Tom Estill has a great fall report!
The first day of Fall 2024, was a very quiet day in Pine Hill Park. Very rarely have I taken a hike through the forest and not seen or heard a single bird. Sept. 20th was one of those days. Not only was the forest very quiet, but the only living things I saw were grey squirrels scurrying about.
That all changed a few days later when, on Sept. 22nd, numerous migrating passerines could be seen throughout the forest flying south in front of an approaching cold front from the north. Birds seen included red-eyed vireo, cape may warbler, black and white warbler, black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, hairy woodpecker, crow, and tufted titmouse, and at Muddy Pond, a few Canada geese, a few wood ducks, and a great blue heron.
On Sept. 27th, Shelley texted to tell me she found 2 chestnut burs on the Svelte Tiger trail near where the 1st wild American Chestnut tree was discovered a few years ago. I immediately headed up to the park, found the burs lying where Shelley had found them, and spent the next couple hours searching the area for the tree that may have produced the burs which contained fertile seeds. To my great disappointment, no such tree was found. So, the mystery as to where those 2 fertile burs came from remains a mystery to this day. By the way, the mature American Chestnut found on Svelte Tiger could not have produced those burs. First, you need two trees to produce FERTILE seeds, and secondly, that tree has been dying the last few years, due to it not only being infected with the blight, but also irreparably damaged by that hard frost in May of 2022, and the infestation of the spongy moth.
On Sept. 29th, both grey squirrels and Eastern chipmunks were out and about collecting various seeds for winter storage. There were only a few plants still in flower including silverrod, blue wood aster, and New England aster being pollinated by a bumblebee. At Muddy Pond I observed about two dozen Canada geese, and a dozen wood ducks, while throughout the forest were seen white-throated sparrows, hairy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, tufted titmouse, blue jay, black-capped chickadee, Carolina Wren, crow, and a brown creeper.
On an Oct. 2nd late afternoon hike, I found, once again, a very quiet forest with the fall foliage nearing its peak. I was surprised to see a yellow-breasted sapsucker so late in the season, drilling another hole in a white birch already covered with hundreds of sapsucker holes.
Black-capped chickadees and hairy woodpeckers were the only other birds seen in the forest, but over a hundred Canada geese were seen at Muddy Pond.
On Oct. 11th, a huge flock of common grackles was seen flying through the forest, Canada geese now numbers in the low hundreds at Muddy Pond along with a few mallards, wood ducks, and an Eastern Kingfisher, and the beaver pond at the West end of Muddy Pond showed signs of recent activity. It’s been getting bigger for the last few months. But what surprised me most that day was the sound of green frogs still calling from both ponds. I collected button bush
seeds from shoreline plants at Rocky Pond and later placed them in a refrigerator for planting in the spring. Beechdrops were in flower along the 2nd Giorgetti trail.
Mid-Oct. saw numerous V-shaped flocks of Canadian geese flying south and the forest was covered in a thick layer of multi-colored leaves. And as late as the third week of October, a Hermit Thrush was seen in the forest along with the usual winter inhabitants, black-capped chickadees and white-breasted nuthatches. Most trees had lost their leaves with the exception of oaks and beech trees, and at Muddy Pond, Canada geese numbered in the hundreds.
The first week of November found a large number of robins flying through the forest, seemingly associated with a passing cold front from the north, most oak trees had lost their leaves after a stormy and windy November 1st, and a couple hundred Canadian geese were still seen at Muddy Pond.
A hike during the second week of November found the forest very quiet with no snow on the forest floor and wood ferns, Christmas ferns and lycopodium providing a green color to the ground.
On November 15th, ice first started to appear on some edges of Rocky Pond, with a few hundred Canada geese at Muddy Pond, and a single winter moth(Operophtera brumata) flying about. Two days later, to my surprise, I saw dragonflies mating at Rocky Pond, along with a single Eastern newt swimming along the shore, and now, hundreds of winter moths flying about.
On November 20th, after a long hike, I was beginning to wonder where all the winter resident birds were. Not a single bird was sighted.
On Nov.24th, for the first time at Pine Hill Park, I saw a snow goose, along with about 50 Canada geese and a single bufflehead duck at Muddy Pond. The next day, the only bird I saw was a pileated woodpecker.
Dec. 13th was a very cold day. Rocky Pond was now completely frozen while Muddy Pond was frozen over with the exception of a small area in the middle of the pond. No snow on the ground, but did have a snow storm the week before. The only birds seen were a white-breasted nuthatch and a murder of crows( that’s what they call a flock of crows!) harassing a red-tailed hawk.
Two days later, both ponds were now completely frozen over, and a loose association of
black-capped chickadees, tufted titmouse, downy woodpecker and white-breasted nuthatches could be seen near the trailhead. Bare ground in the park.
That’s it for this issue. Please stay on the trails and enjoy your wildlife sightings at Pine Hill Park.