tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11497690563292299382024-02-18T18:51:18.819-08:00Center for Environment & SocietyCenter for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-69741815636906191492013-07-18T08:15:00.002-07:002013-07-18T08:17:58.378-07:00The Island That Time Forgot<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The breeze played on the water and
the salt spray washed the faces of the small crew as we headed out into the
Miles River. Captain Rich Scofield guided <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Volunteer</i>
out into the water as we began to discuss what we might find on the blob of
green that awaited our arrival in the middle of the River. Mike Hardesty,
Assistant Director of the Chesapeake Semester and Ben Ford, Special Projects
Coordinator, began talking in earnest about what their students might learn
from a trip over to Long Point Island. Ecology, history, land-use, and Tom
Horton’s book “Bay Country” were all mentioned as they discussed the potential
lesson plans that could be developed around this ancient island.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="600529_10151531073346262_575847619_n.jpg" height="240" src="webkit-fake-url://DA0499A4-8C0D-42EC-9AA2-2400885AD7DC/600529_10151531073346262_575847619_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to Long Point Island.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We puttsed up to a small dock on
the far shore and Rob Forloney from the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum hopped
ashore to tie up. As he did, a man started slowly walking toward the dock. “Hi.
You must be the group from Washington College” he said as he approached the
boat. He introduced himself as Jimmy Rouse, the owner of Long Point Island. As
we all hopped back in the boat and started out for the Island, Jimmy began to
tell stories of growing up on that Island. “We spent summers out here. There
were three huge black walnut trees that we sold for lumber…we used the money
from those trees to build the bulkheads…My father and his brothers build the
cabins themselves.” Jimmy told us that he remembers when the island was
connected to the mainland. In fact his family supervised driving bulldozers
across the narrow land bridge onto the island for agricultural purposes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Finally we bumped up against the
dock and hopped onto shore. In front of us was a beautiful wooden cabin nestled
under a canopy of mature oaks and pines. I could just imagine Thoreau walking
out of the front door and sauntering off through the trees. “We can have this
fixed up,” Jimmy’s wife said as we walked through the front door of the
cabin. Mike immediately started pacing around happy as a kid in a candy shop,
or as an environmentalist in a cabin in the woods. I could hear snippets of
excited mutterings concerning team building and campfires. As my eyes drifted
from the windows to the trees I couldn’t help but wondering about the incredible
stories a place like this would hold. Cutoff from the mainland for over a
hundred years, farmed until the 1920’s and then logged in the 1970’s, some of
these trees had seen it all. The entire history of western civilization locked
away in the rings of the white oak that swayed silently in the summer breeze.
They had seen farmers tear up the soil to put in irrigation ditches. They had
seen loggers tear down huge black walnut trees leaving gaping wounds in the
canopy. They had seen children racing through the woods, combing the beaches
for arrowheads, and studying the birds as they hopped through the undergrowth.
Now they were watching a new group move through. A group that would fill the
air with campfire smoke, good whole-body laughs, and exclamations of wonder and
discovery.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="1069921_10151531073776262_1465923606_n.jpg" height="240" src="webkit-fake-url://6594A30F-B491-4CD7-BD35-9A63C7253712/1069921_10151531073776262_1465923606_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The CES crew explores the forest on Long Point Island.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Would you like to walk the length
of the island?” Jimmy asked. Between the cabin and the far beach we discussed
the history of the land at length. We were immersed in a discussion about the
evolution of agriculture in the Chesapeake Bay region when we were interrupted
by a Velociraptor. Well, at least it sounded like a Velociraptor, but after a
little bit of searching we discovered that there was a heron rookery on the
island. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the next few minutes
we watched as adult herons went to and from the nest bringing food for their
young. In the distance we could hear the plaintive chirping of Osprey and
Eagles. Beneath our feet the spent bodies of horseshoe crabs reminded us of the
passing of the seasons, and brought us back to the task at hand. It might’ve
been then, maybe it was while we were looking for raspberry bushes in one of
the tangles of underbrush, or it might’ve been when we were all sitting on the
porch of one of the cabins talking about the challenges and changes of the
Chesapeake. Regardless of when it happened, we didn’t notice it until we were
all loaded back on the boat and we began thinking about getting home that Rob
said, “I think my watch stopped!” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
None of us could figure out why
that might’ve happened at the time, but I think now that I know the answer. I
don’t think anything went wrong; I think that the Chesapeake, for just a brief
moment, managed to break through all of our planning and give us an invitation.
The Chesapeake called us with herons, the circling Osprey, the bodies of
horseshoe crabs, and the slow march of box turtles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those of us who were there and for the students who will
arrive there in a few short weeks with the Chesapeake Semester, Long Point
Island will always be a place to stand still. A place to let the Chesapeake lap
the soles of your feet and the quiet oaks shelter you, beckoning your return to
peace, quiet, and good earth. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1149769056329229938" name="_GoBack"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="946580_10151531073701262_1960298862_n.jpg" height="150" src="webkit-fake-url://EE66E344-AB28-4645-9D14-5DA903B891B3/946580_10151531073701262_1960298862_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben's box turtle.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This article was written by Rachel Field, Program and Intern Coordinator for the Center for Environment & Society.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->
Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-54930587970974860732013-07-12T07:59:00.001-07:002013-07-12T07:59:39.742-07:00Pilgrim on Radcliffe Creek<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeRPkcD0_HAnEzScp46SWS0QA70L-JZr5l0NRAS5vQz-RXgVyNonEOvl8HWD0V_J2x7eU-DBU4GCcReDHCcJzEATB66Xc_o8_V7Pk3JruqFP_gBwMi1g3jvb6ZRWXxUSNYv_3c_NfRSmk/s1600/Radcliffe2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeRPkcD0_HAnEzScp46SWS0QA70L-JZr5l0NRAS5vQz-RXgVyNonEOvl8HWD0V_J2x7eU-DBU4GCcReDHCcJzEATB66Xc_o8_V7Pk3JruqFP_gBwMi1g3jvb6ZRWXxUSNYv_3c_NfRSmk/s200/Radcliffe2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arial view of Radcliffe Creek</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Despite the time that I have spent in Chestertown as a student of Washington College, it was not until about two months ago that I first heard of Radcliffe Creek. Even as an Environmental Studies major, this creek was something that I had not been introduced to in my two years in school. As I began to research the history of the creek and its watershed, I met with some members from the town who are currently planning the construction of three retention pools at the source of Radcliffe Creek. Radcliffe Creek begins to form very near to the LaMotte building and the Acme shopping center on Route 213. The mouth of the creek is roughly a quarter mile from the Boat House on South Cross Street and feeds directly into the Chester River. Radcliffe Creek was identified as an area of impaired water in the Middle Chester River Restoration Action Strategy (MD DNR 2002) and the purpose of these retention pools is to help improve the water and habitat quality of Radcliffe so that it may no longer be considered impaired. During my research it was discovered that there used to be an old dumpsite in an area just south of Cromwell Clark Road. Additionally, there was a coal/gas manufacturing plant located on 813 West High Street—an area that backs up directly to Radcliffe Creek—that operated from 1910 to 1946. After these discoveries, the idea of performing sediment sampling and trace metal testing in addition to nutrient and water quality testing became much more prevalent.
The creek itself is primarily fed by ground water and storm water runoff and has very low salinity (the average salinity of the creek is a mere 0.2 ppt). The plant life within the creek consists mostly of phragmites but there are healthy strands of cattails amongst the phragmites in addition to some forest vegetation along some of the banks of the creek.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3hcWjK3uHIJpZGVk7OnPMf1Fls3A43u2PzfvvPYP_KitUAvvdFp11o2I7JjKFATsz4359hQGvGJzprr-_aGRaAcKlqhGDxhqiGGPOeEbWZZEXa5SBgwfsGtQ1rVq9H5VU_y9rGZMk1-k/s1600/osprey.(Hannah+O'Malley).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3hcWjK3uHIJpZGVk7OnPMf1Fls3A43u2PzfvvPYP_KitUAvvdFp11o2I7JjKFATsz4359hQGvGJzprr-_aGRaAcKlqhGDxhqiGGPOeEbWZZEXa5SBgwfsGtQ1rVq9H5VU_y9rGZMk1-k/s320/osprey.(Hannah+O'Malley).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Osprey with dinner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The times that I have kayaked along the creek I have seen numerous Ospreys, Red-winged Black Birds, Great Blue Herons, two muskrats, a few turtles (I was not able to get close enough to determine the type of turtle), and some very small fish. The creek itself has high potential to become a fantastic area for wildlife, as it is already home to many different types of organisms. Since there had been no prior delineation of it, one of the first things that I began doing when I found out about Radcliffe Creek was delineate its watershed in order to get an idea of the land that contributes to its runoff. I also went out on the creek and measured various depths of Radcliffe so that a 3D bathymetric model of the creek can be produced at some point. Since there has been virtually no research conducted on Radcliffe Creek, there is a lot to catch up on and even more to pursue. My primary focus for the past two months has been to test the overall water quality of Radcliffe. I perform biweekly surveys of the creek and measure temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen (both in mg/L and % saturation), Chlorophyll a and pH using a water quality sonde. I also take water samples from four different sites along the creek and use them to test for ammonia, nitrate, orthophosphate, total nitrogen and total phosphorus. The average amount of total nitrogen within the creek has been 2.5 mg/L and the average total phosphorus is 0.26 mg/L which produces a nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) ratio of about 10 to 1 rather than the16 to 1 that is typically needed for phytoplankton. (This means that for every atom of P used a phytoplankton cell needs 16 atoms of N – on average). It appears that N may be limiting phytoplankton growth, at least for the short period of time that I have been investigating the Radcliffe Creek water quality.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zNk-HUblsK4wQYiIbxQRSeTnXIBgN9Fa6rEOr9_VxDD5I7n8pmzXgKPTIAYLCIlgSU9nXq7ToLnmrRelMCh7jYjV3RB5pj1OL-0C7alrObgVCsMpneQcKg-BPpL5yKlFhmXsMqpw2m9_/s1600/Radcliffe3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zNk-HUblsK4wQYiIbxQRSeTnXIBgN9Fa6rEOr9_VxDD5I7n8pmzXgKPTIAYLCIlgSU9nXq7ToLnmrRelMCh7jYjV3RB5pj1OL-0C7alrObgVCsMpneQcKg-BPpL5yKlFhmXsMqpw2m9_/s400/Radcliffe3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students paddling on Radcliff Creek</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My hope is that this research and data collection will be able to continue over the years so that a better understanding of the ecosystem quality of Radcliffe Creek emerges. Radcliffe has huge potential to become an even more wonderful and habitable creek than it is currently and my hope is that by raising awareness and learning more about the charming creek, Radcliffe will become one of the gems of Chestertown. I would like to thank all of the people who have helped me with this research—my fellow students Sarah Winters, Olivia Hughes and Rachel Stoddard and professors Christian Krahforst, Leslie Sherman and Karl Kehm. I would not have been able to do this without their fantastic efforts. <br />
<br />
Drew Hobbs is an Environmental Studies major with minors in Computer Science and Chemistry. He will be starting his Junior year at Washington College in the fall.Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-42659803585318950342013-01-23T13:09:00.001-08:002013-01-23T13:09:06.545-08:00Good Ol' River Mud<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJq2gLh1sCQz2U5NLcqg_lm1_1GAHrmcIL8XVBsTgJOrEsuP5xqw3oDTgQaoowf82qHJNqJ5Aj3CJV8i0KtJDoNynFut3MO83EkFX5ftuBYIHF6GIZb-hYMq6SUm5BdugP8HRszNJd7BTB/s1600/lake+shore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJq2gLh1sCQz2U5NLcqg_lm1_1GAHrmcIL8XVBsTgJOrEsuP5xqw3oDTgQaoowf82qHJNqJ5Aj3CJV8i0KtJDoNynFut3MO83EkFX5ftuBYIHF6GIZb-hYMq6SUm5BdugP8HRszNJd7BTB/s320/lake+shore.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Tributaries Matter: Investigating the Biogeochemical Cycling of Reactive Constituents <br />
in Sub-estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I'll be honest. I wasn't sure exactly what I was in for with a lecture titled, "Tributaries Matter: Investigating Biogeochemical Cycling of Reactive Constituents in Sub-estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay." I was pretty confident I knew what a tributary was...and an estuary, but all that stuff in the middle? Not a clue. Yesterday we were fortunate to host Commander Joseph Smith from the US Naval Academy who was going to answer all my questions. We settled in to Litrenta, sat back, and learned some astonishing things about watersheds and sediment movement.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
CDR Smith began his discussion with the Hudson River. All the way back to his time as a graduate student he has been studying the movement of sediment in estuaries. What he has learned has astonished his advisers and the wider scientific community. Instead of being like a pipe that dumps water into the oceans, estuaries experience constant movement of sediment toward the ocean and back toward the land. One example in particular encapsulated the importance of this multi-directional movement. In 2006 the Navy attempted to relocate the legendary World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, but after a half hour of effort from a small fleet of tugboats, it became apparent that the ship was stuck in the mud! CDR Smith explained that this was a result of sediment being deposited in the harbor from upriver and from the ocean. The amount of sediment that settled around the ship worked out to be about 20 inches a year. This event, which confirmed CDR Smith's theory of high sedimentation rates, astonished the scientific community.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyknkVjw3kexe4fG6zzBm5PxjOEXxsfW246PyC8hXl60L8fCA9c9iFZA5WbejcFLVI8wtcnXyvEI5hdmajEXpmMXvD8u6WROISdd7i9qOhteXzJ7KB9dBTaQZus3cq9IwC_BU-dV1BXEm_/s1600/intrepid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyknkVjw3kexe4fG6zzBm5PxjOEXxsfW246PyC8hXl60L8fCA9c9iFZA5WbejcFLVI8wtcnXyvEI5hdmajEXpmMXvD8u6WROISdd7i9qOhteXzJ7KB9dBTaQZus3cq9IwC_BU-dV1BXEm_/s320/intrepid.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USS Intrepid with tugboats</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Taking what he has learned about the tendency for estuaries to pick up materials, CDR Smith has focused his studies on nearby Blue Plains Advanced Waste water Treatment Plant to determine what sort of impact the waste water is having on the Chesapeake Bay. Specifically CDR Smith has been looking at a specific element Iodine 131. He was quick to point out that the levels at which he studied I131 were well below the levels that would cause any harm to surrounding populations. CDR Smith has been tracing I131 because it has comparable qualities (radioactive half-life) to other more harmful substances. This means that CDR Smith can more accurately model what would happen if one of the more harmful materials (heavy metals, pesticides, certain nutrients etc.) were to be released into the Bay's Watershed.<br />
<br />
Among the many insights that Smith has gained through his work is the fact that environmental factors have a huge impact on the movement of these potentially harmful materials. Wind speed, wind direction, temperature, and pH are just a few of the factors that can influence the spread of these materials. In order to form a more complete model CDR Smith and CES Associate Director Doug Levin are working together to monitor every aspect of the Chester and the Severn. Among the many pieces of technology being used in this ambitious project are buoys that constantly collect data, and autonomous kayaks that will be able to independently patrol the rivers. This project, when completed, will make these two rivers the best known rivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and potentially the entire United States.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Chesapeakelandsat.jpeg/250px-Chesapeakelandsat.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Chesapeakelandsat.jpeg/250px-Chesapeakelandsat.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chesapeake Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>Article written by Rachel Field, Program and Intern Coordinator for Washington College's Center for Environment & Society. </i><br />
<br />
<br />Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-68913045573894856112012-11-14T12:29:00.001-08:002012-11-14T12:29:27.519-08:00The Importance of Cycles <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoxSaKfopPSpjGKCJYEkdy5D1Q7W-qcO_0pIOJdDo3D6GFOdr-F85ThyphenhyphenxcNkMUrm3SOpX8PKEAOjzryJ8J4r1_ev-QFtIoVYCrvGTPamkbg0YsignWmXIseQN2mSmnjb5pkm6PlzFOS9A/s1600/font_hill_tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoxSaKfopPSpjGKCJYEkdy5D1Q7W-qcO_0pIOJdDo3D6GFOdr-F85ThyphenhyphenxcNkMUrm3SOpX8PKEAOjzryJ8J4r1_ev-QFtIoVYCrvGTPamkbg0YsignWmXIseQN2mSmnjb5pkm6PlzFOS9A/s400/font_hill_tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Font Hill Nature Park, Jamaica</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Tuesday evening a group of Washington College community members, students, faculty, and staff had the opportunity to hear Dr. Peter Marra lecture on "Studying Birds in the Context of the Annual Cycle: Carry Over Effects and Seasonal Interactions." In his talk Dr. Marra explained the importance of looking at the entirety of a system instead of one of its parts. This might sound silly, but it's exactly what scientists have been doing for decades! Marra described the trend in the past few decades to focus research efforts on the breeding season and only sometimes study the wintering season or the spring and fall migration periods. Marra is arguing for a new approach to ornithological research, one that places importance of considering the entire cycle, which is an approach termed "migratory connectivity." Migratory connectivity basically means considering the wintering grounds and migration paths as well as the summer breeding grounds. There are many ways to quantify migratory connectivity, but here are a few:<br />
<br />
• bird banding<br />
• morphological variation (differences in wing, leg, bill length etc between populations)<br />
• molecular markers<br />
• stable isotopes (levels of certain elements in tissues indicate the latitude at which a bird molted its feathers)<br />
• light level geolocators (small chips that record the amount of light they are exposed to and allow for more precise calculation of lat. and long.)<br />
• satellite and cellular transmitters (frequent broadcast of location to towers and satellites)<br />
<br />
The implications for conservation as a result of this new paradigm are far-reaching. Marra's research into migratory connectivity has shown that it is not enough to preserve one area that a species relies on for some aspect of their life cycle. For instance, preserving the summer breeding habitat of a Grasshopper Sparrow will ensure that the birds that arrive to breed can do so, but it will not protect them when they leave for the next 8 months for their wintering territory. Many of the birds that are declining in the US are migrating songbirds that travel to South and Central America to over winter. We are doing a good job of protecting their summer habitat, but as long as the winter habitat remains unprotected the populations will continue to decline. This initial research and study has prompted Marra to undertake a "Migratory Connectivity Project." This project has the extremely ambitious goal of mapping the breeding, wintering, and migration territories for each North American species of bird so that we can more effectively protect their habitat.
