Beware pythons and Bradford pear trees

From a flier produced by the Columbia, Mo., Park and Rec Department

Naturally Wonderful, by Rich Haag - Feb. 2, 2012
Welcome to my debut post!

I planned to launch this blog with a warm piece extolling the natural riches we enjoy within the Catawba River District. I changed my mind after getting an email regarding a talk that Davidson College Professor Michael Dorcas will give on Feb. 9. (CLICK to learn more.) His topic? “Invasive Pythons” in the Everglades.

OK, not exactly a big issue for Catawba River District wildlife, you may think. So I pose this question: What do pythons in the Everglades have in common with Bradford pear trees in Charlotte, Belmont and Mount Holly?

There is a BIG connection, I just discovered thanks to the email and 30 minutes of Google research. And you will want to know the answer, if Bradford pear trees decorate your yard or street.

Legless vacuum cleaners
Let’s start with the pythons. Dr. Dorcas and other experts have collected hard data on the impact of these non-native predators on Everglades wildlife. The findings are, um, very bad. Turns out, pythons grow to 20 feet long by eating anything and everything that moves, swims or flies. In the Everglades, which didn’t have pythons until a couple of decades ago, that appetite has become an ecological disaster.

In one study of road kill, the number of dead raccoons spotted in an area known to have pythons decreased 99 percent between 2003 and 2011. Rabbits have become virtually extinct.

Pythons live in Burma. How did they get to the Everglades? Somebody let them loose.

Pythons with roots
So back to Bradford pear trees (along with English Ivy, Chinese and Japanese Wisteria and hundreds of other non-native plants we use to beautify our yards).

While Bradford pear trees won’t jump out and devour a songbird, they will take the place of that bird’s natural home and major food source in your yard and in neighboring woods. Within the plant kingdom, Bradford pears are actually aggressive and will, over time, crowd out native plants that have fed and sheltered our birds for eons, including  dogwood, serviceberry, Hawthorn and eastern redbud. Unlike those trees, Bradford pear trees produce very little food for native birds. Less food means less birds.

So while the Bradford pears don’t eat birds, they may pose as big a threat as python to local wildlife over time. The city of Columbia, Mo., has actually launched a "Stop the Spread!" campaign to get public support for eradicating the trees.

 How did Bradford pear trees get to Charlotte, Belmont and Mount Holly? We, our neighbors and even our town landscape staffs let them loose.

What we can do
So what do we do with this knowledge about the dangers of pythons and Bradford pear trees?

1. Don’t release a python in your yard.
2. Replace your Bradford pear with flowering trees that our local birds love. These include American Plum, Flowering Dogwood, Eastern Redbud, Hawthorn and Serviceberry.
3. Learn how non-native species can harm our local wildlife (CLICK for an NC State database with this information).
4. Learn how to make your yard a truly welcoming place for our wild friends.

2 great resources for making that change

• NC Extension Service website, “Create Your Own Native Landscape.” 
• National Wildlife Federation website, “Garden For Wildlife – Making Wildlife Habitat At Home.” 

Let me know if you try either of these!

And let me know if you spot any python!

About Rich Haag -  Rich gained his love for the outdoors while roaming the woods and river gorge near his upstate NY home. He has spent many vacations – one lasting eight weeks -  camping with his wife, Karen, and their sons. Rich still roams the woods nearly every day, either walking with Karen at Reedy Creek Nature Preserve or cycling on the Mallard Creek Greenway. So far Rich has not spotted a python.