New England's Native Oak Trees

A documentary film describing twelve oak species of the northeastern U.S., which comprise the native oak species of New England. Beyond species identification, natural and cultural history is related, including charcoal kilns of yesteryear.
Timelapse footage shows seldom-witnessed events in the life of an oak tree, including acorns sprouting/rooting, gypsy moths laying eggs, and acorn weevil larvae in (and exiting) acorns.
Galls and the insects that form them are shown.
UMass-Amherst biologist Jeff Boettner describes the surprising relationship among oaks, mice, and gypsy (aka "spongy") moths.

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A note to users of closed-captions: the captions (subtitles) can be moved to different locations on the screen if they are blocking your view. To move a closed caption, place your cursor on it and drag it. Also, when captions are turned on, there are a number of caption features you can change by clicking on the settings "gear wheel" and selecting "Subtitles/CC", and then "Options".

[sherriianiro]

I have four pin oak trees 80' tall (planted in 1968) and one morning a scarlet tanager (whom are hard to find because they like the canopy) was singing his little heart out by my bedroom window in one of them. Between that and watching the bluejays forage those acorns to plant elsewhere and the fact that they host more insects and are beneficial to wildlife than any other tree has really given me an appreciation of them.

[ericwanderweg]

Well done. This documentary was a work of art. You covered all the native species, naturally occurring hybrids, touched on the loss of the American Chestnut, talked about the symbiotic relationship between various insects, animals, and the oak trees…. Keep up the good work 👍

[anarchobeaker]

Tremendous video as always. The gold standard for education on New England forests. Thank you greatly for your work.

[jodywho]

I was glued.to this documentary. The story teller has a beautiful voice. Thank you ✨🌳🌰🌱🐿🐀🐛🐻🐦🐹🦋🏞🐞✨

[paulyounger]

Amazing film, thanks to all involved. I especially enjoyed the detailed photos of the key ID features across various ages of trees, great resource for anyone in New England or the Northeastern US.

[jamesangle]

best videos on YouTube, great way to start the new year, thank you

[larshildebrandt]

As a Forestry and Fish & Wildlife Technician of over 40 years experience, I find these series amazing! Kudos New England!! Important to note that the mast years are over eastern North America, as the trees know no political boundaries... (I am from Northeastern Ontario Canada). Also the mast also includes non-oak species such as beach and the walnuts and other nut producers. I learn so much even with my experience! I also worked with the same live traps seen at 47:22, as we gathered small mammal data within the Boreal Forests near Cochrane Ontario. We had a control live trap set up in Old Growth Forest, where we compared it to a fresh harvest logging operation, and watched the change in species over time. We do not have oak trees. We also are (*normally), way too far north and cold for the "Spongey Moth"....but this winter being the mildest ever recorded, and the least amount of snow, means that insect species such as the Bronze Ash Borer and the Spongey Moth will gain a foot hold in our forests. We also can have huge populations of deer mice. presumably they survive on our beaked hazel mast, which can also be substantial.
I grew up in Southern Ontario with many of the same tree species as the New England series, so this is fascinating for me... Such a good job you folks have done here! Thanks so much for sharing!

Cheers!

[skyechristine]

The diversity of Eastern forests is incredible! So many different oaks in a relatively small area. I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and we only have a handful of oak species here.

[sspy]

NEF videos are some of the best content on the internet, and some of the best natural science videos I've seen.

[lotsoffish]

Thank you New England Forests for another outstanding documentary on our native forests. I look forward to each and every one of your videos. Thanks for producing something well worth watching.

[TheBonsaiZone]

A fantastic look at Oak trees and the life they support!

[notthatguy]

Oaks are my favorite. This level of detail and quality is incredible for such a specific niche in biology

[jonathankranz]

Outstanding! Perhaps the best yet -- and that's saying something.

[PijiPlays]

Wonderful video, love the diverse selection of information provided! Thank you so much for providing scientific names now! So awesome keep up the good work!

[sleepygrumpy]

We need more videos! This was an excellent production as always ofc

[caseyrobarts]

thank you for the video! I loved the clips of the mice and their story of interaction with the oaks

[terrymorton]

Another great video the work you put in truly shows . Every time that I have watched a New England forest video I've always learned something new and interesting. I also noticed that all the trees you described have a population in Connecticut. This makes it a challenge to identify these trees with so much hibernation going on but I'm glad that you pointed out it's difficult because it is frustrating. I was hiking part of the Tunxis trail system yesterday and I came along a group of lone wolf trees they were amazing .I could hardly believe that this was a pasture at one time considering how rocky the side of the slope was but there were rock walls all around. One last thing I'm not against cutting trees down but with so much of Connecticuts forest getting so old I noticed there's a change in forest manager's attitudes .They see dollar signs all around our state looking at our beautiful oaks🍂🌳

[Chadf]

thanks so much for including a live audio. I love seeing the oaks and hearing that wind (& jay, nuthatch, robin). Somehow asa kid wandering (alone as usual) I found how to make a red oak cap sound a loud whistle. I try to show kids this when taking them in... Also thnx 4 da last 1/3rd or 1/4 on galls, mice the music through out, and all the other stuff. Great job, thnx so much!

[Girl]

When my sisters husband died, she wanted to put on his tombstone, “A mighty oak has fallen” - he was quite beloved in his town of red hook NY. As well as wherever he went - he was an extrovert - equally kind as he was jovial. A real partner, loved life and people.

[greenmtnman]

We have Northern Red, Eastern White, & Chestnut Oak on our 220 acres here in Vermont.