderful time of year to examine features often overlooked in the surfeit of spring and summer. Exfoliating bark is a fascinating adaptation of a number of species showcased in the Arboretum and provides a welcome pop of texture during the leaner months.

Exfoliating or not, bark is vital to a tree’s health. A tree’s outermost bark is dead and shields the inner, living bark. The inner bark, phloem, carries the products of photosynthesis throughout the plant, becoming the outer bark as the tree grows. In the cambium layer, new phloem forms just under the bark; on its other side, the cambium also produces new sapwood, or xylem, which makes up the bulk of the tree and transports water. We see this growth in cross-section as annual rings, with the youngest rings being those farthest from the central heartwood.

Bark is referred to as “exfoliating” when it exhibits a peeling or flaking behavior. It is a natural process and allows the tree to quickly recover from injury—common in temperate regions with snowy winters—as well as rid itself of disease and pests. Some theorize that in birches (Betula spp.), exfoliating bark facilitates the removal of light-blocking lichens, enabling sunlight to reach the inner bark for photosynthesis. Shedding old bark could also provide a way for trees to undergo rapid growth in diameter without their bark fissuring, which weakens it. There are likely other benefits of exfoliation still unknown to us!

Detailed below are some trees with exfoliating bark living in the Arboretum. Appreciate their unique beauty year-round!

Dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)

The dawn redwood is an ancient tree originating in China and thought to be extinct until the 1940s. Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum is responsible for disseminating its seeds throughout the U.S.; today, it can be found in parks around the world. It has reddish bark, a sinewy trunk, and green needles that turn orange in the fall. There are four dawn redwoods in the Acton Arboretum: one across from the rain garden, another between the grape arbor and the hosta garden, and two in the rhododendron garden.

Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia)

Peer through the branches and you will see this tree’s beautiful trunk, silvery and mottled like the neck of a giraffe. The bark exfoliates in smooth patches. In the summer, it grows round white flowers with yellow centers. The Arboretum’s stewartia is located on the main lawn where the path first branches, visible from the parking lot.

Paperbark maple (Acer griseum)

This tree’s copper color stands out against the white of winter. Its bark peels off in luminescent, peach curls. You can find this tree by the Arboretum’s stone reading circle.

Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)

This tree is reminiscent of something you might see in a primordial mangrove. Like the dawn redwood, it is a deciduous conifer, with soft green needles that turn russet in the fall. Curved protrusions called “knees” shoot off its roots and break the soil around the tree; they brace the tree and provide extra support in sodden soil and inclement weather. The tree’s flaky bark is especially evident on the knees. Head over to the rhododendron garden to find the Arboretum’s specimen.

River birch (Betula nigra)

While all birches have exfoliating bark, the sort that comes away in papery sheets and delicate curlicues, the river birch is “adaptable to both flood and drought and is more disease-resistant and heat-tolerant than any other birch” (Carlsmith, 1983). It has orange-tinged bark and maroon twigs. The Arboretum’s river birch grows in the understory study.

Bibliography

• “Anatomy of a tree.” Trees, U.S. Forest Service, 2017. <fs.fed.us/learn/trees/anatomy-of-tree>
• Carlsmith, Anne. “The River Birch.” Arnoldia, vol. 44, no. 1, 1983, pp. 29-31. <jstor.org/stable/42954180?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>
• Kozlowski, Gregor. “Why do some barks peel?” Online posting. ResearchGate, 15 Oct. 2016. <researchgate.net/post/Why_do_some_barks_peel_What_are_the_advantages_of_exfoliating_for_a_tree
• “Oh! That Exfoliating Bark!” Life on the Greenway, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, 31 Jan. 2013. <blog.rosekennedygreenway.org/2013/01/31/oh-that-exfoliating-bark/>
• Rhoades, Heather. “Trees With Interesting Bark—Using Exfoliating Bark On Trees For Seasonal Interest.” Gardening Know How, Gardening Know How, 25 Mar. 2015. <gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/exfoliating-bark-trees.htm>
• “Stewartia pseudocamellia.” Plant Profiles, Holden Arboretum, 2017. <holdenarb.org/horticulture/plant-profiles/stewartia-pseudocamellia/>
• “The Dawn Redwood [Metasequoia].” About, The Bailey Arboretum, 2017. <baileyarboretum.org/the-dawn-redwood/>

Paula Goodwin is a member of the Acton Conservation Commission who introduced WildAware with Acton Natural Resource Assistant Bettina Abe. WildAware is a program sponsored by the Town of Acton Natural Resources Department that began in September, 2015. The purpose of WildAware is to educate the community about the existence and habits of wild creatures, and the goal is increased community awareness of shared habitats. For information, call 978-929-6634 or send email to nr@acton-ma.gov.

