Posted on in farms, insects, plants

Harrier Fields Farm

Harrier Fields Farm, early on a late-July morning. This picture was taken looking east from around point 1 on the aerial below. The orchard is to the left (north).

This a longish blog, so here are some anchors you can use to jump to a section of particular interest:

Introduction (a virtual farm tour)

Plants of Harrier Fields Farm (by Claudia)

Insects of Harrier Fields Farm (by Conrad)

Birds of Harrier Fields Farm (by Will)

Introduction

A modern aerial of Harrier Fields Farm, (whose land is outlined in yellow) with numbers indicating the approximate locations from which the landscape photographs were taken.
In 1948, most of Harrier Fields Farm, which is outlined in yellow, was either in orchard or, as seems to have been true of the field southeast of the then-extant orchard, had recently been in orchard. Today, remnants of the orchard remain, but most of the land (including the ground cover beneath the apples), is currently pasture. During our visits, we passed through most parts of the farm.

We made two July trips to Harrier Fields, the farm of Mike Scannell and Joan Harris. The first, on 14 July, only involved Conrad snooping for bugs, but on 30 July, we returned with a ‘full crew’ also including Will Yandik on birds and Claudia on plants.

Harrier Fields Farm owns or leases about 80 acres of pasture and 100 to 150 acres of hay land. The Farm’s focus is on the breeding and organic production of Red Devons – hearty, beef animals who prosper on grass.

Red Devons – the animal at the heart of Harrier Fields Farm.

Most of the home farm is in pasture, including an old orchard, which provides shaded grazing in the hottest weather. The farm is bordered by conventional farmland on three sides.

During the mid-July visit, many of the pastures were tinted the light blue of flowering Chicory, and Common Milkweed flowers dotted the fields. While Chicory is a European plant, it nonetheless can provide important mid-Summer nectar resources.

The Chicory-tinted fields of mid July. Again, looking east from around point 1.
Looking east-northeast in mid-July from a point somewhat north from point 1. That Chicory carpeted the orchard too.
Looking east-northeast from around point 2 in the modern aerial below. As you can guess from the Chicory, it’s still mid-July.
Looking almost due north from slightly north of the aerial’s point 2.
Looking south-southwest from around point 3. A Common Milkweed stand is flowering in the foreground. The Farm’s wind-powered water system is in the background.

Some Plants of Harrier Fields Farm (by Claudia)

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Almost the entire area of the farm is managed as permanent pastures, which are occasionally mowed for hay. There are few trees, other than some shade trees around the buildings, the widely-spaced full-size apple trees (mixed with an occasional pear, Wild Black Cherry, and—what we believe to be—Swamp White Oaks) in the “orchard pasture,” and the occasional tree in hedgerows delineating most of the perimeter of the farm. The surrounding land is mostly farmland, with a small area of upland shrubland just to the east and a patch of young hardwood forest to the north.

The low stocking density of Red Devon cattle and draft horses result in long rotations of the pastures…
… and an interesting mosaic of different heights and plant maturity of the pastures throughout the farm. Note the shades of green, tan, and blue indicating different stages of re-growth of pastures on the left. The orchard pasture is pictured on the right.
We noted that, in contrast to other farms, where permanent fencelines tend to develop a weedy/shrubby band of vegetation taller than the adjacent pastures, the pasture management at Harrier Fields involved mowing under and along the electric fences, sometimes resulting in a corridor of low vegetation between the taller vegetation of the adjacent pastures.
An example of a recently and closely-grazed horse pasture.
This pasture is in the early stages of regrowth.
A neighboring pasture had been mowed or grazed a little earlier and provided a dense offering of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) blossoms, interspersed with tender new growth of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). These young milkweed plants are preferred over older plants by Monarch butterflies looking for places to lay their eggs.
Nearby was a pasture with a flush of yellow-flowering Tall Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium loeselii) and White Campion (Silene latifolia).
This pasture, which seemed uncharacteristically species-poor and uniform, was mostly composed of Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata) and Quackgrass (Elymus repens) and might not have been grazed or cut yet, at all, this year.
This is an example of a botanically diverse pasture, composed of a mosaic of different plant communities.
Small areas of bare soil are created around the watering troughs. These seem to be the places where annual weeds, such as pigweed (Amaranthus sp.) and Lamb’s-quarters (Chenopodium album), persist on Harrier Fields Farm. These weeds on the rest of the Farm, because plowing or tilling of the soil is a rare occurrence.
A collage of some of the common pasture grasses, which all hail originally from Europe (from left to right): Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata), Redtop (Agrostis gigantea), Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne), Quackgrass (Elymus repens), Tall Fescue (Schedonorus arundinacea), and Timothy (Phleum pratense).
In the foreground of this image is yet another European grass, Smooth Brome Grass (Bromus inermis).
Here, the pasture is contrasting with the hedgerow, marking the farm’s perimeter.

