Natural Lands Trust Preserve Blog

Crow's Nest: two years of using biodiesel

Now it has been two years since we started using biodiesel in the Crow's Nest Preserve tractor, and now we're using a 20% blend.

We're very happy with it; you can read about its advantages in last year's post.

Mariton: Happenings

Just a reminder; Mariton's Migratory Bird Census is this Saturday, from 7:30 a.m. to noon.  There are lots of birds moving through now, after a late start, so we should have a good count.

There are lots of flowers in bloom.  The showy orchis is still a day or two from opening their flower buds.  White, and purple trilliums are gorgeous right now.  Perfoliated bellwort is carpeting patches of Mariton's woods (and meadows).  Solomon's seal and false Solomon's seal are blooming.  White baneberry and foam flower are displaying their lacy flower heads along the trails. 

I checked nest boxes yesterday.  Tree swallows have moved into three of the boxes.  Bluebirds are in two boxes.  One had 6 bluebird eggs.  I didn't check the other box, because the female was sitting on the nest when I arrived.  We also have black-capped chickadees nesting.  Under the layer of hair in this photo are 7 chickadee eggs.

It is a good time to get out, if you can get away from your yard work and other chores.

Crow's Nest: Big trees, small children

This week forty kids from a nursery school came to visit the preserve, enjoying a hayride to a magical part of the preserve—a small spring lined with false hellebores and skunk cabbages under giant trees.

Crow's Nest: this week's blooms

This week the pink ladies' slipper has started to bloom. Others are just getting started: wild geranium, showy orchis, and pinxterbloom azalea.

As I've started mowing trails I've had the opportunity to watch foxes in the fields and turkeys in openings in the woods.

Bird Walk at Fulshaw Craeg

The "Mariton Bird Club" visited Fulshaw Craeg this morning and had a wonderful walk.  We saw some terrific birds, some marvelous flowers and some amazing scenery.  As soon as each person stepped onto the trail, I heard an audible sigh of contentment.  This place is that amazing.  Right off the bat, a northern waterthrush was sighted along the creek. 

In the woods, we were hearing lots of worm-eating warblers.  We commented how it is usually difficult to actually see one.  But one of our keen-eyed members spotted the persistent male, singing near the trail.  Then the bird stayed there in full view for several minutes, so we all got a great look at it while singing.  What a show (worth the cost of admission).

When we reached the meadows, a Louisiana waterthrush was singing.  We looked and looked, but never found it.  While looking for the waterthush, a common yellowthroat was spotted, and stayed in full view for several minutes while continuing to sing.  It even dropped down to the ground and foraged through the skunk cabbage near our feet.

Baltimore orioles, an indigo bunting, and a ruby-throated hummingbird were also spotted.  As we neared the end of the walk, a yellow-throated vireo was singing nearby.  Eventually, someone spotted them.  There were three flitting together (a female and two males?).  This is another species that we usually don't get a good view of, but these perched within a few yards.  We were able to see the yellow throat, the yellow eye-ring and the wing bars.  Spectacular. 

The flowers sighted included columbine on rock faces, bishop's cap, squawroot and showy orchis (not quite in bloom).  We also saw bladder nut (a shrub) in blossom, along with redbud, dogwood, and pinkster.  What a wonderful morning.

Before and After Burn Photos

Back on March 29, I posted a report of Natural Lands Trust's first prescribed burn of the season at Fulshaw Craeg.  http://natlands.typepad.com/nlt_preserve_blog/2007/03/fire_season_is_.html  On the left is the photo taken of that unit after the burn.  On the right is a photo taken earlier today from about the same vantage.  Everything is green and lush.  Except for some charred multiflora rose stems, you can barely tell there was burn there 6 weeks ago.

Giving Pond Bird Walk

Last year, when we visited Giving Pond in Tinicum, I thought I had stepped into a waste land.  But, we ended up having one of the best birding mornings of the season there.  Last Tuesday, Giving Pond came through again.  We saw at least 36 species of birds in just a few hours.  We saw so many yellow warblers that we should all have its song memorized.  One of the unexpected birds was a coot on the pond.  We also saw a pair of osprey.

On the way to Giving Pond, we stopped to view a Bald Eagle nest.  We were able to see a mature bald eagle flying in the area and see a bird on the nest, although we couldn't make out if it was a chick or parent.  That was very exciting.  (This is a photo of an immature eagle that was seen in the same area earlier in the year.)  Thanks to Carole Mebus for these photos.

This week we are headed to Fulshaw Craeg.  This Natural Lands Trust preserve has very limited access to the public., so it is always a treat to visit.

Hildacy: Bluebird Webcam!

A pair of Eastern Bluebirds have moved into a nest box at our Hildacy Farm Preserve. While we're always excited about bluebirds (we generally get about 200 fledglings out of our nest boxes each year), we are particularly excited about this pair because they've selected the nest box with a web cam in it!

We installed the webcam last spring, but a pair of Tree Swallows nested in the box instead of bluebirds, raising three young. (Tree Swallows are one of Eastern Bluebirds' main competitors for nesting space.

The pair of bluebirds started moving in last week, and they've already built their nest, although they have yet to lay any eggs. You can check in on them and watch them live throughout the spring by clicking here.

Crow's Nest: flowers come and go

When I photographed bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata) in May of 2005 it was in the deep woods, far from a trail. In 2006 I failed to find the flower in that location. Imagine my surprise to see a patch of it growing this year along the roadside more than a mile from where I had seen it before, now growing in a place where I had never seen it despite being familiar with the spot.

Today I heard the first wood thrushes of spring. Add gray treefrogs to the list of frogs you can hear right now at the preserve.