Blog #12—The Majestic Tulip Tree: Buffet In The Canopy

All photos, videos, maps, charts, and text © Hilton Pond North

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MAJESTIC TULIP TREES:

BUFFET IN THE CANOPY

#12: 21 May thru 04 June 2025

Random observations about Blue Ridge Birds and Nature

BIRDS BANDED AT HILTON POND NORTH

DURING THE CURRENT PERIOD

21 May thru 4 June 2025

● Banded in 2025: 25 species, 824 individuals

● All-time totals, March 2024 to present: 69 species, 2,835 individuals

● Notable recaptures/returns for the period (all birds were banded and recaptured locally):

Carolina Chickadee banded 09/09/24; now 2nd-year female

Northern Cardinal banded 08/25/24; now after-2nd-year male

*White-breasted Nuthatch banded 09/05/24; now after-2nd-year female

*White-breasted Nuthatch banded 09/05/24; now 2nd-year male

*White-breasted Nuthatch banded 09/05/24; now after-2nd-year male

Tufted Titmouse banded 03/27/24; now after-2nd year male

*Three nuthatches banded on the same day in September 2024 are likely year-round residents.

The table below shows birds banded during the most recent period, plus each species' tally for the year and the total for each since banding commenced locally in March 2024. New species for this year are in RED.

This week we were pleased to host at Hilton Pond North two representatives from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission: Nathan Lambert (above left), Wildlife Conservation Biologist, and James Tomberlin, Mountain Region Supervisor—shown here pausing briefly on a Leopold bench at Sassafras Overlook. They were on hand to evaluate our 35-plus acres for possible inclusion in the NC Wildlife Conservation Land Program, spending several hours inventorying everything from tree cover to topography and watersheds to rock outcroppings. Nathan will prepare an extensive report outlining results and let us know the outcome this fall. More later on all this.

We had big winds in late May across the ridge tops in upper Ashe County NC, with lots of torn foliage and sticks on the ground at Hilton Pond North. Among them were leaves and bud scales from towering Tulip Trees, along with a few intact blossoms (above).This tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, is also known as Yellow Poplar. A fast growing species, it occurs naturally in eastern North America from southern Ontario to northern Florida, thriving in rich, well-drained soils within mixed hardwood forests. It's often found on moist slopes, bottomlands, and sheltered coves (aka"hollers").

All photos, videos, maps, charts, and text © Hilton Pond North

The tree has uniquely shaped four-lobed leaves (above) resembling a tulip silhouette. These and its large, showy yellow-green flowers with orange bands give the tree its common name of Tulip Tree, although many folks do refer to it asTulip Poplar or Yellow Poplar. Poplars, of course, are not even closely related to magnolias, but early settlers settlers thought the two trees resembled each other in growth form and had similar soft, easily worked wood. The "yellow" epithet comes from distinctive pale yellow to greenish-yellow wood—quite noticeable when the trunk is freshly cut.

Among the tallest eastern North American hardwoods, the Tulip Tree reaches truly impressive heights of 150-190' in good conditions, with trunk diameters of 4-6'. In the Magnoliaceae (Magnolia Family), it is fast-growing and long-lived, with individuals surviving 300-400 years in undisturbed settings. It often "invades" nearby clear-cuts, growing rapidly and nearly forming a monoculture of tall, skinny, straight-trunked same-age trees (right).

However, grown by itself as a specimen tree in the open without competition a Tulip Tree typically acquires a more conical shape (below), with bottom branches reaching out around the perimeter for maximum sunlight.

Tulip Trees start out with relatively smooth grayish-green bark that begins to furrow as the saplings age. The bark becomes deeply furrowed, with long, straight grooves (see photo above right). On very large, old trees (100+ years), the bark can become extremely thick—sometimes 2-3 inches deep—with the characteristic furrowed pattern becoming even more pronounced.

Thus, Tulip Trees are an important resource for all those insects mentioned; either their leaves provide munchies for caterpillars, or their mildly aromatic blossoms attract adult insects seeking nectar or pollen. And speaking of nectar, If you had Ruby-throated Hummingbirds earlier this spring but they've disappeared from your feeders, those little birds may be up and out of sight, foraging for nectar high in the canopy where Tulip Tree blooms lured them skyward. Along with offering carbohydrate-laden nectar, the tree's colorful flowers also host those tiny insects that provide ruby-throats with fats and proteins needed to nurture nestlings and maintain metabolism in adults.

We could find no record of Native Americans making use of Tulip Tree's abundant seed crop, but early botanists reported Cherokees used its inner bark to make tea for periodic fevers, diarrhea, pinworms, and rheumatic pain, and as a digestive aid. Inner bark of the root was considered most potent for these purposes. Some indigenous peoples called Tulip Tree the "canoe tree," since its long, straight trunk could be carved easily into a dugout for as many as 20 people.

