If you have a question for the naturalist, e-mail us!
3/20/08
Dear Nature Center,
Every year around this time to early February, I notice large flocks of American robins about. Why is this? I have three hypotheses: 1. They never left and are just coincidentally found in groups together around food sources, 2. They are back from Mexico early, 3. They are still headed towards Mexico from areas well north of Cleveland.
I look forward to your expert information.
Thanks so much.
---mtp
Michele,
I checked in with Julie West, our bird expert. Here is her response to your questions regarding the robins:
The short answer is that we don't know for sure, but I suspect the answer is a combination of two out of the three possibilities presented. The robins are more noticeable because they are gathering around food sources. They may be robins who did not leave and/or those who bred further north and have stopped here on their migration south. If they are in the latter group, whether they stopped and stayed because they were able to find food or because their pattern is only to migrate to this general latitude, I don't know. But, once they have stopped here, as long as they are able to find food sources, there is no reason for them to go further south. I would not expect these to be early return migrants as the factors that drive northward migration are more related to length of day and hormonal changes, neither of which would be factors at this time of year.
Just as an aside, if there was more banding going on, and we caught banded birds in the winter, we would be able to get a better answer regarding where these birds have come from or if they are staying year round.
Julie
Thanks for checking in!
Mary Rouse
Education Director
10/25/07
On Tuesday night at about 10:00 p.m. I saw a little red fox close to the Nature Center. When my lights shone on the fox, it ran back into the woods. Was I correct in what I saw, or was I tired and hallucinating (ha, ha)?
Rose
Rose,
Thanks for your 'ask a naturalist' question. Yes, that probably was a red fox that you saw near the Nature Center. Even though we are in an urban area, the Shaker Lakes area provides habitats for many types of wildlife, including the red fox, coyote, mink, groundhog, skunk, raccoon, deer and many more. The red fox is typically nocturnal and solitary, so is rarely seen. Consider yourself lucky!
Happy hiking!
Mary Rouse
Education Director
7/24/07
Early this morning I think I saw a Black-crowned Night Heron on a branch in the Lower Lake. Have there been any other sightings of this bird? And are there coyotes in the area?
A Cleveland Heights Neighbor
Dear Neighbor,
Yes to both questions. We do see a number of different kinds of herons around the Shaker Lakes, including the Great Blue Heron, Green Heron and the Black-crowned Night Heron. We also know that we have coyotes all thru the area, but they are seldom seen as they are most often nocturnal and travel solo.
Hope this helps!
Mary Rouse
Education Director
7/9/07
Hi! I am interested in a career (home or abroad) as a
naturalist. I am a college graduate with a major in biology. Could you
recommend any websites, agencies or other contacts that could get me started in
searching for job openings?
Rob
Rob,
Thanks for your question regarding a career as a
naturalist. It is a very enjoyable and
fulfilling way to spend your days!
First off, I would recommend contacting your closest nature
center, park or wildlife refuge and look into volunteer opportunities. This not only gives you a chance to see if
this is a good fit for you, but it is the 'foot in the door' that is often
necessary to secure a paying position.
There are several professional organizations that I would
recommend to you:
Good luck!
Mary Rouse Martin
Education Director
7/6/07
We are fairly new members of the Nature Center and we enjoy walking (or jogging) around the beautiful lakes. With a big surprise we saw yesterday a huge turtle from the car bridge between the big lake and the marsh area. She was probably 2 feet wide and may be even 3 feet long with a big tail. We have seen an animal like this only in zoos and we could not believe our eyes. She actually was looking at us and poked her head out of the water a couple of times. We are wondering how many of these huge turtles are around in the lakes area, are they normally seen in that spot and are they native species?
Hendrik and Isabel Noth
Dear Hendrik and Isabel-
Thank you for your question about the turtle that you saw near the Nature Center. The turtle that you spotted was a common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina). It is a native species of turtle in Ohio and its range includes a large area of eastern and central North America from southern Canada down to Florida. It can inhabit a wide variety of aquatic habitats and eats fish, insects, plants, small mammals, mollusks, snakes, and small birds. There are lots of adult turtles in the lake and marsh. In the early summer the females come ashore to lay eggs, and the "baby" turtles hatch in the fall. Thanks again!
Lara Roketenetz
Natural Resources Specialist
6/18/07
Our Geauga County garden is being invaded and ravaged by hungry woodchucks. We have deer fence around the garden and they are getting in through a gap by the gate or beneath the fence. Do you have any suggestions for specific plants that might repel woodchucks that we could plant to create a border around the fence to deter future generations from entering? Any ideas on how to get them to go somewhere else more immediately?
Martha Schubert
Hi Martha-
Thanks for your question!
Woodchucks (Marmota monax) also known as groundhogs or whistle pigs, are
voracious vegetarians. Click here for
an article from the Ohio State Extension office with suggestions on control
measures, and visit this page at the Internet
Center for Wildlife Damage
Control for a list of possibly resistant vegetation (scroll to the middle of the page). Good luck!
