Leave Nothing But Footprints – #7 Chesapeake Forest Lands
This is my contribution for Heavens Sunshine’s weekly challenge, “One Step At A Time”.
So come along and hike with me, one step at a time!
Chesapeake Forest Lands, North Tara Rd, Federalsburg, Maryland
On my recent birding post Spring Warblers and More – May 9, this will share one of the four forest lands’ tracts Cristina and I birded that morning for the Dorchester County Bird Count.
The Chesapeake Forest Lands currently consists of 75,376 acres divided into 187 Management Units (Complexes) distributed across six counties on Maryland’s eastern shore. This includes more than 6,000 acres of wetlands and comprise portions of 23 separate watersheds.
These lands contain established populations of 150 threatened and endangered species, as well as being abundant with deer, turkey and waterfowl. Chesapeake Forest Lands are also dual-certified for sustainable forest management.
And, obviously, they are amazing for hiking!
We were walking this specific trail in hopes of locating a recent sighting of a Barred Owl to add for the day’s count. Unfortunately, we didn’t find one.
The late morning in this deep forest was cool and crisp, only a couple birds were singing. It was a wonderful leisure forest walk.
As we kept our eyes peeled for anything and everything of interest besides birds, Cristina spotted something new to us both and quite pretty!
Do you know what this is below?
I thought it was a flower of some type. Boy, was I wrong!
If you, too, don’t know, this is actually a Wool Sower Wasp Gall. What??!!
I’ve since learned these galls are found at low level, typically less than six feet from the ground, on freshly leafed-out White Oak, just as this one. They are found across the eastern and central United States and into southeastern Canada.
Per Maryland DNR’s Wildlife & Heritage Service, “The female wasp lays an egg in the stem of a White Oak tree. When the young hatch, an enzymic reaction takes place that causes the tree to form this Wool Sower gall. If you were to take this apart, you would see tiny seed-like structures that house the baby wasps.”
The galls do not harm the host trees, so the recommended practice is simply to leave them alone to complete their life cycle.
Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me!
Take a hike, short or long, one step at a time.
Mother Nature promises to reward you.
And please remember~~
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time.
Bay Photos by Donna 
What an inviting trail!
This precious environment is where we need to take our children and grandchildren so they can begin to understand why it is so important to keep it protected.
Of all the gall! You made me learn something new. Now my head hurts.
—>Coffee