Plantings Failure at Saddle Creek CSO! Project

There has been an entire growing season associated with the numerous plantings at the CSO! project site on the east side of Westlawn Cemetery.

Because of the importance of an effective growth of the numerous trees and shrubs to replace the vegetation removed for the project, this area was visited to evaluate the status of the plantings.

An informal evaluation was done 22 September of 100 plantings. There was nothing scientific in this evaluation, but it was done strictly for comparative and informational purposes.

The contents were noted for the randomly selected plantings on the upland portion of the project site, east of the former creek. A number was marked on the wooden lathe of the planting, to make certain a feature was not noted twice. None were checked on the lowland, in order to not disturb the Wood Ducks present in the water of the stormwater overflow sites.

A majority of the plantings did not contain any suitable plant growth, as intended. The contents observed were grouped into four basic categories:

• Weeds of various sorts (39 of 100, so 39%)
• Empty, including cobwebs and barren twigs (36%)
• Oak sapling, most of which were less than 6 inches in height (24%); there was only one sapling with any ample growth and it seemed to be only about one foot in height
• Miscellaneous, which was one tube that contained an active wasp hive (1%)

A lot of Omaha money and time was spent on getting these plantings in place. Funding was also provided by the Nebraska Environmental Trust.

Obviously the effort was not a success, based upon this brief evaluation.

Planting Contents

This is a list of the results:

Planting Number: Details 1: empty 2: weeds 3: weeds - clover 4: empty 5: tiny oak 6: empty - cobwebs 7: tiny oak 8: weeds 9: empty 10: weeds - grass 11: weeds - grass 12: weeds, cobwebs 13: weeds - grass 14: empty 15: weeds, cobwebs 16: tiny oak 17: weeds - grass 18: empty - cobwebs 19: tiny oak 20: weeds - grass 21: weed - podweed 22: wasp hive with the insects present 23: tiny oak 24: tiny oak 25: empty 26: empty (barren twig) 27: tiny oak 28: tiny oak 29: empty 30: weed 31: oak, about 1 foot height 32: empty 33: weed - podweed 34: empty (barren twig) 35: weed 36: tiny oak 37: weeds 38: empty 39: empty 40: empty 41: empty 42: weeds 43: empty 44: weeds 45: empty 46: tiny oak 47: empty 48: empty 49: tiny oak 50: tiny oak

51: tiny oak 52: empty 53: tiny oak 54: empty 55: weeds 56: weeds - grass 57: empty 58: empty 59: empty 60: weeds - grass 61: weeds 62: weeds 63: small oak 64: empty 65: small oak 66: small oak 67: empty 68: empty 69: weeds - grass 70: tiny oak 71: weeds - grass 72: weeds - grass 73: weeds - grass 74: weeds - grass 75: weeds - grass 76: weeds - grass 77: weeds - grass 78: weeds - miscellaneous 79: weeds 80: weeds 81: weeds 82: weeds 83: small oak 84: empty 85: empty 86: tiny oak 87: weeds 88: empty 89: empty 90: small oak 91: empty 92: weeds 93: empty 94: tiny oak 95: tiny oak 96: empty 97: weed - ragweed 98: weeds - grass 99: empty 100: empty

Larger trees are doing well at the north end of this portion of the Saddle Creek project site.

Examples of vegetative conditions at the project site, especially indicating instances of weeds growing where they should be other plants sprouting.

Bird Variety

While working, a list of the birds seen and heard was also kept, and along the drainage way, on the east side if the cemetery, were these nineteen species: Wood Duck, Mallard, Cooper's Hawk, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Least Flycatcher, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Marsh Wren, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch.

Birdly Migration Wonders About Omaha

Autumn continues its progression and new wonders of Missouri Valley migration are now occurring.

The evenings of 16-17 September have been especially enjoyable for the number of chimney swifts and common nighthawks seen.

On both of the last two evenings, two huge roosts of swifts have been visited. There were about 1500 swifts the first night in the west Mercer Park area. These birds have previously used this structure, but the number observed is the single greatest count for birds at an autumn roost for Omaha.

On Wednesday evening, a different structure in the Blackstone district once again had about 1400 swifts, a number similar to the same date in 2013.

A few nighthawks were seen Tuesday, but on Wednesday were constantly overhead from Dundee to Cathedral, and the Joslyn and Blackstone neighborhoods. There were hundreds of birds kettling and silently bugging overhead.

There was an ample supply of bugs available. One large swarm in the neighborhood was obvious earlier in the neighborhood, and lesser bunches could be seen elsewhere during my bicycling about looking for chimneys being used by roosting swifts.

It's a fine evening when the antics of a multitude of swifts can be found and observed as they gather, circle about and then dart into their overnight shelter!