Lara Roketenetz
Natural Resources Specialist
5/5/07
I was wondering about some beautiful white flowers I saw
as I walked from the Nature Center down North Park. Just before I came to the bridge and Coventry
there were some small white flowers on the side near the lake. Can you tell me what they are called and if
they are invasive?
Ruth Mardell
Hi Ruth,
Thanks for your question. I went to the
location you indicated in the email to look at the plants you were wondering
about. After consulting with a volunteer
who is a "plant expert" (thanks Dave Bell!), we determined that the flowers
were either English Daisy (Bellis perennis – an introduced plant and member of the aster family) or a member of the Bittercress
group (part of the mustard family; some are native), depending on which small white flower you were
referring to.
Thanks again!
Lara Roketenetz
Natural Resources Specialist
4/12/07
Can you help me identify a bird I saw by Lower Lake? The bird was
mostly mottled brown, lighter or maybe white or tan on its underbelly. It was larger than a robin, with a thin
straight black beak. Its real
distinguishing marks were a small but prominent black bib on chest, including a
black ring around 3/4 of its neck, and then a bunch of reddish orange feathers
looking like a red spot on the back of its neck and base of its head. I could not see its feet due to the snow and my
vantage point, and only saw wingspan for a brief couple seconds. Its underwings looked almost yellow or
translucent. Thank you for any info you can share.
Mary Boyle
Mary,
Thanks for your email! After consultation with several of the naturalists here on staff, we are all in agreement that the bird you saw last weekend at Lower Lake was probably a Northern Flicker. It is a type of woodpecker that typically spends most of its winter here in the Shaker Lakes area. Happy birding!
Mary Rouse Martin
Education Director
Hi! I live in Shaker and have a question about cutting down a large Silver Maple in
our back yard. The tree has been dying
for years but it has been a wonderful home for many squirrels and birds that
live in the tree's large dead branches.
When and what is the best time of year to cut down this tree without
harming the inhabitants?
Thanks,
A Shaker Resident
Great question! It's
great that you were thinking about the wildlife that live in your back yard!
Late winter or early spring is really the best
time to take out an old tree. You want
to do it before the squirrels and/or birds nest and have their young, but after
they've been able to use it for shelter during the winter. It will also be less of a mess to take it
down before the leaves come out. Good luck!
Mary Rouse Martin
Education Director
Hi,
As one of many local Clevelanders who enjoy their "live" Christmas trees over the holidays, I wonder if there is some better way to dispose of them, post holidays, than leaving on the tree lawn?
Susie Gavazzi
Shaker Heights
Susie,
In polling the naturalists, we all agree that the best thing to do with your tree after the holidays (assuming that it is cut, not with a root ball) is to put it somewhere in your backyard as winter cover for birds and other small animals. It will quickly 'compost' on its own, and by next fall, you can cut up the trunk and large branches and use them for firewood! Enjoy!
Mary Rouse Martin
Education Director
Hello,
I have 20 arborvitae tree's approximately 15 feet tall. Every one of them is browning its leaves from the inside out from top to bottom. One of them has already browned all of its leaves (the entire tree). This one tree's leaves when almost all browned also had an ashen sheen to it. My husband cut down the tree, except for a small outcropping of branch which is still green. I have looked for beetles, grubs, mites, etc. and cannot find them. Is there some sort of blight in progress now? I have 4 newly planted very small arborvitae in an area about 30 feet from these trees. They appear to be healthy.
This extreme browning and defoliation from the inside out seemed to coincide with mulching of the trees that occurred about mid-August. Could there have been some sort of mite or disease in the mulch?
I am not sure what to do or where to go to seek help. If I leave the trees alone, they will most certainly completely defoliate. Will they grow back next year?
- Hope Wright
Hope,
According to what I have found out on the arborvitae, it sounds like it is something called winterburn. It can be caused by temperature changes from cold to warm and back. Some folks have encountered similar issues with burlap being left around the rootball also. If there are fertilizers with weed control applied to the soil surrounding the planting, it could also cause discoloration.
Ohio State University states that winter browning can be expected with most species and cultivars of arborvitae. For this reason, arborvitae is not as highly recommended as selections of Taxus or juniper. The foliage on the inside of the plant turns brown and drops every year in autumn. This is a natural occurrence and should not be cause for concern.
If you have further questions, please contact OSU Extension via their
website: http://extension.osu.edu/
Stephanie N. Bettac
Program Director
Hello. I am a resident of Cleveland Heights and have a cherry tree growing alongside our house. It is growing close too our house and its roots are beginning to break through our neighbors driveway. I have heard that some furniture making companies will come and remove cherry trees for free. Is this a myth, or is it possibly true? If you know of any companies who are willing to do this, would you please pass their information on to me?
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Sullivan
Caitlin,
I don't know of any furniture makers / woodworkers that will remove a tree for free. The tree service that the Nature Center has worked with is Forest City Tree Protection and their phone number is (216) 381-1700. They do charge for their services of tree removal though.
Stephanie N. Bettac
Program Director
If you have a question for the naturalist, e-mail us!
