Natural Lands Trust Preserve Blog

Crow's Nest: Cleanup thank you

This week we had a stewardship staff workday at Crow's Nest; preserve staff traveled from throughout the region to help with a big project: removing the Norway maples from the recently-acquired lot in the middle of the preserve.

Many thanks go to Tom Kershner, Darin Groff, Roger Nichols, David Casteneda, Tim Burris, Joe Vinton, Sean Quinn, Erich Estes, Luke DiBerardinis, Preston Wilson, Ryan Hopkins, and Jim Thompson. In the course of the day we got nine full sized trees down, all the branches chipped, and six of the stumps out, as well as chipped piles of pre-existing brush. I am very impressed with the capabilities and professionalism of the crew and am proud to be a part of this staff.

We pulled out two logs of milling size and cut the rest up for firewood. Free firewood is available at the site on Harmonyville Road while it lasts.

I plan to replant with native trees as soon as possible. On the short list: sugar maples, dogwood, osage orange, butternut, some oak and ash.

Crow's Nest: Fall Color Alert

The red maples are ablaze with fall color. This weekend will be a great time to see it!

Crow's Nest: Hopewell Big Woods

The Hopewell Big Woods initiative has just established its website—a place where you can go to find out about the places to visit in the Big Woods. You can download there a nifty zoom-able pdf map with more detail than the snapshot above. There's a guide to the preserves, parks, trails, historic sites, and restaurants in this beautiful area, and links to each place's website. I note with pride that Crow's Nest happens to be located in the exact center (dark green) of the Big Woods region. Many of the sites could be combined into a day or weekend trip. Check it out!

Crow's Nest Lost & Found

After the contra dance last Saturday night we found a pair of sneakers in the barn and a watch in the parking lot. If you are missing either of these items please give us a call, 610-286-7955.

Crow's Nest Camp Reunion on Saturday

It's not too late to sign up. If you have ever attended Crow's Nest Camp please come on over! We will have a family night hike, hayride and campfire. Bring a dessert to share. The event is from 6:30 until 9:00.

Please call Pete at 610-353-5640 ext. 231 to register.

Crow's Nest: Grazing resumes

After a hiatus due to the logistics of borrowing and transporting cattle, we have a new group of calves grazing at the preserve as part of a habitat restoration project.

Erich Estes, preserve manager at our Stroud Preserve, brought these beautiful, varied steers to the preserve today. They will graze here for the rest of the fall and return to Stroud for the winter. At Stroud they are being used for a different kind of habitat restoration project—improving grassland bird nesting habitat.

Mariton - Two Great Programs

This weekend, Mariton hosted two programs for the Friends of Mariton.  Both programs were great, because we have great members who attended and contributed conversation, knowledge and enthusiasm for wild things.

The Annual Gathering was Saturday night.  (The Annual Picnic that was canceled in September, morphed into a reception with appetizers.)  The response was incredible, and people enjoyed chatting with each other.  But I eventually interrupted the fine conversations to introduce the evening program.  People sat down and were instantly captivated by Kathy and Eric Uhler from the Pocono Wildlife Rehab Center (http://poconowildlife.com/).

Eric is seen here with Maximus, a Great-horned Owl who was hit by a car and can't fly well enough to be released into the wild.  Besides rehabilitating wildlife that has had unfortunate encounters with humans, the Uhlers educate the public about the do's and don'ts of wildlife encounters.  They are favorites here, and I always learn something new about the wild creatures that inhabit Mariton.

The second program started on a chilly Sunday morning.  Fortunately the morning turned into a sunny day for members who kayaked down the Delaware River.  Again, we benefited from each other's company, as we shared knowledge about the area's history, geology, canal construction, fishing hot spots, and wildlife sightings.  We spotted Bald Eagles, including a mature eagle that flew directly overhead.  We also saw an Osprey, Red-tailed Hawks and Rough-winged Swallows.

Several long-time residents commented how the view from the River of familiar landscapes added a new dimension to their perspective.  Exactly.  When you are sitting at splash level, water quality has a whole new meaning.  And you begin to think about the things that affect the water quality of the Delaware River.  For instance this view of Mariton from a kayaker's view.  All that open space protecting soils, reducing run-off, and providing habitat for wildlife.  Even perches and sanctuary for Eagles and Ospreys. 

Crow's Nest: What's in a name?

As the asters bloom I am reminded that our native New England asters are not considered to be asters anymore, at least botanically. Aster novae-angliae is now Symphyotrichum novae-angliae. The former classification was based on flower appearance, now replaced by DNA markers. It is still in the Asteraceae, the aster family.

Another plant, mile-a-minute, has undergone several name changes during the time that I have tried to control it at Crow's Nest. First it was Polygonum perfoliatum; it does have the jointed stem of other members of the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). Now it is Persicaria perfoliata, and at some point was called Traculon. Other members of the Polygonum genus have been split out: Polygonum japonica, Japanese knotweed, is now Fallopia japonica. It's hard to keep track, but sources on the internet are usually updated. The most recent version of Rhoads and Block, The Plants of Pennsylvania, has the latest nomenclature.

A final word on Latin binomials. As I was told in school: spelling counts, pronunciation not so much.

Crow's Nest: 1,000 hours

We just turned over 1,000 hours on the trusty preserve lawnmower. That sounds like a lot but that's over a period of 12 years. And an engine hour meter isn't necessarily measuring actual time; it runs faster or slower depending on the engine RPM's. Not all that time was I behind the handlebars; seven summer interns and four preserve assistants have helped over the years.

We mow no more space than we need to—just the area around two houses and barns on the preserve: some play space and work space around each building. And no more often than necessary, though it works out to a little less than once a week from April to October. We've also used this lawnmower for some "light" meadow mowing in spots too tight for the tractor and brush hog. By the end of the growing season I am certainly tired of mowing the same areas. Perhaps I should swap yards with the neighbors for a change of venue?

The 1,000 hour milestone does give pause for reflection.

Crow's Nest: Wildlife Around Us

At the preserves we are blessed to work in a place with wildlife around us. This week a fox sat and scratched on the wood chip pile across from us at the barn for as long as we cared to watch. Snapping turtle hatchlings made their way across the meadow. (The one in the photo above is the size of a silver dollar.) I opened a loose-leaf binder in the office and a baby rat snake popped out (tiny, no big deal). Kingfishers rattle by overhead. Pileated woodpeckers call. It's a great place to work.