During the naturalist training on September 27, a few of the things we saw were:

Praying mantis ootheca eggsack
Brown Praying mantis (fortune teller) eating a small brown butterfly with 1 inch spotted wings.
Monarch butterflies
Cabbage butterflies
Webworms on tips of branches

Trees
Sassafras and Dogwoods turning color
Catkins on musclewood/hornbeam trees
American beech full of beech nuts
White oak full of acorns
Black cherries with ripe fruit

Vines
Virginia creeper turning red with blue berries
Fox Grapes with ripe fruit
Poison Ivy

Grasses
Red top
Little bluestem
Big bluestem with turkey foot seed heads
Deer-tongue

Flowering plants
goldenrod
knapweed
chicory

Bluebirds and Hawks

During the walk for the volunteer naturalist training, we noticed some bluebirds hanging out on the railing of the bridge. The bird expert in our group thought they may of been a little tipsy from eating too many ripe cherries. But low and behold there was a coopers hawk sitting right above them! They weren't drunk, just scared!

Fall Birds

Look up! The birds are migrating. An American Kestrel has been hunting over the meadow below the barn for two days now. Northern Flickers are exploring for tasty worms and bugs. This one disappeared in tall grass for a while and then looked things over from a handy log.





Scott

Volunteer Naturalist Training Session Three

It is pretty amazing what you can see when you just stop. During the trainings we tell the naturalists that they are not tour guides. To teach what they love the most, and to make the most out of those 'serendipitous moments'. Well this was a perfect example. Even though the class was about weather, we couldn't help but be amazed at this moment - a praying mantis eating a milkweed bug.

Mt. Joy Barn

I know this isn't nature oriented but I love this picture. This is the progress of the Mt. Joy Barn. Hopefully it will be completed sometime in October. Please visit us on Fridays or Saturdays from 9:00 - 4:00 during our open hours and check out the barn yourselves!

Volunteer Naturalist Training

Volunteer Naturalist training started on September 6th. (If you wanted to learn more about our education programs please visit: http://www.hcconservancy.org/) This is a great opportunity to hike around and learn about the natural history of Mt. Pleasant. Today we walked the grassland loop and found many wildflowers and grasses (yes I know most of these are non-native) but they are still pretty.





Goldenrod - usually blamed for allergies, which is not true. Their pollen is heavy and falls to the ground. It is the ragweed that is to blame.

Knapweed - Grows in disturbed areas.

Chicory - It has many uses, but one of the most popular is as an additive for coffee.

6ft. bunch of grass - None of us know what it is, but we will have fun researching it!

Pears from our pear tree (not in the grasslands, but the orchard). They are hard and really good for pies, as they don't break down. But beware, add lots of sugar as it is not a sweet pear.

Of course you can find more information on various websites like wikipedia and enature.org.

Peace,

Martha