This morning, I spent an hour digging out Japanese Knotweed, a very stubborn, aggressive " pain in the tail " weed that spreads through its Rhizomes ( root system) making it a very difficult weed to eradicate. It takes a long term process and dedication to minimize or control it. I got most of the largest shoots but will need help from any volunteers for the smaller ones ( maybe about 125) for an hour to alleviate the burden upon the Alliance park staff needed for other park tasks.
here's the weed: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/knotweed.shtml
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/weeds/aqua015.html
I asked my supervisor to allow me to meet with any volunteers who show up and give them a tutorial for 15 minutes; tools and plastic bags will be provided. If you can , show up at the Vale of Cashmere water fountain (south end of pool) at 10 am this coming Tuesday (4/13). After my short tutorial , I will have to take off for another area to prepare for a planting project.Hopefully, with help from the birders, we can adopt this site as our bird garden ( like the Butterfly Garden started by the Brooklyn Bird Club atop Lookout Hill from the 1970's) and not have to redirect resources from the Natural Resources Crew. Thanks
--Peter
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Bird from today ( brief report)
From Trish Duffet:
hi peter--native flora garden is still closed in bbg but set to
be open mid-next-week according to one of the
grounds staff.
still, i saw EASTERN TOWHEE and PALM WARBLER
in the north part of the native garden between 9-10 am
today.
headed over to the park and saw the 2 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS
off of the upper pool and CEDAR WAXWINGS in the vale.
good birding--
trish duffett
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From Peter:
A gorgeous portrait of 7 Cedar Waxwings perched inside the blossomed Weeping Cherry in the Vale Cashmere.. Like Robert Bateman's artwork.
2 Black-crowned Night herons on Duck Island. 7 Northern Shovelers still around.
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From Rob Jett:
Location: Prospect Park
Observation date: 4/9/10
Notes: Rusty Blackbirds seen foraging along edge of Ambergill.
Number of species: 36
Ruddy Duck 88
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Coot X
Herring Gull (American) X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 12
Eastern Phoebe 1
Black-capped Chickadee X
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
American Robin 30
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler 12
Pine Warbler 6
Palm Warbler 8
Eastern Towhee 2
Song Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Rusty Blackbird 2
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
House Sparrow X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
