Snags

Standing dead trees provide shelter and food for a variety of wildlife species. Snags occur naturally as trees die of old age or are struck by lightning, but snags can be created using a technique called girdling. I was interested in diversifying the habitat in the small woodlot behind my house and decided to create one. 
The first step was selecting a general location; for safety reasons, I didn't want it too close to my yard or the trail that runs along the back edge of my property. I also wanted to select an area that would benefit from an influx of sunlight to the trees and shrubs below resulting in greater understory complexity- an added benefit of creating a snag. Once the general area was defined it was time to select a tree. I decided the tree should be: a low value timber species, a low value mast-producer, irregular in form, relatively common, and relatively large. Generally, larger bole snags provide more benefits to wildlife and I would be unleashing more sunlight below if I selected a "big" tree.

The dominant species on the lot are red oak, black oak, American beech, and red maple. Given this list, the choice was easy, I selected a "big" red maple (~16" diameter) with an irregularly shaped based. Given the tree's compromised lower trunk and poorly drained soil below, it's likely this tree would fall or crack at some point in the next decade or two, which limiting my remorse...

Using a chainsaw, girdling a tree can be accomplished by making two parallel cuts into the trunk 2-3 inches deep, completely through the bark and cambium layer around the entire circumference. This severs the phloem and the tree is no longer able to transport sugars to the roots; it slowly dies and begins to decompose.

After making my cuts, I treated the wound with dressing to deter bugs and fungi that could spread to healthy trees, while not healing the wound itself. I plan to monitor this tree and the surrounding understory over time and will report back periodically with updates. It will be interesting to see when the first cavity excavators and foragers arrive, and if any songbirds nest amongst the shrubs below...

One Slithered into the Cuckoo's Nest

I'm very proud of that headline...

While working in a Lyme forest this past July I came upon a yellow-billed cuckoo incessantly belting its alarm call somewhere over my head. Thinking it was merely reacting to my presence, I proceeded on quickly to avoid causing any further disturbance. Roughly 15 minutes later I returned to the same area hearing the same noise- this time I looked up. I looked up and saw an eastern ratsnake slithering into the nest of a yellow-billed cuckoo who was perched several feet away scolding helplessly.

The photo is a bit dark, but you can see the snake (>4 ft in length) looped around in a heart shape with its head in the upper right, staring directly at my iPhone (note the white throat). The nest itself is loose assemblage of twigs, typical of the cuckoo, located approximately 15 feet off the forest floor in a small tree. I wasn't able to see if the snake had consumed any eggs or nestlings, but judging by the cuckoo's dedication to deterrence, it's likely that the snake was onto something. After the quick snapshot, I moved on to let the situation play out.
This was a first for me, and definitely an opportunistic moment as visual observations of nest depredation by snakes is a rare. Current research on the subject typically relies on video monitoring and/or telemetry of snakes to document these events in a systematic manner. The impact of nest depredation on bird  populations or behavior likely varies drastically among habitats, landscape structures, and community assemblages (Cox 2012, Weatherhead 2010), making it difficult to draw general conclusions. Birds receive a great deal of our conservation efforts, and in the Northeast some populations may be negatively affected by nest depredation, but there are also several snake species of conservation concern (timber rattlesnake, smooth green snake, eastern hognose snake, eastern ribbon snake) that may rely on eggs and nestlings as a vital food source. 2013 is, after all, the Year of the Snake, not the year of the neotropical migrant...

Boundaries

The majority of my time spent at a local State Forest property involves wandering off-trail looking for birds or other interesting things tucked away from the view of the trail-bound pedestrian. It's fairly easy not to get lost and I enjoy exploring the (relatively) undisturbed outer regions of these parcels where the only other visitors are the occasional trapper or deer hunter. I always admire the amount of effort it takes to mark and maintain the hundreds of miles of boundaries encircling these properties, and thought I'd share some insight into CT DEEP boundaries.

The Connecticut DEEP resides over approximately 275,000 acres of state-owned open space, the majority of which is classified as one of three property types: State Park, State Forest, or Wildlife Management Area. These properties are managed and maintained by the three corresponding Divisions, and each Division is responsible for marking the boundaries of the parcels under their jurisdiction.

A ca.1970s (?) State Land badge recently re-nailed to extend its lifespan.

Trees are used as easily identifiable boundary markers, and are first outfitted with an aluminum badge facing perpendicularly outward from the parcel. A variety of circular style State Land badges were used in the past and some remain, though they are being replaced by the current diamond shaped black and yellow badge. The badge is attached using aluminum nails to prevent damage to chainsaws and milling tools when the tree comes down, and the nails are intentionally hammered in only part way to allow for tree growth. The tree will inevitably grow outward into the badge and pop it off if a technician doesn't revisit each marker and hammer in additional nails (as has been done to the silver badge above).

In addition to the badge, blazes are created on either side of the tree parallel to the boundary line. Bright yellow paint is applied over a rectangular axe blaze to form a combination blaze that is both highly visible and long lasting- the scar is recognizable even after the paint flakes away. The axe cuts remove only the outer layer of bark and the tree quickly heals.

A single yellow ring is applied to boundary trees along linear stretches of boundary, while corner boundary trees are given two yellow rings. Although, boundary trees along roads and parking lots are typically not outfitted with rings, since they are clearly visible without. Corner boundary trees also have three smaller vertical blazes beneath the rings indicating the bearing of the true corner point (an iron pin or stone monument). Thus, it's important to note that these boundary trees do not constitute the actual boundary line, rather, they are visual references for the legally accepted boundary that typically lies within a few meters. Trees are selected as a boundary marker only if they lie inside the boundary.

Corner tree indicated by double rings. The triple vertical blaze indicates the direction of the corner point- an iron pin.

Apart from boundary markers, there are many other signs posted by the CT DEEP that provide important information, such as the orange "Leaving State-Owned Property" sign often posted in high traffic hunting areas, or the white "Hunting is Permitted on This Property" sign posted at trail heads. Take note- they're there for a reason.