Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 20:33:20 -0500 Reply-To: Laura Appelbaum Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Laura Appelbaum Subject: Re: MDOSPREY Digest - 18 Feb 2001 to 19 Feb 2001 (#2001-51) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Henry Armistead wrote: "English Ivy. Can someone tell me about this? It's taking over some areas of Rigby. It kind of looks nice, provides shelter, and I've seen some birds feeding in it but I know it's not supposed to be a good plant to have around." Yes, H. helix is bad, bad, bad! Extremely invasive, it forms dense matts that ultimately choke out all other ground covers, and of course, it also climbs and can kill off shrubs and trees just as surely, if more slowly, than kudzu. Starlings eat the fruits. Native birds do not. According to my copy of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden's "Invasive Plants," "best control is hand removal, using pruners to cut th evines and then pulling the plants from the forest floor and trees. Be careful to minimize soil disturbance, which enhances conditions for ivy." However, I've read elsewhere that it's roots go extremely deep, so just pulling won't work -- the method I've been told is best for removal is to cut open the necks of major runners and topically apply Rodeo or Roundup to the ends -- you can't just spray on the leaves because their waxy and the herbicide will run off. Personally, I think the whole issue of non-native, invasive plants is especially important to those of us who love our native birds (and thus relevant here), because the spread and planting of such botanicals further eliminates the habitat essential to the health of those birds. BTW, has everyone here gotten in their say on the state's Department of Natural Resource's study and recommendations vis a vis the Mute Swan population? It is, of course, available on the web, at www.dnr.state.md.us I really let them have it about how timid and half-hearted their recommendations were; clearly the state is far too worried about the sentiments of "animal rights" folks, and I say that as a card-carrying registered Democrat. Okay, enough of invasive aliens and on with the birds! :D (Saw a Northern Flicker in my yard today, that's about all.) Laura Appelbaum Cloverly, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================