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Bluebird Nesting at ACLT in Pictures

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One of ACLT's Bluebird nesting boxes at the Warrior's Rest Sanctuary
Anyone who has come to visit ACLT’s northside trailhead and Double Oak Farm has undoubtedly noticed the birdhouses nestled along the edge of the woods. These nesting boxes  have been built and placed specifically for Eastern bluebirds.

 
Bluebird perched on outside of nesting box
You may have even seen a bluebird or two flying about and a feathered head poking out, but just what goes on inside?
Bluebird Box Monitoring Volunteer Sandy Foley with her beloved dog Daisy
To one of the volunteers, this time is especially meaningful. Sandy Foley, Master Naturalist and avid hiker, faithfully watches the bluebird boxes around Double Oak and elsewhere in the Parker’s Creek Preserve. She speaks as if these little birds were family, and anyone who knows her would agree. Watching the birds move into their box of choice and lay eggs and then following the babies as they hatch and fledge is really heartwarming to see. Photo credit: Bob Field

 
Bluebird Box Interior with nest
A picture is worth a thousand words and thanks to Sandy, we have a number of pictures from this spring to show you exactly what goes on inside of bluebird nesting boxes. Inside of this box, you can see a completed nest carefully woven from dried grass and thin twigs. It is actually the male bluebird that picks a nesting site with the hope that a female will come to join him in completing the nest.

 
Unhatched Bluebird Eggs
After the nest is built, the female bluebird lays 4 to 5 little blue eggs. She will sit on these for about 12 days while the chicks inside develop and prepare to hatch.
Hatchlings inside box
In the days following their hatching, bluebird chicks will continue to grow in the nest while being fed insects and berries by both parents. These hatchlings in Box X at Warrior’s Rest have not yet opened their eyes or developed flight feathers, leaving them totally dependent on their parents for survival.
Fully feathered hatchlings
After another week, the chicks are fully feathered and closer to leaving the nest. It takes about 20 days after hatching for bluebirds to fledge. Earlier in the season, there were 4 hatchlings in Box 9 at Double Oak, 4 hatchlings in Box W at Warrior’s Rest, and 10 hatchlings in Boxes A and C at the South Side, along with two new nests in additional boxes. Currently, there are 4 eggs in one of the boxes at Double Oak, another 5 eggs in a box at the South Side, and 5 hatchlings in a box at Warrior’s Rest. Bluebird nesting and fledging will continue throughout the early summer and into July.
You can still see the bluebirds flying around and visiting their nests in boxes around ACLT. Stop by Double Oak Farm and the Griffin Meadow Trail on the North Side to view them during your hike from easily accessible areas. We only ask that you leave the nesting boxes with mothers and babies for our trained volunteers to check. These nesting boxes provide important habitat for the local bluebird population. Thank you for your support from all of us at ACLT! You can find out more about Eastern bluebirds and how to build your own nesting box at MDNR’s Eastern Bluebird – Maryland’s Wild Acres information page.

Listen to the song of the Eastern bluebird here.

 

 

 

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The Mountain Laurels are in Bloom!

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If you’re planning to hike this weekend, try to hit the Laurel Loop on the southside – many of the Mountain Laurels, Holly Trees and Tulip Poplars, are in bloom!

The Laurel Loop is a mixed blessing – the Mountain Laurels, evergreen shrubs that can grow to heights of 15’- 20’ or more in the wild, provide excellent shade. The problem is that the portion of the plant that is in the shade usually doesn’t bloom. So while hiking the loop, you may have to look up to see some of the most spectacular flowers.

Here’s an interesting tidbit about the beautiful flowers of the Mountain Laurel: “The bell-like flowers have a very unusual way of dispensing pollen. Their stamens are arched, with the tips held under the rim of the bell. When a bee or other pollinator lands on the flower, the weight of the insect releases the stamen, which flings up the pollen like a catapult.” – https://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/mountain_laurel

Keep an eye out for flowering Holly trees and Tulip Poplar flowers as well. 

The Laurel Loop is 1.07 miles in total length and is moderately challenging, with at least one very steep incline. And of course, what goes up must come down, and the low-lying areas tend to be muddy. For a slightly longer hike, you can take the connection to Karen’s Trail off the Laurel Loop, where you’ll see more Mountain Laurels. This trail is 0.6 miles and named for former Executive Director Karen Edgecombe. At the end of Karen’s Trail, you can back-track to the Laurel Loop or you can cross Scientists Cliffs Road to pick up the East Loop, which includes a “shortcut” back to another entrance to the Laurel Loop. Total distance of the extended hike is 2.15 miles from the parking lot. 

Don’t worry if your planned route didn’t include the Laurel Loop – there are Mountain Laurels scattered on several other trails (North-South and Flint are a couple), but the most concentrated growth is definitely the Laurel Loop.

Whenever you visit ACLT’s trails, your outing will be much more pleasant if you are prepared for and aware of these hiking hazards. 

 

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Putting the Spotlight on Bats at ACLT

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By Rachel Delbo, CCC Intern at ACLT

Around the marshes and woods at ACLT, there are several game cameras routinely monitored by volunteers. These provide a snapshot into the behaviors and habits of wildlife in the area. Regulars seen include raccoons, foxes, and great blue herons, but this time something a little different was spotted on camera. One of our volunteers, Ian Messent, recently captured a video of a bat catching insects just above the water in the Horse Swamp Creek. You can watch this nighttime video below:

At this time of year and especially in the summer, bats are a common sight just about everywhere in the state. On most nights at dusk, they will leave their roost and take flight in search of insects.  However, during the winter months, bats go into hibernation. They are only seen during this time if it is exceptionally warm, although this is rare. In those cases, the bats you are most likely to see are known as Big Brown bats, the only species in Maryland able to survive exposure to sub-freezing temperatures.

