Poison Ivy

The Blight of the Lower St. John River Valley

Poison Ivy 

In the lower St. John River Valley,  Poison Ivy  (Toxicodendron rydbergii) is common.  It prefers habitats that are rich, alluvial soil, rocky, sandy shores, and sometimes swampy woods and thickets.  In my area it is rich and lush.  Its leaves are always in 3s and often shiny.  The green can be anything from a light yellow green to a dark blue green.  It can be a low plant to a metre high.  It has very small whitish  or greenish flowers which grow in leaf axils in branching clusters.  The berries are yellowish green when unripe but turn whitish or grayish when dried.

Poison Ivy Showing Fruit

There are two species of poison ivy in New Brunswick, Toxicodendron rydbergii shown above and Toxicodendron radicans which is less common. T. radicans prefers more rocky, sandy shores.  It differs from T. rydgergii by its leaves being less toothed and it has aerial rootlets and likes to climb.  I have seen it climbing up trees and telephone poles.  Both species turn red in the fall.

Poison Ivy Berries

Poison Ivy is a seriously toxic plant.  It causes a severe skin irritation on contact.  It causes redness, itching, blistering and serum often oozes from the blisters.  I have had it a few times and can attest to the severe itching and irritation.  It is not uncommon for people to have to seek medical attention for treatment.  If the berries are eaten they can cause severe irritation to the digestive tract!  

In order to become affected by poison ivy, one's skin must actually come in contact with the plant.  If you are protected by clothing, you are probably not affected.  However, if your clothing has been in contact and then secondarily your skin comes in contact with the clothing, then you will also become affected.  The same goes for your dog or cat.  It they have walked through the poison ivy patch and then you pat them or brush against the affected fur, you will get the irritation.  

What do you do if you accidentally come in contact?  Washing thoroughly immediately after will usually prevent the irritation.  What if you are out on a hike and you have come in contact and there is no soap and water available?  I have heard that if you pick the touch-me-not plant (jewelweed) and rub the crushed plant on the affected skin, that will prevent the irritation.  I have tried this and it worked.  However, a thorough washing is a better preventative measure.

Eastern Bluebird

Our Colourful Thrush 

Eastern Bluebird

The Thrush Family (Turdidae) is well represented in New Brunswick.  We have about 8 members who are summer residents.  One, the American Robin, is our most common and a favourite of everybody.  Its smaller cousin, the Eastern Bluebird, is the topic for this post.

The Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis is a small thrush preferring fields and open areas.  It is seen near orchards, parks, farms, clearcuts, and golf courses.  It prefers to perch low on fence posts or bushes, often in small groups.  It feeds on insects and fruit.  It readily accepts nest boxes.   

Eastern Bluebird

The bluebird population took a sharp decline from the 1950s to the 1970s.  Fortunately they have made a comeback since then although a slow one, especially in the southern part of the province.  The decline was probably related to insecticide spraying and loss of habitat.  The recovery has been helped by milder winters and the establishment of nest box trails and campaigns in the US and Canada.  They are a migratory species arriving in May and leaving in late fall.

The bluebird is 17.5 cm (7 in) long and has an overall stubby appearance due to its stubby bill and stocky build.  It is polytypic (male and female look different).  Both genders have a wonderful bright blue on their wings and tail.  The female is, of course, much subdued.  The male has bright blue on head, back, wings and tail, and an orange throat, chest and sides, and a white belly.  The blue is so deep it sometimes looks iridescent!  The female looks much grayer.  The photos above show the male bluebird in breeding plumage.

The bluebird has an interesting song.  Sibley describes it as a 'mellow series of warbled phrases'.  It is a pleasant sound and one you won't forget when you identify its origin.  If you do hear it, look around and you will probably find a bluebird sitting on a post watching for an insect.  Then, look further.  There are likely one or more bluebirds with it.  

Two Rare Plants

S1 Means Extremely Rare

Small Round-leaved Orchid

A field trip to Shea Lake near Plaster Rock revealed many interesting plants.  Among them were many rare ones but two species were especially rare.  We found two S1 species, species that are listed as extremely rare.  

Shown above is the Small Round-leaved Orchid, Amerorchis rotundifolia.  This plant is only known from 7 places in the province.  It is a small plant, 20 to 25 cm tall.  It has one large basal leaf which is oval or round and 3 to 7 cm long.  The flowers are white or purplish with magenta or purple spots on the lip.  The flowers are usually in a raceme (spike).  It grows in conifer swamps, bogs, spruce forests and peaty soil.  It is distributed from Northern Canada south to Northern Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont and Maine.  It blooms in June and July.

Small Round-leaved Orchid

The Lapland Buttercup Ranunculus lapponicus is the other S1 species we found.  It has only been found in 3 other places in the province.  It was first found by Erwin Landauer at Shea Lake in 1980.  We searched the site carefully and eventually found it.  It has a distinctive leaf which rests tight to the peat moss.  The flower is inconspicuous.  Shown below are the leaves and the flower.

