Patapsco Tributary - Department of Natural Resources

Patapsco Tributary
The Newsletter for Patapsco Valley State Park
In this issue...
PARK MANAGER
CASTLE ANGELO
ALL ABOUT BEES
Fall 2014
Park News and Information
MESSAGE FROM THE PARK MANAGER
BASKETGRASS
BUNNIES
SNAPSHOTS
Sunday, November 2nd, I spent the afternoon at a picnic to honor a group of very dedicated folks.
They spend numerous hours digging holes, riding horseback, counting money, helping visitors, implementing
interpretive programs, fixing trail issues, cleaning restrooms and the list goes on and on. They do this at all
hours of the day, sometimes away from their families (hopefully with them), on weekends, in the rain and even
sometimes in the snow! These people I am referring to are the Patapsco Valley State Park Volunteers.
Without their dedication and hard work, the experience our visitors have I our parks would be far less
pleasant than it is now. Many of the volunteers who attended the picnic had logged over 100 hours of their
time over the past year to the park while some had logged over 400 hours! We would like to thank each and
every volunteer who spent their valuable time helping in the park. THANK YOU! If you would like to join our
team, please contact Donna Seymour to find out more about helping out.
Rob Dyke
Park Manager
Patapsco Valley State Park
Morgan Run NEA
Soldiers Delight NEA
For more than 100
years, people have
enjoyed the beauty and
history of
Patapsco Valley
State Park.
Come join us soon for
your
Patapsco adventure!
CONTACT US:
Patapsco Valley State Park
8020 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21012
Phone: 410-461-5005
Fax: 410-418-9750
E-mail:
[email protected]
Visit the MD Department of
Natural Resources
A CASTLE OVERLOOKING THE PATAPSCO
While driving west on Frederick Road toward Ellicott
City and approaching the bridge over the Patapsco River, one
can see directly ahead what appears to be a beige-colored castle high up on the hillside. That is Castle Angelo which was
built in 1831 by Samuel Waughn, a Frenchman. The distinctive architecture of this Ellicott City landmark attracts a lot of
attention. It is reported to be an exact miniature replica of a
French castle with the same name.
The structure was a popular tourist attraction and was
later auctioned by its owner, Andrew McLaughlin. Prior to the
construction of St. Paul’s church , Castle Angelo was a rectory
for the early Catholic priests in the area. The first Catholic Mass in Ellicott Mills was held
there. In subsequent years it became known as Angelo Cottage.
Edward F. Johnson
Volunteer Ranger
Patapsco Valley State park.
Visit the MD Department of
Natural Resources
on the web at
www.dnr.maryland.gov
Or call toll free in MD
at 1-877-620-8DNR
ALL ABOUT BEES
At the sesquimonthly (yes, there is a word for “every six weeks”) meeting in August of the directors of Soldiers Delight Conservation, Inc. (SDCI), the Friends group for Patapsco Valley State
Park’s Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area in Owings Mills, board members were treated to a
lively presentation of all things “bees” by one of our favorite biologists from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Natural Heritage Program, Paula Becker. To say that Paula is passionate
about her subject would be to understate her enthusiasm. I believe
every SDCI board member was ready to adopt a few hives by the
time Paula’s PowerPoint presentation was finished, even our allergic member!
Some interesting bee facts we learned from Paula:
There are four thousand species of native bees in North America. Of those, 400 species are native to Maryland alone.
Park Watch
In case of
emergency, dial 911
To report a violation in
the park or to contact
a Ranger call
1-800-825-PARK
Corbicula full of pollen look like orange
saddlebags
Photo: www.public-domain-image.com
Contrary to popular thought, most bees are solitary and do not
congregate in nests or hives with others of their species. Solitary bees each have their own
nest, usually in a hole in the ground. Colonial bees work together in hives. Their bodies
have evolved to include pollen “baskets”, called corbicula, as part of their anatomy, found
usually on their thighs, in which they collect and carry pollen back to the hive. Most bees,
whether solitary or colonial, have hairy bodies to further the collection of pollen.
