On the remaining hillside prairie near the northwest corner of the Reservation, dogwood is the most prominent of the trees and shrubs encroaching onto the area since it has been protected from fire--a period of approximately 20 years. There are dense thickets of dogwood along the borders of the prairie and the woodland edge.
The white-eyed vireo and Bell vireo both forage and nest in thickets of dogwood and other shrubs.
#Fraxinus americana.#--White ash is localized on the Reservation and most of the mature trees are within an area of perhaps three acres on a steep slope of northwest exposure. Several of the largest trees, well over a foot in trunk diameter, grow at the lower limestone outcrop. Ash is most abundant at this level and at the terrace just below it. On the one slope where it is concentrated, ash is one of the most common trees, growing in association with American elm, chestnut oak, black oak, and shagbark hickory. This area is one of the most mesic on the Reservation. The soil is usually damp, with thick leaf litter and rich humus. In hilltop fields, formerly cultivated or pastured, saplings of white ash are among the most prominent invaders.
The leaves of this tree and especially its saplings, are favorite foraging places for the tree frog. The groves of this tree provide favorable habitat for the opossum, short-tailed shrew, gray squirrel, and white-footed mouse. Birds that frequent the same habitat include the black-capped chickadee, tufted titmouse, blue jay, rose-breasted grosbeak (_Pheucticus ludovicianus_), yellow-billed cuckoo, red-eyed vireo, gnatcatcher, hairy woodpecker, Kentucky warbler, and crested flycatcher (_Myiarchus crinitus_).
Upper figure shows gully in southeastern part of Reservation, which has enlarged and deepened greatly in the past 40 years. Heavy precipitation in the summer of 1951 resulted in the undermining and collapse of many large and medium sized trees, as shown in this photograph taken in March, 1956, by H. S. Fitch.
Lower figure shows Cottonwood fifteen feet in circumference, growing on hilltop near south edge of the Reservation. This is the largest tree on the area. Several exceptionally large black oaks, chestnut oaks, and elms are present on the same hilltop. Photograph taken in December, 1954, by H. S. Fitch.]