Incidentally, not only are flower and leaf of the Tulip Tree shaped like a tulip, so is the seed pod (left) that typically hangs on twigs all winter. As they mature, these woody pods release an abundance of samaras (flat, wind-borne seeds, below) that sometimes carpet the forest floor until hungry rodents gather them for food.

Tulip Tree flowers have a light, sweet, somewhat spicy scent that's been described as "faintly reminiscent of cucumber or watermelon rind." Since the blooms are typically high in the canopy one rarely gets close enough to detect the aroma; find a fresh flower that has recently fallen earthward to sample. Invertebrates have no trouble sniffing out Tulip Tree blossoms that are primarily insect-pollinated by various beetles, flies, and long-tongued native bees, plus Honeybees and Bumblebees.

Each tulip-like blossom produces so much nectar it’s been called “honey in a cup.” Beekeepers sometimes place spring hives within a Tulip Tree grove because just one mature tree in full bloom can support thousands of Honeybees at once. North Georgia Mountain honey made from Tulip Tree nectar is extremely dark and reportedly has a "buttery taste richer in flavor than lighter honeys."

The Tulip Tree serves as a host plant to at least 21 species of Lepidoptera larvae. While these trees aren't typically "obligate hosts" (where insects or their larvae depend entirely on one plant species), they do serve as important hosts for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and many of our largest, showiest Giant Silkworm moths: Promethea, Io, Cecropia, Polyphemus, and Luna. Tuliptree Silkmoth, Callosamia angulifera (above), with a wingspan of 3-4", appears to be the most specialized of Tulip Tree visitors and its hungry larvae may indeed have an obligate or near-obligate food-source relationship with the tree's foliage.

With spring on the wane, flowering season for Tulip Trees will soon be over, so canopy-feeding Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will be returning to feeder level. Keep your sugar water fresh and delight in your hummingbirds, but ponder the year-round importance of all those Tulip Trees here at Hilton Pond North—and perhaps in your own backyard. After all, it IS the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee!

Tulip Trees have an interesting survival strategy. They don't usually flower until 15-20 years old—sometimes not until 25-30 years in forest settings—after which they begin producing seeds. Uneaten, these seeds can remain dormant in the soil for up to eight years, waiting for perfect conditions—e.g., a major disturbance like a forest fire or clear-cutting—before germinating. Known as "seed banking," this allows Tulip Trees to rapidly reclaim open ground and dominate early forest succession and helps explain how Tulip Trees often form pure stands in regenerating forests: They were already there, just waiting for their chance.

During May and early June Mourning Doves have been among our most plentiful birds at Hilton Pond North. Most appeared to be paired up as they pecked through discarded seed under our feeders, so it we weren't surprised to trap one of their fledglings. Unlike adult doves whose plumage looks sleek and uniform, youngsters appears rough and scaly due to buffy edges on virtually all their body and wing feathers (above). Most of those edges will disappear due to preening and wear, but young doves may also begin a partial molt into new "adult" feathers as soon as a few weeks after fledging.

In our previous installment we wrote about the Black Bear situation at Hilton Pond North, including when a bear toppled one of our tall tube feeders and dragged it into the bush. Several days later while trail-walking we came across the venerable feeder—broken in two—about 50 yards from where it had stood.

And speaking again of bears, we are having to learn to live with these modern-day "apex predators" that roamed the Blue Ridge long before we did. After several episodes, we now bring in all our bird feeders each evening lest bears start leaning on us for free handouts, and we we also bring in mist nets and traps to avoid damage from these big furry creatures. Recently we also learned the hard way that mounting bird nest boxes on T-posts is not a good idea in bear country. In the trail cam video above—you may have to click on the arrow to view—a large Black Bear patrolling our paved driveway on 3 June 2025 noticed one of the T-post boxes.

We knew from earlier checks the box housed four nestling Carolina Chickadees due to fledge on or about 4 June. Perhaps chittering from the nearly grown youngsters—or their odor—attracted the bear's attention. In any case, the bear reared up, pried the box from the pole with its jaws, and dropped it to the ground. (P.S. The pole and box are 6' tall!)

The bear manipulated the fallen box with its snout, which did not bode well for the baby chickadees. However, if you look closely at this third video, you'll see at least three of the nestlings escaped, either by hopping away or taking first flights. We're glad for the survivors, although this trail cam video series calls for an immediate end to our using T-poles as nest box supports. It appears you can't baffle a bear at Hilton Pond North.

This was a BIG feeder; with a tube 3-1/2" in diameter and 4' tall it held a lot of seed, and its 12 ports and seed tray often accommodated a veritable flock of birds. It's our understanding these devices produced by Droll Yankee weren't available commercially but actually were designed for in-store displays more than 30 years ago. (Droll Yankee still makes smaller versions.) Two of these feeders served us well through the decades but the plastic tubes finally got brittle and we had to repair each several times; we're not surprised this one shattered when the bear dragged it away.

Looks like we've got little choice but to get replacements. Hoping we can find some we like in high-capacity jumbo-size with lots of ports. (Four species of finches in the photo above right!)