Nature Strollers

The mission of the Nature Strollers is to support parents and grandparents in their role as primary interpreters of nature for their families; to provide opportunities for families to enjoy unstructured time outdoors; to familiarize families with local trails, refuges, sanctuaries and preserves; and to develop networks among families with a common interest in nature.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Kenridge Farm, 24 April 2007

Laurel reflects on our outing at Kenridge Farm...

Perfect weather greeted the Nature Strollers for their April hike at Kenridge Farm, part of the Museum of the Hudson Highlands. Twenty families rolled out of the parking lot and onto the trails where we were immediately greeted by the acrobatic flight of tree swallows. Many strollers got the opportunity to see these birds perched in the sun and see the iridescent blue color the sun’s rays create on their feathery backs.
As we approached the chain of ponds, we heard a distant trill. Ahead we would find the once-a-year gathering of American Toads. These amphibians have thick, bumpy skin that allows them to spend the majority of their life on land, but once a year they return to the pond to lay their chains of jelly-like eggs. The trilling sound is made by the males inflating a sack beneath their chin and is one of the more beautiful frog sounds of spring. We were lucky to visit during this week and got to see dozens of males (smaller) and females (larger). Necklaces of eggs, black on top and white on the bottom, lay draped over the pond’s bottom. We caught a male toad for a close up look. The kids had a good time touching him gently with one finger.

A sweep of the net in a smaller pond pulled up bullfrog tadpoles that had spent the winter in the muck at the bottom of the pond. Bullfrog tadpoles can take up to two years to transform into adults. All the children enjoyed peering into the container to watch this large tadpole swim. In another netfull we collected a backswimmer, an aquatic insect that swims on its back, one pair of legs propelling it through the water like a set of oars. We also found a pond snail.

Muskrats scampered through the straw-colored cattail stems on the banks of the ponds, sliding into the water when we approached. We saw their cattail muskrat houses and feeding platforms easily as the vegetation had died back over winter and exposed them to view.
Several nature strollers pointed out two basking northern water snakes and were able to get good pictures of the pair.
Mourning cloak butterflies joined us along the path to the far pond. These brownish black and yellow butterflies overwinter as adults, sheltering under the bark of trees. Cabbage white butterflies were out in profusion. We caught a male and a female for the kids to view. A red tailed hawk circled overhead. Unidentified fish swam under the water, giving us a new challenge for a future trip. The good company, fresh air and exercise coupled with wonderful sights and sounds left us all satisfied with our morning outing and looking forward to the next one in May.




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