Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Gray Dogwood is for the birds, too...

Just like the Staghorn Sumac berries (drupes) from the previous post, Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) berries are very important to the birds too! The nutritional content between the fruit of the two species is different, however, and the birds eat the fruit for different reasons. Staghorn Sumac drupes are low in fat and high in ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and tannins, which creates fruit that is hard and lasts long into the winter season. The drupes, which are ignored until all the "tasty" berries have been stripped from the trees, help birds survive the harsh, cold winter and early spring. Gray Dogwood berries are the opposite...the creamy white drupes of the dogwood are high in fat, which makes them soft and highly palatable to the birds. Gray Dogwood drupes are meant to be eaten through the fall and early winter to help fuel migrating songbirds (especially catbirds and thrushes) on their energy-expending flights south...

Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) berries
Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) berries (drupes) are high in fat. Migrating birds need these high-fat calorie-dense drupes to build up their fat stores so they have enough energy to make it to their wintering grounds.

This stand of Gray Dogwood was located along the trail near the visitor's center at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge right next to the Staghorn Sumac from the previous post. Gray Dogwood has white berries, bright red pedicels (the stalks the fruit grows on), and red stems on newer growth but gray bark on the older branches. The gray bark is how the plant gets its name...

Gray Dogwood is distinguished by the gray bark that appears on older branches. The bright red shows on newer stems and the fruit pedicels.
Gray Dogwood and Staghorn Sumac grow side by side along the trail near the visitor's center at Ottawa NWR near Toledo. In addition to the fruit benefiting the birds, thickets of Gray Dogwood provide cover and habitat for birds.

Gray Dogwood berries are creamy white on red fruit stalks.
The white berries of the Gray Dogwood start to ripen in late August and early September. By the beginning of November the soft drupes are already showing wear. 

Pioneer woody plants help tip a prairie or abandoned field toward forest succession.
White berries on bright red pedicels. You can see the birds have been busy eating the fruit while the eating is good! Gray Dogwood drupes are a fall fuel treat for migrating songbirds and are not meant to last through the winter.

...only one berry remains on this Gray Dogwood pedicel. Although the drupes will be gone soon, the bright red color of the fruit stalks lasts through the winter.

Gray Dogwoods as pioneer woody shrubs...
Gray Dogwoods are one of the first shrubs to move into a prairie if it is left un-mowed or unburned, making it a "pioneer woody plant" that moves a prairie or abandoned field toward succession. Click here for an article by the Ohio Prairie Association detailing how Gray Dogwoods overtake and shade out prairies and how to manage prairies to prevent it. A good example of a meadow being overtaken by Gray Dogwoods is the Voice of America (VOA) Metro Park's high meadow. It was left untended for years, and Gray Dogwood pioneers had definitely set up camp. This spring the park service started prairie restoration in several places. I need to head back and see how it's progressing.

Flowering Dogwoods are for the birds, also...
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) trees also have fruit high in fat, and migrating songbirds love the tree's red berries. For a post on a Flowering Dogwood tree I photographed last autumn in Greenbo Lake State Park in KY (click here). 

11 comments:

Roy Norris said...

Interesting images made out of nothing really Kelly.

Montanagirl said...

I like your photos and explanations. Always a learning lesson when I visit your blog!

Elaine said...

Beautiful, especially the first shot! We only have dwarf dogwoods here, a very low growing ground cover. Loved your Sandhill Crane painting a few posts back!

Julia said...

Muy bonit post

Kathy A. Johnson said...

How interesting. Though it really shouldn't, it always amazes me how interconnected nature is.

Tammie Lee said...

beautiful and bird food
so perfect!

Banjo52 said...

Still more interesting education via fine, fine photography. Thanks!

Ana Mínguez Corella said...

Beautiful pics.. Merry Xmas and happy new year.. A regard from Spain.. :-)))

Kelly said...

Thanks, everyone!

I'm slowly turning my backyard into a native environment filled with bushes, trees, and flowers native songbirds love. I think I'd like to add these to the yard.

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

My goodness, your photography is outstanding, you capture every detail. WOW~

Kelly said...

...thanks, Tammy! It's that Nikcon camera and lens! I love it.