Winter ecology walk at Cary Institute

MILLBROOK — A warm winter sun shone above the over 100 nature lovers who showed up at the Cary Institute for an ecology walk with Cary educators, experts and volunteers on Sunday, Feb. 21. Because the turnout was so large, participants were divided into three groups and set off on snowy paths to explore the Cary grounds near Millbrook. For some in the crowd, it was their first time at any Cary event, and they weren’t exactly sure what to expect.  

Groups headed from the visitors parking lot to the Cary Pines Trail, down a partially snow-covered path strewn with brown leaves to the Fern Glenn. Here Barry Haydasz, a Cary native plants specialist, discussed invasive species, which were brought from other continents and escaped from cultivation to grow uncontrolled in the wild.

In an area reserved for these invasive immigrants, he pointed out the distinctive winter stems of the burning bush, Euonymus alatus compactus, which was originally brought from Asia and now provides brilliant pink and red autumnal color in yards across America. Nearby was the familiar, thorny Japanese barberry, Berberis thunbergii. Haydasz explained that it only seemed fair that the Japanese imported native species from North America, like goldenrod, which has become a giant pest in its foreign environment.

In the Howard Roeller Bed area, Haydasz identified native plants, like witch hazel, with its distinctive dried blossoms, the hackberry’s very warty trunk, and the sinewy American hornbeam or ironwood tree. The group smelled the aromatic soft bark of the spice bush, whose autumn berries are gobbled up by birds, and marveled at what seemed to be tiny pinecones growing on an alder.

 Hikers also admired the exotic species, such as the ancient evergreen Japanese umbrellapine, Sciadopitys verticillata, selected by Mrs. Cary for her original arboretum. They peered from the deck over looking the icy east branch of Wappinger Creek.

A red tailed hawk soared above the Fern Glen, its tail luminescent in the brilliant sun.  The youngsters in the group made rubbings of various tree barks and used an animal track guide to identify the signs of coyote, squirrel and deer in the snow.   A troop of Brownie Scouts from Poughquag searched the ground for snow fleas, which cover the forest floor in winter.  

Under the guidance of Raphael Notin, a Cary volunteer, they figured out that two or more turkeys had been strutting in the snow. Notin explained that sometimes piles of leaves are a sign that turkeys have been scratching the ground and looking for food. Then Notin pointed out a long rectangular hole high up in a pine tree trunk where a pileated woodpecker had made a home.

Despite the warmth of the day, feet were getting cold, and the group headed back to enjoy hot chocolate and cookies.

The next public educational event at the Cary Institute will be Friday, March 5, at 7 p.m. when disease ecologist Richard Ostfeld will lecture on the role that biodiversity plays in protecting human health. He will explain why you are five times more likely to encounter a Lyme disease-bearing tick in a small woodlot than in a large state forest.  

The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Rt. 44) in Millbrook. One of the largest ecological programs in the world, the institute is dedicated to the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge about ecosystems. For more information, go online to ecostudies.org.