Spring is near!
In the morning we can hear songbirds declaring winter is over. The days are warm and we still have freezing temperatures at night. The perfect weather for tapping Maple trees for sap.
The forest at World Bird Sanctuary is made up of mostly oak and hickory trees. There are a few Sugar Maple trees around the site and the sap is oozing out of them. I have tapped Maple trees since I was 12 years old and I thought it would be nice to try it at the Sanctuary. Missouri only has about a month for sugaring – mid-February to early March. When the trees start to bud the sugaring season is over.
Roger Holloway, Director of Facilities, and Joe Hoffmann, Sanctuary Manager tapping a sugar maple
The taps are knocked into a small hole in the tree trunk, drilled about 4ft high. If the tree is thick enough to hug you can put 2 taps into it. At World Bird Sanctuary we have tapped six trees and we will be collecting the sap all this week.
Sap runs into the collecting bucket
We will be doing a Maple syrup cook-down demonstration at World Bird Sanctuary on Sunday February 27th between 12pm and 1pm. You are welcome to come and join us. You will be able to see the Maple sap being cooked down to Maple syrup, and see the trees that have been tapped to collect the Maple sap. However, due to food health regulations, we will not be offering maple syrup for tasting or for sale. We hope that you can join us and learn how to make your very own maple syrup!
Submitted by Joe Hoffmann, Sanctuary Manager
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