During a morning’s worth of botanical inventories, we found a total of 65 different plants growing in the pastures, 22 of which were native species. However, most of the native species occurred in the pastures in low densities. The hedgerows harbor a higher percentage of native plants, even though they are mixed with a handful of enthusiastic non-native species (some of them classified as “invasive”). The most common non-native hedgerow species, like on many other farms, were Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora), Eurasian Shrub Honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii/bella), and Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Compared to other farms, there was a notable scarcity of Toringo Crab Apple (Malus sieboldii), Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), and Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), all of which are classified as “invasive”.

The following set of pictures shows some of the native (and potentially native) shrubs and vines found in the hedgerows.

Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum opulus) was seen once in the southern perimeter hedge. It has opposite leaves reminiscent of those of maple trees, and bright red, edible (be prepared for some tartness!) fruits, which are also cherished by birds.
Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum), with its dark blue berries, is a common shrub in the southern perimeter hedge.
Common Elder (Sambucus nigra) occurred here and there in the hedgerows, forest edge, and around the barnyard. Its black berries are readily eaten by birds.
Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) has opposite, entire leaves and is characterized by berries that are white when ripe and grow on bright red stalks.
The very similar-looking Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum) is less common and has berries that are metallic blue when ripe.
Finally, River Grape (Vitis riparia) was the most common native vine growing in hedgerows, along the forest edge, and in the barnyard. Occasionally, it was joined by its native cousin Virginia-creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and by Poison-ivy (Toxicodendron radicans).
Along the northern perimeter, the pasture borders on a young hardwood forest, where trees of Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), American Elm (Ulmus americanus), and Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata) were joined by a riot of native and non-native shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants. The tree reaching far out into the pasture caught Conrad’s attention.
It was clearly a Red Maple (Acer rubrum), but its bark, the shiny and tough leaves, and the shape of the buds seemed unusual for this species. We are still trying to figure out if this tree (and a second one in the same forest edge) are representatives of some ornamental variety of Red Maple, which escaped here from a planting. Alternatively, the unusual characteristics we observed might just fall within the range of variability of the wild variety of Red Maple and might potentially have to do with the very sandy soils.
On the ground along the forest edge were dense colonies of Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia), which serve as food plants for fritillary butterflies.
We explored a small upland shrubland just outside of the farm’s perimeter, where we documented more than a dozen plant species not seen on the farm itself, including American Groundnut (Apios americana). In the historical aerial photograph from the 1940s, this relatively sloped piece of land was still a pasture, but—obviously—had been allowed to grow into shrubs since then. Shrublands like these have become rare in our landscape and serve as important habitat for shrubland-breeding birds.
The pasture orchard had very old, full-size apple trees and a few Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor). Cavities in these trees offer habitat for cavity-breeding birds, such as the pair of Kestrels we observed frolicking above the orchard pasture.
Finally, a plug for tolerance towards some untidiness on farms. While weedy barnyards, equipment piles, and wet spots are home to a riot of native and non-native plants, together they provide food and shelter for pollinators, predatory insects, and birds.
A wet spot southeast of the barns supported patches of the native Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis; on center right) as well as the non-native, invasive Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria; right foreground and left background).
 

