Tour Stop 2: Brush Piles
When the Great Swamp Watershed first obtained this property back in 1997 our first task was to clear all the garbage, golf balls, and deer carcasses off the property. We had removed over twenty-five bags of garbage, six buckets of golf balls and at least ten deer carcasses. The next job involved clearing the multiflora rose and the tartarian honey suckle from the front portion of the lot. Needless to say this was a Herculean task! Armed with chain saws and pickaxe we went to town with the help of many volunteer groups. We took this material across the mosquito ditch and piled it up along the front portion of the trail in the form of brush piles. This acts as an excellent source of cover for small mammals and songbirds seeking refuge from predators. We recommend that people do the same in their own backyards.
Here, songbirds and mammals find shelter from the heat and cold. When leaves fall onto brush piles, for example, the temperature gradient between ambient air and the interior of the pile can vary as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit. If it snows in winter, these piles can be very useful to animals, providing a dual benefit: the snow’s natural insulating property as well as respite from the harsh effects of wind. In the summer, leaf-covered brush piles provide a cooling effect for those animals trying to escape oppressive heat. Because multiflora rose has numerous thorns along the branches, these structures can also serve as a mini-refuge, enabling rabbits, birds and rodents to evade predators. Migratory songbirds that use greenbelts to refuel their metabolic tanks will also gratefully appreciate brush piles for shelter and protection during their long journeys between North and South America.
Have you thought about creating brush piles on your property? It’s a valuable, environmentally sound land-management tool.
A chipmunk surveys his new home.