Welcome to Peninsula Chapter Cohort Three

The Board of Directors of the Peninsula Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program is pleased to announce that the chapter’s third cohort of volunteer naturalists began basic training on Wednesday, January 26^th, at the Cooperative Extension Office in Newport News. This will be the first basic training class conducted by the Peninsula Chapter since the Fall of 2009. To all of the members of Cohort Three, welcome to the Virginia Master Naturalist Program.

 

Members of Peninsula Chapter Cohort Three at their first class at the Cooperative Extension Office in Newport News.

 

The successful planning and implementation of the Spring 2011 basic training class is the work of Training Committee co-chairpersons Sarah McGuire and Julia Horton. With only minimal assistance from the board, Julia and Sarah secured a location, recruited instructors, reviewed applications, and planned and scheduled classes and field trips. Chapter Advisor Megan Ketchum has also provided instrumental support to the training by ensuring use of the Cooperative Extension Office throughout the length of the course. The board thanks Julia, Megan and Sarah for their dedication and expertise in successfully starting Cohort Three training. The next thirteen weeks should be challenging and rewarding experience for both the training committee and the new chapter volunteers.

Fall Outreach

The Peninsula Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program is getting out this fall for public outreach at events across the Peninsula. We have already set up displays and distributed brochures and information at the Go Green – $ave Green event on September 25^th at the Brittingham Midtown Community Center in Newport News and at the Newport News Fall Festival of Folklife on October 2^nd and 3^rd at Newport News Park.

 

 

Master Naturalist Sheila Kerr-Jones informs and entertains at the Fall Festival in Newport News.

 

In the next few weeks you can also look for our chapter members to be providing information on the Virginia Master Naturalist Program at the NASA sponsored EarthFest on October 23^rd at Sandy Bottom Nature Park (1255 Big Bethel Road, Hampton, VA 23666) in Hampton and at the Boo-bird Spook-tacular on October 30^th at Bluebird Gap Farm (60 Pine Chapel Road, Hampton, VA 23666) also in Hampton.

Our members will be available at these events to answer questions about the upcoming basic training course (Spring of 2011), certification requirements and volunteer opportunities available through the program. They will also answer questions on local ecosystems and the flora and fauna that can be found on the Peninsula. There will also be items on display to entertain children of all ages, so come out and see us at either one of these fall events.

Peninsula Chapter Picnic

The Peninsula Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program held a picnic on Friday, June 11th at Sandy Bottom Nature Park in Hampton. Twenty or so chapter members and guests gathered at the Parker Shelter near Crystal Lake for an evening of good food and conversation. Several of the chapter’s members were presented with their official certification as Virginia Master Naturalists and their official VMN name-tags.

Newly certified Peninsula Chapter Members Cris Ausink, Bonnie Baffer, Kim Powell, Brad Halcums, Pamella Courtney, Charlotte Boudreau, Sandy Graham and Jackie Roquemore.

Tom Watts, who was not in attendance at the picnic, has also been certified as a Virginia Master Naturalist. Congratulations to all of our newly certified members!

A special ‘thank you’ is due to Bonnie Baffer, the Peninsula Chapter Hospitality Chair, for all of the hard work she did organizing this picnic and her efforts to make chapter functions greener by reducing the amount of garbage created at these events. Also thanks to Dawn Currier, for always helping us with reserving the facilities at Sandy Bottom for our many meetings, classes and picnics.

Peninsula Chapter to Participate in Canada Goose Population Control Project

The Peninsula Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program is partnering with residents of the Coventry Subdivision of York County and the non-profit group GeesePeace to humanely reduce the number of Canada Geese plaguing the neighborhood. The goal of this project is to eliminate the need for a USDA round-up and euthanization of the birds that is scheduled for late spring. Thirteen of the chapter’s volunteers joined York County residents at the Tabb Library on Saturday, March 13^th to receive information and training on the program by GeesePeace President David Feld.

GeesePeace President David Feld explains the GeesePeace Program to volunteers at the Tabb Library in York County.

The GeesePeace Program, which has been successful at reducing nuisance Canada Goose populations in Northern Virginia, New York and as far away as Stratford-upon-Avon, England, promotes a three tiered program that includes Population Control, Site Aversion and a No Feeding Policy. Population Control involves the identification of nests and the oiling of eggs (in the early stages of incubation) to reduce the number of goslings hatched in the area. Without goslings to care for, the parent geese will fly north on a molt migration in advance of losing their flight feathers. If they have goslings to care for, the geese will stay behind through their molt, which will leave them flightless and remaining in the area throughout the summer.

Site Aversion tactics can include the use of Border Collies to herd and harass the geese away from the area, and even involves the use of life-jacketed Collies on kayaks and canoes to chase geese off of ponds and lakes. The No Feeding Policy discourages individuals near the population control sites from feeding the geese, which not only encourages the geese to remain in the area, but also is harmful to them (especially feeding foods processed for human consumption).

