Pink Lady's Slipper Orchid at Hammond Pond

Pink Lady's Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium Acaule)

 Ever since I got my National Audubon Society's Regional Field Guide (so far my only non-bird field guide) and learned of orchids native to the US, the idea of searching for these beauties has captured my mind. I assumed that such amazing plants and flowers as these orchids could only be in remote locations such that I would never be able to find them. Then I moved here and started reading Suzette's blog, Bird News of Nahanton Park, to learn that at least one native orchid, the Pink Lady's Slipper, can be found in our local Newton, MA parks. For some reason I was never free in the spring to explore the park while the orchids are blooming, so I was very excited when my neighbor had told me that she had just seen some orchids at Hammond Pond.

So last weekend, after some time at work, I dropped by Hammond Pond and Webster Woods and headed into the woods in search of orchids (and of course a few birds too) with my camera and tripod. Back in the woods, I was lucky enough to not only find two flowering plants, but also what I think was a third plant that did not have a flower spike. The flower is so amazing that it gives this orchid its name. Cypripeduium acaule, commonly known as the Pink Lady's Slipper or Moccasin Flower is named for the pink pouch (In the Cypripedium orchid sub-family, the labellum forms this pouch) that superficially resembles footwear (though I think other Lady Slipper Orchids have more of a slipper appearance).

Cypripedium acaule

I was inspired by my encounter with these Pink Lady's Slippers to read more about these amazing plants of our suburban wild lands. I think the coolest thing I learned about them was their method of pollination. On the front of the pouch, where it folds in, is actually a trap door (best seen on the top picture). Only strong species of bees are able to push their way into the pouch as they are drawn to the flower by its color and a faint sweet odor that the bees associate with nectar. But once the bee forces its way inside the pouch, he finds that there is no nectar or reward and he cannot exit the same way. Instead the pouch forces the bee to climb up the inside of the pouch towards the top. This top opening of the pouch is partially obscured by the column (which contains the stigma and pollinium) and the staminode (a more burgundy flap on the column). As is visible in the picture to the right, the column and staminode create two routes out of the pouch through which the bee can make his escape. As the bee exits, his back comes into contact with the yellow waxy ball of pollen (also visible in picture). Now this bee being a smart bee, will most likely have learned that the Pink Lady's Slipper flower has nothing he is interested in and traps him to boot. And thus the bee will not make the same mistake twice. But if we and the Pink Lady's Slippers are lucky, then this bee will be of the adventurous variety and will, against logic, visit a second Pink Lady's Slipper. While he navigates this trap and maze once more, this time the pollen already on his back will adhere to the stigma of this second flower just before he reaches the opening to have yet more pollen deposited on his back. (There is an excellent blog post here with a photograph labeled with the bee's route through the flower)

Cypripedium Acaule

Because most bees are likely to quickly learn to avoid Pink Lady's Slipper flowers, only about 5% of flowers are pollinated in a given year. This may actually be advantageous as seed production is very taxing to the plant. But to make up for this dismal pollination rate, Pink Lady's Slippers can live on average for about 20 years! Their low pollination rate, long life span, and very specific habitat requirements makes it very important to not disturb these orchids so that we can protect our native population.

I have to say that I look forward to observing these Pink Lady's Slipper orchids in the future and one day I'll have to venture forth in search of more of our wild orchids.


P.S. I did mention I was looking for birds too. Some of the best finds were Great Blue and Green Herons, Cedar Waxwings, Red-eyed Vireos, a Great Crested Flycatcher, and for a few seconds I had a great view of a stunning male Rose-breasted Grosbeak!

Warblers and Wild Flowers at Houghton Garden

White Trillium or Wake Robin (Trillium grandiflorum)

 In my second blog post when I visited Houghton Garden in the winter, I mentioned that it seemed like a good place for spring warblers. So yesterday morning I decided to visit on my way to work. While driving over I was listening to my Peterson field guide CDs "Birding by Ear" and trying to learn the waterthrush songs, which was very fortunate because the first song I heard when I got out of the car at 9am was the song right after the waterthrushes! It sounded like the two-parted song of the Nashville warbler which would be a first of year for me (more on this in a minute).

Upon entering this small piece of habitat I was able to find black-and-white warblers, yellow-rumps, and an American redstart (the picture is from earlier this week in Boston) were the only warblers that I was able to see. Up in the trees were plenty of black-throated blue and northern parula song, though they stayed up in the canopy and never decided to show themselves. And down in the bushes a skulking common yellowthroat sounded off. Then while standing by the little damn

American Redstart

that keeps the pond full I heard another song I had only just listened to, the 3-parted song of a Tennessee warbler. Now this was a lifer for me. I tried in vain to see the Tennessee but had no such luck. While I was excited to add the Tennessee warbler to my life list, I later noted that it isn't a common bird around Newton. Pete and Haynes both have most of the ebird sightings which primarily come from Cold Spring Park and Nahanton. In addition to warblers, I was also excited to see and hear a stunning Baltimore Oriole.

