The sounds of insects are beginning to define summer

Notice how summer mornings are beginning to become quieter? Many birds are finished nesting, with some completing their second clutches.

Now the sounds of nature are becoming more noisy than musical. It is the sounds ofsummer insects. In the heat of the day cicadas will being to drone on endlessly. Often you will hear large numbers of cicadas sometimes singing in synchrony. They literally pulse from soft to loud and than recede back to soft again. They can lull you into an afternoon nap.

The dog day cicada and the dog days of summer are named for the time of year -- July and August. The star Sirius of the constellation Canis Major –the big dog—is bright in the summer night sky.

The best time to hear summer insects is after dark. It is then that katydids take center stage. Katydids are large green grasshoppers. They are drawn to porch lights. Their green wings are textured, giving them the appearance of leaves. They also have extremely long antennae that arch backward over the length of their bodies. Males sing from early evening well into the night. Their song is non-musical at best...

The voice of the black field cricket is heard from now until frost. Sometimes it is no farther than a corner in the house. In the middle of the night, a cricket in the bedroom can drive a sane person off the rails.

Katydids, crickets and grasshoppers produce their sounds by a mechanical process called stridulating—literally rubbing one body part against another.

Fall webworms are becoming more visible daily. Silk tents are showing up in a variety of shade trees. Caterpillars live inside. As the caterpillars feed and grow, they make the web larger to cover more foliage. When full grown, they drop to the ground to pupate.

The eastern tent caterpillar is sometimes confused with the fall web worm. The tent caterpillar is out in the early spring. Likewise, don’t confuse fall webworms with gypsy moths, which do not make tent-like webs in trees.

Honey bees are busy traipsing from flower to flower. They ensure the food crops and flowers are pollinated. If you step on a honeybee it will sting you. So slip your feet into some shoes before walking through the grass.

Fireflies are becoming more plentiful each evening. They produce light by a chemical reaction. The Blue Ghost fireflies are different from the more ordinary ones that flash their signals back and forth throughout the summer. The blue ghosts glow continuously.

They are mysterious because most people have never seen any and don’t know they exist. The center of their distribution is in the Southern Appalachians, ranging from eastern North Carolina to northern Florida and into Virginia. The DuPont Forest has a good population for viewing. The best place locally to see them is in Transylvania County.

They require high humidity, and dense tree coverage. If you go out in your own back yard in a wooded area, you may see them.

The blue ghosts are about the size of a grain of rice, making them smaller than the more ordinary fireflies. The mysterious nature of the creatures is fascinating.

The praying mantis can be startling to look at, until you examine it closer and find out what a unique creature it is. They eat other insects, which can make them beneficial to most gardens. For an insect, they tend to make fairly good pets. They can live up to three years in captivity.

These are only a few of the most common summer insects. There is a litany of bugs in your yard.

Enjoy the world of insects in the summer heat. They will be gone at the first frost. Keep out plenty of water for drinking and bathing.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.

Springs here-ready or not

Backyards across the Swannanoa Valley will soon be even more crowded with the birds of spring and summer. They are much like receiving old friends come to stay for awhile.

The tiny bits of fluff and feather have usually flown thousands of miles to reach local back yards, after spending the winter in Mexico, Central America, or South America, where days are warm and food is plentiful.

Many of the birds that nature lovers consider their birds spend less than half of their lives locally. They move north as the snow melts and raise their young on an endless supply of insects that are abundant only during the spring and summer months. Spring migration has a hint of urgency to it, where fall migration can be a drawn out affair with flocks of birds stopping to rest and eat.

Research shows that a surprising number of bird species are arriving earlier, and are shifting farther to the north. Scientist believes that climate change caused by greenhouse gases building up has disrupted the timing of migration, and sends some species farther north for insects.

Winter has officially passed regardless of sudden snow flurries, cold winds, and whatever else a tantrum from Mother Nature may produce. Spring seems to be a delicate season, but the frenzy of choosing nest sites, mates and producing a couple of broods of babies in a few short months prove that image wrong.

Bird houses should be clean and ready to be chosen as this season’s home for a pair of nesting songbirds? New bird houses should already be up.

