[MASSBIRD] Nahant Thicket/Stump dump 8/25

[Childs, Jackson]

I made a brief late morning stop here after the beach. No migrants in the thicket but a Northern Waterthrush, Canada warbler, and American Redstart in the back of the stump area.

I've noticed the thicket has recently been overgrown with vines in many areas. I wonder if these are native. I would guess they are not very attractive to migrants? The stump area is largely free of them.

Jackson Childs
jch...@fas.harvard.edu
Arlington, MA

[Paul Guidetti]

Good evening,

If the vines are porcelain berry 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelopsis_glandulosa_var._brevipedunculata they will be very attractive once the fruit ripens. I have a personal vendetta against this vine as it is trying to take over my yard and neighborhood. Birds love the fruit and seedlings sprout up everywhere in the spring. Sadly, the vine and fruit are beautiful. They are  fairly easy to identify however.

On a birdier note, the orioles are hanging around eating jelly (and choke cherries) and I’ve had a ton of dueling hummingbirds battling over my three feeders.

Take care.

Paul Guidetti

Westford, MA

[Louise Barteau]

Hello all:

There are many vines - some are native and some are not. Native vines play an essential role in the eco-system. Non-native vines often play a destructive role in the ecosystem by crowding out native vines and plants. The best two books about this are Doug Tallemy "Bringing Nature Home and Sara Stein "Noah's Garden." They are wonderful books.

Native vines include: Grape (Vitis sp.), Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinqufoilia), Trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens (considered native in Bristol and a few other counties, Greenbriar (Smilax rotundifolia) etc.

Non-native include: Louise's swallowwort, (Cynanchum louiseae), Asian bittersweet, (Celastrus orbiculatus) , Morrow's honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) etc. Ampelopsis is a relative newcomer to the area but very invasive.

It is always important to know the plant and how it is being used in the eco-system before removing it. Many birds in the winter use the tangled mess of the vines for habitat also - so timing of plant work is important to think about. 

If you need a plant ID - go botany has a site to submit your photo and if it can be identified by the photo the resident botanist will gladly help. Thanks to New England Wildflower Society and Go Botany for that wonderful site.

Happy birding and botanzing.

Louise Barteau Fairhaven, MA

[Lynette Leka]

thank you for the excellent run-down about native/non-native vines; however, I have a real problem with greenbriar

it grows in such masses in the mid-succession pine/oak forest here, that mammals and birds are not able to use the habitat safely; it smothers the understory viburnum and blueberry shrubs, the tree saplings, and even climbs up and entangles canopy; I have sought information about control, but since it is native and considered a wetland indicator species, there doesn't seem to be a solution

I appreciate any comments or suggestions...

------------------------------------

Lynette Leka
Newbury, MA 01951
email: lynett...@yahoo.com

--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 8/27/18, Louise Barteau <lbar...@comcast.net> wrote:

Subject: Re: [MASSBIRD] Nahant Thicket/Stump dump 8/25
To: "Paul Guidetti" <guidet...@gmail.com>
Cc: "Childs, Jackson" <jch...@fas.harvard.edu>, "Mass...@theworld.com" <mass...@TheWorld.com>
Date: Monday, August 27, 2018, 2:36 PM

MAOn Aug 25, 2018, at 6:01 PM, Paul
Guidetti <guidet...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Good evening,If the

vines are porcelain berry https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelopsis_glandulosa_var._brevipedunculata
they will be very attractive once the fruit ripens. I have a
personal vendetta against this vine as it is trying to take
over my yard and neighborhood. Birds love the fruit and
seedlings sprout up everywhere in the spring. Sadly, the
vine and fruit are beautiful. They are  fairly easy to
identify however.
On a birdier note, the orioles are hanging around
eating jelly (and choke cherries) and I’ve had a ton of
dueling hummingbirds battling over my three
feeders.
Take care.Paul

GuidettiWestford, MA