The project will commence at the end of March, the beginning of nesting season. If successful, the USDA round up will be unnecessary and the program will expand next year to include surrounding neighborhoods, ensuring the continued effective control of these populations in the most humane way possible.

The Joy of Insects

Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I! Insects don’t have politics…. they’re very brutal. No compassion…. no compromise. We can’t trust the insect. I’d like to become the first insect politician. I’d like to, but…. I’m an insect…. who dreamed he was a man, and loved it. But now the dream is over, and the insect is awake.

- Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle in The Fly

Although Jeff Goldblum found time to wax philosophical on the question of insect politics while slowly transforming into a giant fly in David Cronenberg’s 1986 film, he never expressed an opinion on the topic of insect sex. If he had, he might have come to a similar conclusion about the often brutal and occasionally fatal activity of insect, arachnid and arthropod reproduction.

Dr. Art Evans discusses the finer points of insect reproduction at the "Lust in the Dust" advanced training program for Virginia Master Naturalists

Thanks to a Valentine’s Eve presentation by noted entomologist Art Evans, 72 members and guests of the Historic Rivers, Peninsula and Tidewater Chapters of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program now have a much clearer insight into the reproductive habits of these fascinating creatures. Dr. Evans’ “Lust in the Dust” presentation covered almost everything you may have wanted to know about insect reproduction but were afraid to ask, including sex and food, love handles, foreplay, aphrodisiacs, bondage, aural sex, and the arthropod kama sutra.

This event was the first program to be cosponsored by these three Virginia Master Naturalist Chapters, and its success was due to the efforts of many people.  It was Jody Ullmann of the Tidewater Chapter who originally discussed the possibility of doing this program with Art Evans, and worked with Historic River’s President Susan Powell and myself in the early organizing of the event. She also contacted Dr. Michael Meyer, who arranged for us to use the auditorium in Christopher Newport University’s New McMurran Hall and provided expertise in operating the facility’s AV equipment. And we need to thank the Historic Rivers’ Chapter Host Committee, led by Alice Koponitz, for organizing the refreshments and decorations (with the assistance of several Historic Rivers members).  And to any others who worked to make this program a success, the Peninsula Chapter offers its appreciation.

Carl J. Shirley

President

Peninsula Chapter

Crow Using Tools

Eastern Shore Butterfly Count

On July 11th, Sheila, Shirley Devan, and her friend Susie and I and many others helped with the Annual Butterfly Count at the National Wildlife Refuge. I had stopped there many times before, but did not know about the butterfly trails. We broke into groups once there and Shirley, Susie, and I decided to join the group that hiked the butterfly trails near the refuge with Larry Brindza as our guide and later on hiked on Fisherman‘s Island with the help of a friend from DGIF. Sheila joined a group that went to Kiptopeke.

We saw many types of butterflies, but according to our guide, the numbers were down from two years before. We started at the butterfly garden beside the refuge where we saw Silver-spotted Skippers, Variegated Fritillaries, a Common Buckeye, many kinds of Swallowtails, and American Ladies. Out on the trails that were filled with flowering fennel and many blackberries, we saw many Eastern Tiger Swallowtails and Black Swallowtails. Our guide saw a large Palamedes Swallowtail near the edge of the woods across a field. We also saw Spicebush Swallowtails that have a blue color on the bottom of their wings that is not as deep a blue as the female Tiger Swallowtails. Near the end of the trail we saw some Orange Sulfurs and a Little Glassywing and some small moths.

After that we hiked on the road that is not open to the public that leads all the way back to where the bridge tunnel first connects to Eastern Shore. We saw many bare pines damaged by Isabell. Three Ospreys had nests in the tops of the trees and spent much time circling and crying as we walked. On our way down we saw a few butterflies, but as we got closer to the water we saw many Wood Nymphs and irregularly flying American Snouts that have an extended snout that can be clearly seen. We took some pictures between the two bridge spans and hiked under the bridge to the other side, where our guide showed us where the Monarchs land on their migration. They like a group of Russian Olives and a particular Pine tree. We hiked back up the road and on the way to our cars our guide spotted a Hackberry Emperor in its native tree and we were lucky that it decided to land on the road near us so we could get a close-up look. After that we took a lunch break back at the Refuge.

Our next adventure took place at Fisherman‘s Island. We drove to a place where we could leave our cars and hiked under the bridge to a spot where there are many Wax Myrtles. (This was the spot where the Monarch migration was first discovered and since then, there has been a yearly tagging of the butterflies. Our guide leads this program.) Then we hiked down on the beach where it was low tide. There were many pretty shells and Pelicans and Cormorants fishing or resting on some stakes in the water. We headed inland on a interior path and stopped to rest on old concrete barrier where we could see three juvenile Ospreys on a nest built on a small tower, We saw an unusual tree called Hercules Club that looked like it had armor on its trunk. We continued hiking and saw some nesting sites for turtles and a few swallowtails. We saw a beautiful Night Heron near a pond and a Flycatcher. Finally, we saw a Tiger Swallowtail that was so gorgeous that he may have just come out of his chrysalis. He was resting with both his wings open. Across the marsh many egrets were fishing. We returned to our cars to head back to the refuge. What a wonderful trip!

