damp day

What do the Purple Martins do on a day like this: cool, overcast, rainy, few or no insects? Some of the Martins are huddled on top of the hanging gourds that serve as their nest boxes; the rest must be inside, perhaps sitting on eggs. Apparently they (and, presumably, other swallows) have the ability to go into a sort of torpor and shut down their energy systems for a day or two -- a kind of temporary hibernation during bad weather famine. I wonder how long they can go like this without refueling.

As the vegetable world leafs out, the after effects of Hurricane Irene become more evident. The most obvious damage was caused by a couple of Pitch Pines which literally pitched over, taking some of the surrounding vegetation along with them on their fall. But now it is becoming clear that many of the oaks and some of the Red Maples on the outer edge and also along the narrow upper part of the marsh also suffered; many of them are dead and some only show some weak signs of life with a few leafy branches only; they were apparently killed or badly wounded by the salt water intrusion at the roots or the heavy salt-laden winds which coated their leaves. Interestingly enough, the Red Cedars (or Virginia Junipers as they should be called) survived quite well along with most of the Tupelos which are now, a little behind everyone else, greening up. The Tupelos and Locusts are always among the latest trees to leaf out. It will be interesting to watch what happens with these edge areas as they recover.

Eric Salzman