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8KFxvPUrk4BqKO8nEz6pZp12ndeSlLrhhRFzvfjfyZx3H9wRRyP6m2piNz19h2MknVTI3swE5_NlC-4Kh_OqxFQdpZOXyl9aD3b-OAaQrhqdBVyLv9LJusNnqgybwBDfxBkcACIEdRt5/s1600/AMRE2012_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8KFxvPUrk4BqKO8nEz6pZp12ndeSlLrhhRFzvfjfyZx3H9wRRyP6m2piNz19h2MknVTI3swE5_NlC-4Kh_OqxFQdpZOXyl9aD3b-OAaQrhqdBVyLv9LJusNnqgybwBDfxBkcACIEdRt5/s200/AMRE2012_1.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Redstart</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Much of the research that has prompted Marra's understanding of the annual cycle and migratory connectivity was conducted with American Redstarts. These small warblers travel from the US to the Caribbean to overwinter and have been studied on their wintering habitat for over 20 years. From his study with the "Jamaican-American" Redstarts, Marra noticed that the quality of habitat on the wintering grounds was affecting the timing of migration and ultimately the success of individual birds on the breeding grounds. In fact, Marra notes that the number of young produced on the breeding grounds has more to do with the quality of the non-breeding habitat than the quality of the habitat on the breeding grounds! He was able to document this by contrasting the individual success of birds who had experienced a dry winter habitat vs those who had experienced a wet wintering habitat. The American Redstarts that had access to the more fertile wet habitat were able to produce more offspring than those who were relegated to the dry habitat.
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNEtFrQomoy1lgJv0dX99-t-MF7NsV2refTmma8c80WwujS29_XrUiNTWpba0WsNaaPXub_Sj3dZqZwT1jFyjyUHmaaOtrxK60S4eHOmox7IZTTZFnGVGL1o2rKJZcuA3qZGf39N8Obml/s1600/mangrove-swamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNEtFrQomoy1lgJv0dX99-t-MF7NsV2refTmma8c80WwujS29_XrUiNTWpba0WsNaaPXub_Sj3dZqZwT1jFyjyUHmaaOtrxK60S4eHOmox7IZTTZFnGVGL1o2rKJZcuA3qZGf39N8Obml/s200/mangrove-swamp.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mangrove Swamp (wet habitat)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFO6Gl8oWAf2XEyKdMc88tRVdZcTCCRzflBa0-56bRiUWOIPMt0RG-7NXBVcuKA3XGG6HtZ2CRIEtqC9MF1um4Oz1Pp8xhlI-Y2CZmN4cJ-O9MVc9lB3OJbDoBrvLYO9v0O6ovdftISFu/s1600/jamaica_forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFO6Gl8oWAf2XEyKdMc88tRVdZcTCCRzflBa0-56bRiUWOIPMt0RG-7NXBVcuKA3XGG6HtZ2CRIEtqC9MF1um4Oz1Pp8xhlI-Y2CZmN4cJ-O9MVc9lB3OJbDoBrvLYO9v0O6ovdftISFu/s200/jamaica_forest.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forest (dry habitat)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Marra's work with American Redstarts has paved the way for what can truly be considered a paradigm shift in how we think about avian conservation. By recognizing the importance of the entire annual cycle Marra is providing challenging new ways to engage in habitat conservation and bringing new challenges to surface. More data is needed to develop something like a Migratory Connectivity Project, but each bird banded, radio tagged, or sampled for isotope analysis is a step toward a better understanding of our world and the many creatures that inhabit it. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nature.org/idc/groups/webcontent/@web/@wisconsin/documents/media/prd_034545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.nature.org/idc/groups/webcontent/@web/@wisconsin/documents/media/prd_034545.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Redstart</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-60272185400015502562012-10-29T15:43:00.005-07:002012-10-29T15:43:58.099-07:00Sandy Visits Downrigging Weekend<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/ThitEpkemTY/mqdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/ThitEpkemTY/mqdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of "Behold the Earth"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This past weekend some of us were priveledged to hear David Conover and Tim Eriksen present at the Prince Theater. Conover spoke of the intersection between society and nature that he explores in his forthcoming documentary "Behold the Earth." In this film Conover uses breathtaking scenery, haunting folk melodies, and poignant interviews to explore America's divorce from nature. While sitting in my house this morning watching the trees groan in the winds of Hurricane Sandy, I couldn't help but hear the soulful notes of Eriksen's song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jQGqNZZrM8">"Every Sound Below"</a> and consider the power of this storm.
<br />
Rain lashing, candles sputtering, birds calling, the street cleaner slowly driving by. These were the sounds reaching through my "cocoon." Conover described Americans as a people who travel between a series of cocoons, forgetting to spend time outside of our meticulously managed environments. Today, Sandy is forcing the people on the east coast out of their cocoons.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.philly.com/images/400*317/102912-Sandy-Superstorm-Radar-Original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://media.philly.com/images/400*317/102912-Sandy-Superstorm-Radar-Original.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Satellite image of Hurricane Sandy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Since agriculture became the modus operandi for humankind we have slowly moved to create more distance between ourselves and our surroundings. This process was much enhanced by the dawn of the technological era. Humans now have so much power over their environment that some suggest we have entered an "anthropocene," or geological period defined by human action disrupting the surface of the Earth. Socially this technology has moved children away from the outdoors and in front of screens. Conover noted that in the last decade children have spent an average of over 7 hours a day in front of a screen.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beholdtheearth.com/wp-content/uploads/Ella-and-Darner-640x320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.beholdtheearth.com/wp-content/uploads/Ella-and-Darner-640x320.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of "Behold the Earth"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Conover does not seek to provide a particular answer to this problem, rather he is making an attempt to understand why our divorce from nature started and exactly what that divorce looks like. The fierce embrace of Hurricane Sandy brings this question right into our homes, through leaky windows, flooded basements, and loss of power: electrical and otherwise.
Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-89186271159820718042012-10-23T11:06:00.000-07:002012-10-23T11:06:07.839-07:00Science and Art: Understanding our Relationship with the Environment This past week the Center for Environment and Society proudly sponsored two lectures. The first was given by John Beardsley of Dumbarton Oaks and titled, “Art in the Environment: Sketches from the Field.” On the following night, the very day of it’s inception 40 years ago, Tom Horton discussed the Clean Water Act with a lecture titled, “40 Years of the Clean Water Act Through the Lens of the Chesapeake Bay.” The succession of these two lectures beautifully reflects the mission of the Center for Environment and Society. First, Beardlsey discussed the tension expressed by 19th century nature artists who represented the conflict between viewing the landscape with an artists’ eye as opposed to a developers. Beardsley went on to describe the 20th century movement he describes as the second era of nature art. Now we see a movement toward manipulating the environment to make powerful statements about beauty, purpose, and our relationship with the natural world.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://slowpainting.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/image002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="http://slowpainting.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/image002.jpg" width="370" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lightning Field, New Mexico by Walter DeMaria</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Beardsley ended his talk with a discussion of the benefits of a union between artistic and ecological pursuits. It is common practice to use art as a meditative or therapeutic exercise. Beardsley suggested that this practice could be applied to the broader relationship between all human beings and the natural world. In many ways Horton echoed this message the following evening with his call for a broader approach to conservation.
<br />
Horton summarized many of the successes and the setbacks that have been a part of the history of the Clean Water Act. With population levels rising in the Chesapeake Bay region the amount of nutrient runoff and waste is increasing at enormous levels despite our best efforts. Horton mentioned the change from a wild oyster harvest to a system in which oysters are farmed as an example of one way that life in the Chesapeake Bay has changed. By encouraging interdisciplinary approaches, thorough scientific analysis, and community-based efforts, Horton believes that we will be able to keep improving the state of the Bay.
<br />
Both Beardsley and Horton reminded their audiences that only by working together from many different perspectives do we have a chance of making real progress and saving the land that sustains us.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGzsOxIT9kIx8O2gKF81IigiliMm4ESrJVm_r3s8vRFyNnYSrkTf5d6r6eI5M9H_pHYU0W2PyFm1FF8IwjEIUiJUSCBXuVdwkvaAtUbE6QG0FEOEKO9RD9LMfnUi6uBNJ_zYAoPqd0gYa/s1600/047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGzsOxIT9kIx8O2gKF81IigiliMm4ESrJVm_r3s8vRFyNnYSrkTf5d6r6eI5M9H_pHYU0W2PyFm1FF8IwjEIUiJUSCBXuVdwkvaAtUbE6QG0FEOEKO9RD9LMfnUi6uBNJ_zYAoPqd0gYa/s320/047.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foreman's Branch of the Chester River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-73324043281336408442012-10-12T11:14:00.000-07:002012-10-12T11:14:03.649-07:00Pursuing Beauty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KKsEBNwca1TkN4I9dYOYkCuUen1GE5fmZDYobRgzip4xQ2zLcJpHkH1UpngoqhOiIKeVkQURNuxspeEbag046cI6H9u5Ull6x6Pli2dj1TTaXEs1mYJ0tBV7iVFjWM71YYLpit6SvkQD/s1600/blue+jays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KKsEBNwca1TkN4I9dYOYkCuUen1GE5fmZDYobRgzip4xQ2zLcJpHkH1UpngoqhOiIKeVkQURNuxspeEbag046cI6H9u5Ull6x6Pli2dj1TTaXEs1mYJ0tBV7iVFjWM71YYLpit6SvkQD/s320/blue+jays.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">T</span>his past week the Kohl Gallery opened an exquisite exhibit entitled "In Pursuit of Beauty: John J. Audubon and the Golden Age of Bird Illustration." This exhibit features works from Audubon, but also includes prints from William Beebe, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, Daniel Giraud Elliot, John Gould, and Alexander Wilson. The exhibit is scheduled to run until Friday, November 30th and is open Wednesday through Sunday 1-6 pm.
<br />
<br />
Philosophers have searched for an answer to the question "What is Beauty?" over countless years and from many different perspectives. The veins of a feather, the curve of a wing in flight, or the brush strokes that build a picture? This exhibit explores the question of beauty through the lens of the natural world. Audubon and his colleagues searched to capture the mystery, dignity, and innocence of the creatures that filled their world and often times their bellies. There is a focus in this exhibit on game birds and the practice of sport shooting in the United States. The added dimension of relationship between the subject and the painter creates a more intimate environment. It is almost as if Audubon is glorifying his relationship with the birds he hunts by immortalizing them on the canvas.<br />
<br />
The addition of a video by Brian Palmer deepens the reality of the exhibit. The video opens with the stillness of the pre-dawn and follows a day at Foreman's Branch Banding Station. The audience is taken through the bird banding process and given face to face exposure to some of the birds that have inspired these great painters. “To see birds being released, taking wing—it’s the most wonderful thing,” Alex Castro, Curator of the Kohl Gallery, comments. “And at the center of it all, these beautiful still images of birds from the past.”Layering the still photographs with the video of the live birds blurs the line between the paintings and the creatures to create an oasis of wilderness right in the heart of Campus.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photos.treecitywarehouse.com/i.ashx?&mid=23458710&mt=Photo&standardsize=1000x1491" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photos.treecitywarehouse.com/i.ashx?&mid=23458710&mt=Photo&standardsize=1000x1491" width="214" /></a></div>
The careful and thoughtful planning of Alex Castro and Assistant Curator, Sean Meade, brought this breathtaking vision to fruition. On Tuesday, October 9th dozens of people gathered to celebrate their work at the Exhibit Opening. President Reiss and Dean DiQuinzio, advisor for the Kohl Gallery were present to offer their congratulations and comment on the astounding beauty of this exhibit.
<br />
<br />
To visit the Kohl Gallery click <a href="http://kohlgallery.washcoll.edu/">here</a>.
<br />
To visit the Foreman's Branch Bird Observatory click <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/foremansbranchbirdobservatory/">here</a>.
Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-49821257602149832752012-09-25T08:38:00.003-07:002012-09-27T06:05:21.321-07:00Waterfront Festival 2012!Check out this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FVa3vwh8u0">video</a> of the Waterfront festival! Filmed by Brian Palmer and Eric Broussard of Washington College.
Students, staff, faculty, and community members turned out on Saturday for a beautiful day of fun on the Chester River. This year featured:
<br />
Free boat rides on the <i>Callinectes</i>
<br />
Sailing and kayaking on the Chester River
<br />
Model Boat Building
<br />
Pony Rides
<br />
Scales & Tails
<br />
the "Fishmobile"
<br />
and many more wonderful activities for the whole family!
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/185363_10151268500057474_1896471761_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="720" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/185363_10151268500057474_1896471761_n.jpg" width="960" /></a></div>
Of course, the highlight of the day was the Cardboard Boat Regatta. We had many brave competitors this year, but sleek design and excellent construction brought Captain Brian Palmer of "Chessie Racing" the Cape Horn award for first around the course.
