What is it Wednesday: December 29, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this videa?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo or video. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what it is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

December 29, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 The bird calling in this clip (and briefly visible on the dock) is a Carolina wren.

The typical song of a Carolina wren is different than what we hear here, and sounds something like “teakettle, teakettle, teakettle.” However, in addition to songs, birds make shorter bursts of sounds referred to as calls. The sound the Carolina wren is making in this clip is known as its “cheer call” because of the sound it makes.

Learning to identify birds by their sounds can be tricky because sounds are hard to look up, and we often don’t see the bird when we hear its song or call. But newer bird ID resources like apps and online and digital guides can help make this easier.

If you do happen to catch a glimpse of the bird making the sound, maybe you can guess the general category or type of bird you think it is. In this case, I could guess from the size and shape of the bird that it was a wren, even though I wasn’t close enough to see what kind of wren. You can then scroll through that section in an online or digital bird guide and listen to each bird’s sounds until you find a match. (It helps to check each bird’s range first to quickly eliminate those that aren’t in your area in the season you encountered it.) Cornell University’s All About Birds online guide is excellent and allows you browse by family or shape. Audubon has excellent downloadable digital guides for tablets or phones and also has a good online guide.

Even if you don’t have any visual clues to help you narrow down the type of bird you heard, some apps can now search for and identify bird song. Merlin Bird ID and Bird Genie seem to be the most respected of these, although we haven’t used them yet at LEEP. These apps allow you to record the bird directly into the app as you hear it, and the app will match the song to its bird. It is always helpful to confirm a search like this by searching in reverse – look up in another resource the bird which the app says is a match, and see if the sounds listed in its description match what you hear. 

As the new year begins, take some time to get outside and pay attention with all your senses!  

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: December 22, 2021

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

December 22, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

The evergreen branches in the center of the photo are the distinctive branches of Norway spruce trees.

 Norway spruce are easily identifiable by the way their branches grow – a long main branch hangs down in a curve, and additional twigs drape downward from the main branches. This gives the effect of “curtains” of evergreens hanging down from the tree.

As the name implies, Norway spruce is not native to North America, but was brought here by European settlers. Norway spruces were often planted around homesteads in the settler and pioneer eras, and a cluster of large Norway spruces can sometimes be a clue leading to an old home foundation. The “Trinity Pines” at Lutherlyn are actually three large Norway spruce trees that were planted around the home near the old grist mill in the 1800’s.  

Larger patches of Norway spruces sometimes are remnants of old Christmas tree farms. We’re pretty sure this is the case at the coniferous forest between Miller Lake and Chapel Hill – that one of Lutherlyn’s caretakers planted them as potential Christmas trees sometime in the 1950’s or 1960’s. We can see that they were planted in very orderly rows, which obviously does not occur naturally! The trees are also growing much too close together for the size that they are – but if they were only 5-10 feet tall they would be just the right distance apart. We don’t know why they were apparently planted and then not used, but it is interesting to have a section of forest that was once intended to be a part of Christmas celebrations. The shapes of our forests can tell us so much about the history and lives of the people who were here in the past. 

Merry Christmas to all of you from LEEP! 

 

 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

 

What is it Wednesday: December 15, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

December 15, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

 These are the burrs  of common cocklebur. 

Inside the burrs are seeds, waiting to be dispersed by whatever person or critter unwittingly carries the burrs with them when they get caught on their clothing or fur. The burrs of cocklebur are similar to that of burdock, but are football shaped instead of round, and are a bit smaller. Also, burdock plants grow to about 4 ft tall, while cockleburs are about one to two feet tall.

Cockelburs are a short-day plant – they can only flower when there are enough hours of darkness. With enough time in the dark, a chemical process takes place in the leaves which releases a chemical that   triggers flowers to bloom. In Pennsylvania, they generally flower in late summer and early fall.

Even though most plants are not blooming now, and deciduous trees have dropped their leaves and annual plants have died back for the winter, there are still interesting parts of plants to be found in nature this time of year – like these burrs. Keep an eye out and see what you can learn about what plants are up to when the nights are long and temperatures are cold. 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday archive: November 7, 2018

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

November 7, 2018. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

These are the needles of a white pine tree,

but instead of the familiar dark green, these needles are turning yellow. 

