Contact: Jonathan McKnight, Maryland DNR | 410-260-8539 ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 21, 2006) – Given time, Shakespeare’s reference to the House Sparrow might have been its ticket to a new world, for in the 1800’s various American literary societies made an effort to introduce all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works to North America. But […]
Contact: Julie Thompson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 410-573-4517 ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 17, 2006) – A little green invader has established itself Maryland Coastal Bays and the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. This invader is called the European green crab (Carcinus maenus), and has been chosen by the Maryland Invasive Species Council as the Invader […]
Contact: Dick Bean, Maryland Department of Agriculture | beanra@mda.state.md.us | 410.841.5920 ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 15, 2006) – In February, 2005, a horntail (a wood boring wasp) new to the U.S was discovered by Dr. Richard Hoebeke, in a September, 2004 forest survey trap sample from Fulton, N.Y. Identified as Sirex noctilio, it was not only new to […]
Contact: Kerrie Kyde, Maryland Department of Natural Resources | kerrie.kyde@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 14, 2005) – A beautiful, fragrant blooming woody vine from Asia, Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) was introduced into Long Island, NY in 1806 as a garden plant and bank stabilizer. Although initially slow to spread, by 1912 this perennial vine had escaped from […]
Contact: Jonathan McKnight, Maryland Department of Natural Resources | JMcKnight@dnr.state.md.us ANNAPOLIS, MD (October 17, 2005) – No sound is more evocative of autumn’s arrival for Marylanders than the honking of the migratory Canada geese that make their winter homes in our fields and rivers. Having spent the spring and summer breeding in the far north, the […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 11, 2004) – Maryland may have an elusive plant disease lurking in unsuspecting neighborhoods. Sudden oak death, as it is commonly known, is caused by the fungus-like pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, and has been designated as the Maryland Invasive Species Council’s “Invader of the Month” for August. Responsible for the deaths of thousands of […]
Contact: Julie Thompson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Julie_Thompson@fws.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 16, 2005) – Phragmites australis, also known as common reed, is an exotic invasive grass that is becoming an all too common sight in Maryland. It can grow to heights of 15-20 feet and forms a dense monoculture that can be very difficult to […]
Contact: Jonathan McKnight | JMcKnight@dnr.state.md.us | 410-260-8539 ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 6, 2005) – The descendants of five pet mute swans that escaped from their Talbot County home in 1962 have grown to nearly 4000 in the Chesapeake Bay region – and natural resource managers are concerned that without control of adult swans this population, which has more […]
Contact: Lane Heimer, Maryland Department of Agriculture | 410-841-5871 ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 12, 2005) – With spring here, flowers will soon be out, but weeds too will be upon us. One of the worst is Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), a misnomer, because it is actually native to Europe and Asia. Many now call it creeping […]
Contact: Kerrie Kyde, Maryland DNR | kerrie.kyde@maryland.gov ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 1, 2005) – A bird in the hand might be worth much more if the bush is one of three common exotic invasive bush honeysuckles. Studies show that robins’ nests in Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) are more likely to experience predation than nests in native shrubs […]