Our own "Chesapeake Semester" boat Captained by Mike Hardesty, made it around the course for second place. "No Place like Home" followed closely behind for third place. The coveted People's Choice Award also went to "No Place like Home." There was no surprise that the Cutty Sark Award for best design went to "Chessie Racing," and it was also no surprise that "No Place like Home" won Best Theme & Costumes! For their innovative method of swimming their boat around the course and their exceptional team spirit, "Chariots of Fire" took home the Linda Greenlaw Award. The final award of the day went to "Dance to your own Tune" who, in a heart-wrenching display of teamwork, dragged their boat around the course after it sank on the starting line.
All of our competitors were wonderful, and we look forward to seeing YOU on the water next year at the 2013 Waterfront Festival and Cardboard Boat Race!
Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-86639811755587929792012-09-19T13:22:00.000-07:002012-09-19T16:19:30.600-07:00Working Landscapes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
This past Saturday, fellow CES staffer Dan Small and I
attended a grassland and shrubland bird symposium sponsored by Virginia Working
Landscapes and held at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front
Royal, Virginia. VWL is a consortium of
groups interested in, among other things, establishing demonstration sites to
showcase best practices for various land uses on working farms and creating a
network for landowners to exchange information and ideas.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPzZIbfRRI6fh4wDYv7n5TU5XUn_8KhVZqG01vmcLGpugSKpH5fCjwfpd7Ug62Qs4txYmlKhyphenhyphensr9a1QOzrYAhhqI46q3iPTw8dujmGgib9jtrA7uDB4XyAZSSoUV7UazxYESXNH2FCWlY/s1600/bobo_close.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPzZIbfRRI6fh4wDYv7n5TU5XUn_8KhVZqG01vmcLGpugSKpH5fCjwfpd7Ug62Qs4txYmlKhyphenhyphensr9a1QOzrYAhhqI46q3iPTw8dujmGgib9jtrA7uDB4XyAZSSoUV7UazxYESXNH2FCWlY/s320/bobo_close.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bobolink in fall plumage.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We knew it was going to be a good day when the first item on
the agenda was a bird walk and tour of a nearby farm. The group of 25 or so landowners and managers
admired and discussed the grass buffers, their species composition and what
problems or challenges they had faced in their own efforts to create and
maintain grasslands. As we ambled through
Big Bluestem and Indian Grass we heard the constant calls of Bobolinks moving
between the grass stand and the adjacent alfalfa field. Other
grassland birds detected included Grasshopper Sparrows and a Dickcissel. It was almost as though Dan had planted the
birds as a primer for his talk about the CRFRS grasslands (he highlighted all
three species).<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjhRbHI96mYO7OBWTPidHjgSfhN3Sjv4_CnIQkJ1sH9vJy-vTHe6eO-kLCUqgL_1gaMY8DskoHjkKJ20Bc0vGsk7xrgmMqcywfUZ5fJPPZ7_w2qK5nn7dopMVueNMBD20eiiXiB74TAji/s1600/dickcissel_qa_md_20110618_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjhRbHI96mYO7OBWTPidHjgSfhN3Sjv4_CnIQkJ1sH9vJy-vTHe6eO-kLCUqgL_1gaMY8DskoHjkKJ20Bc0vGsk7xrgmMqcywfUZ5fJPPZ7_w2qK5nn7dopMVueNMBD20eiiXiB74TAji/s320/dickcissel_qa_md_20110618_01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Dickcissel. Photo by Bill Hubick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back at the lecture hall, speakers covered such topics as bird-friendly
haying practices on Vermont dairy farms, maximizing bird habitat on public
lands and identifying suitable habitat for Golden-winged Warblers. Dan Small, representing CRFRS and CES, described
the establishment and management of the warm season grasslands on Chino Farms/
Chester River Field Research Station and the birds that have colonized the
site.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkU251nJhSAh5qPNteS2StEeyrU4v72AQbIbZKuN_7CcLX_33Jl2IY-bzkhYYOZ6jBlO14nnEmchbnXEd5okRBwbDRCyrtNIJg1bZ3WftqoCSQl0knbN0wjnRil6wYvbMdY1qG5X-X580f/s1600/IMG_1396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkU251nJhSAh5qPNteS2StEeyrU4v72AQbIbZKuN_7CcLX_33Jl2IY-bzkhYYOZ6jBlO14nnEmchbnXEd5okRBwbDRCyrtNIJg1bZ3WftqoCSQl0knbN0wjnRil6wYvbMdY1qG5X-X580f/s320/IMG_1396.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CES Field Ecologist Dan Small discussing the Chino grasslands.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mike Wilson, of William and Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology,
spoke about determining the appropriate use of land based on the size of the
area. Many grassland birds require larger
spaces for breeding habitat than other species.
This means that you could install a perfect looking five acre grassland,
but those five acres are probably not enough to sustain any grassland
birds. If you only have five acres of
property, he suggests managing it as a shrubland instead. Many species of birds requiring second-growth
scrub/shrub habitats are in decline.
Birds such as Golden-winged Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats, Dickcissels
and Northern Bobwhites are facing great challenges due to habitat loss and
could greatly benefit from managing lands for them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdUb98ezSgi-C9SABsRqnO3p32xwx1S5jeV-ktHc9qKBT76RJt3F2wjqdwd3orzfy7TAanhBXejUwTOMs7hkGdJ9vZNd67BNE6LoCmbRomvGoJ3Gfoi8TBpf9aREwZomF15D79LRMkbLB/s1600/Grassland+Photos+08-01-12+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdUb98ezSgi-C9SABsRqnO3p32xwx1S5jeV-ktHc9qKBT76RJt3F2wjqdwd3orzfy7TAanhBXejUwTOMs7hkGdJ9vZNd67BNE6LoCmbRomvGoJ3Gfoi8TBpf9aREwZomF15D79LRMkbLB/s320/Grassland+Photos+08-01-12+(1).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 20.78333282470703px;">Shrub/scrub habitat may look messy to humans, but looks safe and inviting to birds and other wildlife.</span>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We met many enthusiastic landowners who wanted to provide
the great bird habitat that was also compatible with other land uses such as
haying, farming and hunting. It was
exciting to see so many like-minded folks and to hear about some of the
compromises available to landowners.
Several expressed interest in seeing CRFRS firsthand and learning more
about what we have accomplished on Chino.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Information on Virginia Working Landscapes can be found on <a href="http://vaworkinglandscapes.org/" target="_blank">their website</a>. Though geared toward Virginians, much of the
information is relevant to Marylanders.
Many land restoration projects can be supported through grants from the
NRCS (<a href="http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs" target="_blank">Natural Resources Conservation Service</a>). Thanks to <a href="http://www.billhubick.com/" target="_blank">Bill Hubick</a> for the use of his Dickcissel photo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Maren Gimpel is a field ecologist at the Chester River Field Research Station. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Photos and stories about the goings on of CRFRS can be found at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/crfrc" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">www.facebook.com/crfrc</span></a> or at <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter</span></a></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-4319331659962779172012-09-05T17:29:00.001-07:002012-09-05T17:29:12.724-07:00Northern Bobwhite<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many landowners on Maryland’s Eastern Shore lament the loss
of Northern Bobwhite (quail) on their property. The fact that quail have been
disappearing from their former habitats is nothing new, concerned citizens and
wildlife biologists have been worried about this game bird’s future in Maryland
for some time now. But all is not lost; with a little dedication and help from
private landowners the negative population trend can be reversed. The Center
for Environment & Society has teamed up with Tall Timbers Research Station
to form The Northern Bobwhite Quail Restoration Initiative. One of the goals of
the project is to form a regional network of private landowners who are interested
in restoring the habitat necessary for Bobwhite to make a comeback. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-Ke0YPA39aaJP3MFXUtuaNirCtkYIc95L0DiRkwTZYTHeS3C896pSdGhDKxYjkZ5Wrsnr3ClpeYZGkzsxMprjJHTcm5Kcq8WVpImtNDRNsD-f2cqQDSCGe4fejVflzVrnybTlMRn3oBe/s1600/northern_bobwhite_male_nc02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-Ke0YPA39aaJP3MFXUtuaNirCtkYIc95L0DiRkwTZYTHeS3C896pSdGhDKxYjkZ5Wrsnr3ClpeYZGkzsxMprjJHTcm5Kcq8WVpImtNDRNsD-f2cqQDSCGe4fejVflzVrnybTlMRn3oBe/s320/northern_bobwhite_male_nc02.jpg" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult Male Northern Bobwhite. Photo by Bill Hubick.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Habitat loss is often cited as the leading cause of
population declines for quail. In Maryland they have declined at a rate of 5.1%
per year since 1966 and at an accelerated 7.3% per year since 1980 (Ellison
2010). Restoring quail will involve increasing habitat surrounding farm fields,
including grasslands or overgrown fields, shrub-scrub, woodland edges and
hedgerows between farm fields. Chino Farms in northern Queen Anne’s County is
leading efforts in the area to provide the mix of ideal habitats that quail
need. Creating and maintaining early successional habitat is a work in progress,
but with persistent dedication, time and the guidance from Tall Timbers the
farm is becoming a model and resource for other interested landowners. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxVKRktGU2ah8CgoN5T9-4g4hWOLcrACHiq4oIC35b52qBszFH2wSdFvYI9WbxOuy2F4ZQSktMGZFOHBnfhyphenhyphenYSiIZ48CZQpmIzjIBQ9Zoo31AWSLtZST6W4fGzmrOgFpGze9RmuhS_r_G/s1600/DSC_0087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxVKRktGU2ah8CgoN5T9-4g4hWOLcrACHiq4oIC35b52qBszFH2wSdFvYI9WbxOuy2F4ZQSktMGZFOHBnfhyphenhyphenYSiIZ48CZQpmIzjIBQ9Zoo31AWSLtZST6W4fGzmrOgFpGze9RmuhS_r_G/s320/DSC_0087.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small part of the restored warm season grasslands on Chino Farm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">the rapid advancements
in modern farming technologies, the way we practice farming has changed a lot in
just a short period of time. In the past quail could rely on fence rows,
hedgerows and fallow fields, but with larger equipment came larger fields and
these critical habitats were lost. Back then landowners and managers didn’t
have to manage their properties specifically for quail, the farming practices
simply were good for quail. Today’s quail live in a completely different
environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nowadays, land managers
have to actively manage the land to support quail. Another goal of the Intiative
is to bring together landowners to share experiences on what works and what
doesn’t, everyone has ideas and input and sharing them with the group will
benefit everyone involved. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLJJp2cPZb8qbGW1_BLIpl5XN7H_0Z92_KlGW6vi-17N_zK6nIrdGyoQhTrseqh_484yR96nJIzZrUosqMjViX07tvkSWRjw2kxirPk_QgETZEUPrXZWbGMt0V_PB9qrLeoeRMomftJte/s1600/NOBO+HY+07-24-12+%285%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLJJp2cPZb8qbGW1_BLIpl5XN7H_0Z92_KlGW6vi-17N_zK6nIrdGyoQhTrseqh_484yR96nJIzZrUosqMjViX07tvkSWRjw2kxirPk_QgETZEUPrXZWbGMt0V_PB9qrLeoeRMomftJte/s320/NOBO+HY+07-24-12+%285%29.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This recently fledged Northern Bobwhite was caught in a mist net during daily banding operations in the restored grasslands on Chino. This individual along with 10 other birds from a family group were too small to band and were quickly released.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfA8Mw3loNHEEi5Ppo6hHFa5dYjU0-bf9hf6rHgHnUPQrH6SjN7FOqgaa8sdECRWRpTrOhGT6YCUXJjw9lc9DP2HVRZ0-Tt5kWBfOTlY7CsdzhBRQbuS8X46dlxW-3TCaa2Lj1IQBFSYD_/s1600/Grassland+Photos+08-01-12+%2826%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">If you are interested in
creating quail habitat or know someone who may be interested, please keep an
eye out here or at the CES facebook page for more information about a quail
forum this fall. The unmistakeable whistle call of the male Northern Bobwhite
belongs in the rural landscape and with your help we can all work together to
make sure they are around for generations to come.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Information can also be found here, http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/quailrestoration.php.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Thanks to Bill Hubick for allowing use of his photographs. www.billhubick.com </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Dan Small is a field ecologist at the Chester River Field Research Station.</i><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"> </span>Please visit our Facebook page <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/crfrc"><span style="color: blue;">www.facebook.com/crfrc</span></a> or find additional information here <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter"><span style="color: blue;">www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter</span></a></span></span></span></div>
Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-18681623979377513942012-08-28T08:12:00.002-07:002012-08-28T08:12:40.907-07:00Kent County booth at the annual MACo conventionEarlier this month, I traveled to Ocean City for the second time this summer, this time to represent Kent County's Office of Tourism and Economic Development at the annual Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) convention. I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by Mrs. Cunningham, of connect.the.dots. fame, who's design eye gave zest to our booth (see pic below).<br />
<br />
After setting up our booth on Wednesday afternoon, we were feted at a cocktail reception at Fagers Island restaurant that was hosted by Funk & Bolton law offices, a wonderful social gathering that allowed for lots of networking. I then spent all day Thursday manning our booth, meeting vendors, talking with employees and representatives from other counties, and generally spreading the word about all the good works that have been going on recently in Kent County. There was a steady flow of visitors through the exhibit hall for most of the day. It still amazes me the number of "giveaways" that the exhibitors provide and the convention-goers gobble up...bags and bags of them. Thursday evening found us at the Sunset Grille in West OC dining on mahi mahi, tuna, crab imperial, and countless other goodies, all thanks to our hosts from Standard Solar.<br />
<br />
On Friday, Mrs C and I kept up the message spreading at our booth for the better part of the day, handing out brochures along with free note pads and lemon meringue-flavored salt water taffy. It seemed there were more families visiting the exhibit hall during this session, probably in concert with family vacation time at the beach. The day was shorter than the previous, but still we had decent attendance in the hall. Commissioners stopped by, and we also had a chance to converse briefly with U.S. Senator Ben Cardin who admitted that he was aware of all the cool projects going on in the county.<br />
<br />
Our thanks to Bernadette Van Pelt and Michelle Wood of the County's Office of Tourism and Economic Development for putting together all of the display materials for us to transport down to the convention. Also, special thanks to the Town Creek Foundation for supporting our work to help Maryland's municipalities increase use of renewable energy systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and move toward a healthy and sustainable future for the Chesapeake Bay region.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWsouoO_1XdP9-xdYv54z8FJh82rzUpmJ2XjqepglBitk6pOMBxO2lAm2Pzqtz0-o9pOGuOQA-LGrybxOYViA6UNwrZ7Ym0Bo1M1ZGnlLDXw-UDhKCW2AwlhuswzGSkV5k3LTYRH53pMq/s1600/MACo+2012+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWsouoO_1XdP9-xdYv54z8FJh82rzUpmJ2XjqepglBitk6pOMBxO2lAm2Pzqtz0-o9pOGuOQA-LGrybxOYViA6UNwrZ7Ym0Bo1M1ZGnlLDXw-UDhKCW2AwlhuswzGSkV5k3LTYRH53pMq/s400/MACo+2012+small.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Briggs Cunningham mans the Kent County booth at the 2012 Maryland Association of Counties convention in Ocean City in August.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Briggs Cunningham is Climate Action Coordinator at the Center for Environment & Society, and can be contacted <a href="http://ces.washcoll.edu/faculty/briggscunningham.php" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-66444850903650517662012-08-24T07:39:00.000-07:002012-08-24T07:39:06.166-07:00A Week of Warblers! This past week at the banding station was filled with exciting warblers! Here are some pictures of the best and the brightest. Also check out our <a href="http://http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/foremansbranchbirdobservatory/bandings/">weekly banding totals</a> for a more detailed look at what we've been catching at Foreman's Branch Bird Observatory.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNub3WcHc2R1BJvwEmVLyApe7x1Q-bT_tG6UXgq0ALtnVhphNDkPsy5jgPM9aGqrwtdZ7adsUJqKhdNepf0MEjLXjy0gupwIP3XYxwCyTkarsgx5V0UokW0fPHG4OP2gFg66bYQ8FVcO8/s1600/AMRE2012_6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNub3WcHc2R1BJvwEmVLyApe7x1Q-bT_tG6UXgq0ALtnVhphNDkPsy5jgPM9aGqrwtdZ7adsUJqKhdNepf0MEjLXjy0gupwIP3XYxwCyTkarsgx5V0UokW0fPHG4OP2gFg66bYQ8FVcO8/s320/AMRE2012_6.JPG" /></a></div>
This past week we got a high number of American Redstarts of all ages and sexes gathered in one area of the study site. Perhaps they are traveling in a group?