November 9, 2017

By Paula Goodwin

Opossums:Beneficial Wildlife Neighbors

The Virginia Opossum (didelphis virginiana) is found in Acton and throughout Massachusetts except for Dukes and Nantucket counties. The Opossums’ preferred habitat is on the edge of forests near streams and wetlands. It is one of the few animals that is becoming more common, although its natural life span is just about 2 years. The Opossum is North America’s only marsupial, (from Latin meaning  “pouch.”)

Male opossums are called jacks and females are called jills. After a pregnancy of  just two weeks, baby opossums are born. The tiny bee-sized joeys crawl into their mother’s pouch where they are protected and nursed for about 60 days. It is in the pouch that most of the joeys’ development takes place. At about 55 days the joeys finally open their eyes, crawl out of the pouch and cling to their mother’s back. The joeys ride along, learning from her the wide variety of foods to seek for their omnivorous diet that has earned them the reputation as one of nature’s sanitation workers! Their diet includes insects (including ticks), slugs, eggs, birds,frogs, plants, fruits and mammals as large as rabbits. They also eat human food and have been known to push over trash cans looking for leftovers. Opossums have a great need for calcium which they consume by eating animal bones.

Opossums are nocturnal mammals with enormous pupils which let in the dimmest light and long whiskers on the sides and front of their snouts which help guide their nightly foraging as they travel almost 2 miles through an area roughly 12 acres in size. Opossums are skilled climbers with opposable thumbs on their hind legs and a hairless prehensile tail that they use to anchor themselves in treetops to increase their reach for berries and other fruits. The tail is also used for carrying grass and leaves in a bundle when changing the bedding in its tidy den. Although opossums are often preyed upon by other nocturnal animals such as owls, foxes and bobcats, they are exceedingly resilient. If its loud hissing and the sight of its open jaws showing 50 pointy teeth does not deter a predator, the opossum will collapse to the ground with eyes open, mouth open and drooling, with its tongue hanging out. Its heart rate slows allowing it to lay very still as if dead, “playing possum” until the predator leaves. People think opossums might be rabid when they drool and hiss and carry on when threatened, but rabies in opossums is extremely rare. It may have something to do with the opossum’s low body temperature (94-97º F) making it difficult for the virus to survive in an opossum’s body.  Opossums have partial or total immunity to the venom of rattlesnakes and other poisonous snakes.

It turns out opossums are allies in the fight against Lyme disease. From Rick Ostfeld, senior scientist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies: “Possums, like many other small and medium sized mammals, are hosts for ticks looking for a blood meal. But opossums are remarkably efficient at eliminating foraging ticks. Several years ago, scientists decided to learn about the part different mammals play in the spread of the ticks and the disease. They tested six species — white-footed mice, chipmunks, squirrels, opossums and veerys and catbirds — by capturing and caging them, and then exposing each test subject to 100 ticks. What they found, is that of the six, the opossums were remarkably good at getting rid of the ticks — much more so that any of the others. “I had no suspicion they’d be such efficient tick-killing animals,” Ostfeld said. Indeed, among other opossum traits, there is this: They groom themselves fastidiously, like cats. If they find a tick, they lick it off and swallow it. (The research team on the project went through droppings to find this out.) Extrapolating from their findings, Ostfeld said, the team estimated that in one season, an opossum can kill about 5,000 ticks.

