February 21, 2018 - Owls and Berries by Area Forester Lisa Deaton Last week began with finding an owl pellet in my yard. Lately I have been hearing the call of great horned owls. In the past, we have seen barred owls and eastern screech-owls. There are many good branches on the loblolly pine directly overhead for an owl to perch and digest a meal. I took a second look at the pellet after... Read More
February 12, 2018 - Waiting for Spring by Area Forester Lisa Deaton This great blue heron, like many of us, seems to be contemplating warmer weather. The daffodils in the eastern part of the state are getting ready to bloom. The squirrels are carrying mouthfuls of leaves from the forest floor and adding them to their nests in the trees. I tried to catch a photo of that, but squirrels move so fast. The... Read More
January 10, 2018 - by Area Forester Lisa Deaton Snack Bars for Birds Winter is a time of year when people start to notice damage to their trees. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are a member of the woodpecker family, and they can drill an alarming number of holes into a single tree in search of sap and insects. This is a large yellow-poplar in Gloucester County. While the holes are... Read More
November 8, 2017 - Snack Time by DOF Area Forester Lisa Deaton Last week I was asked to see if a 16-year-old loblolly pine plantation had grown large enough for a commercial thinning. I was perplexed to find what looked like pieces of honeycomb on the ground. There were no large hollow trees nearby, just young, solid pine trees. Then I noticed that there were several pieces of it scattered around a nearby hole... Read More
October 30, 2017 - by Lisa Deaton, DOF Area Forester It’s Deer Time! Last week I walked around a forested property to prepare a Stewardship Plan for a private landowner. It felt like I had entered the kingdom of deer. With new food sources ripening every day and the excitement of mating season, the white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, are on the move. Many people are familiar with the sight of buck rubs on small trees... Read More
