While the wetland mitigation project at Oak Creek South is still considered in its infancy – three years of growth and plant establishment is finally showing off. The first thing you will notice at the wetland or driving by is a sea of yellow.   Black-Eyed Susans – Rudbeckia hirta  - are in bloom with full force. This flower is a food source for Painted Lady butterflies and Hummingbird moths. Culturally it has been used by the Ojibwa as a poultice for snake bites and for treating colds and worms in children. The plant was also used as a diuretic by the Menominee and Potawatomi tribes.
Ohio Spiderwort – Tradescantia ohiensis   This three-petaled lavender flower blooms from late spring to mid-summer. The flowers and shoots are reportedly edible by humans and are certainly a favorite of White-Tailed Deer, Cottontail Rabbits, and Box Turtles. As you can see in the photos, many insects including this Syrphid fly enjoy visiting the flower for nectar and pollen.
	Butterfly Milkweed – Asclepias tuberosa   This native perennial has terminal clusters of bright orange blossoms that attract Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds, Fritillary and Swallowtail butterflies, among others. Unlike other members of the milkweed family, Butterfly Weed has a clear sap and the amount of cardiac glycosides is consistently low. It is a host plant for Monarch butterflies.
Swamp Milkweed – Asclepias incarnate   The large, showy terminal blossoms of this 2-4 ft. perennial are made up of small, rose-purple flowers. The juice of this wetland milkweed is less milky that that of other species. The genus was named in honor of Aesculapius, Greek god of medicine, undoubtedly because milkweeds have long been used to treat a variety of ailments. While milkweed is poisonous consumed raw, the young shoots, leaves, and buds can all be eaten boiled. Perhaps with such a subtle distinction, the plant is best left for Monarch and Queen caterpillars to consume.
	Elderberry Bush – Sambucus Canadensis With long, opposite branching, feathery compound leaves and large lacey clusters of white flowers, the blooming Elderberry bush is hard to miss. A long favorite of sailors and foraging enthusiasts, Elderberry flowers can be fried into a delicious fritters while the ripe berries often made into jams are rich in phosphorus, beta-carotene and vitamin C. The berries are also an important food source for birds than can strip a bush in under an hour. In addition, the most powerful wand in the famed children’s classic Harry Potter is made of sambucus and is known as the “Elder Wand.”
Rattlesnake Master – Eryngium yuccifolium   This odd looking member of the carrot family has blue-green leaves that closely resemble that of the yucca plant. The white prickly seed heads are a great nectar source for long-tongued bees and butterflies alike. Pioneers and Native Americans incorrectly thought that the root of this plant was an antidote for rattlesnake bites, hence its common name.
	Purple Coneflowers – Echinacea purpurea   Among a sea of yellow flowers, the Purple Coneflowers pop in stunning beauty. Echinacea means “hedgehog” in Greek and is named such for its spikey centered seed head. The plant is popularly brewed into a tea and used as an immunostimulator and treatment for the common cold. Look for Swallowtail butterflies to stop and drink nectar from this flower and Goldfinches to feast on the seeds.

Bird watching with youngsters can be a tricky ordeal. You see a bird sitting high up on a branch, but you can make out little without a pair of binoculars. Even if you have a pair of binoculars, it is still hard for your little one to get the bird in the view finder and in focus. Let’s face it, this can be troublesome for adults too. Here is one solution – visit the bird blind at Bill Yeck Park.
	The bird blind is a great place to begin or end your walk through the park. Located near the park entrance on Wilmington-Dayton Road, park users can sit on benches behind the blind and look out slots to view birds coming to the feeders without the birds taking notice of them.
A great variety of birds come to our feeders including juncos, cardinals, finches, sparrows, and woodpeckers.
	Feeders are filled on a weekly basis, but hungry birds, squirrels, and other wildlife will empty them quickly. To increase your chances of success, bring a handful of seed, dried fruit or nuts from home and place it on the feeders. The birds will quickly find your handout and flock in for the treats.
If you are lucky, you might even catch this occasional bird blind visitor, the brown thrasher. Look low on the ground though, not on the feeder. He will be thrashing in the leaves and dirt looking for seed that has been dropped by other birds.
	Don’t forget to listen too. You might here the sound of this rufus-sided towhee calling “Drink-Your-Teeaaaa” or the nasally sound of the white-breasted nuthatch below calling “Yank, Yank, Yank.”
The pictures on this post were all taken at the Bill Yeck bird blind by local wildlife photographer Bill Dice. Take a breather at the blind and see what you find.