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKIhAtrHEkToumUl1K8ys3FDrjhvBj4wtUDMfbMsKZEXRG8_8uCDqklzb9YXLbeYyP-G4eElwHKMsVrzSFz1qwYWV4PbIDt1zHdDRULDxzSK2d4t3nPNdHYb6TiKSl11sf3g3EJ7Frxzh/s1600/ASY+male+BAWW+04-11-07+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKIhAtrHEkToumUl1K8ys3FDrjhvBj4wtUDMfbMsKZEXRG8_8uCDqklzb9YXLbeYyP-G4eElwHKMsVrzSFz1qwYWV4PbIDt1zHdDRULDxzSK2d4t3nPNdHYb6TiKSl11sf3g3EJ7Frxzh/s320/ASY+male+BAWW+04-11-07+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
We banded 5 Black and White Warblers this week.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt78XWzOcuBvJgPVax7k2ZnDvhfDVhLBQkzBEfefXxPHk_RbkpgKEj1WBKzblQjmf7qE9L6iDrvAUpO50cDfFWtkeplVReW2YQX61eSL8OoHIETO0a3_5xfUV0EPdkmyP0pvRNIHfhZgou/s1600/WIWA2_as.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt78XWzOcuBvJgPVax7k2ZnDvhfDVhLBQkzBEfefXxPHk_RbkpgKEj1WBKzblQjmf7qE9L6iDrvAUpO50cDfFWtkeplVReW2YQX61eSL8OoHIETO0a3_5xfUV0EPdkmyP0pvRNIHfhZgou/s320/WIWA2_as.jpg" /></a></div>
We also got an HY (hatch year) Female Wilson's Warbler this week. You can see that the top of her head is much greener than a male's would be.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuDxNLqHFen5b_rZOFMdDejvoyyhFSwvKnN2wct1JMMuumJXpJPcJEm36jmb3DaXuZRNgjRQsV19_Y_SSQZQfqZJYf7EmIy7OheN_Tt3Mz-JKQbGc5SHllxpnDMmKkwY9D4Rmrqy-rWaH/s1600/blackburnian+warbler.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBuDxNLqHFen5b_rZOFMdDejvoyyhFSwvKnN2wct1JMMuumJXpJPcJEm36jmb3DaXuZRNgjRQsV19_Y_SSQZQfqZJYf7EmIy7OheN_Tt3Mz-JKQbGc5SHllxpnDMmKkwY9D4Rmrqy-rWaH/s320/blackburnian+warbler.JPG" /></a></div>
This HY Male Blackburnian Warbler was a real treat. We usually only get one a year, and some years we don't get any.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRADdYBs1u4RA4t1D5pXAc22R1IRJSTiCn1hWUu-0VOym4gyu9ZH0k4S0jj8ioyvO1LMf6dxkc9ZMLeGOYSYoEUbllSgaFhqo9JU2Dw9tf9Aj9qov5slQDwifgPNNk3ZoGORsZv5v5w5m/s1600/BEKI+03-25-12+%25287%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDRADdYBs1u4RA4t1D5pXAc22R1IRJSTiCn1hWUu-0VOym4gyu9ZH0k4S0jj8ioyvO1LMf6dxkc9ZMLeGOYSYoEUbllSgaFhqo9JU2Dw9tf9Aj9qov5slQDwifgPNNk3ZoGORsZv5v5w5m/s320/BEKI+03-25-12+%25287%2529.JPG" /></a></div>
Ok, so this is not a warbler but we broke the record for number of Belted Kingfishers captured this year, and that's pretty neat too!
<br />
All signs point to...Migration! Hopefully we'll continue to get interesting and exciting birds in the coming weeks. Be sure to check out day-by-day updates on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CRFRC">facebook page </a> and our weekly banding totals on our <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/foremansbranchbirdobservatory/">Website. </a> Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-65235297470217850322012-08-20T08:30:00.000-07:002012-08-21T10:05:34.742-07:00Summer Soundtrack<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe your summer soundtrack is “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae
Jepsen or maybe you’re hearing waves
rolling in on a beach. I’ve got an
earful of cicadas! Cicadas are the pulsating
and buzzy sounding insects you hear from trees and bushes in mid to late summer. Only the males call, they vibrate a special
organ on their abdomen called a tymbal.
The Eastern Shore of Maryland actually has about half a dozen species of
annual cicada which should not be confused with the periodical cicada which
emerges every 17 years in huge numbers (like in 2004). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuppm6n7MNl98mYetGk-LSnTZApzwnKBJn906wxsVGVZvzjpH2-9qGdc05np8L9JgcSOu3a1o0E_mrm96IRkN26NbbNQV37o-LccX-gfHrHBQN0400sivfTE5N8nKPBUfTqiD4AskhfZQv/s1600/SwampCicada(Tibicen+tibicen%29.hartmillerisland.083109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuppm6n7MNl98mYetGk-LSnTZApzwnKBJn906wxsVGVZvzjpH2-9qGdc05np8L9JgcSOu3a1o0E_mrm96IRkN26NbbNQV37o-LccX-gfHrHBQN0400sivfTE5N8nKPBUfTqiD4AskhfZQv/s320/SwampCicada(Tibicen+tibicen%29.hartmillerisland.083109.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swamp Cicada from Baltimore County. Photo by Jim Brighton
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/109627728893182537813">http://picasaweb.google.com/109627728893182537813</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Annual cicadas have a pretty cool life cycle: females lay eggs in soft twigs and other
plant material. Tiny nymphs hatch out
the same summer and drop to the ground where they burrow into the soil. Over the next few years (the exact length of
time depends on the species) the nymphs feed on roots and grow bigger and
bigger. Finally, one summer when they
are about an inch or so long, they dig their way out of the ground, climb up to
a safe perch and hatch out of their brown skin.
They sit a while to allow their wings to unfold and strengthen then they
fly away leaving their crunchy shell behind.
The adults only live a few weeks
before reproducing and dying.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPshT10ClWwkI78R_j_o8jFQKpPhox2scUNDthywVX8DWyFZYfUY67SyXONaBndiUP0Q9qAIyk9MxrnDRX6tCSdCytTjM63dCvuJ_I5v1qvMOrn6J998XL1FHNdkyG_zhqAB3Mu_2BXmQg/s1600/P1020776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPshT10ClWwkI78R_j_o8jFQKpPhox2scUNDthywVX8DWyFZYfUY67SyXONaBndiUP0Q9qAIyk9MxrnDRX6tCSdCytTjM63dCvuJ_I5v1qvMOrn6J998XL1FHNdkyG_zhqAB3Mu_2BXmQg/s320/P1020776.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crunchy brown shell that remains on a tree trunk after a cicada has emerged.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition to being super cute in a bug sort of way, I also like cicadas since they pose no threat to humans, they do not bite or sting. Under normal circumstances they do not damage crops or plant material. Humans in many parts of the world actually eat cicadas as a good protein source.<br />
<br />
Cicadas, by the way, are NOT locusts. Locusts are grasshoppers, in the scientific
order Orthoptera. Cicadas are more
closely related to aphids and are in the order Homoptera. You may recall from high school biology the
classification runs kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species so
organisms in different orders are really really unrelated!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEl_9txTtgxBBrhOsDSNRHyz2YQQUzcECKsoLnopMcVPM5NVcr5UDFG70e-naNA5LOCL9hkeglMcCB73zvUmud7uk_GXk0HUZKtwi9tVF-JSxeOssJlvE1TNnG4Vd-dbwCNd68b_kpMTC/s1600/Cicada+jul+2012+%282%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEl_9txTtgxBBrhOsDSNRHyz2YQQUzcECKsoLnopMcVPM5NVcr5UDFG70e-naNA5LOCL9hkeglMcCB73zvUmud7uk_GXk0HUZKtwi9tVF-JSxeOssJlvE1TNnG4Vd-dbwCNd68b_kpMTC/s320/Cicada+jul+2012+%282%29.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cicada from CRFRS grasslands.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are loads of other critters adding music to your summer days and nights. Crickets and katydids are other insects that make noise and don't forget about the various frogs and toads. Why not take a few minutes on a summer evening this week to stop and listen to all the creatures singing!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Maren Gimpel is a field ecologist at the Chester River Field Research Station. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Photos and stories about the goings on of CRFRS can be found at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/crfrc" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">www.facebook.com/crfrc</span></a> or at <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter</span></a></span>
</div>
Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-77144338091896348532012-08-16T06:52:00.000-07:002012-08-16T06:52:29.867-07:00Turtle Power!Chino Farm is not just for the birds! A small group of Washington College students, led by Dr. Aaron Krochmal, have been studying the turtles on the property for the past few years. I had the opportunity to talk to Brendyn Meisinger ‘13, a student intern, about his research.
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx7O4T5f-_52w3PDW0r3BNk4jRn2NcPnL5HHCurlksqyYSlNMlOqBlFDBPrYB-5g-3o400WcONCAKh9QkDFnu3fu5nm6l8y0rISZVgxGduDexEQW7AMs1y5riOhKX7B2hydhPEdel8fxoS/s1600/Painted+turtle.JPG%2528Hannah%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx7O4T5f-_52w3PDW0r3BNk4jRn2NcPnL5HHCurlksqyYSlNMlOqBlFDBPrYB-5g-3o400WcONCAKh9QkDFnu3fu5nm6l8y0rISZVgxGduDexEQW7AMs1y5riOhKX7B2hydhPEdel8fxoS/s320/Painted+turtle.JPG%2528Hannah%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painted Turtle at Chino Farm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This summer Brendyn put 5 radio transmitters on Eastern Red Painted Turtles so that he could monitor their movements. Brendyn was inspired by some of Dr. Krochmal’s previous research, which examined the potential methods turtles use to find new ponds once the ones they are using have dried up. Brendyn wanted to know how the turtles at Chino Farm find new Delmarva Bays to use during the summer.<br />
What is a Delmarva Bay? You might ask. Well, Delmarva Bays are vernal pools that are something of a mystery to scientists. We do know that they provide essential habitat for a wide variety of reptiles and amphibians. The soil and plant life found in Delmarva Bays are unique. Chino Farm proudly boasts a large number of Delmarva Bays. So much so in fact, that Brendyn was able to pick his own to study and name it whatever he chose. Consequently, Brendyn is studying at “Morrison’s Retreat”, a Delmarva Bay he named after Robert Morrison who founded Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSyLjqFaBVNPQX8yFDiacl7cZ_DPmszTi3RfpxGdHw1hSGcx8EjpPWsdFbJjvSAld4pvishPPuaGsvGHIgsDsyEyQZI7WFKoLN-Qiyb4kDBg5g8IkxnieEHWXfDAWuJkJb2xwWuGlYlnI/s1600/cf+14.JPG%2528Hannah%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSyLjqFaBVNPQX8yFDiacl7cZ_DPmszTi3RfpxGdHw1hSGcx8EjpPWsdFbJjvSAld4pvishPPuaGsvGHIgsDsyEyQZI7WFKoLN-Qiyb4kDBg5g8IkxnieEHWXfDAWuJkJb2xwWuGlYlnI/s320/cf+14.JPG%2528Hannah%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What do the turtles do once the Delmarva Bays have dried up?</td></tr>
</tbody><tbody></tbody></table>
Eventually Brendyn would like to use some of this research for his Senior Capstone Experience, and there’s plenty to go around! This project has many possible directions and students, along with Dr. Krochmal, will hopefully be able to present their findings this coming April at North East Fisheries and Wildlife conference.
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL59wRs-Gi5bwdICWNBPoaAVCvuvJPw6PYok0VQELFN-mKa6_I9jrFi9HKkkHvBDtY2Cr2AeFaaTfb8bxyy67P7LK5JxbTATZ8q7zNec3XryN-65aelKnsNlzs0BB5LZqqm0kkJGBTrHPV/s1600/Aaron+K+and+Student+in+Foreman%2527s+Branch+04-10-12+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL59wRs-Gi5bwdICWNBPoaAVCvuvJPw6PYok0VQELFN-mKa6_I9jrFi9HKkkHvBDtY2Cr2AeFaaTfb8bxyy67P7LK5JxbTATZ8q7zNec3XryN-65aelKnsNlzs0BB5LZqqm0kkJGBTrHPV/s320/Aaron+K+and+Student+in+Foreman%2527s+Branch+04-10-12+%25283%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. K looks for turtles at Chino Farm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<em> Rachel Field is the Education Coordinator at CES.</em>Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-10298887686089798992012-08-14T10:43:00.001-07:002012-08-14T13:27:20.078-07:00Searching for RangiaOur summer began with periodic excursions up and down the mighty Chester River looking for “soft” sediment that we hope to use for characterizing the chemistry of the bottom of Chester River. Why, you might ask? Well, many of the “chemicals of environmental concern”(COEC) are hydrophobic -which literally means afraid of water- but more appropriately reflects the sticky-particle bound nature of many of these contaminants. They don’t like to be dissolved in water, but like to bind to the surfaces of particles and, ultimately, the sediment. Our interest in COECs is directed towards a better understanding of how these chemicals are introduced into the aquatic environment, how they affect resident organisms, and where they may ultimately end up. Anyway, this communiqué is not about COECs but is more about the benthos – the critters that we found in or on the sediment during our summer of mucking about in boats.
