November 2012 – My Chicago Botanic Garden

Bohemian Waxwing: Lifer

For those birders who keep lists, a Lifer bird is one that you see in the wild for the first time in your life. Always exhilarating, often amazing, and really pretty cool when you think about it.

I love birds. I know a bit about the local ones, and I know enough birders to know when a rare bird is around. Thankfully birders like to share info—a nice trait.

I had heard through the grapevine that a Bohemian waxwing had been seen at the Chicago Botanic Garden for the last two days. This is a bird that spends most of its time in the boreal forests of Canada, and only very rarely visits Illinois in the winter. Similar to the cedar waxwing, which can be found here year round, it is larger, lacks the yellow on the belly, and has lovely reddish markings on the face and under the tail.

_D8A5464 — ©Carol Freeman, all rights reserved.

Birds don’t sit still, and this particular bird had been seen in several different locations at the Garden. No telling where it would be today, or even if I would see it.

Luckily, when I headed toward its last known location near the Enabling Garden, I came upon several birders. They were pointing to the top of a tree. I look up. Yep, there’s a bird about 20 feet up, backlit against a white sky. Hmmm, not the view I was hoping for. But I can just make out the identifying marks of a Bohemian waxwing. Ok, there it is, my Lifer. Hmmm, kinda anticlimactic. In case this is the one and only time I ever see this species, I take a few obligatory shots. I personally don’t count a bird on my list unless I have a photo, and now I have a few. They aren’t going to win any awards, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Just after I get my shot, the bird flies to another clump of trees a short distance away. Then it flies out of sight. A few birders go off to see if they can relocate it. I chat with the others who have stayed behind. Some had seen the bird before today. But for many, this is a Lifer for them too.

While waiting for the bird to hopefully make another appearance, I take a moment to photograph the many cedar waxwings that are enjoying the abundant berries nearby. Suddenly I hear shouts from the birders. The Bohemian waxwing has just flown into the trees where the cedar waxwings are feeding, not far from where I’m standing. The bird is a few trees back and blocked by branches. I don’t want to move and scare it off, risking the wrath of the birders, so I just wait. Soon the Bohemian waxwing makes its way toward me. Wow! It’s hopping onto branches, closer and closer to where I’m standing. Oh my! Now it’s right in front of me. Whooo, hoooo! I couldn’t have gotten any closer if I had tried. Click, click, click, wow, wow, wow, amazing! I’m stunned. What an incredible encounter. This is one Lifer experience I’ll never forget. And…I have the photos to prove it!

_D8A5506 — ©Carol Freeman, all rights reserved.

The Three Sisters: Another Reason to Give Thanks

The story has been passed down through generations of Native American cultures:

There are three sister spirits who dwell among the fields and protect the crops.

Sister Corn, with hair of gold, stands tall as the guardian of the crop.

Sister Bean feeds the shallow roots of Sister Corn (beans draw nitrogen from the air into the soil), then reaches for the sun as she twines in a spiral up her sister’s sturdy stalk.

Sister Squash, the eldest of the three, stays close to the Earth, encircling her sisters protectively with her large, prickly leaves that shade the soil and hold in moisture. Planted together on a mound of Mother Earth’s nurturing soil, the sisters receive water from Father Sky, who arches above them.

The Iroquois called the Sisters “De-o-ha-ko,” which translates to “life support,” not only because the plants rely on each other as they grow, but also because, eaten together, they provide a healthy, life-sustaining diet for humans. Corn is rich in carbohydrates and amino acids, beans are rich in lysine (an amino acid that corn doesn’t supply), and squash seeds provide protein and vitamins essential for growth and development. “De-o-ha-ko” recognizes that humans are one and the same with the plants they eat.

Resolve to plant the Three Sisters in your vegetable garden in 2013…and Happy Thanksgiving!

This Bark is Rough: Hackberry

PHOTO: This shows a close up of the bumpy, scraggly bark of a hackberry tree. — Hackberry bark, south view

Now that most of the trees have dropped their leaves, the scenery appears brown and boring UNLESS you know what to look for. I’m talking about tree bark. Learning to identify trees by their bark can be a fun winter challenge.

For starters, I’d like to share one of my favorites: the hackberry, Celtis occidentalis. Hackberry may not be in the top ten trees you think of, but maybe it should be.

Take a look at the interesting texture of this bark. If you use your imagination, it’s like a miniature Grand Canyon on its side, with layers of material exposed on the edges of steep plateaus.

I find the texture on this north-facing side of the trunk to look like bicycle chains. What do you see?

PHOTO: The bark on the north side is also bumpy and scraggly, but the texture is more like a bike chain. — Hackberry bark, north side

Hackberry trees are related to elms and they grow all over North America. We have a few of them on the east side of Parking Lot 4. Scroll back up—do you recognize the large picture above? This was taken in McDonald Woods, along the trail near Parking Lot 4. The large tree to the left of the bridge is a hackberry.