That is because evergreen trees drop their “leaves” (needles) too – just not all of them at one time. In this photo you can see the still dark green needles of this summer’s growth on the end of the twig in the bottom left. The yellow needles, which will soon fall to the ground, are the parts of the tree that were new growth last summer. Needles from the years before that stay green too, giving white pines a curious “striped” look this time of year that is also strikingly beautiful.

White pines have the longest and softest needles of the evergreens found naturally in Pennsylvania. Though it is hard to see in this photo, the needles of white pines also grow on the twig in clusters of five, making it easy to identify white pine trees.

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: December 8, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

December 8, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

 These are twigs of a hemlock tree, infested with hemlock woolly adelgid. 

The little white puffs at the base of the needles hide tiny aphid-like insects that damage hemlock trees by sucking the sap out of the needles. Needles are damaged and die off, and trees cannot get enough nutrients and eventually die. Woolly adelgids are an invasive pest, accidentally introduced from Japan. They have been spreading slowly throughout the eastern United States for several decades, and more recently have been spreading into Western PA in the past 10 years or so. Wooly adelgids here do not fly and only crawl short distances, but do spread by wind and animals. Unfortunately, we spotted them on some of our hemlock trees at Lutherlyn in 2020.

Woolly adelgids, like most invasive species, have no natural predators or controls here. They reproduce asexually by cloning, making it especially difficult to control a population once it is present. Extended periods of cold weather can kill off many of the adelgids, but not every winter gets enough cold weather here to have this effect. 

On smaller individual trees, horticultural oils can be applied to smother the adelgids and kill them. On trees that are too large for this treatment, systemic pesticide can be added to the soil or trunk of the tree, which will then kill the insects when they ingest the sap. Both of these treatments are most useful on a small number of trees.  This is effective in places where hemlock trees are planted near homes or gardens, or where there are individual trees  or small patches that especially important culturally or in an ecosystem. 

On a larger scale, where a whole grove or  forest is infested, treatment with oils or pesticides is not practical. In some places, primarily state and national parks and forests, predatory beetles have been introduced to help control the population of adelgids. This has helped some, although the adelgid population generally rebounds each year.

At Lutherlyn, we are looking into whether our affected trees would be good candidates for pesticide treatment, and if the effects of these pesticides would be limited to the wooly adelgids or have negative or accumulating effects on other parts of the ecosystems.

Late fall through early spring is a good time to spot new infestations. As the adult insects begin to feed in cooler weather, they secrete a waxy substance that produces the characteristic white fluff that is visible on the underside of the needles. If you have hemlock trees, now is a good time to check the undersides of lower twigs for this white fluff. If you find woolly adelgids, there are many resources to help you decide what you should do. Penn State Extension offices and the PA DCNR have local resources. Michigan State University also has some excellent and thorough information. 

https://extension.psu.edu/hemlock-woolly-adelgid-on-the-rise-this-spring

https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Conservation/ForestsAndTrees/InsectsAndDiseases/HemlockWoollyAdelgid/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/how_to_treat_hemlock_trees_for_hemlock_woolly_adelgid

At our recent Advent Retreat we asked participants to not use hemlock branches in making their advent wreaths, to avoid accidentally carrying woolly adelgid home with them and spreading them into places that may not already be infested. We can all help slow the spread of woolly adelgid by not transporting hemlock branches. 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday archive: November 20, 2019

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

November 20, 2019. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

These are the needles and cones of Norway spruce, eastern hemlock, and white pine. 

What differences and similarities can you spot between them?

How can I tell apart different kinds of evergreen trees?

How and why do some plants stay green during the winter? 

Are any evergreens edible? 

We learn about these things and more during the evergreen hike at Lutherlyn's annual Advent Retreat, held the first weekend in December each year. In addition to familiar evergreen trees, we explore  broad-leaved evergreens like rhododendron, herbaceous evergreens like Christmas ferns, bryophyte evergreens like moss, and discover where we can find all these and others at Lutherlyn! Participants also gather evergreens to create their family's advent wreath.

Although the forest may seem drab during winter, there are many evergreens that still show the color of life throughout the year. Many of them have been What is it Wednesday features. What evergreens can you find near you, or learn about in The Nature of Lutherlyn? 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

December 1, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

This bright green plant is a liverwort. 