Overall, we found very little living in the sediments we collected - or more appropriately, very little macro (large, non-microscopic) organisms. For those macro benthic organisms we did find we noted where, when, and what we found; either an occasional oyster, some mussels, and most often – when there was anything – the mighty Rangia.<br />
This is blog is about the brackish clam,<i>Rangia cuneata</i> (Fig.1); what their role may be in the Chester River ecosystem and whether they might be a good indicator of contaminant exposure and bio-accumulation (accumulation of chemicals in the tissues of the organism) in the Chester. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nqKxpz2eHAuey84nICkGV54q-oP3WgRDByRDP6SMjgLfThT7Bj6WKTYzlNHA05c3ZswueEynnm4Fop6PyGUcxyJkNnch6M2aFcbYkm6QOx7Ixlnvstvp1b2bWjtv3uaD2GLUdIasQWSH/s1600/clamthing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nqKxpz2eHAuey84nICkGV54q-oP3WgRDByRDP6SMjgLfThT7Bj6WKTYzlNHA05c3ZswueEynnm4Fop6PyGUcxyJkNnch6M2aFcbYkm6QOx7Ixlnvstvp1b2bWjtv3uaD2GLUdIasQWSH/s320/clamthing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 1. Rangia collected from the Chester River about 2 miles south of Chestertown</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Rangia clam, according to information provided by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)1, is a brackish (low salinity) clam that is often found in waters with salinities between 5-15 parts per thousand (fresh water is 0 ppt, ocean water at the mouth of the Chesapeake is ~32 ppt). They often live in highly turbid waters (water that contains a lot of suspended particles, muddy), often preferring soft substrates; usually a sand/mud mixture with vegetation detritus. They are subtidal suspensivores (they filter material out of the water column for food) and are also considered saprophytic, that is they also derive nourishment from dead or decaying organic matter (much like bacteria or fungi). The species found in the Chesapeake are <i>Rangia cuneata</i> and, to this date, the Chesapeake is the northern most reach of their distribution. Apparently, they weren’t always a part of the Chesapeake ecosystem. In fact (according to MDE), the first known sighting of <i>R. cuneata</i> was in 1960 in the Potomac River and are now found in the brackish tributaries and creeks of the upper Chesapeake Bay. Does the timing of their occurrence correspond to increases turbidity in the Chesapeake? Definitely an interesting question….
As a food source for humans, they are considered non-desirable, often because they have an earthy, muddy taste. Investigators from NOAA2 report a very active fishery for Rangia along the east coast of Mexico where they are used as a supplement to local shellfish and fish cuisine, often because they present a less desirable pallet when served alone. In Figure 2, we show where we have found Rangia this summer. The sites where we collected sediment are indicated by black triangles and where we found Rangia clams are shown by the red circles. One hope is that these organisms can help filter and clean the highly turbid waters of the Chester or the even the lower salinity realms of the Bay . Some investigators3 show that Rangia is a good indicator of a system under significant stress; that they represent a situation where other organisms struggle to survive and the ecosystem is in poor health. Rangia are also being investigated as a potential contaminant cleaner-upper for the impact of the BP oil release in the Gulf of Mexico4 Figure 2. Surface sediment grabs sites (black triangles) from the Chester River, summer 2012. The red dots overlay stations where we found Rangia clams.
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUE-5zMLzdqozFcWSodVZoWadV90Q15TI9j6TtFYS8BXJg16gHhciR1UPh3_sbGP8xou05HZHPNqS64BT0yNv391mEB9wXnVc_VajyveElQkRbYx6FAUuXb_CXH_gqImLkYk-pO2Bq6E02/s1600/chesapeakemap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUE-5zMLzdqozFcWSodVZoWadV90Q15TI9j6TtFYS8BXJg16gHhciR1UPh3_sbGP8xou05HZHPNqS64BT0yNv391mEB9wXnVc_VajyveElQkRbYx6FAUuXb_CXH_gqImLkYk-pO2Bq6E02/s400/chesapeakemap.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 2.
<style type="text/css">
<!--
@page { margin: 0.79in }
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: #000000; widows: 2; orphans: 2 }
A:link { color: #0000ff; so-language: zxx }
-->
</style>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
Surface sediment
grabs sites (black triangles) from the Chester River, summer 2012.
The red dots overlay stations where we found Rangia clams</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of our interests at the Center for the Environment and Society is whether Rangia can serve as biological indicator for contaminant exposure in the Chester River ecosystem. Do contaminants like lead, copper, arsenic and other COEC accumulate in Chester River resident organisms? Is Rangia a potential pathway for the transfer COEC to “higher” organisms that reside in the Chester River ecosystem (e.g., white perch, osprey, humans,etc) where COEC may become further concentrated as they move up the food chain? We don’t know, but we will be measuring the content of some of the COEC in their soft tissues using the relatively new high tech inductively-coupled <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/masspec/">Mass Spectrometer</a> at Washington College. Stay tuned!<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzW0Z8BXtxa8NXyyE-UxLYrTJMpwoDWcF25eyBGi23NCa6ROR5iUTRiO9kd2AKBSEqgwtiDYwDTtnvVkxrBFVhFanRsZ2nlTJIu60DRB6Uvse7vmriT4bjdTYWMOhqjip9jm7RPxjK_OYO/s1600/persononboat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzW0Z8BXtxa8NXyyE-UxLYrTJMpwoDWcF25eyBGi23NCa6ROR5iUTRiO9kd2AKBSEqgwtiDYwDTtnvVkxrBFVhFanRsZ2nlTJIu60DRB6Uvse7vmriT4bjdTYWMOhqjip9jm7RPxjK_OYO/s320/persononboat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samuel Hartman, a summer Hodson Fellow, looks to find the optimal site for our next sediment grab</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Christian Krahforst is the Mellon Post Doctoral Fellow of Biogeochemistry for the <a href="http://ces.washcoll.edu/">Center for Environment & Society</a> at Washington College.<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
1.
<style type="text/css">
<!--
@page { margin-left: 1.25in; margin-right: 1.25in; margin-top: 1in; margin-bottom: 1in }
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: #000000; widows: 2; orphans: 2 }
A:link { color: #0000ff; so-language: zxx } </style><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Marylander/CitizensInfoCenterHome/Documents/www.mde.state.md.us/assets/document/Rangia.pdf">http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Marylander/CitizensInfoCenterHome/Documents/www.mde.state.md.us/assets/document/Rangia.pdf</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">2. </span>
<style type="text/css">
<!--
@page { margin-left: 1.25in; margin-right: 1.25in; margin-top: 1in; margin-bottom: 1in }
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: #000000; widows: 2; orphans: 2 }
A:link { color: #0000ff; so-language: zxx }
--></style><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/mfr663/mfr6632.pdf">http://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/mfr663/mfr6632.pdf</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">3. <a href="http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-206/env-issues/hypoxia.html">http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-206/env-issues/hypoxia.html</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">4. </span>
<style type="text/css">
<!--
@page { margin-left: 1.25in; margin-right: 1.25in; margin-top: 1in; margin-bottom: 1in }
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; direction: ltr; color: #000000; widows: 2; orphans: 2 }
A:link { color: #0000ff; so-language: zxx }
--></style><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/03/lowly_rangia_clam_as_oil-sucki.html">http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/03/lowly_rangia_clam_as_oil-sucki.html</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-10644523565585491142012-08-10T08:04:00.000-07:002012-08-10T08:04:45.907-07:00Barnyard Olympics!What do cows, chickens, sheep, pigs, horses, goats and "loco llamas" all have in common? The Queen Anne's County Fair, going on this week, at the 4-H Park on Route 18 in Centreville, MD. At 5:00 PM today (8/11/12) you can catch jousting, the state sport of Maryland. You won't believe the speed these junior and senior riders have when they lance rings no bigger than what is holding up your shower curtain. Then at 7:00 PM there's the Farm-to-Market auction and the 4-H kids finally see a profit for all their work tending animals. The Queen Anne's Fair is even better than the Devon Horse Show in my opinion. So bring the whole family tonight and celebrate 70 years of 4-H on the Eastern Shore. Or come on Saturday for the rodeo at 5:00 PM. After that, you'll be counting down the days until next year's community fair. Admission is $3.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtoRa6HoO5GgX_O8R4-fF4eA7AM3ERtVdYvey_Y1Ro_kwWFnJjsNJMGFvLtKJs2tx2wuVeDk3vIWzn29wfW1PSmgiwGK0jhjq3sFYrbC0o7HzCTMaLvgLXqNhpgB0is-_WTLm6v92mRcx/s1600/HomePageHead2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtoRa6HoO5GgX_O8R4-fF4eA7AM3ERtVdYvey_Y1Ro_kwWFnJjsNJMGFvLtKJs2tx2wuVeDk3vIWzn29wfW1PSmgiwGK0jhjq3sFYrbC0o7HzCTMaLvgLXqNhpgB0is-_WTLm6v92mRcx/s320/HomePageHead2.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
JoAnn Fairchild, senior program manager at CES, lives outside of Centreville in an 1880s farmhouse with her husband, two horses, two dogs and two cats - for now. After seeing the miniature donkey and horses at the QA County Fair, the family plans to add a few more animals this fall.Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-13809851863117632142012-08-05T17:08:00.003-07:002012-08-05T17:08:30.961-07:00Bobolink...What's that?<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGlc6yc2ZZkINudCUlgAScln8vwnrSdxzkMl8LV4FbBdjCDc1S5VqI6jGlwa3C3tXWSBu7r2SaHQUiGF91Qn9iB11ZLhrTGpA7whYhSe9hGfOtrqr5HZk1t2I5Gx-FMbDLYiBjPsi80p1/s1600/bobolink_male01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGlc6yc2ZZkINudCUlgAScln8vwnrSdxzkMl8LV4FbBdjCDc1S5VqI6jGlwa3C3tXWSBu7r2SaHQUiGF91Qn9iB11ZLhrTGpA7whYhSe9hGfOtrqr5HZk1t2I5Gx-FMbDLYiBjPsi80p1/s320/bobolink_male01.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Bobolink. Photo by Bill Hubick.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, it’s a bird and a fascinating one at that. The Bobolink,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dolichonyx oryzivorus</i>, is a songbird in
the blackbird family (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Icteridae</i>). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you can see from the pictures to the right and below, males
and female are sexually dimorphic in the spring and summer months when the male
has unmistakable black and white plumage with a straw colored nape. The female
retains cryptic coloration year-round which is made up of straw colored body
plumage with black streaking on the flanks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bobolinks are long distant migrants traveling thousands of miles
annually from their breeding grounds in North America to their wintering
grounds in South America, roughly 6000 miles one way!!! Males not only have
unique plumage, but have a very unique song, follow this link to hear what they
sound like, <a href="http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/CDTGHVBGZP/BOBO2007-6-3-2.mp3">http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/CDTGHVBGZP/BOBO2007-6-3-2.mp3</a>,
recorded by Andrew Spencer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people
think they sound like R2-D2 from Star Wars.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrdjElW5_EdOGFEaOITfAnNbxZHSG29DIS13mSob1Rc4qRdu7hiZ8QPRTHhm6FZc7_RAj9C5qiQVQgm8Cvi17yejFVfQguh5NKKOIYOrLZcDrEBpGnVYdn89MOhHm3utSsLi_sbRbgWET/s1600/bobolink_do_md_20070826_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrdjElW5_EdOGFEaOITfAnNbxZHSG29DIS13mSob1Rc4qRdu7hiZ8QPRTHhm6FZc7_RAj9C5qiQVQgm8Cvi17yejFVfQguh5NKKOIYOrLZcDrEBpGnVYdn89MOhHm3utSsLi_sbRbgWET/s320/bobolink_do_md_20070826_01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female Bobolink. Photo by Bill Hubick.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bobolinks require grasslands or something very similar, like
alfalfa or hay fields, in which to nest. They can be found in Maryland during
migration in both spring and fall and they breed in western and northern counties
in the state. Maryland is at the very southern end of the breeding range for
Bobolinks. They don’t breed on the eastern shore, but some attempt to nest in
the northern reaches of Cecil County in hay fields. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bobolinks have experienced range-wide population declines
due to a variety of reasons, with habitat loss considered the single biggest
factor. Most native grasslands and wet meadows have disappeared and they have
been forced to nest in crop and hay fields as a result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In terms of habitat quality, hay fields are
not bad, but the problem is harvesting the hay while birds are still nesting.
Farmers need to cut the hay at its nutritional peak which is often prior to young
birds fledging or when they are still too young to fly. Biologists, especially
in Vermont, are working with farmers to delay the cutting to allow nests to
fledge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3oMIePEn2BPcnMEffZKUqSEAvHhfYzArOu4Jv9FJyPE2dtc7OK8Ei_CihV6FZfM4dAQ902FjnYakak6j1cONXS1nj0qpYES0iF2m45neE01nPz-qd8GIydbYRRY7mkVI2lP6iAYsspiy/s1600/BOBO+%288%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3oMIePEn2BPcnMEffZKUqSEAvHhfYzArOu4Jv9FJyPE2dtc7OK8Ei_CihV6FZfM4dAQ902FjnYakak6j1cONXS1nj0qpYES0iF2m45neE01nPz-qd8GIydbYRRY7mkVI2lP6iAYsspiy/s320/BOBO+%288%29.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult male Bobolink in breeding plumage.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many Bobolinks use the CRFRS restored grassland on Chino
Farm as stopover and refueling site during spring migration. But, the best time
to see them in the grasslands is July through September. Adult males arrive
first, still in their distinctive breeding plumage, followed by adult females
and then in August and September by the young of the year. The restored
grasslands provide critical habitat for the Bobolinks that stop here in the
fall. Not only do the grasslands provide a bounty of food, in the form of
insects and unlimited grass seed, but the tall thick fields act as a refuge.
Bobolinks are somewhat unique among east coast birds in that they do not molt
on their breeding grounds or the wintering grounds, but rather somewhere in
between. This is where the restored grasslands are important. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8Lqal8HqXpKjArqpstLL_ARzWcPJkTXkYrthWkiwbHhXusPtQS02XZ1lXqsESJSZTyIBdgIN31UpcNygwdcF2LLdyI4VEpiGSgHTWMoXclmOTWDNDZSJNKCjWm4DmfPjs9LmIOIFGzsd/s1600/P1020761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2I8YWtC2IoQA6rrNgn0QcdeEPdg0laei9rR9O9S7Aw33Zzfoes9wUixV-a4TfJVnX2u6MkKPC76bIRXxADQziUhZzhK0KSUpd8_bvuJDbusEHq9zZsmao3mNPsIfBYuoP5Me3FbWj9Ba2/s1600/BOBO(a)+wing+molt+07-23-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2I8YWtC2IoQA6rrNgn0QcdeEPdg0laei9rR9O9S7Aw33Zzfoes9wUixV-a4TfJVnX2u6MkKPC76bIRXxADQziUhZzhK0KSUpd8_bvuJDbusEHq9zZsmao3mNPsIfBYuoP5Me3FbWj9Ba2/s320/BOBO(a)+wing+molt+07-23-07.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult male Bobolink undergoing flight feather molt.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Molt is the process of feather replacement that all birds
under take annually. Soon after the adult Bobolinks arrive in the grasslands
they begin the pre-basic molt which is complete, meaning they will molt, or
replace, all their feathers. Only after this molt is complete in about 3-4 weeks
will these birds continue their south-bound migration. All Bobolinks will again
undergo a complete molt prior to leaving their wintering grounds for their spring
migration back north. Flocks of over 300 individuals have been seen in the
fields. What we don’t know yet is whether the same individuals use the
grasslands as a molting ground every year or whether we always see different
individuals. There are only two bird species in North America that go through
two complete molts each year, Bobolinks are one of them, do you know what the
other species is?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8Lqal8HqXpKjArqpstLL_ARzWcPJkTXkYrthWkiwbHhXusPtQS02XZ1lXqsESJSZTyIBdgIN31UpcNygwdcF2LLdyI4VEpiGSgHTWMoXclmOTWDNDZSJNKCjWm4DmfPjs9LmIOIFGzsd/s1600/P1020761.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8Lqal8HqXpKjArqpstLL_ARzWcPJkTXkYrthWkiwbHhXusPtQS02XZ1lXqsESJSZTyIBdgIN31UpcNygwdcF2LLdyI4VEpiGSgHTWMoXclmOTWDNDZSJNKCjWm4DmfPjs9LmIOIFGzsd/s400/P1020761.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweeping views of the CRFRS restored grasslands on Chino Farm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The CRFRS restored grasslands are not only providing
critical breeding habitat for declining species such as Grasshopper Sparrow,
Field Sparrow, Dickcissel and Northern Bobwhite and are a great winter habitat for
a diversity of grassland dependent species but are also playing a fundamental
role in the life cycle of Bobolinks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to Bill Hubick for the use of his photographs. More of his photos can be seen at www.billhubick.com</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Dan Small is a field ecologist at the Chester River Field Research Station</i> and spends just about everyday in the summer months in the restored grasslands. For more information go to <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/crfrc"><span style="color: blue;">www.facebook.com/crfrc</span></a> or <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter"><span style="color: blue;">www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter</span></a></span></span></span></div>Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-64271312900539615162012-08-01T06:55:00.001-07:002012-08-07T06:16:51.346-07:00Other than water, what does the rain bring?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
No alarm needed this morning. Thunder was crackling and rain falling well
before the 6 a.m. clang of the set clock.
