Flint Woods, Farmington

At the main trail head parking area for Village Woods and Flint Woods in Farmington, Lynda and I stood and chatted about the latest field guides. Her grandson Thomas occupied himself by climbing the waist high boulders and jumping off repeatedly. I watched him from the corner of my eye, wishing my fifty year old knees could still withstand that kind of stress. I glanced at my phone as two eager explorers walked up to us. It was a few minutes past nine o'clock on the second Sunday of June. That means only one thing in my mind, it's time for our latest exploration in the Second Sunday Nature Walks series. Only two explorers joined us at the parking area and they seemed loaded with questions about the plants and animals they had seen in their own yards as well as those we might see on our walk. After a brief history of the land use given by Lynda, and a quick summary of things to look for, we started up the trail.

As we walked, we told our new friends about the plants that inhabit the forest floor and how they are adapted to the diffuse light conditions being so far from the upper canopy of leaves. Of the many kinds of plants we'd be meeting on our adventure. The first are ferns, an ancient group of plants we all have a passing familiarity with but few really know well. The second group of plants are monocots, specifically those in the lily and orchid families. We also would spend time looking at mosses, liverworts, and lichens.

Lynda, being a huge fern fanatic, wasted no time in pointing out some of her favorite ferns and how to tell them apart from each other.

Our new friends seemed to enjoy the benefit of getting a personal guided tour of the world of ferns and had questions about the persistence and size of fertile fronds. Lynda explained that unlike the beaded stalk of the Sensitive Fern and feathery stalk of the Ostrich Fern's fertile frond, those of the Cinnamon fern seen here will mature and wither in a few weeks. Soon they'll turn a light brown cinnamon color, disperse their spores, and wilt away until next year. Leaving only the sterile fronds through summer.

We then happened upon the Cinnamon Fern's sister, the Interrupted Fern. Rather than having a specialized fertile frond or even sori (sometimes called fruit dots) on the back of some fronds, these ferns have sporangia on some fronds in a specific location nearly half way up the blade.The other sister of these is the Royal Fern which was also present in this area, it wears its sporangia on the top of the frond like a crown (I guess it was camera shy, no picture).

Next we met a couple of trunk mates, living side by side on the trunk of an ash tree. One side has a leafy liverwort Porella platyphylloidea, sometimes called American Scalewort. This is a very robust and healthy looking example of this delightful liverwort.The arrangement of leaves is fascinating under the magnification of a hand lens.

On the other side of the same trunk, and even co-mingling in the middle was a beautiful Neckera pennata, sometimes called Shingle Moss. When you look closely at N. pennata with a hand lens you can see the individual leaves, with their wavy lines shining in the light.

Soon after leaving our new bryophyte pals we met a gigantic Jack-in -the-Pulpit. The inflorescence  consisting of a spathe covering a spadix was over 16 inches from the forest floor. The leaves were well over two feet from the ground. We began to notice these monocots in various sizes populating this area. The older these plants become, the more female flowers they produce. If size is any indicator, this is definitely making mostly female flowers.

All during our walk we saw Canada Mayflower in bloom, Trout Lilies that had already bloomed. Both of which are also members of the monocots. A nice little dicot that also lives in the forest is the Northern Starflower. It has a pleasing whorl of leaves that seem to arrange in a three up, three down pattern. Usually this plant offers two flowers at once but we observed several with three.

On our way again, Lynda made note of some Christmas Ferns and more Sensitive Ferns. These fronds are very new and will darken to a deep green over time.

 

We took some time to show our friends some of the differences in maple leaves. Striped, Sugar, and Red, and how to know the invasive Norway Maple from a Sugar Maple. They asked really good questions about why invasives are a problem and what they should do about it. We told them that invasive species have many issues, like not providing the proper nutrients to native fauna, destroying essential native soil fungi and bacteria, and crowding out native species.

Under a grove of giant White and Red Pines, we spotted a cool little evergreen shrub called Pipsissewa. The name is a Cree Indian word and is thought to refer to the plants traditional use as remedy for many ailments including urinary infections. It is also known as Prince's Pine. While not quite ready to flower, it had some seed pods from last summer. 

