Coontie, Wood Fern and Red Bay

It's been more than a year since I planted most of the stuff in the backyard. For the most part, everything's been surviving, but nothing's been thriving. As the summer rains start arriving, some of the plants are beginning to respond. Hopefully they've spent the last year putting down good root systems and now they are ready to take off. One prime example of this is the coontie (Zamia pumila). I'll spare you the discussion about whether or not floridana is a more accurate species classification. These are special plants that deserve a spot in every landscape in Florida. The coontie's attributes are many: attractive shape, ability to survive almost any light and moisture conditions, good potted plant, habitat and larval food plant for the endangered Atala butterfly, not to mention it is a true living fossil leftover from the dinosaur age. I'll back off the species account for now; if you want to learn more just take "the google" for a spin.

Here is one of several coonties planted in the backyard which is designed as a woodland/oak hammock habitat. The coontie is very versatile and works well in almost any setting, but I prefer its appearance among the ferns and coffees that make up the understory in the forested backyard. After a year of wondering whether or my coonties were alive, they all shot up lots of new bright green growth as the summer arrived.

OK, enough coontie love for one day! I also threw in a bunch of wood ferns aka southern shield ferns (thelypteris kunthii) below the oak trees. These look like they belong in the Pacific Northwest and you would think they require tons of water. Actually, they are quite drought tolerant. They may not look great when its dry, but they'll hang in there, just waiting to throw out some bright green fronds as soon as the water is available. These are very graceful and more airy than the slightly tougher boston fern. After several weeks of good rains, these plants glow bright green against the dark leaf litter.

Another specimen that has been doing well is this red bay tree (Persea borbonia). I splurged and threw down 5 trees (3 dahoon holiles and 2 red bays) in the back to help develop a mid-story between the ground and the high oak canopy. Wild coffees, velvet-leaf coffees and one huge beautyberry are grouped around the base. These bay trees look pretty and they provide food and cover for several wildlife species. Red bays across the southeast are dying off from laurel wilt infections caused by the introduced ambrosia beetle so they need all the help they can get. These leaves share the same desirable characteristics as the bay leaves you buy in the store and can be used similarly.

I've been unable to ID that spider from the previous post. It must be some type of orb weaver, but none of the ID books show a picture that looks like it. It's probably a certain phase or sex, etc. that doesn't always show the green spot. I think it's a pretty identifiable characteristic. Anyway, if you know what it is, let me know in the comments!

Worried about Woodpeckers

We keep a Laurel Oak snag (dead tree) in the yard because they offer valuable habitat for a number of species. Last year, we had a red-bellied woodpecker work on a hole in the snag. For whatever reason (I think the lower part of the tree was still alive and too hard to dig out) the woodpecker abandoned the effort. This year, I was very happy to see another one, or maybe the same one, working on a nest in the same snag only a little higher up. Red-bellied pairs are known to use the same tree each year. Eventually, we had two birds coming and going from the nest. Recently, we noticed the parents bringing food back to the nest and could hear the chirping of several baby birds.

A parent leaves the nest to forage for more food.

Food is brought back for the babies.

Looking down at the human neigbors.

Yesterday, my wife called and explained what happened. I guess the woodpeckers hollowed out a pretty large nest and the recent heavy rains must have soaked the dead wood above the nest. The snag snapped in half right at the point of the nest. We were worried that the babies were gone.

One parent stayed perched on the broken snag, chirping up a storm.

It was a relief to see that the parents were still bringing food back to the nest and you could hear the nestlings chirping again.

More food.

I guess enough of the nest is left for the babies, but now they are completely exposed. I'm usually a fan of letting nature take its course, but these woodpeckers suffer from a lack of suitable habitat in urban areas. I'd entertain the idea of building a nest box, but I don't even have a ladder tall enough to reach them. The nestling baby birds need about one month to develop enough to leave the nest. I'm afraid it's only been about a week or two since they hatched. Good luck little woodpeckers!