There are 13 species of bumblebees in Maryland. Bumblebees are Maryland’s only
“social” (colonized) native bee (honeybees are actually not native). Bumblebees retrieve pollen from
flowers by engaging in sonication or “buzz pollination”. Instead of sucking or
plucking pollen, bumblebees vibrate the stamen of each flower to loosen the
pollen. Indeed, tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries and nightshade are just
some of the plants which have evolved to require that they be vibrated in order to distribute their pollen. There are four rare species of bumblebees in the
United States. One of those, the rusty-patched bumble bee, is a Maryland native. An organic chocolate company called Endangered Species Chocolate
(www.facebook.com/EndangeredSpeciesChocolate) chooses various threatRusty-patched bumble bee is ened species to highlight on their candy wrappers. Maryland’s rusty-patched
featured on the 2014 Endanbumble bee was distinguished on a wrapper for the blueberry-vanilla-crème
gered Species candy bar
wrapper
edition of their 2014 chocolate bars. Yum!
Photo: The Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation
If you’ve ever seen a perfectly “drilled” hole in unpainted wood around your
house or yard then you’ve seen the work of the carpenter bee. What you don’t see is that this
Maryland native always drills against the grain and then makes a right turn within its tunnel
to form a safe place to lay eggs and from which to defend the nest.
Mason bees lay their eggs in holes they find in logs and stumps. Interestingly, holes must be
5/16th of an inch deep in order for a mason bee to lay female eggs. In any hole more shallow
than that a mason bee will only lay male eggs. For those who might like to install a mason
bee house in order to encourage these prolific pollinators, such a house, characterized by its
many holes, must be placed at least three feet off the ground.
Honey bees are not native to Maryland or even North America. They are thought to have first
Honey bees are not native to Maryland or even North America. They are thought to have first
been introduced to Virginia in 1622 by European colonists. Honey bees are colonial (no pun
intended) and the queen enjoys a three to five year life span, unlike the queens of most species which typically live only one year. The longtime nemesis of picnics and barbecues, yellow jackets are in the wasp family, Vespidae. Most of us know that the honey bee’s stinger
is barbed, causing it to be torn from the bee and left behind when it pricks its victim. This
means a bee can only sting once and must die in the process. Yellow jackets, however, can
sting repeatedly without damage to their bodies. The protein in their venom is different from
that of honey bees, so someone allergic to bee stings might not react to a yellow jacket sting,
and visa versa. Also unlike honey bees, yellow jackets are aggressive defenders of their
nests, usually in the ground, and will chase a perceived threat.
Mud dawbers steal larvae from other nests to bring into their own nests for their larvae to feed
on.
Paper wasps recognize human faces!
Hornets are predatory and aggressive. They are solitary creatures who live alone in
ground nests. There are several hornets native to Maryland.
All species of Apidae, Vespidae, Bombidae, Osmidae and others are important pollinators
whose life cycle is critical to human survival through the pollination of crops. The SDCI board was
delighted to learn so many bee facts from biologist Paula
Becker of DNR’s Wildlife and
Heritage Service. Thank you, Paula!
By Lynell Tobler, Vice President
SOLDIERS DELIGHT CONSERVATION, INC.