May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum)

While many of the birds refused to be seen, Houghton Garden's flora was earning its keep. The ferns are all coming up with a wide variety of foliage forms (one day I'll figure out how to identify them) and many woodland flowers were evident. I was particularly impressed with the trillium specimen, but later learned that trillium (and especially trillium grandiflorum ) are victims of their own popularity with gardeners. They have become threatened as most (if not all) plants available were harvested from the wild. I took pictures of some in hope that I might be able to identify the flowers (Do you know what the flowers below are?).

When I got home last night I listened to recordings of the Tennessee and Nashville warblers and am no longer sure about the Nashville's ID. When I have time later I'll another post with recordings and spectrograms.

Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  1
Warbling Vireo  1
Blue Jay  1
Black-capped Chickadee  2Tufted Titmouse  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
American Robin  10
Gray Catbird  3
Black-and-white Warbler  1  
Tennessee Warbler  1
Nashville Warbler  ?
Common Yellowthroat  1
American Redstart  1
Northern Parula  3
Black-throated Blue Warbler  2  
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  1
Northern Cardinal  2
Common Grackle  2
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Baltimore Oriole  1
American Goldfinch  2
House Sparrow  5

First Crocuses and Some Readings

First Crocuses of Spring

 Saturday morning I noticed the first crocus buds in the garden and by Sunday morning there were a handful of fully opened flowers. Even though the air had a chill and there is snow in the forecast again, I can’t help but feel the inexorable march towards Spring. Earlier this week I had to stop my walk to work just to watch three downy woodpeckers chasing each other around a tree. I couldn’t help wonder if they were males arguing over territory if one of them was a female who had two fine suitors.

As I was unable to get out birding this weekend I enjoyed the crocuses and incidental birds, but my most vicarious birding came through two readings. My first reading was from the Newton Conservators Newsletter and I enjoyed reading Pete’s article on the rare birds around Massachusetts this winter (including a LeConte’s Sparrow that Pete found himself). There was also news of the newest Newton park, the rail trail that will go from Newton Highlands to Newton Upper Falls. There was also lists of upcoming nature walks for the spring, so I'll do a separate post for upcoming events soon.

My second reading this week came from the Bird Observer. They are trying to determine if birders would be interested in an electronic version of the publication, so they made the February issue freely available online. I think that one of the most popular features every month is an article on Massachusetts birding spots, including all the details you would need to bird the selected location. But I was fascinated, instead, by the article about the Bicknell's Thrush. Actually, the article was equal parts about the biology of the Bicknell's Thrush and a history of  studying the thrush. Maybe I just like my birds, science and history rolled into one, but I thought it was a great read and if you haven't already seen it, definitely download the February issue of the Bird Observer and read it!

The Black-bellied Whistling-duck of Great Meadows

Black-bellied Whistling-duck

 It has been too long since I got out for some serious birding. I decided that my first trip out on Sept 1st should be to Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Concord Unit. (There is also a really great blog about Great Meadows with useful information.) While not in Newton, Great Meadows is about a 30 minute drive from Newton and is one of the closest major birding spots in our area with lots of waterfowl and other water loving birds.

In July a couple of black-bellied whistling-ducks showed up at great meadows and drew a lot of attention. The northern edge of this whistling-ducks' range is the very southern tip of Texas, so having one show up in MA was quite a treat. I had seen a few weeks ago that the whistling-duck was still hanging around and thought I'd make Great Meadows my destination and see if the whistling-duck wasn't hanging around.

Great Egret in the American Lotus

Upon arriving at at the Great Meadows parking lot, I instantly heard cedar waxwings, catbirds, a Carolina wren, and robins. Then as I made my way down the dike path between the two pools I could start to make out some herons. When I was finally able to see between the cattails I could make out great blue herons, great egrets, a snowy egret, and a whole mess of canada geese. (The snowy egret is rather unusual for this location.) While I was watching the herons another birder said that there was a really rare duck just further up the path, and so I headed that way thinking of the black-bellied whistling-duck. 

Carpenter Bee and Evening Primrose

I was in luck, the whistling-duck was up on a muskrat lodge in easy viewing distance from the trail. I tried to catch some pictures and got some that were good enough to show him off. But I soon realized that the other photographers were getting far better shots with their better equipment (if you would like to see some better pictures check them out at this blog).  I was still excited to take what pictures I could and to have such great views of the bright red-orange bill and white eye-ring. At first he was sleeping, then he stood up for a little while before flying into the water next to a pair of black ducks, probably foraging time. While watching the whistling-duck, I also spotted some wood ducks and mallards. The water was quite low in the pools so there didn't seem to be as much activity as there could have been.

Common Whitetail Dragonfly

Further along the dike, there was a painted turtle sitting on a leaf of an American Lotus and a large variety of dragonflies hovering over the path. I heard a pair of warbling vireos in the trees by the river while there was a large flock of red-wing blackbirds over the cattails of the upper pool. My last two good finds of the day were an osprey flying over the pines to the east and an accipiter who flew about 10 feet away from my head as I stood in wonder watching as she headed into the trees.

Wildflowers of Millennium Park: Part3

Black-eyed Susans

Wildflowers of Millennium Park: Part 2

Wild Lupine

Wildflowers of Millennium Park: Part 1

So I have to admit that my ability to identify my flowers is just a shadow of my knowledge of avian life, so if you have an idea of what this one is, please let me know!