One reason for the popularity of this tree is that the fruits—hackberries—feed birds, squirrels, and other woodland creatures. In the summer, caterpillars of mourning cloak, question mark, and hackberry emperor butterflies feed on the leaves. If you came to see Butterflies & Blooms in late summer, you may have seen the many mourning cloaks fluttering around the Learning Campus thanks to our hackberry trees.

PHOTO: Hackberry emperor butterfly shown with its characteristic pattern of black and white stripes against brownish orange background. — Hackberry emperor butterfly, shown with its characteristic pattern of black and white stripes against brownish orange background.

Open your eyes to tree bark this winter. You’ll find a range of interesting patterns and textures and maybe even learn something new about the trees around you.

Autumn Trailblazing

Did you know that “blazing a trail” is the act of painting white marks, or “blazes,” on trees to guide others through the woods? People who make these paths are called “trailblazers” but the term has also come to mean “pioneer.”

Instead of using white paint on trees, the Chicago Botanic Garden uses a system of white arrows on brown signs. In this sign, which is located just past the Gatehouse, the arrow pointing up in this sign tells you to go straight forward to get to the Visitor Center, while arrows pointing left and right direct you to turn in order to reach the parking lot or Learning Campus.

You can be a trailblazer in the original sense of the word. You don’t need brown signs or white paint to be a trailblazer. Autumn is a great time to find natural objects such as sticks, acorn caps, and other things fallen from the trees, to make trail markers on the ground.

The picture here shows you four different ways to direct a person to the right. 1. Line up small stones in the shape of an arrow. 2. Use larger stones to make a traditional trail marker by placing a small stone on top of a larger stone and adding a third stone next the pile in the direction you want to send your hikers. 3. Bright red serviceberries contrast against the green grass and make a colorful marker. 4. Arrange sticks in an arrow to point the way.

Want to get fancy? Try this: form a square with sticks and tell the hiker how many steps to take by placing that number of stones in the middle. Make an arrow with small sticks to indicate direction. The trail marker in the picture tells us to take eight steps to get to the next marker. (This marker idea comes from an old Girl Scout Handbook.)

Mark the end of your trail with an X or a circle of rocks to let people know they’ve reached the intended destination. You can even place a treasure at the end of the path to reward your trail followers.

So don’t be put off by the cool fall weather—get outside and show your pioneering spirit by blazing a trail for your family and friends to follow around your home.

The Magic Tree

The Magic Tree is the Holy Grail for photographers. It’s the sweet spot where all the wildlife seems to magically appear for minutes or sometimes hours at a time. If I’m lucky I will find it a few times each year. The trick is I never know when or where the Magic Tree will be. The Magic Tree doesn’t just reveal itself to everybody. You have to show it respect. You can’t just walk up to it and start firing off pictures – that breaks the magic, and all the birds will scatter.

Whenever I pull into the Garden, the first thing I do is roll down my windows and drive very slowly down the entry road. I’m looking and listening for any clue as to where I might find something interesting to photograph.

D3U_9889 — Cedar Waxwing eating a berry. ©Carol Freeman

On this particular day I hear a few chirps and see the flash of a bird. I park in the first lot and quickly grab my gear and head for the place where I think I saw it.

As I get close, I hear Cedar Waxwings conversing. Wow, there are dozens of them, hopping from branch to branch grabbing ripe berries and gobbling them down whole. They move so fast that it’s hard to get a shot before they move on to the next branch or bend down for another berry— but it’s fun to watch! I take many shots, attempting to get one where the Waxwing has a berry in its beak. Timing is everything here. Too soon and all I see is the top of the bird’s head; too late and the berry is gone.

There are many young Waxwings who have not yet mastered the art of grabbing the berries, so many are dropped onto the ground. That’s good news for birds like the Hermit Thrush, which like to scavenge on the ground. The Waxwing’s loss is the Thrush’s gain. Seems like a good compromise – and there are plenty of berries to go around.

D3U_9812 — Robin getting in on the action. ©Carol Freeman.

Joining the Waxwings are Robins. They, too, can grab berries and swallow them down whole. Along comes a couple of Cardinals. They love berries too, but it seems like they get more on their beaks than they eat. Even the squirrels are getting in on the action, climbing out on the thin branches to get the delicious fruit.

I stand here for over an hour. The birds begin to accept me like part of the landscape. I’m able to inch closer and closer to the birds without them minding me at all. This is what nature photography is all about for me: being accepted by the wildlife that I’m photographing.

I realize today I have found The Magic Tree. I thank the tree and all the critters for letting me in on such a wonderful experience. I am grateful that I have been allowed to share in the magic of The Magic Tree.

All photos were shot with a Nikon D300s camera, Nikon 80-400mm lens, hand-held.