Some Insects of Harrier Fields Farm (by Conrad)

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As Claudia has described, aside from a wettish patch behind one of the equipment sheds and some longer vegetation around various edges, Harrier Fields is a relatively uniform collection of upland pastures (sometimes under apple trees) usually in various stages of post-grazing. Because most upland pasture plants are European or, at least, relatively common, we did not expect a large variety of butterflies nor any particularly unusual species. Nonetheless, we had a few surprises:

  • An ample butterfly species list with more than 20 species. Before reading the list below, see if you can guess five of the species on it.
A Monarch nectars at Common Milkweed with part of the farm’s water system in the background.
  • A relative abundance of Monarchs. Harrier Field was one of the most ‘Monarchy’ farms we visited this year. Of course, part of that may have been because we just so happened to hit a day with a wave of migrants or hatchings. But it was not difficult to understand why we might be seeing so many Monarchs – Common Milkweed abounded and, given the rotational grazing, was likely available in various ages. One Monarch management tip is making sure that one not only has milkweed on a site, but also that one has various ages of milkweed – it seems that egg-laying females prefer milkweed that is young and tender, not old and leathery. Given that Monarchs engage in egg-laying throughout the Summer, ensuring that there are young patches of milkweed throughout the season can be important.
The trim and tiny Least Skipper.
  • An abundance of Least Skippers. Least Skippers are not particularly rare. Indeed, they are probably one our most consistently observable skipper species. So what was surprising was not that we were seeing them, but rather where we were seeing them. This species is generally associated with relatively low moist ground, such as the edges of ponds or wetlands, or moist drainage ditches. It’s thought this association is at least partially due to its caterpillar’s use of moist-soil grasses , such as Rice Cut Grass. However, according to the Connecticut Butterfly Atlas, captive females have laid eggs on Little Bluestem (hardly a wetland grass!), and the caterpillar’s diet is thought to be broad. So perhaps it should be no surprise that we found this dainty little butterfly weaving its low way through the high and dry pastures.
Although you can’t tell it from these pictures, the Broadwing Skipper is noticeably larger than most of our other brownish-orange grass skippers. I included the out-of-focus, open-wings shot just to contrast it with the blander, closed-wings coloration.
  • The presence of Broadwing Skipper. This species of large skipper shares some of the moist habitat preferences of Least Skipper, so it was not surprising to see the two species together. But, as with the Least Skipper, it was surprising to find them in the middle of an upland field. We have most regularly seen them along the Hudson River, in places where one of their most common food plants, Common Reed, is present.
The Bronze Copper, we have found it most commonly in moist open lands, such as along grazed pond edges.
  • The presence of Bronze Copper, a third wet-area butterfly. The snappy Bronze Copper is one of those butterflies who seem to be reasonably wide-spread but rarely common in any one spot. Its status is somewhat unclear, being considered ‘Vulnerable’ in PA, ‘Imperiled’ in MA and CT, and ‘Critically Imperiled’ in NJ. It is currently ranked as ‘Apparently Secure’ in NY. Its caterpillars feed on docks, and Claudia reported the presence of both Curly and Broad-leaved Docks in the pastures. It’s possible that this butterfly is more numerous along the banks of the Muitzes Kill tributary, about a quarter of a mile to the east.
The exotic-appearing (but native) Common Buckeye.
The Common Checkered Skipper, a patchy species that sometimes seems to have a localized all-or-nothing distribution.
More time went into getting this photograph than any of the previous ones. This Common Sootywing was very bouncy!
  • Common Buckeye, Common Checkered Skipper, and Common Sootywing were all present. Despite their “common” names, these three species aren’t particularly common in our region. All are abundant species farther south, but they sometimes push north during Summer. None are thought to be able to overwinter at our latitude. Their presence at Harrier Fields this year was only mildly surprising, because it was a banner year for southern butterflies. Aside from these three species, elsewhere we or colleagues have noted Giant Swallowtail, Variegated Fritillary, Little Yellow, Fiery Skipper, and Cloudless Sulphur – all southern species. Whether this is an indication of things to come or more of a one-off, we don’t know yet. There are historical records of northwards ‘explosions’ of southern species, perhaps during years when conditions are particularly good for them further south, but climate change may also be paving a way for them.

Aside from these butterfly insights, we made a few odds ‘n ends insect observations that we include below.

