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Is this J. Cinerea? Are there lots of them in the Valley? I can't remember
seeing any around Halifax. They supposedly like river banks.
Jane
-----Original Message-----
From: David & Alison Webster
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2015 8:24 PM
To: NatureNS@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: [NatureNS] Butternut seedlings
Dear All, Oct 27, 2015
Over the last 3-4 years I have been seeing Butternut seedlings in the
yard; some new ones every year and most in the vicinity of a large Ash tree.
I have yet to see any animal carrying the nuts so I continue to wonder what
agent moves them. Some 6-8 children play in nearby yards and they might move
them but I can't see this happening year after year. To judge from the
droppings on the tiers of wood, and excavations at the base of an old-growth
compost heap, our yard is Raccoon Central but surely a Raccoon would not try
to eat a Butternut.
One of the Western Woodpeckers (Acorn) has a slick way of eating the
elongated Acorns of some western Oak species. It drills a hole in a tree
just large enough to hold an Acorn, shoves one in the hole pointed end first
and then eats the insides after pecking the proximal end away. More often
they drill many holes in a tree and store Acorns for off season use.
We have Hairy Woodpeckers in and out of that Ash tree many times per
week (10-20 ?) so I am wondering if they sometimes use or try to use the
sharp crotch of Ash branches to hold a Butternut so they can peel the husk
away enough to open the nut.
I tried eating Butternuts some decades ago and, drawing on memory, the
husk is readily removed after leaf-fall and the meat is rich and good to eat
without any treatment.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
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