About mid-way through our walk we were joined by another explorer who arrived late but curious. We discovered another monocot, the Blue Bead Lily. 

They were growing in a cluster. Although the flowers are yellow they will mature into dark blue inedible fruits in Autumn.

Thomas pointed out some Lady's Slipper orchids and we all stopped to marvel at them. No matter how often you see them, they're a welcome sight. I mentioned to our explorer friends how these plants require a soil fungus to help crack open the seed coat and feed nutrients to the developing plant. 

Another dicot found growing in a sunny spot in some drier soil. This is Wild Sasparilla. It is unrelated to true Sasparilla but the roots were used as an herbal substitute. I have tasted the root and found it to be unsatisfying, at best. It's an easy plant to identify and is often found along forested roadsides.

One plant whose roots I've tasted and found exceptional are those of the Indian Cucumber Root. It's another member of the monocots, in the lily family. This is a wonderful two tiered plant that grows in the moist forest understory. I should mention (as I did with our new friends) that plants along public trails and in preserves should be left where they grow. This way all people can enjoy them. Harvesting plants for herbal remedies or food should only be done with permission from the landowner. Additionally, Indian Cucumber Root has a few look-alikes. One look-alike that  grows in Southern Maine and Massachusetts is the Whorled Pogonia, which is endangered and inedible. 

Instead of turning back down the same trail to the parking area we took another one of the many trail options Flint Woods has to offer. I spotted a fungus that was interesting. Lynda is as interested in mushrooms as she is in ferns.  After a day to look it over we decided it is Mitrula elegans, the Swamp Beacon.

We also spied one of Lynda's favorite ferns (hint: they're all Lynda's favorites) the Narrow Beech Fern. This is a small fern that always has two downward pointing pinnae (leaflets). Lynda told me that one of her field guides described this as looking like the pinnae are reaching out to hug you.

We noticed some Lady Ferns with sori developing on the underside. 

We stopped at the spring-fed pools to marvel at a very well developed Witch Hazel tree and observe some Green Frogs and a Predaceous Diving Beetle. 

On the way back to the parking area, I spotted the cocoon of a Hyalophora cecropia, the Cecropia Moth. This is North America's largest moth, the females have a wingspan of up to seven inches. These are bigger and equally as beautiful as it's cousin the Luna Moth (in my opinion). They have a fancy black, orange and white coloration.

I think our new explorer friends had many of their questions answered. Before departing, they thanked us and seemed interested in having another personal, guided nature walk next month. On the second Sunday in July we will be walking Nina's Woods in Farmington. Nine A,M, July 14th, We're going to be there anyway, why not come along?

Foothills Land Conservancy Nature Walk

At 9:00 am exactly Sunday morning on May 12, a small group of explorers met at the Foothills Land Conservancy kiosk on Pond Road in Wilton. Most of those in attendance were members of the Conservancy, with the exception of a few folks who had made promises to friends or family to attend, or who had seen the Second Sunday Nature Walk listed in the Daily Bulldog. In all, there were around ten of us standing in front of the kiosk smiling and making small talk. After I made a quick introduction, Lynda gave a brief and accurate history of the property to the group. We had both walked around the site recently in order to see which direction might yield the most interest from the group. To the northwest, there is a small open field, a vernal pool, and some sandy bottom land to explore. To the southeast, there are larger open fields with edge habitat for bird watching and a wetland. Since there was no strong consensus as to which direction we should start out in, and I only heard one definite preference spoken aloud, we headed northwest through the open field toward the tree line.

Immediately we were greeted by a bold Gray Catbird. Normally, I've found these birds to be a bit shy but not this one. It stood proudly in plain view while photos were taken. Is it possible we interrupted her while she was in the early stages of nest building? I hope not. We turned our attention away from the catbird to see some Trout Lilies in bloom. We also noted the small leaves of Canada Mayflower unrolling. No sign yet of their delicate white flower stalks. Lynda pointed out some Sensitive Ferns, while I made a guess at some velvety croziers, "Cinnamon Fern maybe". Lynda had already moved on to identifying lady ferns, with their black stubble-like scales low on the stipe,

"looks like these ladies need to shave their legs" I joked, explaining to the other explorers that this is an association we sometimes make to help us in identification. Later when I showed people an American Elm tree, I employed this strategy once more by noting that to me, last season's leaf scars look a bit like ET, from the 1982 movie, but wearing a tall pointed hat in the form of this season's leaf buds. Lynda says Butternut leaf scars look like monkey faces to her.

