pike's hikes

Nature News: Ruby-throated hummingbirds a tiny marvel Published June 11 2019  seacoastonline.com/The York Weekly/The Portsmouth Herald/Fosters Daily Ruby-throated hummingbird enjoying the sun   Sue Pike photo What can beat its wings over 53 times per second, can hover, fly backward, forward and sideways, has pea-sized eggs, has a heart rate of over 1,200 beats per minute and can live for up to 10 years? Only one New England bird fits this description: the ruby-throated hummingbird. These diminutive birds, little more than feather-covered flight muscles, are one of the most fascinating birds to visit our yards. I was recently asked about feeding hummingbirds. Hummingbird food mixes are available at many stores, and they’re expensive, brightly colored with red dye (a totally unnecessary additive), and supplemented with unnecessary nutrients and vitamins. Flower nectar really is just sugar water, and research indicates that it is the fuel hummingbirds use to p...

Nature News: Cedar apple rust an interesting fungus Published June 18 2019 seacoastonline.com/Fosters Daily/Portsmouth Herald etc Cedar apple rust is a fungus that requires two hosts to grow photo by Dave Betournay I was recently sent a photo of what looked like some sort of alien growth on a cedar tree, described by the proud owner of this tree as gelatinous tree anemones.  This is an apt description as they do resemble arboreal sea anemones and is a much more interesting descriptor than ‘cedar apple rust’. While these definitely aren’t aliens they are in that category of life that often takes on bizarre forms-the fungi. The USDA describes this fungus as follows in their ‘Plant of the Week’ blog (though these aren’t plants, they do infect plants)  “ Cedar apple rust is a member of the family Pucciniaceae, a group of fungi that contains many species that usually require two or more hosts to complete the life cycle. Members of this family are known as rusts...

Nature News: Gender roles reversed for spotted sandpipers I am constantly reminded that I am not a very good birder. Most recently while traveling to Wisconsin I stopped in at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge in upstate New York (we have such great National Wildlife Refuges in this country I make it a point to visit one whenever I can). This refuge is located at the north end of Cayuga Lake (the longest of New York’s Finger Lakes) in the middle of one of the most active migratory routes for birds (the Atlantic Flyway) and provides resting, feeding and nesting habitat for a wide variety of waterfowl and other migratory birds. A spotted sandpiper along a stream in the Montezuma NWR A slender sandpiper was bopping along the edge of one of the river beds. I use the word “bopping” because it was doing just that - strutting and bobbing its tail as it walked. I was very excited... I didn’t recognize it. So I pulled out my bird book and identified it as a spotted sandpiper. Wow,...

Brown-headed cowbirds are terribly problematic Posted May 1, 2018 at 3:24 PM Updated May 1, 2018 at 3:24 PM Brown-headed cowbirds have shown up at my bird feeder a couple times over the last few weeks. Fleeting visits, they were there and then gone. I have always liked them because they seem so exotic - brown heads contrasting with their glossy black bodies (this is true of the males -- the females are plain brown). These are a problematic bird. Here is a typical sentiment (ohiohistorycentral.org): “The brown-headed cowbird is one of the most hated native songbirds. The females are brood parasites. This means that rather than building a nest and incubating their own eggs, they will lay an egg, almost daily, in the nests of other songbirds. The cowbirds generally hatch first and are larger and more aggressive than the nestlings that are supposed to be there. As a result, these young quickly die of starvation and populations of app...

Decomposing cattails producing large amounts of methane Posted May 8, 2018 at 3:19 PM Oily sheen on water is natural Updated May 8, 2018 at 3:19 PM A new positive feedback on climate change has been identified. The warming climate is causing wetland plants, like the common cattail, to thrive while at the same time forest cover is being lost, causing increased methane production by northern freshwater lakes. A study recently published in Nature Communications (Emilson et al. “Climate-driven shifts in sediment chemistry enhance methane production in northern lakes”) looked at the amount of methane released during the decomposition of three types of plant debris commonly found in the sediment in freshwater lakes in the northern parts of North America: pine needles, leaves from deciduous trees and cattails. The researchers found that the organic matter from the decaying pine needles and deciduous leaves inhibited methane producti...

Marsh wrens hide well, easy to overlook Posted May 29, 2018 at 2:28 PM Marsh wren hiding in cattails Updated May 29, 2018 at 2:28 PM Marsh wrens are fantastic little birds. If you have ever been in or near a freshwater marsh you have probably heard them chattering away from deep in the marsh. Sibley’s Guide to Birds describes their call as a musical rattling trill. I always hear them but never see them - they are secretive and difficult to see. This is certainly true. While out helping with our neighborhood marsh clean-up a few weeks ago, I finally saw one - it would pop up above the cattails, flying up with rapid, stiff wingbeats and then plunge back down into the cattails and disappear. I decided to go back with a camera and see what I could capture on film. While difficult to see, marsh wrens are even harder to take a picture of -- they move so fast and generally stay hidden down in the grasses. I didn’t have a lot of succes...