Rainfall on the eastern shore evokes different feelings for different
people. Farmers, for example, are happy
that their parched corn might survive to adulthood. My mind then moves to the
ramification of the rain in the Chester River Watershed, where the drops hit
and and, ultimately, what it collects as
it flows down hill off the fields and into the Bay. It’s a light rain so it’s
unlikely that there will be runoff.
Where will the water end up and what will it bring with it?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday I was over at Foremans Branch on Chino Farms in
Chestertown talking with Ted Kimble and Henry Davis about siting a most
sophisticated water quality sampling station.
Ted’s going to work with Choptank Electric to drop the electric service
in, that will power the station. Henry
will work his magic clearing the long grass and shrubs so the system can be
installed and serviced without a threat of contracting poison ivy. We’re talking with Dr. Jim Gruber to make
sure that this project doesn’t interfere with his <a href="http://centerforenvironment.blogspot.com/2012/07/close-looks-at-birds.html" target="_blank">bird banding research</a>. We also had to know how high the water gets
during slamming rainfall that happens during Nor’easters and hurricanes. So
much to do before we take our first sample. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fancy gizmo will pump water quietly from Foremans Branch
to the sensors and then gravity will whisk it back to whence it came. The
sensors will let us know what is coming off of the fields and through the
grounds from the farm, woods, and grasslands into the water. During dry times we’ll know that the
contributions we’re measuring are leaking into the water through the
ground. When it rains we originally
would have expected to see spikes in stuff coming into the water because of
runoff. Our friend <a href="http://md.water.usgs.gov/index.html" target="_blank">Judy Denver up at USGS</a> says that’s probably not the case. We’ll likely see water quality improve
during these “freshets”. That’s because the additional water dilutes the
nutrients and other “additives” from the farms and roads. Even though the water quality improves, the
volume of water flowing through the system is so high that, overall, the amount
of extraneous materials entering the system is still elevated. Look at it this
way. If you have a gallon of water with
a pound of sugar in it, it tastes like sugar water. If you have five gallons of water with two
pounds of sugar in it, there is more sugar, but it doesn’t taste as sweet. So rain and runoff probably worsens water
quality. Doug, did you say
“Probably?”. Yes, I did. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once we install this <a href="http://www.hachhydromet.com/web/ott_hach.nsf/id/pa_multiparameter-sondes.html" target="_blank">Hach Water Quality</a> measuring station
we’ll investigate the truth of this assertion.
Water temperature, salinity, conductivity, pH (acidity), dissolved
oxygen, turbidity (how dirty the water is), nutrient content, and water level
data will be sent to our website every fifteen minutes. Coupled with a weather station on the farm
we’ll be able to see the relationship between rainfall and water quality. Communicating with the farm we’ll be able to
see how farming practices, including fertilizer application, relates to changes
in the chemistry of the water flowing through Foremans Branch down to the
Chester River. We’re hoping to have this
information on line for everyone to see. This will change that "Probably" to an answer with more certainty. I’ll let you know when we throw the switch. Get in touch if you have questions. <a href="http://ces.washcoll.edu/faculty/douglevin.php" target="_blank">Doug Levin</a> is the Associate
Director, Center for Environment & Society @ Washington College and can be reached at dlevin2@washcoll.edu.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>This is the site where we originally thought the water
quality installation was going.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="webkit-fake-url://9741388F-984B-4ECA-831F-B8B485521672/application.pdf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="webkit-fake-url://9741388F-984B-4ECA-831F-B8B485521672/application.pdf" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="webkit-fake-url://6C457711-C13D-49A6-81CB-EAC594FC07F7/application.pdf" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><b>This photo taken at flood stage convinced us to place the
system up the hill from the bridge.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<img src="webkit-fake-url://66C2992D-8C50-4A88-BD12-0AA0D7AAAF6F/application.pdf" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-40866908453412583612012-07-27T05:33:00.000-07:002012-07-27T05:33:01.291-07:00Close Looks at BirdsI mentioned a few weeks ago a great project going on behind the scenes at CES: we've slowly been cataloging all the pictures ever taken at Chino Farm and trying to get as many of them online as possible.<br />
<br />
Well, we've made it through the first stages, and now many of the amazing pictures taken of birds during banding at Foreman's Branch Bird Observatory (FBBO) are available <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/foremansbranchbirdobservatory/albums/index.php" target="_blank">online here</a>. The species are organized by family to the extent possible, though of course some categories have multiple families, and some birds are just hard to categorize. But we've done our best! It was exciting to go through all the pictures that have been taken, and realize first hand the history of the research done at FBBO.<br />
<br />
While all of the pictures are impressive, I of course have some favorites, especially the <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/foremansbranchbirdobservatory/albums/owls.php" target="_blank">owl</a> and <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/foremansbranchbirdobservatory/albums/raptors.php" target="_blank">raptor</a> pages. The raptor page is a good example of what we hope to accomplish with these albums. In addition to having a photo of each species, we'd like to show differences between males and females, adults and juveniles, and other variation you might see within the species. At some point we'll also include pictures of the things banders look for when collecting information about these birds. In addition, over time, more information about each species, including information about when certain individuals were caught, data that has been collected on those species, and possibly even sounds will be added to the pages. But all of that, of course, takes time! Not to mention that some of the pictures are, gasp!, on film! All of those will have to await an intern who can scan them in.<br />
<br />
Finally, you can also access the albums from our tables of <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/foremansbranchbirdobservatory/bandings/" target="_blank">banding data</a>. Now, if you are curious about a species that has been recently banded, you can click on the species name and view photos of that bird.<br />
<br />
So as a special bonus for blog readers, here are some photos that didn't make it onto the site (yet!):<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjj_TEBsgvyWtC4wupsyDucty79_oSba0Q8xKS7BFLnIfla0vq29n_JLs7kFm6iUOD5h5EyxSYpLZW_n3wzrHnOasv3YYoUSTRT6GD-kuqsFyxYqL5f4eg1muHkLX0P7U8qPxoaEOGkl7O/s1600/BEKI+03-25-12+%285%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjj_TEBsgvyWtC4wupsyDucty79_oSba0Q8xKS7BFLnIfla0vq29n_JLs7kFm6iUOD5h5EyxSYpLZW_n3wzrHnOasv3YYoUSTRT6GD-kuqsFyxYqL5f4eg1muHkLX0P7U8qPxoaEOGkl7O/s320/BEKI+03-25-12+%285%29.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out these Kingfisher feet!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXVsl72pqjujpUZD-uW4R_tn8IZ5D8XwlxwAggHw1aYkQzkkrNCijRlgQA3J8MNlYj_bYocJhFo6DXVXZhku242XrLg9psACaGV130vUurkOoBp4YtUaIWzjeaqDXOoz2freK7gWAOAjR/s1600/CONI+5-18-06+%283%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXVsl72pqjujpUZD-uW4R_tn8IZ5D8XwlxwAggHw1aYkQzkkrNCijRlgQA3J8MNlYj_bYocJhFo6DXVXZhku242XrLg9psACaGV130vUurkOoBp4YtUaIWzjeaqDXOoz2freK7gWAOAjR/s320/CONI+5-18-06+%283%29.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most people have never seen this bird- the Common Nighthawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqoPCU98No8u_MBjQEBIY_6vbdKCabd-3oBgb_LR7JIlockhkMntyl0-CsN34q8OkhX0YUF6T5Ayke01lknk9yNTKW14Ho5GbklCxwFyPuxBd6ij_nkAWWT29UtT9v98LIyw7GOpuJf_j/s1600/EWPW3_as.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqoPCU98No8u_MBjQEBIY_6vbdKCabd-3oBgb_LR7JIlockhkMntyl0-CsN34q8OkhX0YUF6T5Ayke01lknk9yNTKW14Ho5GbklCxwFyPuxBd6ij_nkAWWT29UtT9v98LIyw7GOpuJf_j/s320/EWPW3_as.jpg" width="190" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's its relative, the Whip-poor-will</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j_P5kzCmH8Eg_4y-HRGGJzVShaE-zhuOhfpwZwuHfggwLzp3s-EbeqXI52yhOsNlTx2g7pHnLTD7Q3xH6v12jY8gZIb2WrYDucBCIjiYwwEeOiiOqSBYzTzTPUkYD5Qbah00R8C_vUNs/s1600/PIWO+05-12-09+%2811%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j_P5kzCmH8Eg_4y-HRGGJzVShaE-zhuOhfpwZwuHfggwLzp3s-EbeqXI52yhOsNlTx2g7pHnLTD7Q3xH6v12jY8gZIb2WrYDucBCIjiYwwEeOiiOqSBYzTzTPUkYD5Qbah00R8C_vUNs/s320/PIWO+05-12-09+%2811%29.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just can't get enough of this bird, the Pileated Woodpecker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXy10XtVJ10r7c6QTBNXZD0u9RrR4uHgGnIpUoka2kzoKdOV3Ucto3PbsUSBh8JkLcOK9SnDW8BVaPQbtsJbI0CdnVZNYZYe1ZL_oW1dqJluKTJ3zo15WtqDDQtciUP-aCEJlz49jQz2sr/s1600/PIWO+05-12-09+%286%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXy10XtVJ10r7c6QTBNXZD0u9RrR4uHgGnIpUoka2kzoKdOV3Ucto3PbsUSBh8JkLcOK9SnDW8BVaPQbtsJbI0CdnVZNYZYe1ZL_oW1dqJluKTJ3zo15WtqDDQtciUP-aCEJlz49jQz2sr/s320/PIWO+05-12-09+%286%29.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whoa!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJadLBklw5YK1nQuOWJl0Md0VQgxUJmI2F4OmRmZEZpMbDbaf8OFzKFJkBUT8DLENtsrpuXQAbMWA8uMbo23h2zg4R4RZZNgzqXrnH4JNaOQafdq14Tq01Om2JCnNg26BF97o52h321WKV/s1600/new+098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJadLBklw5YK1nQuOWJl0Md0VQgxUJmI2F4OmRmZEZpMbDbaf8OFzKFJkBUT8DLENtsrpuXQAbMWA8uMbo23h2zg4R4RZZNgzqXrnH4JNaOQafdq14Tq01Om2JCnNg26BF97o52h321WKV/s320/new+098.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's some little screech owls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionWT4Hrpogs7d5pRqVyKiXodP9xvkYqo6Ma0-kyGq-Lcr-l3z_f1nq-9mr3BHgBxfS2gzUiebaedXJBRr20BIP-Cnymz_6zKu4yFsUqWEMjzfkt81N_ADGo-j_uow8zLI_iE9rP6L8XXN/s1600/EASO+%284%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionWT4Hrpogs7d5pRqVyKiXodP9xvkYqo6Ma0-kyGq-Lcr-l3z_f1nq-9mr3BHgBxfS2gzUiebaedXJBRr20BIP-Cnymz_6zKu4yFsUqWEMjzfkt81N_ADGo-j_uow8zLI_iE9rP6L8XXN/s320/EASO+%284%29.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a little fluffy one</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJ8DJ4qG65YkYXA074E6GorpUj-Ud8OUX0bMjkA4H0szjMVK1N77G0DmiGU0z3k2mTZsfLhyphenhyphenhJT-N8lVcVMMEgcFbGfm6CIS1f716TOrKgepJUDMn4rv8BXRHp7hrSWli67Ma-ge-ygDo/s1600/SSHA+SY+male+11-15-06+%281%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJ8DJ4qG65YkYXA074E6GorpUj-Ud8OUX0bMjkA4H0szjMVK1N77G0DmiGU0z3k2mTZsfLhyphenhyphenhJT-N8lVcVMMEgcFbGfm6CIS1f716TOrKgepJUDMn4rv8BXRHp7hrSWli67Ma-ge-ygDo/s320/SSHA+SY+male+11-15-06+%281%29.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharp-shinned hawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTADSXu0fp0mwRxSDQS-WsNj201tfur5Imt-D5dkfxTeMi2Oaj03DJMT5qA7FekZsMbsOXAyiBhAp9FMT1RS7sIj5MikvKNwGQ2l8snQpvqGOBnsqMe4j4obCXrbg1KT5Rejrej-jRyFu/s1600/Dan's+quail+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTADSXu0fp0mwRxSDQS-WsNj201tfur5Imt-D5dkfxTeMi2Oaj03DJMT5qA7FekZsMbsOXAyiBhAp9FMT1RS7sIj5MikvKNwGQ2l8snQpvqGOBnsqMe4j4obCXrbg1KT5Rejrej-jRyFu/s320/Dan's+quail+1.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And finally, a young Northern Bobwhite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are so many great pictures yet to share- hope you check out the albums! You can also see the latest in bird glamor shots by following <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CRFRC" target="_blank">CRFRS on facebook</a>.<br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i><a href="http://ces.washcoll.edu/faculty/taraholste.php" target="_blank">Tara Holste</a> is the Web Content Manager for the Center for Environment & Society, as well as a recent convert to the world of birding.</i>Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-46697750185183772492012-07-26T08:18:00.000-07:002012-07-26T08:18:54.439-07:00Chino Farm: A Week in Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPws8cRl66h4Ck49zZ1xGJt-KE47NWUtdBsLJvc-gBjtohbNfr9ama93Mud3UIKUlTM9yLCOsipB5EWPNMzl9palyuiPtSGJV_550_sX-pxpQXvfhWQuOuCSgEc6jxdIZWkSdz4chPaFW/s1600/ASY+male+BAWW+04-11-07+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPws8cRl66h4Ck49zZ1xGJt-KE47NWUtdBsLJvc-gBjtohbNfr9ama93Mud3UIKUlTM9yLCOsipB5EWPNMzl9palyuiPtSGJV_550_sX-pxpQXvfhWQuOuCSgEc6jxdIZWkSdz4chPaFW/s320/ASY+male+BAWW+04-11-07+%25282%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
This week at the banding station Amanda Spears caught one of the first migrants of the season: a Black and White Warbler!