Spring is a season that is all dressed up in colorful finery and definitely has places to go. Birds become more easily to recognize as individuals dressed in their spring plumage. There are so many tasks confronting spring time birds that it is a wonder that they don’t suffer exhaustion. They have to decide how often and what to sing, whom to mate with, nest site selection, and when to start nest-building. The female lays eggs and incubates them, producing hr first brood in a couple of weeks after incubation starts. The babies stay in the nest and fledge after about a month, and then the process starts over again for the second brood.

Egg laying is intense and energy demanding. The female needs to be in peak condition, and must have more than an adequate source of daily food. That can be an “iffy” situation in March, since natural food sources are still scarce in the Valley. Generous handouts from bird lovers can make a big difference in the survival rate of the adult birds as well as the babies. Keep the bird feeders full of high quality seeds, and plenty of water for bathing. Feathers must stay in good condition until the molt starts in August.

If you have a chance to watch a pair of birds build their nest, consider yourself fortunate. It is quite a production. Usually sunny mornings are the best viewing time.

It is time to anchor the free roaming felines for another baby season. Collared cats with bells jingling are not a warning to baby birds in the nest. They don’t know what the bell is, and they can’t fly, so they are an easy mark for a cat. Adult birds are busy building nests, and looking for food, and sometimes get surprised by a stalking feline. Do the birds a favor, and keep the cats inside until breeding and baby season is over.

Daylight saving time has arrived to optimize the daylight hours in the Valley. Theoretically it results in use of less energy and electricity. People are able to take advantage of more daylight hours and sunlight rather than burn electricity.

How does daylight saving time affect nature? It is not biological, but rather political, so it does not affect the wild creatures.

Bears are up and about, fat and sassy, having obviously not suffered a hard winter. Wood ducks are already nesting. Screech owls are beginning to nest. Mourning doves are nesting, and some early migrating hawks can been seen. Male red wing black birds are beginning to retune to area pond sites. Flocks of robins are showing up through the Valley, bathing in puddles and looking for worms.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.

March is still winter with a touch of spring in the mountains.

March in the mountains is usually a time of tumultuous wind, and erratic weather patterns, producing spring like days with lots of sunshine, followed by days, dropping into the pits of winter with snow. Branches flop together like the slapping of ropes on ancient sailing vessels. March winds make a wide variety of sounds from hissing to booming in a stand of maples.

The wisteria seeds have already popped. They explode like a cap pistol and then something like a small rock hits a window or a thump against the side of the house. The annual barrage of the wisteria seeds propagates the mountaintop’s ancient wisteria vine.

The seed pods are about half a foot long, brown, stiff, velvety on the outside and hold from four to eight seeds. Each seed I somewhat round, about half an inch in diameter, flat on one side and curved slightly, like an airplane wing on the other. They are hurled a good distance from the mother vine. What triggers the wisteria seed cannonading involves age, humidity and temperature.

The trees and mini-pools created by recent downpours are playing host to flocks of the harbinger of spring-male robins by the dozens. The females will follow in a couple of weeks. The early robins feast on left over fruit still clinging to the trees. Along with visiting cedar waxwings, the fruit will be gone soon.

Sap is beginning to rise, regardless of what the thermometer says. When sap starts up, it means spring is close. That moves man closer to the spring equinox, the buds and the leaves of spring itself. It also means winter has a definite end.

Each day the sun rises a little earlier and sets a little later signifying that earth is turning as usual, on its axis and in its orbit.

Twilight is one of my favorite times of the day. It has the glow of the departing day, giving it a special beauty all its own. It is neither sunlight nor star shine, nor moonlight. It borrows from all of them. The air of twilight is brittle this time of the year. But the light itself is soft and elusive.

Listen for the voice of the red fox with its sharp staccato notes in the darkness. The jays and crows of daylight are silent, ending their day at dusk. The great horned owl has a mournful wail, which is less ominous at dusk than it is at midnight. This prelude time to night is a special interval, enjoy it.

More and more birds join the pre-dawn chorus just at the break of day. There is nothing happier than an early morning wren and a tiny chickadee. They greet the sunrise with exuberance.

