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As you gain a little more height in the woodlot, notice a slight change in the species composition of the community.  In the surrounding area you will see several large Northern Red Oaks (Quercus rubra).  Both the red oak and the white oak are also important mast producers, generating large numbers of acorns which serve as food for a multitude of wildlife.  The acorns of red oak have a higher level of tannins which make them bitter to eat.  It is claimed that squirrels and chipmunks tend to neglect them, burying them instead to be eaten later in the season when more preferred foods sources

have been depleted. 

The many species of oaks that occur in the deciduous forest are broadly divided into groups, two of which are the red oak group and the white oak group.  Generally, the red oaks have sharp pointed lobed leaves which a bristle at the tip of each point, whereas the white oaks have round-lobes leaves with no bristle tips.

Red Oak leaves; sharp pointed lobes with a bristled tip.

White Oak leaves; rounded lobes, not bristle tipped

Wool Sower gall on white oak, is caused by the wasp Callirhytis seminator. For more information on this interesting insect and its life cycle, go to http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/trees/note05/note05.html