University of Michigan BioKids: http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Didelphimorphia/

NH Public Television: http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/opossum.htm#6

Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091215202320.htm

Mass Audubon-Situations and Solutions/Opossums: https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/mammals/opossums/situations-solutions

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies: http://www.caryinstitute.org/newsroom/opossums-killers-ticks

Opossum by Tom Jackson

Backyard Jungle Safari Opossums by Ann Tatlock

Mother Nature Network: https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-opossums

Opossum Society of the United States: http://opossumsocietyus.org/faq-opossum/

Paula Goodwin is a member of the Acton Conservation Commission who introduced WildAware with Acton Natural Resource Assistant Bettina Abe. WildAware is a program sponsored by the Town of Acton Natural Resources Department that began in September, 2015. The purpose of WildAware is to educate the community about the existence and habits of wild creatures, and the goal is increased community awareness of shared habitats. For information, call 978-929-6634 or send email to nr@acton-ma.gov.

October 12, 2017

Acton WildAware Beacon Article

By Bettina Dabney Abe

A Good Steward

Acton is fortunate to have over 1,700 acres of public conservation land, free and open to the public from dawn to dusk 7 days a week, 365 days a year. There are over 30 miles of hiking trails combined on these lands. One can bike, cross-country ski, walk dogs and ride horses on them. Visitors may venture through deciduous and pine forests; perambulate past bogs and swamps; meander through meadows and scrub lands. All the while, one may wonder who exactly maintains all these areas of peace and natural tranquility.

Acton boasts a team of volunteers, the Land Stewards, who assiduously tend these lands all year long. One steward just celebrated his 90^th birthday. He hikes miles every week in his Wednesday Wanderers group, and organized at least a dozen workdays this summer cutting vast amounts of invasive bittersweet and multi-flora rose from a pretty stone wall in Nagog Hill conservation land. The Land Stewards and the Natural Resources Department are always looking for more folks to help out on trail projects, including at the Acton Arboretum. We will train your family and friends. Please visit trails.actonma.gov. Click VOLUNTEER.

What about being a good steward of your own property? How can one apply best conservation practices at home? One way is to identify “invasive” plants banned from sale in North America. They reproduce quickly, outcompeting others that have been part of this ecosystem for thousands of years and upon which birds, pollinators and all other animals depend. Learn the best methods to remove them. The New England Wildflower Society in Framingham is a superb resource http://www.newenglandwild.org/images/protect/Invasive%20Brochure%20Reduced%20File%20Size.pdf . Create a maintenance plan to control re-sprouts. Check out the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England http://www.eddmaps.org/ipane/

Be a good steward of wetlands. If you have wetlands on or near your property, email NR@acton-ma.gov before you do disturb the ground or clear vegetation within 100 feet of a wetlands or 200 feet from a brook or river. Preserving wetlands for plants and animals also prevents flooding and groundwater pollution. Don’t water your lawn; and especially don’t use chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. There are many other ways to achieve the goal of attractive, sustainable landscaping without poisoning our water supply and wildlife habitat. Build a rain garden to collect storm water from your roof and pavement. They are beautiful, filter and replenish groundwater while protecting brooks. The library is full of color books on these topics. Visit the one adjacent to the Acton Arboretum parking lot.

We can restore habitat. Each native plant species supports insects, birds, animals, and microorganisms. 593 New England species are now listed as rare or possibly extinct. Tell friends and neighbors about invasive plants. Please hike Acton’s trails and bring a friend along. Start a new hobby exploring butterflies, mushrooms, birds or wildflowers, creating your own “collection” with a list or photo anthology. Earn a sticker or a patch hiking Acton’s trails http://www.acton-ma.gov/documentcenter/view/2666 .

Acton Natural Resource Assistant Bettina Abe introduced WildAware with Paula Goodwin, a member of the Acton Conservation Commission. WildAware is a program sponsored by the Town of Acton Natural Resources Department that began in September, 2015. The purpose of WildAware is to educate the community about the existence and habits of wild creatures, and the goal is increased community awareness of shared habitats. For information, call 978-929-6634 or send email to nr@acton-ma.gov.