Male raccoons are courting females from now through March. Fox kits are born now. Screech owls are beginning to nest, and spring waterfowl migration is in progress. The northern migration of hawks is also in progress. Bluebirds are still scouting nest sites, and some have begun to build nests. Have you cleaned your boxes? It is time. Listen for the spring peppers to begin calling, Bear cubs are making humming sounds as they nurse in the dens. Watch for the reappearance of chipmunks on warm days. Male black bears will be and about by the end of the month. All herald a new season beginning to start.

Keep out plenty of fresh water for songbird bathing and drinking.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.

Photo: Tony Dills

December is the year in age and wisdom

December is summation of all the years’ completions. The month is like an older woman with starlight frosting her hair and snowflakes brushing her cheeks. A holly sprig tucked in her hair tells one that she is as young as the morning, and the look in her eye says she is as old as time.

December is bare tree limbs and lacy green evergreens. It is rustling flower stems in the garden and ruthless wind whipping over the mountain. It is seedling maples from two years ago clinging to a stray leaf of two.

It is stiff tailed half grown squirrels scrambling up a giant oak tree. It is mask-faced coon in a moonlit garden feasting on what is left of the corn. They listen for the hounds.

It is ice in the creek and moss covered rocks.

December is flocks of chickadees through the night.

December brings frost to the mountains like cake icing.

It is the Winter solstice, bringing the shortest day of the year.

December is a hungry owl and a rabbit on the run. The groundhog has already sought its winter bed, and the crows are recongregated proclaiming their presence loudly at the first crack of dawn.

It is winter wrens singing at first light, greeting dawn with melodious song.

The spectacular colors of fall now litter the forst floor. The quiet tones of winter dominate the landscape now.

Occasionally there is an accent of winter berries.

December is one of the short months. It doesn’t have 31 days such as they are. The Thanksgiving turkey has vanished, and then there is the Christmas tree waiting to be trimmed, and then New Year’s Day is knocking on the door, announcing the start of a new year.

December has only 288 hours of daylight. That is counting even the overcast days with the sun sulks behind masses of clouds. A December day is nine hours of daylight with just a few minutes left over morning and night. Then there is 15 hours of darkness.

It is approaching chickadee weather in the mountains. They enjoy cold nights, chilly days, and a bit of flying snow, and they will flock to your feeders. They are jaunty little beggars willing to pay for their handouts with hours of antics and entertainment. A full grown chickadee rarely weighs more than a half an ounce. Inside the feather covered tiny body is a heart that beats some 700 times a minute. On a cold day it must consume enough food to equal its own weight to keep its inner fire burning. Chickadees enjoy a generous helping of sunflower seeds.

Keep the water containers filled with fresh water, and be generous with your feathered friends.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.

May is a magical time in the mountains

The fires of spring glow brightly in the mountains. May is truly a time of hope and promise, with bird song at full throttle.

May is the month when spring finally springs in the mountains. Suddenly, there are flowers everywhere, with more trying to bloom each day. It is a time when gardeners must dig in the dirt.

There is tilling to be done, fertilizing, and raking the dirt.

Once the garden is tilled there are earthworms to the delight of the robins.

Earthworms are tireless tillers of the soil, and their castings are the richest and best of all fertilizers. One can never have too many earthworms in the garden. They need moist soil in which to survive. During dry periods, they receded deeply into their burrows, which can be as deep as six feet.

If you want to increase the numbers of earthworms in your garden, add more organic matter.

Bears are up and on the move, even the mothers with cubs. Don’t leave out the bird feeders past 4 p.m. It is useless to rant at a bear raiding the birdfeeder. All you get is a mangled bird feeder and a non-impressed hungry bear.

Bears become used to people, birdfeeders, dogs, and noises that they hear frequently. It is up to humans to take the proper precautions when living in bear country. You can live with bears without encounters.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission recommends:

* Securing bags of trash inside cans stored in a garage, basement or other secure area. Place the cans outside, as late as possible, on trash pick-up days. Do not set out the garbage the night before and expect neighborhood dogs or bears to leave it alone.
* Purchase bear proof garbage cans or bear proof your existing garbage containers with a bear proof latching system.
* Black bears are rarely aggressive toward people, but they do become bolder when they are accustomed to people.
* Stop free feeding pets outside. If you must feed pets outdoors, make sure all food is consumed and empty bowls are removed.
* Do not throw table scraps outside. A bear will literally eat anything.
* Clean all food and grease from barbecue grills after each use. Bears are attracted to food odors and will investigate. It is not unusual to find a bear licking an uncleaned grill.

