The days are now much shorter, and the leaves have mostly departed their branches as we enter the beginning of winter. We have seen much more rain over the last few weeks than we have all summer, and the plants and wildlife are benefiting.
What are all the colors you’re seeing from our trees? Great question! Maybe you’re seeing the vibrant reds of our Red maples. Or maybe you’re seeing the bronze of our Oaks. Possibly it’s the golden yellows of our Witch-hazels or American basswoods. There is even a splash of green from our evergreen White pines and Eastern hemlocks, and those pesky few invasives who tend to hold onto their leaves a bit longer into the season (think Common and Glossy buckthorn).
Our last native flowering tree of the season, the Witch-hazel, is showing off its beautiful and vibrant yellow flowers to match its now fallen leaves. Sound like a familiar name? Commercial Witch-hazel is an alcohol extract of the tree’s bark. It’s used to treat burns, rashes, and insect bites. Witch-hazel can get up to 20 feet tall and typically flowers in October through November in this area, providing a vital pollination resource for flies and small bees that are still active here.
Our year-round inhabitants will now become prominent as our seasonal visitors have left the area for warmer weather and more plentiful food sources. Keep an eye out for chatty flocks of Cedar waxwings, who are on the hunt for berries and fruits, their specialty and pillar of their diets. American robins will continue to dot the forest floor in search of worms and remaining fruits, while Blue jays and Cardinals will keep the vibrant colors of summer and fall going year-round as they seek out acorns and other seeds.
Maybe you’ll get lucky and catch a glimpse of a White-tailed deer or a Fisher scampering around under the cover of the forest. Fishers are one of the few known predators of porcupines and were once used to help manage porcupine populations for New England loggers. Porcupines often munched on tree saplings, which made them unfavorable to the timber industry.
We hope you enjoy the remaining fall colors and are getting excited about seeing the Fells blanketed in snow, hopefully soon! Remember to send friends@fells.org photos from your Fells adventures for a chance to be featured in future blog posts.
We look forward to seeing you out on the trails!
Resources:
- Witch Hazel Information: https://theplantnative.com/plant/witchhazel/
- Witch Hazel Photo: Fritz Flohr Reynolds, November 2012
- Cedar Waxwing Photo: Kelly Colgan Azar, November 2013
- Cardinal, Robin, and Blue Jay Information: All About Birds
- Fisher facts: Mass Audubon
- Fisher Photo: ForestWander 2011