There are actually 10 species of bats in Maryland and they are divided into two groups based on their preference of shelter.

Tree bat species include:

  • Eastern Red bat (Lasiurus borealis),
  • Hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus),
  • Silver-haired bat (Lasionycterus noctivagans), and
  • Evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis).

Cave-dwelling species include:

  • Eastern small-footed bat (Myotis leibii),
  • Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus),
  • Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis),
  • Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis),
  • Tri-colored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), and
  • Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus).

All of these bats belong to the order Chiroptera, a name meaning “hand-wing”. The bones in the wings of bats are evolutionarily comparable to the bones in our own hands, with a layer of webbed skin that allows them to generate lift and glide through the air.

Despite their spooky reputation, bats are highly beneficial to both humans and other species in their natural communities. Bats can consume up to one third of their body weight in insects in only half an hour and provide an estimated 3 billion dollars in pest control services for the US agricultural industry. As an added note, I’m sure we can all appreciate a few less mosquitoes flying around. 

Unfortunately, all of Maryland’s bat species are listed as Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the state. Their decline in numbers is largely due to the spread of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), a disease affecting cave bats first discovered in Maryland in 2010. You can read more about WNS on Maryland DNR’s resource website here: https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/plants_wildlife/bats/nhpbatdisease.aspx

Maryland’s bats have also been impacted by habitat loss, as have bats in many other states across the country. They are protected under state and federal law, but unfortunately many bats are still killed when they venture into people’s homes looking for shelter. The Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service offers safe wildlife control options and DNR’s Nuisance Wildlife Hotline (1-877-463-6497) can be consulted for questions about bat exclusion. 

At ACLT, one of our Master Naturalists installed two bat houses in the Parkers Creek Preserve, one at Warriors Rest and another on the Goldstein Bay farm property. Although no bats have been spotted using the boxes yet, they are available for our little winged friends if needed. You can see what these boxes look like in the photos below.

Much of the information in this article has been shared from Maryland DNR’s wildlife pages and the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center. Check out these great resources to learn even more about bats in our state. As always, thank you to all of ACLT’s members and supporters for your help in preserving wildlife habitat in Calvert County. 

 

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Reflections on “Whole Earth”

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"The Blue Marble" - NASA
“The sight of the whole Earth, small, alive, and alone, caused scientific and philosophical thought to shift away from the assumption that the Earth was a fixed environment, unalterably given to humankind, and towards a model of the Earth as an evolving environment, conditioned by life and alterable by human activity. It was the defining moment of the twentieth century.” – Historian Robert Poole

The notion of “whole earth” has meaning for some that goes back to the 1970s when people first saw a photo of earth by NASA. Below, ACLT Board Member Dr. Walter Boynton, Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, talks about “whole earth”.

“First, we are all affected by the novel coronavirus … biology of this planet is a powerful force and we need to be constantly thankful for this and aware that these forces do not always assist us humans.  The fact that we are having a pandemic emphasizes the idea of whole earth.  I wish it were a more positive experience, but we may learn a lot about the importance of working towards some common whole earth goals as a whole earth group of humans … we can hope and work towards such goals. 

 I think on most days about the even longer-term issue of climate change and the need to make major steps towards addressing and solving this huge and ‘currently happening’ issue. 

We need to move towards a more … a much more … renewable energy basis and we need to have a global (as in Earth Day) push in this direction.”

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How Will You Celebrate Earth Day?

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The 50th Anniversary of Earth Day is April 22nd! How will you and your family celebrate it? Since we’re all stuck at home during the quarantine anyway, why not start a new tradition with your kids by doing one (or all!) of these activities … For more ideas, check out our 50-Day Countdown to Earth Day on our Facebook Page.

EARTH DAY FAMILY ACTIVITIES

#1 – Read books and/or watch movies and videos about caring for the Earth. Here are just a few of our favorites

#2 – Create and Share an Earth-Friendly Meal

  • Use ingredients from your own garden
  • Buy ingredients locally (and emphasize why it’s important to do so for the Earth’s benefit)
  • Make it meatless. Learn how your daily meal choices impact the environment

#3 – Plant a Tree, a Garden, Start a Compost Bin, or Install a Rain Barrel

  • Set up a rain barrel and learn/teach the importance of water conservation
  • Make a seed bomb! 
  • Choose a part of your yard that you can “re-wild”. Read about the benefits of rewilding in two articles in ACLT’s latest newsletter
  • Start a compost pile/bin – a great opportunity to teach your kids about food waste
  • No room for a garden? Plant herbs and veggies in pots on deck, plant a window box, Plant a terrarium, start a sweet potato plant in a jar, get houseplants, re-grow veggies …
  • Plant a Victory Garden

 

#4 – Make Earth Day-Related Craft Projects

 

 

#5 – Have a “Decluttering” Party

#6 – Get Outside and Enjoy Nature

  • Go for a hike! ACLT’s 22 miles of trails are still open every day from dawn to dusk!
  • Take our raft across Parkers Creek!
  • Take bags with you and pick up trash while hiking
  • Go on a Scavenger Hunt on the trails or in your own back yard
  • Participate in ACLT’s “Virtual” Earth Day 5K

 

 

 

 

#7 – Learn/Teach about the birds and the bees and butterflies and fish and …

 

#8 – Play!

 

 

 

 

 

#9 – Learn How to Care for the Earth Through Science Projects and Activities

 

 

#10 – Support a local non-profit (hint, hint) by donating and/or volunteering

  • Donate to ACLT’s Spring Appeal
  • Our volunteer programs have been scaled back due to the pandemic, but you can still become an unofficial “trail steward” and pick up trash when you see it on ACLT’s trails. If you see a major problem, report it to our office.

 

 

 

 

Happy Earth Day!

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