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YmzSBRsihAj-1Lvo5aSexexX6YBXzGqODHo1cfP8lBPCnmVBnuN3XRAFWVTAsnUB2nfZ8ow049thjhT-Xo_DKNyQApncN6PR2jQSLZir7D3tAuCHUnJxHVHw456i3mtNZXP3xhch9Vi6/s1600/bobo_close.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YmzSBRsihAj-1Lvo5aSexexX6YBXzGqODHo1cfP8lBPCnmVBnuN3XRAFWVTAsnUB2nfZ8ow049thjhT-Xo_DKNyQApncN6PR2jQSLZir7D3tAuCHUnJxHVHw456i3mtNZXP3xhch9Vi6/s320/bobo_close.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Bobolinks are officially here to stay. Well...at least to molt. The grasslands are getting filled up with Bobolinks as they feast on foxtail grass and begin their molt before continuing south on migration.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMtqjvd2YlmZdlczGTl5TuC4goEvTUT2-XDoLvRvhtRIxyjZ-ZA1DXP1-vOy1bfTAt7FZbenMhQjOQWTl6kmFSxU84MlpzAAixC0jX6t_Gnhqp8Gc_fFvVRM52Afw2FRnZULFGGq7g40J/s1600/OROR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMtqjvd2YlmZdlczGTl5TuC4goEvTUT2-XDoLvRvhtRIxyjZ-ZA1DXP1-vOy1bfTAt7FZbenMhQjOQWTl6kmFSxU84MlpzAAixC0jX6t_Gnhqp8Gc_fFvVRM52Afw2FRnZULFGGq7g40J/s320/OROR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This past week banding on the grasslands jumped in numbers. Among the birds being captured were Orchard Orioles, like this one.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmOdCTc49EfRjeIaJLKiB-XA_UnHTwOW3h1mL_df-xMc8kmQ9VZJ3gWGgNOdc3JRBn0vXqtObUq2spIFoiZTk_OQCzRT4H59A2hCy6z-sJCI4xjPQQZhlSrK0kKtmR4ja9D4APc4DgSwM/s1600/testgrsp3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmOdCTc49EfRjeIaJLKiB-XA_UnHTwOW3h1mL_df-xMc8kmQ9VZJ3gWGgNOdc3JRBn0vXqtObUq2spIFoiZTk_OQCzRT4H59A2hCy6z-sJCI4xjPQQZhlSrK0kKtmR4ja9D4APc4DgSwM/s320/testgrsp3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The nesting continues! Grasshopper Sparrows are trying to get one more clutch in before they have to start worrying about migration.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOy_vPZG-omdkTUIE4ZsBVtAq5h9gtrhmrv01NLAOWBlm__RPlPg2dKYzRu6jnWipidEtC2gxipbXGm1Dd92sOy2AWGTsUu7xnkPnWzWweMPYYN84JRorNLHznYF2qcKOE-12c4ytI83Kp/s1600/babyNOBO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOy_vPZG-omdkTUIE4ZsBVtAq5h9gtrhmrv01NLAOWBlm__RPlPg2dKYzRu6jnWipidEtC2gxipbXGm1Dd92sOy2AWGTsUu7xnkPnWzWweMPYYN84JRorNLHznYF2qcKOE-12c4ytI83Kp/s320/babyNOBO.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We've been happy to see plenty of young Northern Bobwhite around the grasslands this summer. It seems like they've had a productive breeding season.
To check out the latest from the grasslands take a look at our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CRFRC?ref=ts"> Facebook page. </a>
<br />
Next week marks the start of fall banding at FBBO, don't forget to check out our <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter/foremansbranchbirdobservatory/"> website </a> for the latest updates from the banding station!Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-30522871452937756892012-07-25T08:55:00.004-07:002012-07-25T08:55:51.185-07:00What's inside that birdhouse?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtbCbTGMPfgG3EidlVUVNp17-tL63tgbUUq9MY8Pwx8VantVQ-XfvFN7jqf_v6AZaT_RfduTDDV_o-Arm8yGCMP3XFrYplTo86C1P_Xg80U9gZnUF97TMuSykq4qDYe2kDhFsWKmZ4MJZ6/s1600/IMG_0785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtbCbTGMPfgG3EidlVUVNp17-tL63tgbUUq9MY8Pwx8VantVQ-XfvFN7jqf_v6AZaT_RfduTDDV_o-Arm8yGCMP3XFrYplTo86C1P_Xg80U9gZnUF97TMuSykq4qDYe2kDhFsWKmZ4MJZ6/s320/IMG_0785.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eastern Bluebird nest. The chick is only a few hours old.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the many fun things I get to do as a Field
Ecologist with CES is checking the nestboxes on Chino Farms/CRFRS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are about 100 boxes spread out over
several miles of roads and trails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More
or less once a week from mid-March through August someone checks each box and
records what is inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually, that
someone is me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the time it’s an adventure to make the circuit-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
run into Bluestem Farms staff, I watch an Osprey catch a fish, I hear the wheezy
call notes of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
I admire the flowers in bloom. </span>Did I mention this is my job?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqft-sNpRIhL1TQl30mutWRSHVkS7SAnqcbkLNv20yM9vhAIdHtSeOqfWu4aK8T23KeW75wrnrmseU31btRP7FKAbk4GIb2T-4hRZDgmd2WazK0Jww_iPFqtTkkvYq04V2fxx_s9RmQ0e/s1600/IMG_0487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqft-sNpRIhL1TQl30mutWRSHVkS7SAnqcbkLNv20yM9vhAIdHtSeOqfWu4aK8T23KeW75wrnrmseU31btRP7FKAbk4GIb2T-4hRZDgmd2WazK0Jww_iPFqtTkkvYq04V2fxx_s9RmQ0e/s320/IMG_0487.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carolina Chickadess back in the nest after having been banded.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I keep a record of what is in each box all season. I band the chicks when they are old enough and when they have fledged the nest, I remove it so the box is ready for it's next residents. Each box is a surprise- I never know what will be
inside!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A box that was empty last week
could have a full nest this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A nest
that last week had chicks could be all torn up with no birds to be found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the boxes are used by Tree Swallows
and Eastern Bluebirds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Less frequent
residents include Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, House Wrens and
Great-crested Flycatchers. Sometimes the birds banded as chicks stay on the property to breed as adults. There are several old titmice and bluebirds still around that hatched in one of our boxes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course, a sturdy, water tight cavity is prime
real estate to many animals and not all visitors are birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several boxes host Flying Squirrels which we
allow to stay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mice are frequent
squatters and we try to discourage them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes, a birdhouse with eggs inside is a boxed lunch for a raccoon or
opossum or a snake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything needs to
eat.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPzt0K2RmYJ98F8pWC2etqMoYlUb9ljj7eLdiFdiL6pYDrPsmjByPHWNH1_SSA8GWC012kQ_dkNntOsqAcQoY967iu4jBJBOBJasIcHPTDacSge-hqPlc4f697o9To0TQQHMwUSbJ3j8e/s1600/IMG_0533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPzt0K2RmYJ98F8pWC2etqMoYlUb9ljj7eLdiFdiL6pYDrPsmjByPHWNH1_SSA8GWC012kQ_dkNntOsqAcQoY967iu4jBJBOBJasIcHPTDacSge-hqPlc4f697o9To0TQQHMwUSbJ3j8e/s320/IMG_0533.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young Black Rat Snake inside what had been a bluebird nest.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-OUFJgrZMDZyAP9fbnFKaklmhbkC7rG-fkugrMx3zQVrmHcZlyHoXdCrlHNUP3Pn9pkt01UXuIygwSccyYCPLtyB5gFqIS5iOsomKX9uNxgloUVuCxOe55lw0XPZJTCgYPHEt-WrnIcO/s1600/mouse+in+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-OUFJgrZMDZyAP9fbnFKaklmhbkC7rG-fkugrMx3zQVrmHcZlyHoXdCrlHNUP3Pn9pkt01UXuIygwSccyYCPLtyB5gFqIS5iOsomKX9uNxgloUVuCxOe55lw0XPZJTCgYPHEt-WrnIcO/s320/mouse+in+box.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mice like our birdhouses quite a bit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Tree Swallows have finished nesting for the season,
but there are still 3 boxes with House Wren nests and 7 with bluebird
nests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bluebirds can nest quite late
into the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The latest we’ve had a
bluebird fledge on Chino was September 6<sup>th</sup>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looks like I have weeks of nest checks still
ahead of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t mind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><em>Maren Gimpel is a field
ecologist at the Chester River Field Research
Station. </em><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Photos and stories about the goings on of CRFRS can be found at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/crfrc"><span style="color: blue;">www.facebook.com/crfrc</span></a> or at <a href="http://www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter"><span style="color: blue;">www.washcoll.edu/ces/chesterriverfieldresearchcenter</span></a><o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-42775109229626405102012-07-23T11:11:00.000-07:002012-07-30T11:03:52.762-07:00Summer Fun at Bombay HookThis past week the crew at CRFRS took a trip to Bombay Hook in Delaware as a reward for all of their hard work this summer. As we got our things together to start the trip I remembered how exciting it is to go out with a big group and learn together. For many in the crew this was a brand new experience. All the scopes were loaded into the car, binoculars were cleaned up and placed around necks, and Sibley (bird guide) was featured prominently on the dash. Then off we went! On the way into the reserve we were already hearing and seeing plenty of birds, so we knew that it was going to be a good day. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDVRz27zMSCyR4wd01gd6mpiuFjFvX75HnS_uuEIvzkeGHK53VarjX5P2BRs1Q-DlQSWW6dP6RnsgsKb9KLOFWCYIoNOkcpddRwbUiTZ-dKuqdpuRCDqwlQ4LfjpC16ryOgV1QALccpwL/s1600/IMG_8413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDVRz27zMSCyR4wd01gd6mpiuFjFvX75HnS_uuEIvzkeGHK53VarjX5P2BRs1Q-DlQSWW6dP6RnsgsKb9KLOFWCYIoNOkcpddRwbUiTZ-dKuqdpuRCDqwlQ4LfjpC16ryOgV1QALccpwL/s320/IMG_8413.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shorebirds covered the mudflats at Bombay Hook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We arrived at the first pond and set up our scopes. “Rachel can you count the Dowitchers? I’ve got the Semi’s,” Banding intern Amanda Spears said to me as we scanned the pond. Every August Bombay Hook fills up with thousands of shorebirds that are experiencing migration. Many of these birds are among the farthest travelers of any animal. Some of them will have flown up to Alaska to breed and are on their way to South America to winter, and for that one day we were able to witness a part of their journey. “I’ve got a Western (Western Sandpiper) over here,” field ecologist Dan Small said as he looked through his spotting scope. As the interns were learning (and I was beginning to remember) one of the great joys of shore birding is looking through huge groups of birds to try and pick out that one that might be different. Unless you know what you’re looking for Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers look practically identical. We were interested in looking through the flocks to test our identification skills and learn new tricks. As I continued counting Short-Billed Dowitchers, I could hear Dan giving birding tips to the interns and showing them examples of what he looks for when identifying shorebirds. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvCbqshX1aeWKK17FD0PZHYUMs6terJFjQA5Hmf5ImPstCbmtJP7AL51cWMsJNb7AqV1qxJUESlRikfdGom-ipT140e4irlQrRHPtwoKLfe10UbDIuHDxFylOfvHkaP7v1aMl8JB43QsR/s1600/IMG_8416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvCbqshX1aeWKK17FD0PZHYUMs6terJFjQA5Hmf5ImPstCbmtJP7AL51cWMsJNb7AqV1qxJUESlRikfdGom-ipT140e4irlQrRHPtwoKLfe10UbDIuHDxFylOfvHkaP7v1aMl8JB43QsR/s320/IMG_8416.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The interns were learning some new birding techniques!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
“Anybody counted those Snowy Egrets yet?” Maren Gimpel, field ecologist, asked. We were taking time to note each species and count each individual so that we could submit the data to an online database called “eBird.” eBird provides birders an opportunity to keep their own records while simultaneously contributing to a record of bird sightings for the entire country. After our trip, Amanda carefully entered all of the birds we saw and submitted them to the eBird database. These data are then reviewed by the people at eBird and uploaded to the web. By putting the information on the web other birders can also access the information and see where/what time of year other birders have had exciting finds.
By the time we left we’d seen a good variety of birds and some pretty exciting ones too! The interns got a fun introduction to birding and we’re so grateful for all their hard work this summer.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FJdge2sKRjNJvAnNzvqRMD-AvGR1f8dxaV6rXvWUyuEeAcOt49NO5xVpdaM05GWuBhjk5l5EUuCfCXb9HwIEcSiPCujXzgp_IoDuacBvE_57wBdjvw5ZQ45u9f1Xpgru-cu56lz98Mc8/s1600/IMG_8419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FJdge2sKRjNJvAnNzvqRMD-AvGR1f8dxaV6rXvWUyuEeAcOt49NO5xVpdaM05GWuBhjk5l5EUuCfCXb9HwIEcSiPCujXzgp_IoDuacBvE_57wBdjvw5ZQ45u9f1Xpgru-cu56lz98Mc8/s320/IMG_8419.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maren Gimpel consults a bird book</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To take a look at some of the birds we saw at Bombay Hook take a look at our <a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11179063"> eBird checklist </a>Rachel Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10570663566330471387noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-13055343106334274872012-07-20T07:11:00.000-07:002012-07-24T11:16:21.422-07:00Part 2: How do People Make Oysters?<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSPf6PjRGYp37IaI8HeXDbM97rNd4heW0iXeSMZUktJQSM243fxl25SVjx744-NY7zQfDxfo-j5Wmipyco8V92kDmdJgXQK4dSCx1xShsKsYHh4SPfoZuS2ZmdrNlDk22pIK400kyQXD9/s1600/Pic+F.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSPf6PjRGYp37IaI8HeXDbM97rNd4heW0iXeSMZUktJQSM243fxl25SVjx744-NY7zQfDxfo-j5Wmipyco8V92kDmdJgXQK4dSCx1xShsKsYHh4SPfoZuS2ZmdrNlDk22pIK400kyQXD9/s320/Pic+F.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.hpl.umces.edu/hatchery/" target="_blank">UMD HornPoint Laboratories</a> (HPL): What an operation!
What a facility! What a
weird group of people!
(teasing…) They started producing baby oysters in 1997. Last year they produced 650 million
spat-on-shell. In a perfect world
with a gentle mother nature, they hope to produce up to 1 billion. Regardless, HPL is charged with jump-starting the oyster resurgence in Maryland’s Chesapeake. Currently, our oyster population is at
an all time low of 0.03% of historic levels. The spat-on-shell that comes out of HPL is the seed oyster
for our sanctuaries, harvest reserves and burgeoning aquaculture industry. The Chester has been recipient
for decades and most recently received seeded shell for a<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOOU8ywFCCg" target="_blank"> 2-acre oyster reef</a>
spear-headed by the <a href="http://www.cbf.org/" target="_blank">Chesapeake Bay Foundation</a>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alright, alright, but how does man make oysters and why is
there such a variation in our <a href="http://www.oysters.maryland.gov/" target="_blank">Marylanders Grow Oyster (MGO) </a>cages!? Well, people make oysters by first
understanding the science of how <a href="http://www.hpl.umces.edu/hatchery/index.php/media/video/" target="_blank">oysters reproduce</a> and then they must figure
out how they eat. By
inducing female oysters to release eggs and male oysters to release sperm by
methodically raising water temperatures, HPL can develop superior gametes from
the fittest brood stock—hopefully enhancing the genetic fitness of our native <i>Crassostrea virginica</i> against disease
pressure. Once the gametes meet
and form larvae, staff at HPL feed and monitor the microscopic swimmers through
various stages of development. So here is how to make oysters: you have to know how to make
algae! Oyster larvae eat algae,
but not just any algae. Their diet
is a well-balanced buffet of different kinds of algae--highly regulated, highly
supervised, and highly scientific!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcVR89LKoGByVOsBy6S8ZF48-Gsz2d8hRcS4LjUOY56M8VyfuNmGUH5TophyphenhyphenYwMQOjvXngBHwhNZXYECkXu9Rze5qq0zA097abhd84J_TYRXdiXQRsT0JG_kjAJ3-oR1EfriFybI0x-ex/s1600/Pic+G.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcVR89LKoGByVOsBy6S8ZF48-Gsz2d8hRcS4LjUOY56M8VyfuNmGUH5TophyphenhyphenYwMQOjvXngBHwhNZXYECkXu9Rze5qq0zA097abhd84J_TYRXdiXQRsT0JG_kjAJ3-oR1EfriFybI0x-ex/s320/Pic+G.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Close monitoring of oyster larvae will reveal the formation
of an “eye” or dark speck, that indicates the larvae are ready to set. Ideally, we want the oysters to
“set” on other oyster shells to form a reef, but they will set on
anything. So staff
must drain massive tanks filled with millions of larvae before the larvae start
attaching themselves to the walls and then……put them in the fridge! Yup, millions and millions of oyster
larvae can be stored right next to last night’s left-overs. I don’t think there is a
shucking knife small enough….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the larvae are chillin’ out, the staff at HPL readies
the setting tanks—located on a state-of-the-art pier that has recently been
brought on line. (Following
the logic: bring the larvae to the
water, not the water to the larvae.