What's That Bump?

Time and again I have heard the question, often from my own lips, “What is that thing?” in regards to a round, globular, bumpy, fuzzy, misshapen unidentifiable structure on a plant. These strange, funky-shaped plant structures are termed galls and made from an insect, arthropod or fungus.

This article’s highlight is the blackberry knot gall made by the blackberry knot gall wasp. As you can see, gall critters are one of the few things in science where the name actually makes perfect sense. Figure out the plant name the gall is on, and the name of the creature causing that gall is sure to follow.

So back to the blackberry knot gall – walking in the meadow this spring I noticed a ton of bumpy, elongated galls surrounding thorny blackberry brambles, very obvious this time of year. These galls are made when the female blackberry knot gall wasp (Diastrophus nebulosus) oviposits (lays eggs) inside the blackberry stems during late spring and summer. The egg laying, as well as larval secretions, sets off a reaction in the plant to grow this funky chamber in which the eggs and then the larvae reside. The larvae live safe (relatively speaking) and sound (unless a predatory wasp lays its egg on the larvae) inside the gall feeding on the flesh of the blackberry plant until it is ready to metamorphosis into an adult.

According to Ranger, Greg Dodge, in his blog supported by the Museum of Life + Science,  the gall length is related to how many eggs are laid in the stem - the more eggs, the longer the gall. Eventually these little larvae will complete their metamorphosis and chew their way out. The picture below highlights the exit holes the adult wasps made in the outer wall of their gall.

Take a hike through Bill Yeck Park, Forest Field Park, or Grant Park meadows and see if you can discover this “bump” and other galls for yourself.

Controlling Canada Geese in the Park District
 
The Canada goose has had an interesting history in the State of Ohio. Older residents may recall a time, when seeing a Canada goose in Ohio was a rare occurrence only taking place during spring and fall migration. In fact, between the Civil War and the turn of the 20th century, geese were reportedly extirpated (completely removed) from the state of Ohio. In 1956, the Ohio Division of Wildlife attempted to restore native geese populations by reintroducing 10 pairs in each of three state owned wetlands. The attempt was successful. By 1979, geese were found in 49 of Ohio’s 88 counties and today the population is estimated at 84,000 geese and can be found in all 88 Ohio counties.
 
Geese have turned out to be the most resilient and adaptable of our native waterfowl. They are willing to find any farm pond, retention pool, or golf course water trap as a suitable nesting area. In addition, people readily accept and feed the first pair of geese that show up on their pond. However, this one pair of geese can easily turn into 50 – 100 birds in just a few years. PLEASE DO NOT FEED OUR GEESE! Human interference has created a year round native population of Canada goose in Ohio that does not migrate south in the winter like their Canadian counterpart.
 
Over the years, the Centerville-Washington Park District has received numerous complaints about the overpopulation of geese at Rosewood and Oak Creek South Parks. During nesting season, geese can be aggressive and may attack humans they become wary of. At any time of year, an abundance of geese will turn a pleasant walk in the park into an unpleasant obstacle course of goose scat.
 
At Oak Creek South Park, the Park District has tried habitat modification as a means to deter congregating geese. Formerly, the area contained a large pond surrounded by grass that was mowed up to the bank edge. Through Wal-Mart wetland mitigation funds, the pond was converted into a more natural stream bank. Along the bank a variety of wetland plants and trees are being established. Geese do not like to nest in an area where their view is obscured from predators. An increase in vegetation along the stream bank should, in time, keep geese from nesting at this park.
 
Take Notice
Even with this habitat modification effort, the open lawns of Rosewood and Oak Creek South are still attractive grazing areas for geese. In response to the problem, the Park District has employed “Goose Buster,” a company that will visit these two locations daily with dogs to harass the geese. Geese are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Ohio state law. It is unlawful to harm a goose, egg, or nest outside of hunting season or without state written permission. Goose Buster dogs are specially trained to scare off geese without harming them. They may bark or chase after geese but will not bite. To keep geese unfamiliar with their schedule, Goose Buster will be visiting these two locations at different times each day.
 
For the purpose of safe and efficient goose removal, we do allow the specially trained Goose Buster dogs to run off leash. However, the Park District still maintains a very strict leash law in all of our parks, for dog walkers. Remember, if your dog harms or bites a goose, you are breaking both state and federal laws and can be held accountable. 
 
If you have any questions about Canada geese or the Park District’s control methods please call (937) 433-5155.