and Volunteer Ranger
WAVYLEAF BASKETGRASS
Wavyleaf basketgrass, an invasive understory grass species, was first discovered in the United States
in Patapsco Valley Park in 1996. Since then, the grass has spread to hundreds of acres, if not more, throughout
Maryland and Virginia. Research is currently underway to determine the threats this new invader poses to forest
ecosystems, and initial reports don't look good. This shade tolerant grass species is capable of forming monocultures over vast amounts of forest, potentially crowing out native species. One of the most important pieces of
data to collect on a new invasive species is one of the hardest to acquire:
How much of it is there and how fast is in spreading? For wavyleaf, even at
the initial site of invasion in Patapsco Valley State Park, we don't have an
answer. But you can help us. Project Wavyleaf is a citizen science initiative
designed for the public to help us search for and document populations of
wavyleaf basketgrass. The larger aim of the project is to map wavyleaf populations throughout Maryland and Virginia, but for summer 2015 we are tightening our focus to Project Wavyleaf @ Patapsco. We're currently recruiting
volunteers to adopt trails or sections of Patapsco Valley State Park and use
the cell phone app available at www.towson.edu/wavyleaf (on in your app store - Photo by: Donna Seymour
just search for "wavyleaf") to document wavyleaf populations. This information
will be important in determining just how much of a threat this species poses and is critical to developing a plan
for managing wavyleaf within the Park. Mapping training sessions will be offered bi-weekly from June through
August at several locations within Patapsco Valley State Park and groups of any size can participate. Participants
of all ages are welcome to search for wavyleaf, but you must be 18 years of age or over to submit data via the
app. If you're looking for a summer volunteer opportunity and are interested in hiking and exploring outdoors,
please consider joining Project Wavyleaf @Patapsco.
Contact the Volunteer Coordinator if you are interested in participating in this project with the park.
[email protected]
Submitted by: Vanessa Beauchamp, Associate Professor of Biology at Towson University
ALL ABOUT BUNNIES
The Eastern Cottontail is a common sight in Maryland and can be found from
the south central parts of the United States, southern Canada, eastern Mexico, central
America and the northern most part of South America.
Their habitat primarily consists of open grassy areas, fields and shrubs (for
cover). Typically they like to occupy areas in and around farms, open woods, forest
edges and suburban areas. The Eastern Cottontail tend to have a home range area,
which is basically circular and they will stay
in that home range their entire lifetime, unless
the vegetation changes. They are very territorial animals and when chased will run up to
18 mph in a zig-zag pattern. The adult male
will occupy an average of 1.4 acres and the
females will occupy 1.2 acres. Eastern Cottontails use brush piles, walls with shrubs
around them and shrubby plants as shelter.
They do not dig their own dens, but rather use
areas dug by other animals, such as groundhogs. Nests are covered by grasses or weeds
and lined with grasses or fur.
Photo By: Donna Seymour
Eastern Cottontails can weigh anywhere from 1.8 lbs to 4.4 lbs and the females tend to be heavier than the males. The
breeding season generally starts in early spring (and can vary from north to south, depending on the temperatures). Mating is promiscuous and the average gestation period
is 28 days. The average litter is 5 “kits”, but can be as little as 1 or as many as 12. A
female Cottontail can have up to 7 litters per year, with the average being 3-4. The kits
are born blind and begin to open their eyes between 4 and 7 days. They are completely
weaned and independent by the time they reach 4 to 5 weeks of age.
The Eastern Cottontail’s diet consists mostly of vegetation which can include
grasses, bark, leaves, fruit, flowers and seeds. Eastern Cottontails are considered
“coprophagous” (feed on dung) and they produce two types of fecal pellets, one of
which is re-consumed. This greatly increases the nutritional value of the food they eat.
They tend to be “crepuscular” (twilight) feeders but can be seen anytime during the
day.
The average Eastern Cottontail will live up to 15 months in the wild, with the
longest on record being 5 years. In captivity they can live up to 9 years. Many animals
prey on the Eastern Cottontail including: coyote, cats, raccoon, mink, owls, snakes,
hawks, foxes, dogs and humans.
Submitted By: Donna Seymour, Patapsco Valley Volunteer Coordinator
For information on park programs copy and paste the link to your web
browser:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/pdfs/
PVSP_SD_programs.pdf
A PATAPSCO SNAPSHOT
Look here in each edition for seasonal photos of Patapsco Valley State Park.
Talkin Turkey (Vulture that is)
Photo by Mark Jennys
Avalon Kayakers
Photo by Ed Johnson
Park Quest Rendezvous
Photo by Mark Jennys
The facilities and services of
the Department of Natural
Resources are available to all
without regard to race, color,
religion, sex, sexual
orientation, age, national
origin or physical or mental
disability.
Avalon Tubers
Photo by Ed Johnson

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