Liverworts usually grow flat, with tough lobed “leaves.” They often grow on rocks or rocky soil in shady damp places, like along streams. This liverwort was found growing on rocks below the spring on the Spring Loop trail at Lutherlyn, also known as the Great Spring.

Liverworts are a type of non-vascular plant called bryophytes. Moss is also a bryophyte. Bryophytes like moss and liverwort do not have true roots that suck up water. Instead, they absorb water that falls on their leaves. (This is why they usually thrive best in damp shady places.) Like moss, liverworts are evergreen – they can continue photosynthesis in the winter because of the simple way they absorb water. Liverwort is a bit different than most evergreens we like to feature in the winter, but its it is refreshing to see its bright green in the darker and drabber days of winter! 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: November 24, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

November 24, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

There are two turkeys perched in this tree – an adult and a chick.

Turkeys are such large and awkward-looking birds that many people assume they can’t fly, but they can. Turkeys  roost in trees at night, fly into trees for protection, and even eat the tender buds at the tips of tree branches in the spring.

This picture was taken during the summer, when baby turkeys have hatched and are growing up. This chick had grown enough to be able to fly well, and when mama and baby were disturbed they both flew to safety on this branch.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We at LEEP are grateful for all of you! 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: November 17, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

November 17, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

These strange looking fruit are paw paws, from a tree at Lutherlyn’s Terra Dei homestead. 

Paw paws are the largest edible fruit native to North America. They are most abundant throughout Appalachia, and at Lutherlyn we are near the northernmost edge of their native range in Pennsylvania. Paw paws are a small understory tree which, in the wild, often grows in lowlands near water. Inside the leathery skin, the fruit has a texture like avocado and tastes a bit like a combination of banana and pear. Once they are ripe, they bruise easily and are only good to eat for a few days.

We have found that here, they often ripen late in the fall, and with this year’s warm fall weather there are some still just ripening even after the leaves have fallen from the tree. This year's harvest is the most fruit we have gotten from our trees yet. We have two trees - one planted about 20 years ago, and one a little more recently, maybe about 15 years ago. One tree has started producing a lot (increasing gradually over the last five or so years, to this year's abundance) and one still has only a few fruit on it every year. 

Paw paws flowers are dark burgundy rather than a bright color, and have a faint and slightly unpleasant scent instead of a strong sweet fragrance. Because of this, they are primarily pollinated by insects such as flies and beetles instead of other more typical pollinators like bees and butterflies. If the right types of pollinators are not around, little or no fruit is produced - as a result, sometimes people assume paw paw trees need a pair in order to produce fruit. One paw paw tree alone can produce fruit, but only if the right pollinators are present. It may take a while for the trees to mature enough to produce lots of flowers, and for the pollinators to be aware they are in the area and be attracted to them - but when they do, the result is lots of delicious paw paws! 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: November 10, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

November 10, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 This is a wild honeybee hive that is out in the open on a tree branch,
instead of inside a cavity.

Earlier this summer, when we were establishing beehives at Lutherlyn, the bees disappeared from one of our four hives. This happens occasionally – for some reason the bees “swarm” – they move as a group from the hive box to a different location and establish a new hive there. (Usually this happens when they need more room, or there’s something about their location that is not providing what they need. We’re not sure why one hive swarmed and the other three hives were fine.)

This open hive is about 100 yards away from our established hives, so it seems likely that this is where that swarm established their new home. Usually honeybees establish a hive inside some kind of cavity, like a hole in a tree. It is pretty uncommon for bees to establish a hive in the open like this. The theory is that when there is a dense cluster of leaves on the tree, bees sometimes see an opening into that cluster of leaves and perceive it as a cavity, and end up building their nest inside that cluster of leaves. Of course, once the leaves fall, that space is not protected at all, and the nest is out in the open. Unfortunately, this hive will not survive the winter out in the open, and it is too late in the season for them to create enough honeycomb and honey in a new home in a hive box –they would not survive there either.  Perhaps after the bees have died we can retrieve this honeycomb to learn more about what they produced there.

Honeybees are not native to North America, so any wild honeybee hive we come across in nature is in some way the result of a swarm from a beekeeper. This one just happened to come from very nearby, very recently! We’re looking forward to seeing how our beehives do over the winter and into their second summer at Lutherlyn. Thanks to Pastor Nathaneil Christman for establishing Lutherlyn's hives and keeping them healthy, and also for pointing out this open hive to us!

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!