Much more cost effective!)
The setting tanks are where the larvae find their new home! Each tank is filled with aged
oyster shell that has been dried and cleaned by the <a href="http://www.oysterrecovery.org/" target="_blank">Oyster RecoveryPartnership</a>. The vast majority
of the shell comes from the Chesapeake’s shucking houses but a growing portion
is coming from restaurants participating in the <a href="http://www.oysterrecovery.org/Content/ContentDisplay.aspx?ContentID=88" target="_blank">Shell Recycling Alliance.</a>
(Shameless plug: eat oysters at
these restaurants; the shells will go back to the Bay with 10 more oysters
attached!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyL7fH2inVWGXkal7X6zZwhJ6KPhVAWMMZ1tikI95vu9WRTh4TcOGys1CUoyuImKrdoQ-DrZT28ViW7ZsttGpGYvgxciXFKNn-ccMqPh73zOmygSWJ_e9iIWk2M2M5QPew7vClMgkfjMcO/s1600/Pic+H.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyL7fH2inVWGXkal7X6zZwhJ6KPhVAWMMZ1tikI95vu9WRTh4TcOGys1CUoyuImKrdoQ-DrZT28ViW7ZsttGpGYvgxciXFKNn-ccMqPh73zOmygSWJ_e9iIWk2M2M5QPew7vClMgkfjMcO/s320/Pic+H.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Alright, so now
we’ve got old oyster shell in water pumped straight from the Choptank
River. When we add eyed larvae
looking to set, one precocious little oyster larvae will yell out, “follow me,
I know where the prime real estate is!” And that is when it happens. Predictably unpredictably, oyster larvae will set in
“clusters” on the shell, exhibiting what scientist call a “gregarious setting
pattern.” In other words, they
like to grow next to other larvae.
The result is that the spat on shell coming out of the hatchery has a
variation in density. Some shell
will have 15 spat attached to it and some shell will have 0 spat set to
it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9dWhn7Au5ZH-XxfWhZZfbX1pI5uO4p1FZ-xEBYX5SrWg-wNrfHM4KEVW2HG54l1KfoSfNetsrb2izaBfT0gQwjUl49Uz0hqkIC-o3auTv6O3tzRKiC-oe0_d2-lAv9gjW7yts4TEPfit/s1600/IMG_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9dWhn7Au5ZH-XxfWhZZfbX1pI5uO4p1FZ-xEBYX5SrWg-wNrfHM4KEVW2HG54l1KfoSfNetsrb2izaBfT0gQwjUl49Uz0hqkIC-o3auTv6O3tzRKiC-oe0_d2-lAv9gjW7yts4TEPfit/s320/IMG_0015.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
When our growers pick up their cages with spat-on-shell
randomly distributed, each grower starts off with a different amount of spat to
care for. And then it
happens. Each member has different
conditions for caring for our oysters!
It is one of the benefits of the MGO program; oysters come to our
member’s home and become a real life aquarium at the end of their piers. It is also one of the factors
influencing the amount of spat on shell that survive the growing season and are
planted on a sanctuary. Each
member will have to provide the right amount of care based on his or her water
conditions. That includes
suspending the cages at the right depth to avoid lethal blow-out tides in the
winter and dunking them periodically to avoid suspended sediments from settling
on them to the point of suffocation.
And on top of all of that, we throw in the capriciousness of mother
nature! This past year, we
experienced heavy spring rains that came down the mighty Susquehanna and
essentially dropped the salinity to 0 at the Bay Bridge for a month or
more. Incredible. Our spat-on-shell are equally
susceptible to the harmful effects of low salinity, but there is little that we
can do about that. Some members that were exposed to the
“freshet” coming down the bay experienced very high mortality. Other growers in Langford Bay didn’t
experience much of a difference from last year’s conditions--although there is
some discussion that our oysters are a little smaller this year.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12XN8jmkrow05GyE-lwq4DlCMyO1oy8-x6OYqYgrnI9J1Vfc8dR1FNpztsjOZKdT5Rk6wAahZIuIm4Nx4antLoVIxtdk0LODvN2tITsPkZ7ikqsrNtpzow0ZcOOZaH_jPDFO4pey5TBbM/s1600/Pic+J.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12XN8jmkrow05GyE-lwq4DlCMyO1oy8-x6OYqYgrnI9J1Vfc8dR1FNpztsjOZKdT5Rk6wAahZIuIm4Nx4antLoVIxtdk0LODvN2tITsPkZ7ikqsrNtpzow0ZcOOZaH_jPDFO4pey5TBbM/s200/Pic+J.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The best way to care for our oysters coming out of the
hatchery is to follow the recommendations on the <a href="http://www.oysters.maryland.gov/" target="_blank">MGO website</a>: hang the cages
thoughtfully so they are not in the mud, but still underwater during low tides; then dunk them periodically to remove suspended silt--this can be as little as
once a month depending on where you are and what time of year its. But to get the full benefit
of the program, don’t be shy about pulling up a cage with a friend or family
member to see how the oysters are growing and what critters they have attracted
into their mini ecosystem!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgla0r-KNa5TRfcG3NKKNXQx3nOl8dwwPVNWwUnWTQ5GteJQ1t0Eydl9_7Hg7RhkkzLjAuGDpqAtl0iHmdScveYFduhg0MKmeq7PS5-KCUMM2q1MgXW36_mUYhN8FGyuym3jjYtiOE2ZhgZ/s1600/Pic+K.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgla0r-KNa5TRfcG3NKKNXQx3nOl8dwwPVNWwUnWTQ5GteJQ1t0Eydl9_7Hg7RhkkzLjAuGDpqAtl0iHmdScveYFduhg0MKmeq7PS5-KCUMM2q1MgXW36_mUYhN8FGyuym3jjYtiOE2ZhgZ/s320/Pic+K.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://ces.washcoll.edu/faculty/michaelhardesty.php" target="_blank">Mike Hardesty</a> is
Assistant Director of the Chesapeake Semester at Washington College and the
MGO-Chester River Coordinator. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-56279086081513746202012-07-19T11:40:00.001-07:002012-07-19T12:10:35.773-07:00How do People Make Oysters?<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X0jbxsxn6ZDpthyiT2Hg-eaE-rSNhmTqBMl7VarnDoz4CWNUCzz84Y2XwkhoWm_phHddZV9KoZFCcfBf_Dwm2pI3ZV0S3VwvWDLawTWzYGBtzrHcVVgSle0MhLb8hezLLFZJr2MAVhIT/s1600/Pic+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X0jbxsxn6ZDpthyiT2Hg-eaE-rSNhmTqBMl7VarnDoz4CWNUCzz84Y2XwkhoWm_phHddZV9KoZFCcfBf_Dwm2pI3ZV0S3VwvWDLawTWzYGBtzrHcVVgSle0MhLb8hezLLFZJr2MAVhIT/s320/Pic+A.jpg" width="213" /></a>Well before we answer that question, let’s talk about how
people <i>grow</i> oysters. In 2008 the MD Department of Natural
Resources along with Oyster Recovery Partnership and University of Maryland’s
Horn Point Laboratories launched “<a href="http://www.oysters.maryland.gov/" target="_blank">Marylanders Grow Oysters</a>” (MGO). In a nut-shell, this is a state
funded program that puts oyster restoration into the hands of the thousands of
citizens living along the Bay’s shoreline. It’s local.
It’s community-based, and it's fun!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our local <a href="http://ces.washcoll.edu/oysters.php" target="_blank">Chester River-MGO</a> program has been in operation
for two seasons now, with great success. Coordinated by CES and assisted with the help of
partner organizations like the <a href="http://chesterriverassociation.org/" target="_blank">Chester River Association</a>, it is 100%
dependent upon the sweat equity of thoughtful and energetic community members
who want to improve the water quality of the Chester—and learn a little
something about oysters as they go. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9JcFtE4cC_F5UlCRdd5umo3LI0fqlrhvpYcw16qDORj7-FYJ-vcuHmJP-D4b3kneYvDoJw0rISpfd61Gu1F44AcChMvn3A4gIVa_17hxiMaijMOp4SPJUFEctBtCbhF9f_4Y1yhZNrOI/s1600/Pic+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9JcFtE4cC_F5UlCRdd5umo3LI0fqlrhvpYcw16qDORj7-FYJ-vcuHmJP-D4b3kneYvDoJw0rISpfd61Gu1F44AcChMvn3A4gIVa_17hxiMaijMOp4SPJUFEctBtCbhF9f_4Y1yhZNrOI/s320/Pic+B.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With 60 members and their family and friends, Chester
River-MGO is responsible for 260 cages of baby oysters (spat-on-shell). Each cage can grow anywhere from 0-300
oysters through our September to June season. If we get a conservative average of 50 oysters per
cage that is still 26,000 oysters a year planted on a local sanctuary in
Langford Bay. Not to mention that
we also conspire with MGO programs on the Corsica River and Swan Creek to put
oysters back in the Chester. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This past spring CES organized a survey dive of our
sanctuary site. It was murky, and
it was hard to find oysters, but find them we did! There were at least two distinct “age classes” of oysters:
our oysters from 2011 and hatchery oysters from probably around 2009. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA51Ql2Vy-bTCHqE5_6yN9VBIXL9-aVhIqaXxM6nqfOHiyht9Z6NHb_KgpAPtXD4klc3sSnH142zpL4eLrWZf8hlnCAPUuBRLTsJ3Ef5sEXz4HtTZcGRXPFyq5QS-eilxJjAe4zDi2ZqeW/s1600/Pic+C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA51Ql2Vy-bTCHqE5_6yN9VBIXL9-aVhIqaXxM6nqfOHiyht9Z6NHb_KgpAPtXD4klc3sSnH142zpL4eLrWZf8hlnCAPUuBRLTsJ3Ef5sEXz4HtTZcGRXPFyq5QS-eilxJjAe4zDi2ZqeW/s320/Pic+C.jpg" width="212" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUAbeddpDkfNMuo_5IwQI0qxcJ-AI4XRo4fz3cW8-Y75sHuGYgNS9FJAqRuyEZI7jAwjf3t92QraS-uO-4LLc2M9LGKkIwSCnUTGgtkEz9S3q1tGxcb_6wIoNB6AGxoQsvUy8uQl0-XGD/s1600/Pic+D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUAbeddpDkfNMuo_5IwQI0qxcJ-AI4XRo4fz3cW8-Y75sHuGYgNS9FJAqRuyEZI7jAwjf3t92QraS-uO-4LLc2M9LGKkIwSCnUTGgtkEz9S3q1tGxcb_6wIoNB6AGxoQsvUy8uQl0-XGD/s320/Pic+D.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the heavy spring rains from 2011, our oysters were
alive and well; we didn’t find any “boxes” or empty oysters that had died. This came as a great relief to our
growers in the Chester as other MGO groups around the Chesapeake had
experienced high and unavoidable mortality due to the fresh water coming down
from the Susquehanna. (Just in case you are wondering, oysters will grow from
around 7ppt salinity to full salt water at 35 ppt. While many of us like them salty for eating, the high salinity
water of our Bay also attracts high disease pressure. With an average salinity of around 12 ppt towards its
mouth, the Chester is a low disease area that lends itself for oyster
plantings.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDAd9NMYOcA1jFZy6SNpOIoRlfSWDA_CbpRbjtVxKvXbkPVMQNus6K87yEjwmDB0tgFac5BxWt1uTsiu-znVfbUX8J-nm-SmDpuXvJhYObEd2PiPvTxJpPvRp50NmCVLi_SZCK10scRsB/s1600/IMG_0032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDAd9NMYOcA1jFZy6SNpOIoRlfSWDA_CbpRbjtVxKvXbkPVMQNus6K87yEjwmDB0tgFac5BxWt1uTsiu-znVfbUX8J-nm-SmDpuXvJhYObEd2PiPvTxJpPvRp50NmCVLi_SZCK10scRsB/s320/IMG_0032.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But let’s back track a little. “Each cage can grow anywhere from 0-300 oysters….” That is a huge variation! Somebody should ask the guy who
coordinates this effort what the deal is!
Well, a lot of members did ask me what the deal is, so I punted and
said, “we should ask the guy who grows these things what the deal is!” (Actually, it is a team of people at
University of Maryland’s Horn Point Labs and they are dedicated, hard working,
and smart. But are they smarter
than mother nature...?) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So instead of watching re-runs of “Freddy vs. Jason” last
Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>, about
fifteen members of Chester River-MGO piled into a Washington College bus and
took a field trip to one of the east coast’s largest <a href="http://www.hpl.umces.edu/hatchery/" target="_blank">oyster hatcheries</a>. (Find out more in Part 2, tomorrow!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbnpNmAeVG2qLkcUFmEeVXknbwTkQ3kLKA1n4EHDFQRpHUd6FUr2We9Qf35Ue7m3t1sVPj-b7lZVliqYSUqakSj_i4fEjxHyvQxdG4hFJ5QBBHHrFcKmbQlURck5lHi5azOFhyU_TiFHc/s1600/Pic+E.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbnpNmAeVG2qLkcUFmEeVXknbwTkQ3kLKA1n4EHDFQRpHUd6FUr2We9Qf35Ue7m3t1sVPj-b7lZVliqYSUqakSj_i4fEjxHyvQxdG4hFJ5QBBHHrFcKmbQlURck5lHi5azOFhyU_TiFHc/s320/Pic+E.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><a href="http://ces.washcoll.edu/faculty/michaelhardesty.php" target="_blank">Mike Hardesty</a> is
Assistant Director of the Chesapeake Semester at Washington College and the
MGO-Chester River Coordinator. </i></div>
<br />Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149769056329229938.post-42023055696058748702012-07-13T09:27:00.000-07:002012-07-13T09:27:57.237-07:00From My PerchAs I drove down High Street to the <a href="http://visit.washcoll.edu/#" target="_blank">Custom House</a> this morning, I looked straight ahead to the river. It was calm. Flat. The air was cool, the skies were overcast, and that pretty, cyan green ketch that visits Chestertown every summer from New England was poised on the water as though waiting for its close-up, Mr. DeMille. Close to the High Street dock was a raft of mallards soaking up the warmth of the pavement.<br /><br />A day at the Custom House always begins with a view of the river. Lucky I am. I try to wrangle all of CES from my desk in the house ... all seven who work in the Custom House and the many others who make vital contributions to our good work from farther afield. You've heard from most of the others. I'm here to make their jobs easier.<br /><br />All in a day's work.<br />
<br />
<br />
Jenifer is the Coordinator and Office Manager for the Center for Environment & Society and can be contacted <a href="mailto:jemley2@washcoll.edu" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br />Center for Environment and Societyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15694480734429192735noreply@blogger.com0