Forest Wildlife

The Cooper's Hawk is found across much of the continental United States and throughout Maryland. It excels at flying through dense woodland cover in search of prey, but can also found in wooded suburbs and parks.

In this issue: Thanks to those who took our reader and subscriber short survey; based on the results, we have some changes in store for the newsletter. Read about John Hooven, our new Forest Stewardship Educator, and about beech leaf disease; it's not been reported in Maryland yet, but it may be just a matter of time before it is. One of our regular features, the "Woodland Wildlife Spotlight," looks at the timber rattlesnake, and "Invasives in Your Woodlands" looks at Asian wisterias. And don't forget the events calendar and the Brain Tickler challenge.

The Woods in Your Backyard Workbook is available for free download as a PDF with fillable fields. It can be used in conjunction with The Woods in Your Backyard guide or on its own to help property owners assess their natural areas and to determine how to reach their land care objectives.

This webinar series, designed for green industry professionals, was held in two parts (fall 2020 and spring 2021).

This directory is developed by the Woods in Your Backyard Partnership and the University of Maryland Extension's Woodland Stewardship Education program. This directory serves as a way to connect land owners and managers to green industry services providers. The directory has been organized by service and alphabetically. Click or tap on the icons below to access the listings.

New from The Woods in Your Backyard Partnership, the Woodland Health Practices Field Guide provides the latest, research-based information on land-care practices.

Maryland is home to 27 species of snakes, most of which humans rarely see in day-to-day lives. Of these, only two, the Eastern Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake, are pit vipers and thus dangerously venomous to humans. Read about the Timber Rattlesnake in this feature article.

The News and Notes roundup for this issue reports that an important tax resource is available for forest landowners; shares information about a new endangered species designation; notes the results of a study about wildfires and birds; and reports that a personal watercraft manufacturer is using wood in unexpected places.

The American beaver was almost hunted to extinction in Maryland and across the continent. Read about this nocturnal herbivore that scientists are helping to conserve, and that in return, are discovering the benefits of having beavers in a variety of ecosystems in need of help.

The downy woodpecker is the smallest of seven species found in Maryland, and can be found in a wide variety of natural and human-made environments.