No matter how harmless and beautifully patterned, the sight of a snake sprawled on a shrub or lounging on the pavement near the front door is alarming to most people. Snake photos have been submitted to the Acton WildAware Facebook page by residents who have discovered and wondered about the following harmless common snakes: Garter snake(Thamnophis sirtalis), Northern water snake(Nerodia sipedon),Dekay’s Brown snake(Storeria dekayi) and Eastern Milk Snake(Lampropeltis triangulum). Along with residential neighborhoods in Massachusetts, where they sometimes turn up in yards and basements, native snakes occupy a wide range of habitats found here in Acton, including: fields, forests, wetlands, ponds, lakes, streams, rocky hillsides, farmland, and vacant lots. Within those habitats, snakes may travel along the ground, swim, climb trees and bushes, and venture below ground usually into burrows made by other animals.

Snakes’ bodies are covered with tough, dry scales, either smooth or keeled. The keeled scales have a raised ridge like the keel on the bottom of a boat. Snakes’ underbody scales are called scutes. Snakes’ strong muscles and flexible spines allow them to move along the ground in a few ways; by creeping in a straight line using their belly muscles; bunching and straightening in an S-shaped sine wave pattern and wriggling between obstacles on the ground such as rocks. Snakes lack eyelids and do not see well. They only have inner ears and do not hear sounds they way we do. They depend on their bodies feeling the vibrations in the ground from nearby movement. The snake’s forked tongue is its biggest asset for sensing its environment, hunting prey and avoiding predators. As the tongue flicks out it picks up molecules of matter and pulls them into two slots on the roof of the mouth called the Jacobson’s organ. The diet of snakes varies depending on their species and size and can include insects, worms, amphibians, fish, small mammals and occasionally birds. Snakes are also wary of being preyed upon by hawks, eagles, owls, raccoons, foxes and coyotes and sometimes other snakes.

From the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, “All snakes receive some protection under the Fisheries and Wildlife Laws and Regulations of the state of Massachusetts. They are protected as important members of our native wildlife communities and as valuable natural resources. None of them may be taken from the wild for purposes of sale. Common species may be hunted, trapped or captured up to a possession limit of two. This “loophole” was deliberately left open so that budding biologists and snake enthusiasts could capture and study a few of the animals if they wished. However, many snakes do not adapt well to captivity. Curiosity can generally be satisfied through a few days of observation, after which the snake should be released in the same place it was found. The Commonwealth is very serious about protecting the priceless natural heritage these animals represent to present and future generations. To report any violations of our wildlife laws, call toll free: 1-800-632-8075. Due to their Endangered Species status, it is illegal to kill, collect, possess or even harrass the following snakes in Massachusetts: Timber Rattlesnake, Copperhead, Eastern Hognose Snake, Black Rat Snake, Worm Snake.”

What to do if you see a snake in your yard or home? Mass Audubon advises, “Suburban yards can provide good habitat for snakes, which may seek cover under stairways, shrubs, wood piles, stonewalls, and dense vegetation. In the vast majority of situations, it’s best to leave the snake alone.  Snakes occasionally enter homes in search of insects or rodents, or a place to warm up or cool off. Try to confine the snake to one room. If there is an exterior door, open it and allow the snake to find its way out. If not, gently sweep the snake into a cardboard box, and release it outdoors.”

Resources

Massachusetts Snake Guide-Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife University of Massachusetts Extension: https://ag.umass.edu/sites/ag.umass.edu/files/pdf-doc-ppt/ma_snake_guide.pdf

Mass Audubon: http://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/reptiles-amphibians/snakes/snake-species-in-massachusetts

American Museum of Natural History: https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/lizards-and-snakes-alive/squamate-fun-facts

Snakes in Western Massachusetts: http://westernmassnaturalist.org/snake-behaviors/

Tom Tyning 2013 http://westernmassnaturalist.org/welcome/a-rattlesnake-island-in.html A Rattlesnake Island in Quabbin Reservoir?

Umass Amherst-Snakes of Massachusetts: http://www.masnakes.org/

BioKids University of Michigan-Kids Inquiry of Diverse Species: http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Thamnophis_sirtalis/

Paula Goodwin is a member of the Acton Conservation Commission who introduced WildAware with Acton Natural Resource Assistant Bettina Abe. WildAware is a program sponsored by the Town of Acton Natural Resources Department that began in September and will continue through the summer of 2016. The purpose of WildAware is to educate the community about the existence and habits of wild creatures, and the goal is increased community awareness of shared habitats. For information, call 978-929-6634 or send email to nr@acton-ma.gov.