Lapland Buttercup

Lapland Buttercup

The Lapland Buttercup grows in cedar swamps and bogs in areas with calcareous soils.  It is about 25 cm tall and the leaves are shamrock-shaped and bluish green.  The flower is about 1-2 cm in diameter and very inconspicuous in the bog environment.  Its range is from Alaska to Labrador, south to British Columbia and Maine.  It also is found in Northern Europe and Greenland.  

Palm Warbler

 A New Brunswick Breeding Bird

Palm Warbler (Breeding Plumage)

The Palm Warbler is a colourful wood warbler that calls New Brunswick home.  It is an early spring migrant that helps brighten up the drab landscape of late April and early May.  Its bright yellow throat, breast and under-tail coverts contrast with its greenish back and chestnut crown.  Some stay to breed here while others continue on to breed further north in Newfoundland,  central and southern Labrador and Quebec east of James Bay.  

The Palm Warbler has a western race which is a much grayer bird.  It generally remains west of central North America.  Our eastern race winters in the southeastern US, mainly the Carolinas to Texas.  Some fly on to the Caribbean islands.

Palm Warbler (Non-breeding Plumage)

 The Palm Warbler is a hardy warbler.  It is able to come here early in the season because it can survive on seeds and dried fruit as well as its usual diet of insects.  It is one of the few warbler species which wag their tails.  That makes it easy to identify.  It often arrives in the spring about the same time as Hermit Thrushes and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.  

It breeds in sphagnum bogs and fens and open barrens.  It builds its nest on or close to the ground usually in a low bush or clump of tall grass.  The nest is made of strips pulled off weed stalks, fine grass, bark and feathers.  Four or five eggs are laid and incubation is about 12 days.  The eggs are whitish with chestnut speckles.  Two broods are often produced.  

Palm Warbler Nest

The nest shown above was found in a sphagnum fen.  The adult made a litany of loud chirps before it reluctantly left the nest.  It ran off across the moss like a mouse before it took flight.  A short distance away it performed an interesting broken wing display.  The nest appeared to have 4 hatchlings and one remaining egg.  The last egg was probably still to hatch.  We moved away quickly allowing the female to return to the nest.  

It is always interesting to be given the rare opportunity to see into the private lives of wild species.  

Snapping Turtle

Our Largest Turtle

The Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is our largest turtle, with the exception of sea turtles.   They range from 12 to 18 inches long (30 - 45 cm) and weigh up to 30 pounds (66 kg).

Snapping Turtle (torontozoo.com)

The Snapping Turtle is easy to distinguish from our other native New Brunswick turtles by its size and morphology.  It is larger.  The Painted Turtle is often around 8 to 10 inches (12-25 cm) and the wood turtle is about the same size (although much rarer at this point).  The Snapping Turtle has a longer tail with a saw-toothed upper ridge and a much smaller plastron (bottom plate).  The plastron, in fact, looks incomplete.  It does not cover the entire ventral surface of the turtle like it does in the Painted and Wood Turtles.  

Snapping Turtles live in permanent fresh water ponds, lakes and rivers.  They feed on fish, invertebrates, amphibians, pond vegetation and sometimes young waterfowl.  Their range covers southern Canada east of the Rocky Mountains and southeastward through the United States to Florida.  

Snapping Turtles Laying Eggs [E Mills Photo]
 

Snapping Turtles usually travel long distances to find suitable sand in which to lay their eggs.  Shown above is a sand dune along Grand Lake where Snapping Turtles come annually to lay eggs.  Eggs are usually laid in late spring or early summer.  The female digs a deep hole into which she slides her body.  After 25 to 80 eggs are laid, she covers them carefully before returning to the water.  The incubation period ranges from 9 to 18 weeks.  In colder temperatures the hatchlings spend the winter in the nest.  

Snapping Turtle Eggs [Internet Photo]

The female Snapping Turtle has an unusual ability to store sperm from a mating for several seasons, using it as necessary.  This is a useful adaptive feature if the population is low and males are hard to find.  The shells on turtle eggs are leathery, not hard like bird egg shells.  This makes them withstand the pressure of the sand covering them.  

Snapping Turtle Laying Eggs [E Mills Photo]

Snapping Turtles are famous for their bites.  If you didn't know that, pay careful attention!  They can bite your finger off!  They can also whip their head around and bite you much faster than you think.  Their necks are much longer and more flexible than in other turtles.  Picking one up by the sides of the carapace (shell) is definitely not advised.  They can bite you there.  NEVER, pick one up by the tail.  That can injure the tail and spinal cord.  The proper way to pick one up is to cover it with a tarp or blanket.  Lay the blanket flat and when the turtle crawls on it, wrap it around the turtle and then move it off the road or out of harms way.  Another common mistake is to entice the turtle to bite a stick and then drag the turtle across the road.  This is harmful to the turtle, scraping and abrading the skin on the legs and underside.  If all else fails, it is possible to pick one up safely by the carapace by placing the hands around the carapace at the level of the hind legs.  Good luck!