-Charlotte Boudreau

Poison Ivy Facts

Many times I‘ve amused young people by showing them how to identify poison ivy and then thoughtlessly sticking my head under a batch of it growing out from a tree when I saw something interesting below. I do know my poison ivy! Part of my job is to keep kids safe on nature walks, and they always get a poison ivy lesson when we find it.

Poison ivy is a native plant that grows extensively throughout Hampton Roads. Birds and other wildlife eat its berries and leaves. It has gotten a bad rap. It is not an evil people-poisoning plant–it‘s just trying to keep predators off and spread its seeds, like most other plants.

Poison ivy can be identified with the help of the old saying, ―Leaves of three, let them be. Look for three leaflets at the end of a leaf stalk, with the leaflet at the top of the ―triangle having a longer stem than the two on the sides, and the ―side leaflets having about a 45- to 90-degree angle. The leaves will be entire or slightly lobed, somewhat like the pattern your fingers make when you hold them tightly together. Other plants have ―leaves of three, but they have toothed edges or have different angles. Another clue is clusters of berries that change from green to white to slightly tan with time. Its flowers are tiny, greenish-white, and five-petaled.

Poison ivy can be suspected when you see plants that have similar habitat requirements—edge environments with partial sun combined with higher places like fences or trees where birds and other animals rest. Among the plants that call for a poison-ivy alert are greenbriar, honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, trumpet vine, wild blackberry, and English ivy. When you see them, you should sharpen your eyes for those leaves of three. And although it seems to prefer partial sun, it also seems like any little patch of sunlight will do, so I have seen it in the forest. But I have rarely seen it in full sun or deep shade.

Remember to look in four different ―altitudes – ankle-high plant-lets that are easy to miss until you‘re in the middle of them, stereo-typical ―hairy vines growing up trees, fences, and other platforms, shrubby patches that look like average everyday bushes, and branches that stick out from trees and masquerade as innocent tree branches. All four are poison ivy, and all four can affect you.

Poison ivy is something of an exaggerated name. The plant DOES cause an allergic reaction in most people, but a significant proportion of people (around 15 percent) have no reaction at all to it. The people who do react to it can have symptoms ranging from a few bumps that look like mosquito bites but are clustered in one area to a serious rash that can be painful and seep. Poison ivy causes an itch like no other allergen—persistent and maddening.

The allergenic part of poison ivy is an oil on its leaves and stems called urushiol. This oil is a ―persistent oil, meaning it is some-what sticky and clings to skin, clothing, pets, and solid objects upon contact.

Poison ivy does not ―spread by itself, like some diseases do. You can‘t ―catch it by walking past it. Poison ivy affects only the area that the oil comes into contact with. People DO spread the oil by touching the affected area while it still has the urushiol and then touching themselves elsewhere. The one time that it will seem like you ―caught it will be if you burn poison ivy along with other brush – then you get the full treatment inside and out! And for the highly allergic, poison-ivy-laden smoke inhalation will send you to the hospital.

The poison ivy oil does not cause an allergic reaction for 12 to 24 hours. If someone who comes into contact with it washes it off within a few hours, most likely they will have no reaction at all. Most experts recommend removal within 30 minutes just to be safe.

People who come into contact with poison ivy should wash the affected area as soon as possible with soap and lukewarm water. Any clothing, shoes, tools, sporting equipment, or other implements that come into contact with poison ivy should also be washed off with soap and warm water or with rubbing alcohol or another solvent. Pets exposed to poison ivy should also be washed, since they can spread the oil to you! Persistent relapses of poison ivy rash may be due to contact with objects, clothing, or pets that have the oil from previous exposure.

If a rash develops from contact, any topical antihistamine should be effective in relieving symptoms in light cases. Benedryl and Caladryl are two readily available brand name topical antihistamines. Severe reactions require a doctor‘s care.

Once a person develops the poison ivy rash, it is NOT contagious to other people. By the time the rash develops, the oil is gone. The fluid from blisters that may develop is basically blood serum, and does not contain the oil.

Susceptibility to urushiol can change over time—sometimes people who seemingly ―never get it can develop a rash after exposure. So it is always best to be safe and avoid exposure when possible.

I like poison ivy. It is beautiful year-round, from its stark wintry lines and berries hulls to its brilliant autumn foliage. You have to admire something that is so successful and so beautiful, even if you have to be wary of it.

By the way, I read in Science News in the not-too-distant past that increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are benefiting poison ivy by encouraging its growth, thus guaranteeing that more of us will become acquainted with it as time goes by!

The information for this article was gleaned from personal experience and observation, numerous books, and countless internet re-sources.

- Debbie Blanton

Smart Crows and Ravens

Bacterial Communication