We made our way across a clearing and into a mixed hardwood forest that borders the Conservancy. Just inside the forest, we encounter an area flooded with snow melt and recent rains. The floor of the vernal pool is a carpet of maple, beech, birch, and aspen leaves. Attached to some sticks floating at the surface is a mass of developing Wood Frog eggs. Dressed in my knee boots I waded to the center of the pool with a steel canteen cup in hand. All the while explaining what defines a vernal pool as significant in the eyes of the state of Maine. I do so in vague terms, since I don't have the details committed to memory, "It all has to do with the relative population of frogs, salamanders, or invertebrates. One fairy shrimp counts as a significant vernal pool" I say. Having identified these as Wood Frog eggs I scooped a few from the egg mass into my cup and waded back over to show the group. We also saw mayfly nymphs and mosquito larvae.

Members of the Foothills Land Conservancy in our group pointed out some trees nearby marked with blue surveyor's tape. They explained that this area had undergone a management procedure where the land surrounding those trees was thinned. This was done with the hope of promoting masting, or a periodic increase in the production of flowers and nuts. Some trees were girdled so they would break off and create snags. While the cleared brush was piled up in one area. This was all done to increase food availability and create multi-layer cover for wildlife. To the uninitiated, it may sound odd but to involved and active land stewards, this is a textbook example of good habitat management.

Leaving the vernal pool, we cut across the field and headed down into the sandy soil close to Wilson Stream. From a rippled False Hellebore leaf I picked a small click beetle and laid it on its back in my open palm and it popped into the air and landed right side up. The others gathered to see but this time when I turned him over he played dead. So I returned him to the leaf and moved on. Overhead a hawk flew through into the field we had just passed through. There were guesses as to what kind it could be. I suggested Broad-winged maybe. The area we now found ourselves in was home to many plants, some of which were already flowering, and many were only detected by seed-bearing structures found on the ground, like Virgins Bower and Bur Cucumber. We found several patches of Bloodroot still flowering, and with the Conservancy members permission I broke off a small section of the root away to show how it got its name. 

Walking carefully through the area, you could feel the large Ostrich Fern croziers (or fiddleheads) under foot waiting for a chance to break through. There were many different ferns in the area as well, Lynda took the time to share her observations about the ferns and vascular plants in this very species-rich area. 

We made our way back using an already well-traveled fiddleheaders path up and out of the area. We wandered a little more on the way, past our Gray Catbird friend again and back to the parking lot. While we were wrapping up and saying goodbye, we heard the bubbling, almost digital sounding song of the Bobolink. It was good to see there were a few of them in the area. According to Cornell University Ornithology Lab, these birds numbers are declining. 

Observations:

Insects: click beetle, bumble bee, mosquito larvae, mayfly nymph.

Amphibians: Spring Peepers (heard), Wood frog eggs.

Ferns and bryophytes: Frullania species liverwort, Ostrich fern, Sensitive fern, Lady fern, Cinnamon fern.

Mosses: Crispy Tuft Moss (Ulota crispa).

Birds: Broadwing? Hawk, Bobolink, Gray Catbird, Ovenbird (heard) Canada Goose, Blue Jay (heard). 

Trees: Balsam Fir, White Pine, Red Maple, Butternut, Brown Ash, Bigtooth Aspen, American Elm, Paper Birch, Yellow Birch, Beech, Green Ash, Crabapple, Black Cherry, Willow, Staghorn Sumac, Speckled Alder.

Plants/forbs: Blue Cohosh, Bloodroot, Stinging Nettle, Canada Mayflower, Bur Cucumber, Virgins Bower, Cow Parsnip, Goldthread, Tansy, Sedum, Trout Lily, Wood Anemone, Wild Oats, Trillium (stinking Benjamin), Dock, Colts Foot.