Maryland Wild Acres: Autumn 2005 Habichat Newsletter

Grapes are a favorite, if not THE favorite food
of over 100 songbirds and many mammals.

Description: A woody vine, climbing to varying heights. It can reach 30’ in some wooded sites if not pruned. Stems are dark, thorn less and can be hairy. Bark is brownish gray and may shred. Tendrils on stems curl around other plants to support the vine. Leaves are toothed, heart-shaped and often can be lobed, 2”- 9 “ in size.

Flowers: They are small and green, blooming May through July

Fruit: Small to large purple to black spheres, hanging in clusters 1/8” to 1” in size. Grapes ripen from July to October. Each fruit contains 2 to 6 seeds, which are eaten and spread by wildlife. Wild grape yields can vary greatly from year to year.

Habitat: Stream banks, pond edge, roadsides, thickets, and woods. The woody vine can be very large in the wild and often grows up with the tree it climbs on for support. They need sunlight and will reach to get it, sometimes covering up and shading out plants over which they climb. Grape vines prefer moist, fertile soils.

Photograph of River Bank grape courtesy of University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point and Paul E. Berry.

Food for wildlife: Grapes are a favorite, if not THE favorite food of over 100 songbirds and many mammals. Even the old dried clusters are sought by wildlife in the winter. Those in Maryland are: Mourning Dove, Ruffed Grouse, Quail and Wild Turkey. Songbirds include Eastern Bluebird, Cardinal, Catbird, Junco (Especially dried clusters), Mockingbird, Robin, Fox Sparrow, Cedar Waxwing, and Woodpeckers. Mammals that eat the fruit are Black Bear, Coyote, Gray and Red fox, Opossum, Raccoon, Striped Skunk, Fox and Gray Squirrel. White –tailed deer eat the fruit, foliage and stems.

Cover: The dense foliage provides good escape cover and nesting cover for songbirds. Its thin, peeling bark is often used in nest building by songbirds especially cardinals and catbirds, also squirrels.

Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia Michx)

Additional Notes:

Humans use wild grapes in jelly and wines and the edible leaves are used to wrap meat and rice mixtures.
The root stock of four North American wild grapes helped save the European wine industry from a plague that almost wiped out their native stock in the 1800s.
Half of the grapes in the world are native to the United States.
Wild grapes are vigorous plants with few serious pests except for the Japanese beetle, which destroys the leaves.
For the best fruit production, grapes need heavy annual pruning in winter before sap runs.
Where desirable, encourage growth on small trees and shrubs for songbird nest sites.
If you choose not to have wild grapes in your wildlife plantings, cultivated grapes are just as acceptable to wildlife. Some of the best domestic grapes to grow in Maryland include the varieties Concord, Candice, Reliance, Vanessa and Himrod.

Whether they are stuffing their cheeks with birdseed or carrying a strawberry bigger than their head, chipmunks have a knack for raiding our gardens and entertaining us as they are doing it. The following information gives a glimpse into the lives of these ground squirrels.

Food: Seeds, nuts, acorns, berries, corn, bulbs, insects, small amphibians and bird eggs.

Space Needs: Mainly solitary. Home range for males is 1 acre, ½ acre for females May have 2 to 30 chipmunks per acre depending on food supply.

Den: Excavates up to 12 ft. tunnels to nest, sleeping chamber and food caches.

Status in Maryland: Common west of the Chesapeake Bay. Uncommon on the Eastern Shore.

Natural History: Mates late February to April and late June to early July producing two litters per year. Gestation 31-32 days, 4-5 young per litter. Emerge from dens 5-7 weeks. Adult size by 3 months. Mother drives young off; dispersal is accompanied by vocalizations of adults. Calls let youngsters know how far to disperse. Sexually mature after first winter.

Chipmunk Vocals: Bird-like chip calls are single or repeated 80 - 180 per minute. Signals its presence. Chucks are lower pitched and signals caution, fear or annoyance. Chip-trill is rapidly repeated chips when animals are startled. Chuck trill given when chipmunks are fighting. Whistles during mating.

Backyard Habitat: Provide forests, fencerows, thickets, stonewall, woodpiles, and a source of water. Plant oaks, hickories, beeches, serviceberries, strawberries, raspberries and dogwoods.

Additional Notes: Chipmunks create scatter hoards, which are food caches located aboveground. Chipmunks steal food from each other so much that biologists think scatter hoards are built solely to restock raided coffers.

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