 Snapping Turtles are very cold-tolerant.  Some individuals remain active under the ice all winter.  Most hibernate in the mud at the bottom of ponds.  They can go for up to 6 months without breathing air.  They have a special system for respiration called extra-pulmonary respiration.  They stick their heads above the mud at the pond bottom periodically and absorb oxygen from the water through the membranes lining their mouths and throats.  If this is not enough, they breathe anaerobically by using stored fats and sugars.  

As you can tell, these are amazing creatures.  They have adapted over eons to survive in harsh and varied environments.  We are lucky to be able to observe them in our province.  Watch out for them on the highways as they make their way to sandy areas to lay eggs or are returning to  favourite pond.  

Warbler Watching

Warblers, A Birder's Treasure

Black-and-white Warbler

North American birders are lucky to have the wood warblers to study and enjoy.  The Americas are the only place in the world with such a colourful profusion of warblers.  We have so many that some of us take them for granted.  We must appreciate (and protect) the colourful little birds that flit through our trees in the spring, summer and fall.  They come to our country to breed where we have good habitat and lots of insects to feed upon.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Most of our warblers belong to the family, Parulidae.  Most of our common warblers are of the genus, Dendroica.  We also have members of the genera, Vermivora, Parula, Mniotilta, Setophaga,  Seiurus, Oporornis, Geothlypis, Wilsonia, etc.  Many species are neotropical migrants (they move between North and South America).  For many that forces them to fly over the Gulf of Mexico, an often difficult task.

American Redstart

Most warblers are small songbirds.  Their colourful plumage in the spring is legendary.  Most have beautiful songs which fill up our spring and summer landscapes.  In the fall many warblers lose their colourful plumage and revert to dull yellows, grays, and greens, making them difficult to identify.  All species are insectivorous but some feed on fruit and nectar in the winter.  The few that overwinter here, often by accident, will feed on suet and dried fruit at feeders.  Most build a cup-shaped nest on the ground or low in bushes.

Northern Parula

Our warblers have experienced significant population declines in recent years.  It is believed the main reason is because of loss or fragmentation of habitat on both breeding and wintering grounds and during migration.  The heavy use of insecticides and nicotinoids on the wintering grounds is also causing declines.  Migration also causes high mortalities; the trans-Gulf flight, having to pass over large population areas, loss of good habitat along the route, etc.

Blackburnian Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Warblers are often hard to see among the tree leaves.  Some often prefer to perch high in large deciduous trees, making it even harder to see them.  As a result many birders make a concerted effort to learn their songs.  Each species has a unique song and when learned one can identify the birds just by listening.  That takes skill but is very satisfying when learned.

Cape May Warbler

Yellow-throated Warbler

The next time you step out into your garden or woodlot, take along binoculars and take a look at the warblers which are sharing your space.  You won't be disappointed!

Showy Orchis

Very Rare Orchid  (Galearis spectabilis)

Showy Orchis

A botanist friend and I found a rare orchid this week in Carleton County.  This is a difficult species to find and we were delighted to see it.

The Showy Orchis (Galearis spectabilis) is listed as S2, very rare.  It grows in limestone-rich soils
so is found on bottomlands and rich, deciduous woods.  Even in those specific habitats, it is rare.  It blooms in late May and early June.  Its range is from Minnesota and Nebraska east to New Brunswick and south to Arkansas and Georgia.  We found it in a shady, damp site.

The Showy Orchis is a small plant, 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 in) high.  As seen above, our plant was around 15 cm tall.  The flower is delicate, about 2.5 cm (1 in.) long and has a magenta or pink hood with a white lip and spurs.  Anatomically the hood represents the sepals and lateral petals.  The flower has a faint pleasant perfume.  The leaves are a shiny, medium green and about 10-20 cm (4-8 in) long.

We noticed that the leaves are actually quite unique and located just 2 plants by looking first for the leaves.  They were growing among special ferns, Maidenhair, Goldie and Silvery Glade Ferns.

According to Hal Hinds (Flora of New Brunswick, p.641) this plant was first collected in New Brunswick by Rev. Mr. McKiel at Keswick in 1881.  Unfortunately it has never been relocated in Keswick.

Showy Orchis

The photo above shows a close-up of the delicate flower.  Notice the hood showing the stamens and pistil inside.  I think it looks strikingly like a woman with her hands thrown up in celebration.

Showy Orchis [E. Mills Photo]

Above is a close-up of another bloom.  According to Hal Hinds, the bloom looks like a 'helmeted conquistador sporting a beard'. What do you think?

This rare, unique orchid is one of our natural treasures.  I like to think the beautiful bloom with its gentle fragrance is a celebrating woman of the rich forest.