Claudia mentioned the Purple Loosestrife in the small wetland. Some of it wasn’t looking very healthy – this Loosestrife has been skeletonized by…
… the Black-margined Purple Loosestrife Beetle, a Palearctic herbivore who was introduced to help control Purple Loosestrife. So far, this introduction seems to have been successful, although they appear to markedly reduce, rather than completely eliminate, Purple Loosestrife.
Bombus fervidus, the Yellow Bumble Bee. While not yet extremely rare, this species is notably less common than the Eastern Bumble Bee, Bombus impatiens.
While I confess to being uncertain from this angle, side shots I took suggest this is probably a Hummingbird Clearwing – a species of hovering, day-flying moth. The Snowberry Clearwing can be somewhat similar from this angle. Not your typical moth, eh?
Here is another confusing moth. This wasp-like moth is, according to the wise people of iNaturalist, Riley’s Clearwing Moth. It seems to be a relatively rare species in the Northeast, with only four NY sightings north of NYC.
Ahh, you say, this must be wasp! Sorry, but no. These aren’t moths either, but rather a species of thick-headed fly.
Finally, just to keep us honest, a Honey Bee. Actually…. this isn’t a Honey Bee. It’s a Honey Bee-mimicking hover fly who, like the Honey Bee and the Chicory upon which it is perched, has joined us from beyond the ‘drink’.

Sometimes agricultural demands and/or the lay of the land mean that a given farm does not have a great diversity of habitats. Harrier Fields Farm illustrates that, given organic, land-conscious practices one can, nonetheless, host an array insects.

Some birds of Harrier Fields (by Will)

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The structural diversity of plants found at Harrier Fields has allowed a wide variety of birds to feed, shelter, and nest here. When walking this farm, one gets the feel of an older model of land stewardship, one that places less emphasis on ‘tidy’ edges and pastures. Birds can be found nearly everywhere on this farm but two guilds of birds stood out — namely, those that nest and feed in lightly stocked pastures, and those that nest and feed in hedgerows.

Claudia includes in this post a beautiful series of photos of fruiting plant species of the hedgerows (high bush cranberry, arrow wood, elder, dogwood, and grape) and all of these plants provided ample food for birds. As we visited in late July, just as many of the region’s farm stands offered a wide variety of fruit for sale, the hedgerows here contained their own bounty and many juveniles, those awkward ‘teenaged’ birds no longer fed directly by their parents but not yet fully independent, could be found in flocks with adults feeding on this late summer fruit.

Gray Catbirds and Northern Mockingbirds both worked over this patch of Elder. Many species of birds have color vision similar to our own and can discern the ripeness of berries by color.

Gray Catbirds like this one photographed previously by Chris Franks of the Alan Devoe Bird Club are true omnivores feeding on insects and fruit alike. Their ability to feed on fruit allows them to linger in the Hudson Valley after the death of most live insect prey. As the climate warms, some may even survive locally into December, particularly along the Hudson Valley towns hugging the Hudson River.

The juvenile Northern Mockingbirds continued to beg for food from their parents with a unique rasping call, but the adults were having none of that and left the young to forage for themselves. There is an active area of ornithological research investigating how some species of birds may teach their young about suitable food sources though direct example. It surprised me to see the mockingbird clan move on to feeding on sumac berries — usually a drier less nutritious fruit that most birds pass over until the dead of winter when there are few other options (Watch for birds like mockingbirds and Eastern Bluebirds feeding on sumac in December and January). I thought perhaps the birds might be feeding on insects on the sumac but in the field of view in my binoculars I could observe the mockingbird swallowing sumac fruits. Shrug. Maybe sometimes the bran muffin wins over the chocolate-chip cookie. Birds, like mammals, make complex food choices.

Baltimore Orioles, Blue Jays, House Finches, and Song Sparrows all joined the feast.

A pair of cedar waxwings alighted on the patch of jewelweed and loosetrife that Claudia describes above. They appear to be feeding on something on the loosetrife — could it be the Black -margined Purple Loosestrife Beetles (shown in Conrad’s earlier photo)?

A nonnative beetle feeding on a nonnative flowering plant possibly feeding a native species of bird. Ecology sometimes defies simple classifications.

Before binoculars became cheap and readily available, most ornithologists worked with shot guns, shooting birds first, then identifying the skins later. Thankfully, we have moved on from that practice but some of the names of birds are holdovers from the era of identifying birds with the feel of your hands. Waxwings indeed have a red waxy spot at the tip of their secondaries that can be very hard to see, but easy to feel in the hand. Sharp-shined hawks, a local bird-hunting raptor, are also best understood when you trace your fingers over their forelegs. You’d have to squint to see the red belly of our common Red-Bellied Woodpecker at your backyard suet feeder. Not so if you held it belly up in your hand.

