Bushes, Trees, and Birds

 I was out on Thursday determined to find some birds or something exciting to look at.

Most of what I found was a bit dull and boring.

I was looking for any sign of birds at first. But then I noticed some things about the bushes and the trees.

I did find birds.

I mean, who cannot find crows? They are all over the place!

I heard the Redwinged Black Birds, I did! I crept around a large field edge to see if I could get a glimpse of one. 

And there he/she was. In a thicket of Prickly Ash. There was no predator that could bust through that thorny bush.

I knew from hiking here over the years, that I always heard them in the brush but never paid particular attention. Now I see why they would love this area as a nesting spot.

I decided to sit quietly in the field and see if one would eventually come out. That paid off.

There were several sparrows flitting around inside that area too. I couldn't get any decent shots of them to ID them. But they were all very talkative.

I ended up on the road where I'd seen the Bluebirds a few weeks ago and started walking along my neighbor's land. His big old birch trees grabbed my attention, their branches looked like they were pussy willows.

The photo is of lower feeder branches coming out from the tree itself.

Further down the road I saw these above me. More Birch trees, but I don't know exactly what kind.

I know that there are several types of birch, so this shouldn't have surprised me. Of course, I first thought that all birch trees should show their catkins in the same manner. But different varieties, just like different varieties of flowers will appear different.

Each year, I learn a little bit more about trees.

So this Hophornbeam gave me a bit of a brain tease.
My neighbor ID'd it as a Hophornbeam.

He ID'd this tree below as a Hophornbeam also. But they present differently.

So this confused me. But since I am not a botany person, I am going to leave these two trees as Hophornbeams of different varieties?

This tree keeps its leaves but doesn't have the 'chicken foot' winter catkins.

The leaves stick around and only fall off when the buds push them off.

See the tiny bud?

Tiny bud.....  ----->

So the more I 'investigate' these trees, the more questions I come up with.

These trees are grouped under the name of Ironwood Trees and there is apparently several kinds of them.

Hop Hornbeam, Hornbeam, Ironwood, and Musclewood are names given to these trees because of their hard wood. 

Let's not forget that these trees in the summer look like elm trees.

How confusing can that be????

Then there was evidence that the Gooseberry bushes were coming alive in the forest. I have a love hate relationship with these thorny guys. However, their flowers are cute and their berries can be picked and eaten when ripe. 
I've never tried it.

Even the invasive and horrible Multiflora Rose is trying to wake up.

In the shot below there are leaves that had budded out a few weeks ago during an intense warm spell. Those leaves dried up and now I can see new bright red ones peeking out.

The flowers to these bushes are pretty, but man those thorns are tough to get around. 

I may tie a ribbon or something around those two different Hop-Hornbeam trees and see what happens through the year. 

Seems that I enjoy watching some of the least popular trees and bushes there are.

Ironwoods and trees

I don't know of many folks here in my area that love the Ironwood, in some places they are considered a pesky tree. Of course, I find it interesting in shape and form. The tree is also known as:

Hop-Hornbeam
Ostrya Virginia

This tree is not to be confused with the other Ironwood. Also called Musclewood or American Hornbeam.  Both trees live in the surrounding forests.

Here are the leaves in the winter. This is called marcescent leaves. Leaves that stay on the tree and don't fall off in the fall. Oak trees do the same things. The new buds push off the leaves in the spring. Some think that this provides better mulch for the tree. 

All I know, is that these trees are fun to look at in the winter. They are generally understory trees and are pretty abundant in forests that have been commercially logged.

The trees that are on the edge of the woods have their leaves torn off by wicked winter winds. In the winter you can see the male catkins that are produced in the summer. In the spring, the catkins spore and fertilize the female parts. 

I'm don't totally understand the whole process as this is all fairly new to me. 

If you are interested in seeing the photos and explanation, this is a good site to read:
Hop Hornbeam-Outdoor Learning.

It has taken me a few years and a new neighbor whose job is helping people with managing their forests in our county. He is a wealth of knowledge.

This spring I'll try and catch the catkins from the slippery elms, the boxelders, maples, oaks, birch, and the hop hornbeam. I'm pretty curious about how these trees 'do their' thing.

I've been working on this sort of ID project since 2010 with so many starts and stops and distractions along the way.

I can at least identify a few more trees now than in 2010.

This curlicue below is from a wild grape vine. This is part of the same vine that I made almost two whole batches of grape jelly. The second batch had to be mixed with wild apple juice I picked from the meadow trees.

I'm going to be sidetracked yet again by some nice weather. That means I'll go looking at KVR I hope to see if I can find some migrating birds in the ponds or perhaps some pussywillows.

Meanwhile, there is a NEW tougher Duckie in town!