Contrary to what many people believe, wildlife employees will not trap and relocate bears, because this would simply relocate the problem, rather than solve it.

Pups, cubs, chicks and kits are welcome signs of spring in the mountains. You may be tempted to pick them up or feed them, but it is against the law to tamper with wildlife.

Capturing and handling a young wild animal can stress it and sometimes results in the death of the animal. Young wild animals that look abandoned are rarely orphaned. Many species do not stay with their young and only return to feed them. Rabbits are an excellent example. The mother returns three to four times in a 24 hour period of time to feed her young. When you see a fully furred, alert bunny that measure five to six inches on its own, it is normal. Do not save wildlife from nature.

Wildlife can transmit diseases, including rabies and roundworms to humans. Also, it is illegal to keep wildlife without a permit.

Keep the birdbaths full of fresh water, keep the hummingbird feeders filled with a fresh mix, and enjoy the season.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.

The mountains are awash with pollen and spring migrants

Waves of warblers are back in the Valley now. . With their numerous color variations they add a lot of visual beauty to an already spectacular spring season.

Bring the birdfeeders in by 4 p.m. daily. Also, hummingbird feeders are tempting to hungry bears.

The Valley like most of the area is loaded with pollen. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources reported that pollen has reached record high level . It is at some of the highest concentrations since air quality agencies started measuring pollen in the late 1990s.

The high pollen levels are most likely due to several factors, including the weather turning suddenly warm after a cold winter and cool early spring. Also, there has been little rainfall this spring. In addition to dry weather, winds have been blowing the pollen around.

Also, the coldest winter in eons delayed some trees that normally flower earlier in the spring, so that more different tree species are flowering at the same time.

For some, the enjoyment of spring is an ugly price to pay with sneezes, watery, itchy eyes, ears that pop and crackle, and the chronic sore throat. Then there are those who cough almost non-stop.

The conditions from mid-April until now have been perfect for pollen and wildfire. The hot, dry conditions make both events worse. When you add a mild wind of five to seven miles per hour, conditions are just right for pollen and fire.

The yellowish stuff coating cars is not the culprit causing all the human manifestations of allergies. It is pine pollen that is causing people to suffer and vehicles to be yellow coated.

Rain, which has been missing from the Valley for too long again, will help alleviate the pollen sneezes, but it won’t solve the problem. Pollen will still be around to cause discomfort.

Pollen is crucial for survival of all species. We can’t live without it and it is difficult for many to live with it. Without pollen, seeds would not form, and plants would die out. The pollen that causes most of the severe respiratory problems in human comes from plants that depend on the wind to disperse it. The small lightweight pollen blows around easily and is small enough to get into nasal membranes. Those who are most affected can stay inside, clean the air conditioner filter and pop an occasional antihistamine tablet. All of these should help stoop the sneezes.

Animals summer from pollen attacks also. Your dog may sneeze, cough and scratch until there are unsightly marks on its body. Check the inside of the ears. If they are more red than usual, and the dog is scratching them, it may be due to pollen. Each time you take the dog outside; wipe it down thoroughly before bringing it back inside.

Remind yourself. This too will pass, and Mother Nature will have done her job spreading pollen for another season.

Copperhead snakes are out of their dens, so watch your step in the garden. Also, watch where you put your hands.

Bumblebees are out now. They are gentle and slow. She meanders through the garden collecting pollen and nectar. She is never in a hurray. The bumblebee is round and furry. There is the large queen, the smaller and somewhat imperfectly formed female worker bee and the tiny male or drone bee. Only the queen and the worker bees have a stinger.

Important facts about bumblebees include:

· They live in small nests and never swarm.

· Bumble bees produce enough honey only to feed their young.

The Bumblebee’s biggest enemy is man with pesticide spray. Like every other form of wildlife, they are under serious threat from the chemicals used in flower and vegetable gardens.

· Bumblebees are much less aggressive than honey bees.

· * Bumblebees are hard workers in the garden. They repay man’s kindness by pollinating flowers, fruit and vegetables.

· The best flowers for bumblebees are any kind that is simple and open. They carry more nectar and pollen. Bumblebees enjoy foxgloves, hollyhocks, heather, lavender, oregano, cornflowers, mint, clover, marigolds, and beans.

