It's taken me a few years to realize that we no longer have an oak woodland with some other species (hickories, Red and Norway Maples, Tupelo, Black Cherry, Pitch Pine, Red Cedar) thrown in. It has become a hickory woodland with the oaks and other species now playing a secondary role. This is less true in front of the house surrounding our open patch where the oaks still dominate and run down to the water. But everywhere else the hickories have, quietly and without arousing suspicions, grown up into a dominating position. They are strong vibrant trees which reach a good size and produce a lot of nuts. They have been much less affected by Hurricane Irene or, for that matter, by winter storms. In contrast, many of the oaks along the marsh edge and up the head of the marsh -- a low flowing stream bed that was severely invaded by salt water during last fall's big storm -- have been badly hit and are not coming back very strongly.
Did you ever stop and wonder to what use the Glossy Ibis puts its long, narrow, down-curved bill? Carl Safina sent me an astonishing photo of a Glossy Ibis with a Sheepshead Minnow in its grasp and, with his permission, I have attached it here!
Eric Salzman
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