The hedgerows at Harrier Fields are wonderful examples of habitats used by birds at the edges and margins of our economic use of the land. Outside the reach of a grazing Red Devon, or turn of the mower, these spaces provide room for wildlife and if we train our eye to see the life they contain we will no longer see them as ‘messy’ places in need of cleaning up, but rather enhancements to our farms.

Nearer to the economic purpose of Harrier Fields are the pastures and fields used by grazing cows, although these fields are also managed less intensively than the typical modern beef operation.

Claudia catalogs low plant species diversity in this pasture but its structural diversity far outpaces most intensively grazed modern pastures that can appear as closely clipped as an estate lawn. The bunches of grass, grass stem height, and stem density all contribute to the success of pasture-nesting birds such as Savannah Sparrow and Bobolink.

A fledgling Savannah Sparrow, a fairly young bird for this time of year, suggests that Savannah Sparrows successfully and recently bred in this orchard-grass dominated pasture. A group of 30 or so Bobolinks, another pasture specialist, flush from the grass and perch along the hedgerow. All of the male adults have shed their summer black, white, and yellow breeding plumage and molted into a straw-colored brown as they prepare to make one of the most stunning long-distance migratory journeys of our local breeding birds. Noah Perlut, a colleague of ours at the Applied Farmscape Ecology Research Collaborative, tags Bobolinks in Vermont and New York with transmitters that allows him to see their movements with tremendous detail. Noah has found that Bobolinks from our area launch themselves from the mid-Atlantic states in late summer on multi-day non-stop flights to Cuba and Venezuela. The athletic abilities of such small birds are among the wonders of nature.

Sometimes a single tree or shrub in a pasture can provide suitable cover for a number of birds. This multiflora rose hosted six species: Willow Flycatcher, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Field Sparrow, American Goldfinch, and Indigo Bunting

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This Indigo Bunting photographed by local Hudson Valley birder Chris Franks is indeed striking. Its electric blue is an example of a structural color. Unlike traditional dyes and pigments that work by absorbing light, structural colors work via micro- or nano-structures that scatter and reflect certain wavelengths of light. In low light, this bunting appears coal black. Direct light is needed to unlock the magic. In your garden next summer, if you can find a hummingbird (almost certainly a Ruby-throated, our only local hummer), look at its throat patch . When the hummingbird is not facing the light its throat is dull black, when it faces the viewer or light shines on its throat patch the ‘Ruby’ throat is charged into a pure and intense red! Territorial males use this to their advantage and seek sunlit areas to display and attract females.

Barn Swallows have learned to catch flying insects that hover near these horses

My family has cultivated fruit trees in southern Columbia County for five generations, so the old orchard at Harrier Fields was a special treat to see. Apples were grown in the American colonies since the 1630s and were a staple on most northeastern farmsteads until the middle of the 20th Century. Most apples were used for making hard cider, although the Hudson Valley has a long tradition of drying apples for shipping and for fresh market use. The apple trees at Harrier Fields are very old examples, but they are more than a nostalgic pleasure.

Older cultivars of apples required less management than modern apples grafted onto modern rootstocks. Many newer varieties are bred for maximum production and cannot survive long without regular pruning to control vigor. The apples are Harrier Field have obtain a mature shape and growth habit and host a variety of birds

Old apples, like sugar maples, form cavities that can host screech owls, kestrels, woodpeckers, bluebirds, wrens, chickadees, and nuthatches to name a few…

Barn Swallows nest in the outbuildings at Harrier Fields and zoom over Conrad’s head seeking flying insects.

The gift of visiting a new farm is the manner in which it makes me see my own farm with fresher eyes. I wonder if there is some corner of my home farm that could weather a longer fallow rotation, or a lane that could skip a mowing or two, or a less productive field that could be left to willful neglect. Can we make a living off of our own lands and leave something extra for wildlife? Where are the ecological hotspots on your own farm or property?

Please share any relevant observations you have made; this is meant to be a site for two-way sharing.