Phenology: Pink Lady Slippers

Columbine in Full Bloom on Cedar Drive

Spring means flowers blooming and everything waking up. Mid-May around the Shawangunk Ridge means Pink Lady Slippers coming into bloom. I had such a wonderful time searching for these pretties last year, that I definitely wanted to search for the first bloom again this year. So up the Northeast Trail I went at Spring Farm. As I hiked northeast, I started to see the leaves but no flowers. I was getting a little discouraged as the weather has been super nice and would have totally began to wake them up. As I continued farther down the trail, I did find some that were opening, but not at all pink. As I was determined to search more, I continued down the trail and even stopped in certain places where I had seen them last year and looked harder. And sure enough, found some PINK lovelies in full bloom! May 15 - First Pink Lady Slipper in bloom, according to the DSRC, who still did not have them down on the First Emergence 2017 Calendar. Boom! I just absolutely love these orchids, they are just super pretty! Enjoy some pictures below!

TheChristyBel

Pink Lady Slipper Still Lacking the PINK

First Pink Lady Slipper of the Season!

This Year's Flower and Last Year's Seed Pod!

A Million Dollar View

This evening, we hosted a small volunteer appreciation picnic for our Phenology Project volunteers. It was super fun and a great time. The volunteers arrived to participate in an informal field session along the Table Rocks Trail at Spring Farm. When we were finished examining plants, we headed on over to the Pavillion for a small pot luck dinner. Everyone was awesome, there was so much food to shared around! Not to mention this group is just phenomenal - so supportive of each other, positive, and loving of one another. I could not have asked for a better volunteer group to work with. After the dinner, I stayed a smidge later to clean up and make sure the pavillion was put back in the same state as we found it. As I was driving back to the trailhead entrance, I had to stop at the Million Dollar View and just appreciate a spectacular sunset. This spot at Spring Farm is just phenomenal - it is this open area that viewscapes to the Catskills to the north of us. It's no surprise how this spot got its name. Enjoy!

TheChristyBel

No Wonder It Is Called the Million Dollar View!

Just Beautiful.

Pink Lady Slippers

Pink Lady Slippers

Looks Like:  A large, showy wildflower of the Orchid Family. It has two opposite basal leaves and a large flower at the end of an erect stalk. The flower can be magenta to white-pink. The plant can grow 6-15” in height.

First Emergence on the Preserve - May 12

Lives In:  A variety of habitats and can be found in hardwood, coniferous forests of pine and hemlock. They also can be found on rocky and mossy slopes (similar to much of the habitat found on the Shawangunk Ridge). Pink Lady Slippers prefer to grow in areas of disturbance in these forests.

Niche:  In order to survive and reproduce, the Pink Lady Slipper needs to interact with a fungus in the soil in order to grow and bees in order to reproduce. The Orchid seeds do not have food supplies inside them like most seeds. The Pink Lady Slipper seeds require the threads of fungus to break open the seed and attach them to it. Once attached the fugue will pass on food and nutrients for growth and survival. When the plant is able to produce most of its own food, the fugue will extract nutrients from the orchid roots – a symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationship occurs. Pink Lady Slippers have closed flowers and only certain animals can enter and exit the small opening in the front. The bee is tricked into thinking the orchid holds nectar due to a sweet-smelling aroma the flower expels. As the bee tries to exit the flower, it gets covered in the flower’s pollen. If the bee gets tricked by another Pink Lady Slipper, it will deliver pollen from the first flower and help with the start of reproduction.

Also, White-Tailed Deer love this plant as a food source.

Threats:  Pink Lady Slippers can be found in the Shawangunk woodland areas, however, they take a very long time to grow. Picking these flowers is not recommended.

Frequency:  They are a common wildflower in the Shawangunks. 

Reproduction:  Flowers in early to Mid-May into July.

Fun Fact:  Another common name for the Pink Lady Slipper is the Moccasin Flower as the flower looks like a shoe. The roots were used as a remedy for nervousness, tooth pain, and muscle spasms.

And on a RARE occasion, you get a double Pink Lady Slipper! Found by one of my volunteers, this was an amazing find!
They look like a pair of Ballet Shoes!

Jefferson Salamander

Jefferson Salamander

Looks Like:  Dark brown to gray body with a lighter underside. Blue-gray speckles are on the limbs and lower sides of the body. Jefferson Salamanders can be 4.25” to 8.25” in length. They have a wide snout, a long and slender body. And a tail that almost extends the length of the body.

Lives In:  Upland deciduous forests that feature moist, rocky outcrops. They prefer to live underground under rotting logs.

Niche:  Jefferson Salamanders’ diet includes worms, insects, snails, and slugs. This species is often prey for owls, snakes, striped skunks, and raccoons.

Threats:  In dry spring times, many young Jefferson Salamander in temporary vernal pools can die before they mature enough to leave the pool before it dries up. As their pond dries and the water level declines they also become more vulnerable to predators. With climate change, the wide fluctuation in the occurrence and amount of precipitation during spring and summer and lack of snow cover in winter can pose major risks for this salamander’s survival. Acidic rain at breeding time can cause embryonic mortality. Loss of small unregulated wetlands is also a major threat.

Frequency:  These salamanders are rare to find except for breeding nights in late winter and early spring. An average lifespan of Jefferson Salamanders is three years.

Reproduction:  Jefferson Salamanders will breed in woodland, vernal pools. They will emerge on rainy nights and migrate to pools when the ground is partially thawed and ice still on pools. When the males and females locate each other (by chemical communication), the males will entice the females with snout rubbing, clasping, and synchronized swimming and tail waving. The female will pick up the male’s released spermatophores in her cloaca and will lay up to 250 eggs in small clusters a few days later. The egg masses are tubular and clear, attached to twigs and soft vegetation. Eggs will hatch 4-6 weeks later and the larvae will complete development after 2-4 months.

Fun Fact:  The Jefferson Salamander is involved in a hybrid complex with three other species of salamanders – the Blue-Spotted Salamander, the Small-Mouth Salamander, and the Tiger Salamander.

Afternoon Walk at Spring Farm

Took a stroll around Spring Farm this afternoon, look at some of the gems I found:

TheChristyBel

Red Spotted Newt - Red Eft

Wild Columbine

Morels!

Bonticou Agro Crag

March has been a whirl-wind of crazy weather. One week, it is super cold and I am in a puffy jacket. The next week, it is 74 degrees and I am in a tank top. On this really warm day, I left work early and went on a hike. I decided to head to Spring Farm and scramble up Bonticou Crag. I love this hike. It was one of my first hikes I did on the Preserve when I visited the Toman's in 2012. The hike and scramble never get old! Here are some pics from the hike - a great way to get outside and enjoy the warmth!

TheChristyBel

On Top of Bonticou "Agro" Crag

This View Never Gets Old

A Happy and Warm Christybel