A Northwoods Almanac for 10/11 – 24/24

 A Northwoods Almanac for 10/11 – 24/24  

 

Estivant Pines

         Mary and I recently spent three days in the UP’s Keweenaw Peninsula, where the highlight of the trip was a hike in the Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary, a site considered the largest and best stand of remnant white pines left in the Upper Midwest. Over the last 20+ years, Mary and I have scoured the region looking for the best stands of remnant old-growth forest, and we both agree with that assessment – the Estivant Pines represents the best of what few remnant pine forests we have left. 

         The Nature Sanctuary was originally part of a 2,400-acre tract of land owned by Edward Estivant of Paris, who sold it to Calumet and Hecla Mining Company in 1947. It was then sold in 1968 to Universal Oil, which proceeded to cut down 300 acres of nearby forest and began plans for future logging. Hearing of this, the Michigan Nature Association (MNA) led a three-year statewide fundraising campaign to purchase 200 acres of the Estivant Pines from Universal Oil in 1973 and succeeded in making the initial acquisition. Three additional acquisitions occurred between 1989 and 2019, bringing the sanctuary to 570.5 acres.

         Two loop trails totaling 2.5 miles showcase the towering pines and forest. The 1-mile Cathedral Grove loop passes some of the largest and oldest giant white pines, growing more than 125 feet tall and dating back 300 years. One pine on this loop was determined to have germinated around 1695 after a wildfire swept the ridge. 

         Much of this sanctuary sits on a high ridge of volcanic bedrock that dates back to the earliest period of Earth’s history, some 1.1 billion years ago. Multiple glaciers left behind a very thin layer of soil that can support plant life but generally is not deep enough to anchor a 100-foot-tall tree. To compensate for the lack of soil, most of the pines have grown roots deep into fractures and crevices in the bedrock. Some trees have been lost to windstorms, but remarkably few have fallen considering that the sanctuary sits at an altitude that varies between 200 and 500 feet above lake level, which leaves these trees exposed to powerful winter winds that blow across Lake Superior. In the winter, the sanctuary can get more than 275 inches of snow.

         We measured the diameter of many of the pines, the largest of which was 45” in diameter at breast height. Many were between 36” and 42”.

45" diameter white pine in the Estivant Pines

 

         Below the emergent pines at Estivant, sugar maple and balsam fir dominate with very few young white pine seedlings or saplings in the understory. This can’t be explained by a paucity of seed production, since white pines begin seeding at 20 to 30 years and typically have good seed years every 3 to 5 years.

         Most projections suggest that the white pine will decline in future decades, while sugar maple and balsam fir will increase. White pine re-establishment is usually thought to require major disturbances such as fire or windstorms for reproduction in late-successional stands like this. Other studies , however, report the ability of white pine to reproduce in canopy gaps. In an extensive survey of regional white pine forests, one researcher (Fahey 2011) found that although most pines (white and red pine) were established after large wind and fire disturbances, around 35% of pines successfully re-established after smaller gap disturbances.

         Change is always the name of the game in forest communities. Carbonized tree stumps and little bits of charcoal strewn across the Estivant landscape point to a large wildfire that swept through the area in the late 1700s and likely wiped out most of the white pines that had been standing there. Just as the towering, mature pines today prevent the young pines from growing underneath, those earlier pines likely prevented few new ones from growing beneath them. 

fire-scarred white pine, photo by John Bates

         So, who knows what the future will bring for these aging relicts? It was white pine that made Michigan the nation’s leading lumber-producing state from 1860-1910, and nearly all – 99.8%+ - were cut down. What a shame it would be if this last marvelous stand, by far the largest in Michigan, failed to sustain its community of pines.

 

Orange Peel Fungus (Aleuria aurantia)

         On a far tinier scale in the middle of a different trail near Houghton-Hancock, Mary and I came across a number of  bright orange, cup-shaped mushrooms that resemble orange peels strewn on the ground. The species name, “aurantia,”  derives from the Latin word aurantia for, you guessed it, “orange.” 

         Orange peel fungus grows throughout North America, but can also be found in Chile and in Europe fruiting mainly on bare disturbed soil.

Orange peel fungus, photo by John Bates

         The orange color is derived from a chemical similar to carotenoids found in trees like sugar maple, which causes the leaves to turn a brilliant yellow and/or orange. 

         It’s said to be edible, but not choice. We don’t collect wild mushrooms, preferring to allow them to be enjoyed by others during their brief life. But it’s important to remember that picking mushrooms doesn’t kill them – the mushroom is the fruit of the fungus, akin to an apple on an apple tree.

