Small Wonders on the Mountain

Working at a nature preserve has its perks. Daily chores give us all the feels for the natural world. A simple trip to the mailbox reveals small wonders and changes in the seasons. We’re beginning to encounter more reptiles and amphibians as the weather warms and the days lengthen, and we’re receiving delightful messages from hikers about what they’re seeing as well. Around the Nature Center, we’re finding Carolina anoles (Anolis carolinensis) basking on the sidewalk and the rock pillars around the bridge over the frog pond, darting into crevices as we approach.

Croak, splish, splash — It’s hard to find the frogs after they leap into the pond for safety. Looking for eyes and noses of green frogs and bullfrogs hidden among the decaying plants, we spy a southern leopard frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus) floating on top. Distinctive, light-colored ridges down the back, spotted body, and a slightly pointed snout are the keys to identifying this frog.

Working at the greenhouse at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, Van found a black kingsnake (Lampropeltis nigra) near the compost pile. When she uncovered the snake, it wiggled its tail like a rattlesnake. Van felt no fear, but admiration for the natural pest control this snake may provide.

We’re happy to see these creatures utilizing microhabitats around our facilities, and we continue to create habitat for wildlife in our habitat gardens. What wildlife are you finding around your house and habitat gardens?

Invasive Species Awareness Week

It’s Invasive Species Awareness Week. The best way to control invasive plant species:
DO NOT PLANT!

Hiking up the first leg of the Quarry Trail, you may have noticed clumps of green, dense patches of arrow shaped leaves, marked by orange and white flags. Without some form of control, the infestation of Italian Arum (Arum italicum), a non-native plant, will continue to expand, and may lead to extensive damage to the understory ecology of Ruffner Mountain by outcompeting native forest plants. Italian Arum will readily spread by tubers. Each tuber can produce up to 30 “daughter” tubers, and tuber densities can reach up to several thousands per square meter, making it difficult to completely remove tubers to prevent spread. Jamie Nobles, Conservation Director, with assistance from work study students from Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, is testing methods of control to slow the spread of this invasive species and measuring outcome. Methods often used for invasive plant species control include mechanical removal (removal of fruit, digging up the plant) and herbicide usage (spot treatment).

During this Invasive Species Awareness Week, we hope to inspire awareness and action against these four common invasive species:

- nandina, heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica)

- English ivy (Hedera helix)

- lilyturf, monkey grass (liriope sp.)

- leatherleaf mahonia (Berberis bealei)

Scroll through the images below and use them as a simple guide to identify the invasive species growing in your yard, and take action by testing a few methods to keep the plants from spreading to nearby wild spaces.

Great Backyard Bird Count

Have you been watching the white-throated sparrows scratching around in your yard this winter? What other birds are you seeing in the yard? Are you participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend? You should! All it takes is 15 minutes. You can watch from a window or porch, get out in your yard, or go for a walk in a local park. Identify birds, count them, and submit your list through your Merlin Bird app, eBird Mobile app, or the eBird website. Your participation in this community science event will help scientists better understand and protect birds around the world. You can do it! Go to birdcount.org for details and how to participate.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers Leave Their Mark

Leaving soon for their northern breeding grounds, yellow-bellied sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius) are here now drilling sap wells and leaving neat, straight lines and rows of shallow holes in the bark of trees. Listen for squeals, squeaks and loud drumming. Look for the sapsuckers clinging to and skipping up tree trunks, boring and maintaining wells, and feeding— sipping sap, picking pieces of softer wood from the cambium layer, and grabbing insects trapped in the wells. Sapsuckers may also visit your neighborhood trees and suet feeders, and they’ll drum out territorial tap-tap-tap - - - tap-tap - - - tap-tap-taps on the house gutters, street signs, or objects in your garden.

Lichen

A winter landscape allows your eyes to wander through the forest to see the lay of the land. Noticing details and features of the mountain — structure, form and colors of tree bark and branches, boulders and gravel , fallen leaves and limbs — and among those earthy tones of browns and grays, look more intensely to find a world of lichens. Lichens are interesting and beautiful, and when you train your eyes to search for them, you’ll see so many varieties. They are everywhere!

Lichen, a composite organism — algae, fungus and cyanobacteria living in a symbiotic mutual relationship — the fungus provides physical structure and water, while the algae and cyanobacteria (using photosynthesis) produce food. With over 1000 lichen species in Alabama, it can be difficult to identify and narrow down to the genus and species, but there are other fun ways to observe lichen.

Look for the three basic forms of lichen:

- Foliose: leaf-like and has 2 sides

- Fruticose: shrubby and branch-like

- Crustose: flat and crusty

Use a magnifying glass or hand lens and get in the loupe (ha!) with lichens: a closeup look at lichen reveals miniature landscapes of color, structure, and form.

Take pictures and add your observations to iNaturalist for crowd-sourced identification. Join our iNaturalist project, Fungi of Ruffner Mountain, and when you upload an observation, it will automatically be added to the project. Explore and learn!

Self-Led Volunteer Opportunity—Removing Nandina (Nandina domestica) from Ruffner

It's that time of year when we need your help removing invasive nandina berries from the mountain. The setup will be the same as last year. Here's a refresher on how you can help control an invasive plant, and why nandina or heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) is bad for the environment:

Nandina berries might be pretty in the home landscape, but when they are gobbled up by birds and spread throughout the forest (scarified by gut acids and deposited along with a little fertilizer package), the seeds sprout and wreak havoc on the ecosystem by multiplying and out-competing native species. The berries contain cyanide and are especially toxic to cedar waxwings and robins, as these birds often flock in and gorge like they’re at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Nandina is seen around the mountain along many of our trails— most notably along the Quarry trail, Trillium trail, and Nature trail. In order to prevent the next offspring of nandina from propagating, the berries can be removed, and discarded.

How do you help us get rid of nandina?

Stop at the invasive plant station at the South Eastlake trailhead where you’ll find berry removal instructions, supplies, and a sign-up sheet. Please let us know which trails you've covered and when.

At Ruffner:

- Remove red nandina berries along trail edges and place them in a bag to be discarded in the trash.

- Be careful if wandering off-trail to collect berries as there are many potential hazards off the trail.

- Stay within sight of the trail at all times.

- Be sure to wash your hands after handling the berries.

At home:

- Don’t plant Nandina. (Ha)

- Remove plants and seedlings from your landscape.

- If used as an ornamental planting - collect and discard the fruit.

Update: We are no longer accepting applications for this position.

View the Development Director job description here and please submit your cover letter and resume to jasmine@ruffnermountain.org.

The application deadline is January 27, 2023.