The main job of bumblebees is to pollinate flowers.

Keep out plenty of clean water for bathing and drinking, and keep the feeders full during the day. Bring them inside by late afternoon to prevent tempting bears.

Listen for toad frogs calling.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.

Hummingbirds return to the Valley

Photo by Tony Dill

The Valley is enjoying a breath of springtime for a few days.

The birds of winter have slipped away. Notice how few are showing up at the bird feeders now. Those migrating are hardly noticed as they leave silently vanishing often before dawn breaks the sky. The tempo of spring is increasing daily.

The sun swings north and the shift of the season gains momentum.

Squirrels are carrying cedar bark and bits and pieces of newspaper up the trees to their nest. The cedar and the newspaper deter moths and other insects that torment young squirrels.

Hummingbirds are showing up daily in the Valley for another season. The males arrive from a few days to two weeks prior to the arrival of the females. They are as eager as the songbirds to get a start on the breeding and nesting season. They visit the Carolinas from March through November, and have devoted backyard bird lovers who furnish an endless supply of sugar water. The hummingbird feeders are important especially now when there isn’t too much in bloom to feed the tiny, iridescent birds the nectar they have to have to live.

Hummingbirds feed on nectar from flowers and tiny insects. The flower garden can provide both. Hang hummingbird feeders in the shade. Make sure they are clean and refill the feeders at least every two-three days. If you plan to be away from home for a few days, take the hummingbird feeders down to prevent fermentation.

Fill the feeders with a boiled solution of four parts water to one part white refined sugar or commercially prepared nectar mix. Do not use a honey solution in feeders, because they can produce a fungal disease that is fatal to hummingbirds.

Clean the sugar water feeders with a brush and mild detergent solution and rinse well before refilling.

Some interesting hummingbird facts include:

*The hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world.

*Hummingbirds hover easily. They can move ahead, sideways or backward at will.

*A Ruby-throated hummingbird, those that call the Valley their summer home, weighs about one tenth of an ounce and travels a minimum of 600 miles during migration.

*Hummingbirds often drink up to eight times their body weight daily.

*Although their normal body temperature is about 103 F, it can drop to 70F at night. Unfortunately, a hummingbird in a torpid state cannot respond to an emergency situation. *They have the ability to endure temporary cool weather or cool nights by becoming dormant. To wake from a dormant state can take as long as one hour.

*Flying consumes a tremendous amount of hummingbird energy. Wing beats have been measured from 20-200 beats per second.

* Pesticides, especially sprays, can be lethal to hummers. Malathion, Sevin or diazinon is deadly to them. Also, when you use pesticides, the number of insects in the garden in drastically reduced, and in turn reduces the hummingbirds’ nutritional source. It can also cause starvation and death of the young in the nest.

* Hummingbirds winter in Central America from Mexico to Panama. Some go no farther than Florida. Most winter in the Mexico area. They migrate by day, with once exception. When they cross the Gulf of Mexico, they are over water when night falls and must keep flying until they reach the other side. That requires a lot of energy, and stored fat reserves. It takes about 18 hours in good weather to cross the Gulf of Mexico, and 24 hours if the weather is bad.

The hummingbird is an important contributor to the entire ecosystem. By flying from flower to flower, the hummingbird pollinates plants and feeds on them. Some plants can only reproduce because of the pollination.

Crows, jays, cats, and mice eat baby hummers. The small birds can also be caught by dragonflies and praying mantises. It is not unusual to find them caught in spiders’ webs. They not only eat nectar and insects, but enjoy the sap running from sapsucker drill holes. These are especially important food sources in early spring after a long migration.

Put the hummingbird feeders up, and plant lost of blooming flowers. Keep the water dishes full of clean water, and fill the bird feeders. Birds arriving daily have used up most of their reserves, and need to feed regularly and heavily when they arrive in the Valley for another nesting season.

Towhees and brown thrashers are back, scratching and searching for tidbits of food on the ground under the feeders. Bumblebees are out, and luna moths can be seen around porch lights. It is the peak birthing season for gray fox and beaver. Red tail hawks are beginning to nest, and copperhead snakes are beginning to leave their winter dens.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.