Goose Pond Mountain Created Wetlands, 13 April 2007

Well, it was a bit colder than we originally thought... and the wind was really blowing!! Four families braved the cold, though, at our outing at Goose Pond Mountain today. We saw some wonderful things today, despite the cold and wind. We were fortunate enough to see an American Kestrel, and it seemed to love this weather! The American Kestrel is North America's tiniest hawk, and has beautiful blue, white, black, and rust colored hues in beautiful patterns on it's body. We witnessed it doing the most amazing aerial acrobats. It was hovering and dipping and soaring above the boardwalk, performing death-defying feats we thought only hummingbirds could do.

Today, Laurel brought her nets, and Sho, Acadia, and Camille dipped them into the chilly ponds to see what they could catch. Sho, with mom's help, was a pro... he caught a water strider and a dragonfly nymph... and that net is almost as big as he is! He helped Laurel photograph some of his findings. Camille and her dad tried their hands at the big pond in search of tadpoles and water bugs. Kat waded in the water in her rubber boots to try to net some of the crayfish the Nature Strollers had caught at the very same place just two days before, but she had no luck. We did catch a fish, a large tadpole, and a few snails, and we enjoyed looking at them close-up. We can't wait to go back gain when the weather warms up... the ponds here at Goose Pond are perfect for children to get up-close and personal with aquatic life!