Category Archives: Naturalist’s Corner

Modern Naturalists

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Isabela Torres surveying plants along the trail

Isabela Torres, summer intern with the Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail
working along the trail near mile marker 4.5 on June 25, 2018.

This issue’s naturalist corner centers around a photo of me working along the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail in late June. In the photo, I am using my cellphone in way you might interpret as disinterest in the nature surrounding me. Typical 20-something, right?

A common narrative these days is that teenagers and young adults only care about electronic devices to the detriment of all else (National Geographic published a piece in October 2016 titled “Can the Selfie Generation Unplug and Get into Parks?”).

But I believe this narrative of technology as evil and harmful to the natural world misses a key element of modern naturalist studies: the ability to use technology as a tool to enhance the range of identification tools (iNaturalist is my favorite for identification help) and management strategies available to everyone.

In the photo of me on my phone, I am actually using an app to mark and label the GPS location of a clump of wood nettle.

Trail map showing results of plant survey

Image 2: Management map for the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail made using QGiS and
MapsPlus based on data taken on June 25, 2018.

With that datum point and many others taken along the stretch of continuous forest, I was able to create the map (Image 2) that will help myself, the parks departments and any future volunteers know where to begin their work on managing invasive species threatening the natural area around the trail.

So, what does it mean to be a modern naturalist? Basically, the same thing it meant to be a naturalist during any other time, but with the addition of embracing technology as a way to better understand and protect the nature around us.

Birds love greenways like the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail

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National Geographic magazine (along with the national Audubon Society, BirdLife International, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) is celebrating 2018 as the Year of the Bird, because 2018 is “the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the most powerful and important bird protection law ever passed” (National Geographic website). In its January issue, National Geographic includes articles with many fine photos of birds of all types from around the world. The central idea of the articles is “birds matter.” The greater number of bird species in a community, the healthier the community.

The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail connects many natural areas that support a great diversity of birds. Goshen birder Bob Guth verifies that diversity every time he walks the trail, listing the species he observes. Bob has walked the five miles from County Road 33 to State Road 4 at Abshire Park over 40 times. He keeps cumulative lists of what he calls three “hotspots” in that section: #1 from County Road 33 to  county Road 26 (122 species); #2 County Road 26 to County Road 28 (116 species); and #3 County Road 28 to State Road 4 (126 species). That’s a lot of birds.

Photos of five birds seen along the Pumpkinvine

Photos from left:
Bob Guth has identified more than 360 birds along the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail.
Wild Turkey south of SR 4 - Photo by John Yoder
Pileated Woodpecker - Photo by John Harley
Easter Phoebe - Photo by John Harley
White Throated Sparrow _ Photo by John Harley

In the stream and trail edge habitat at mile 5.0 (near CR 33) and in the well-preserved hardwood forest around mile 4.5, Bob has seen pileated woodpeckers, eastern Phoebes, yellow-billed cuckoos, redbellied woodpeckers, tufted titmice and black-capped chickadees. In the open area with native grasses and prairie wildflowers, he has spotted Lincoln sparrows, white-throated sparrows, Baltimore orioles, and eastern bluebirds; occasionally he sees goldfinches, white-crowned sparrows, tree sparrows, and song sparrows eating Indian grass. Christine Guth (Bob’s wife) once saw a pair of foxes with three kits near mile 4.0. Horned larks nest in the farmland between 3.5 and 3.0 and snow-buntings and Lapland longspurs migrate through in late fall. Sandhill cranes fly over the trail near Butts Lake, near mile 1.5, in the fall. Wild turkeys frequent the trail between mile 1.0 and 0.5. This is only a sampling of the birds along the trail.

Before European settlement, Elkhart and LaGrange counties were covered with hardwood forests and wetlands, with smaller pockets of prairies and savannas. Today only fragments of these habitats remain. The Pumpkinvine is an important 16-mile long and 80-foot wide green connector of the remaining fragments. This connector allows birds, insects and mammals to move from fragment to fragment, where they feed, breed and raise their young. Connected habitat fragments helps sustain the vitality and size of animal and plant populations. Interconnecting diverse populations of native species is critical to sustaining a high quality natural environment. By providing a connecting greenway for birds, the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail plays an important role in improving the environmental quality of Elkhart and LaGrange Counties.

An index to birds along the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail can be found at www.ebird.com.

Native trees make the Pumpkinvine an intriguing greenway in all seasons

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Six photos of trees, leaves and seeds

Widely diverse native trees line The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail — beech, maples, oaks, hickories, tulip poplar, cottonwood, quaking aspen, black cherry, pawpaw, boxelder, redbud, hornbeam, hawthorne and eastern red cedar. Ash and American elm saplings persist, although insectborn diseases have killed mature trees. Non-native and invasive tree species, particularly white mulberry and tree-of-heaven, are prevalent in disrupted areas along the trail.

When enjoying the Pumpkinvine in late fall and winter, look for the following three species that frequently go unnoticed. Fallen leaves, acorns and nuts make identification easier. Distinctive bark is another good species indicator. Native Trees of the Midwest, by Weeks, Weeks, & Harper, is a tree-identification resource I use frequently; some of the information below comes from that helpful book.

Shingle oak is the only oak in Lagrange and Elkhart County that has no lobes or teeth. As the name suggests, the wood makes good shingles. Our counties are at the northern edge of shingle oak’s range. Look for shingle oak near mile markers 0.5 and 11.5. Because the brown, narrow, leathery leaves stay on the tree throughout the winter, shingle oaks give protective cover for roosting birds, such as screech owls and blue jays. The small acorns are favorites for songbirds, screech owls, turkeys, squirrels and other animals.

American beech is not common along the Pumpkinvine, but you will find it in well preserved forests around mile markers 4.5 and 12.5. Mature beech are easy to identify by the smooth, gray bark. Beech saplings stand out in winter because they retain their toothed, ovate leaves. Beech trees produce nuts irregularly, few most years and
occasional bumper crops. Beechnuts are highly preferred by many birds and mammals, such as squirrels, chipmunks, nut-hatches, tufted titmice, wild turkey and woodpeckers.

Many trail users overlook the numerous American basswood. This species grows well in mature forests and in open, disrupted areas. Because it sprouts prolifically, basswood often grows in clumps. Its heart-shaped, finely-toothed leaves can be confused with redbud leaves. In July basswoods produce small, fragrant, light-yellow flowers high up on the branches; you may have detected the sweet smell without knowing the source. The flowers develop into gray, hairy, nut-like fruits that hang from a long stalk with a leafy bract and fall intact to the ground in autumn.

In all seasons, native trees make The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail an intriguing greenway.

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