 

Hawk Ridge

            As of 9/29, six weeks into the fall migration count at Hawk Ridge in Duluth, the professional counters have tallied over 40,000 raptors! If non-raptors (like waterfowl and songbirds) are included as well, they have counted over 170,000 total birds, of 148 different species!

            The biggest raptor day for 2024 was on 9/20 – here’s what their write-up said: 

            “The raptor flight began early, and Sharp-shinned Hawk (SS) and Kestrel movements built to a steady flow all day. Shortly after 0900, the first Broad-winged Hawk (BW) kettle appeared on the western horizon. The BW flight slowly built into larger and larger kettles, mostly overhead, until groups reached a maximum size of 800-1000 birds! . . . Low and slow Sharp-shinned Hawk and kestrels delighted onlookers hundreds of feet below the massive kettles. By days end, nearly 900 SS and over 15,000 BW had passed by the overlook!”

            A few days later on 9/22, yellow-rumped warblers took the stage, with 5,794 passing over the ridge.

            The bird of choice in the first week of October was the American robin – 7,160 cruised past the ridge on northwest winds on 10/3. 

 

Baby Snapper Survival

            Jeff Kenkel wrote on 10/1: “We have a long, shared,  gravel road to our eastern Presque Isle place. At two locations it crosses the creek which emanates from the lake we are on. We frequently see turtles here in the spring looking to and laying eggs.  We always wonder if/ how many will survive. 

            “Rather suddenly, about a week ago, several holes were dug roadside in both crossing locations by what I presume was a racoon . . . How sad, I thought, to have made it this long and perhaps only days away from hatching, only to be devoured by a predator.”

            I have written in the past about the very long odds of success that our native turtles have of making it to adulthood. Here’s the best summary I’ve seen in the literature (from Susanne Kynast):

            “Reproductive success is highly variable due to the unpredictable environment. The weather during the incubation period plays an important role since embryos develop only at temperatures above 20°C (68°F) . . . 

            “In northern populations, short cool summers with high amounts of precipitation cause frequent years with complete reproductive failures. However, because survival from year to year is naturally so high for adults, reproductive failures in one year have normally little impact on lifetime reproductive success and population stability . . . 

            “Predation on nests is also extremely high. [Up to] 94 % of nests are annually destroyed by mammalian predators (skunks, raccoons, mink, red foxes), but yearly variation is high . . . Only about 14% of all clutches emerge annually. 

            “However, the lucky undisturbed nests in good years can produce up to 50 hatchlings. Still only about 15 hatchlings will leave a successful nest . . . 

            “If the air and surface temperature is too low, hatchlings attempt to overwinter in the nest, a strategy which is successful in the south, [but] in the north this strategy is fatal, and the hatchlings freeze to death . . . 

            “All those factors together cause huge fluctuations in reproductive success from year to year. It is possible that only one year of ideal climatic conditions for nesting and hatching out of 5 to 10 may be enough to maintain or increase the population, but only if nest predation is also low in that year. Predation on hatchlings and juveniles is still heavy especially during the first year, and only slightly lower during the 2nd and 3rd year. They get eaten by raccoons, mink, weasel, skunks, herons, and large fish while they are still under three inches (7.6 cm) in length.             “The probability of survival from egg to adulthood is 1 in 1445 individuals, the probability of survival from hatching to adulthood 1 in 133. This results for female snappers in a probability of death between hatching and breeding age of 99.17%. Annual recruitment into the breeding population (the number of juveniles reaching maturity in any given year) is only 1 to 1.8%.”

 

Fall Colors? And First Frost

            As of 10/4, our autumn colors have been relatively drab and dull, with occasional exceptions of brilliant red maples and sumac. My best guess is that our very dry weather over the last two months has conspired to reduce the vibrancy of color. But, I’ve been fooled many times before trying to project the scope and reasons for our autumn display, so time will tell.

            Our first frost finally occurred on the morning of 10/4, which might hasten the colors.

 

Celestial Events

         As of 10/14, we’re down to 10 hours and 59 minutes of sunlight. Look this night after dusk for Saturn just below the waxing gibbous moon.

         Look on 10/17 for the full moon – the “Hunter’s Moon” or “Falling Leaves Moon” – which will be this year’s closest, and therefore largest, full moon. 

         Our average low temperature drops to 32° as of 10/17, this for the first time since April 26. We now begin (for Minocqua) a string of 194 days on average that will be at or below 32°.

         Look for the peak Orionid meteor shower during the predawn of 10/21. 

 

Thought for the Week

            If the only prayer you said was “thank you,” that would be enough. – Eckhart von Hochheim