We're back with a bang! Bright colors and dirty birdies seemed to be the theme of our latest outing at the Goose Pond Mountain State Park Created Wetlands boardwalk in Chester. Five families joined us for our after school "Start of the School Year" celebration. Big kids enjoyed frolicking after spending their day at their desks, everyone set out to find creatures to examine as they cling to the last few days before the hard frosts of autumn.
Due to the fact that there has been hardly any rain, we were able to walk right up to seeding cattails on the dry bed of the first pond. Sebastian and Josh worked as stewards of Goose Pond and released cattail seeds into the rays of the late afternoon summer sun.
As we walked along the boardwalk to the other two ponds, someone spotted a large grasshopper munching on leaves. It was so large that even our toddlers could see it. Ginny had no trouble pointing it out to Sawyer, who happily climbed the boardwalk for a better look.
As we continued walking we spotted a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar on the underside of a milkweed leaf. This one was somewhat large, but we theorized that it wasn't large enough to begin the creation of its chrysalis. We feared that it might not have enough time before the frost.
The first highlight of our outing awaited us as we left the caterpillar to its leaf. We had seen an Orb Weaver spider suspended on its web on a previous outing, and we hoped it was still there. As we neared the spot we saw it: the giant silver dollar sized Orb Weaver was still present! This large spider had a number of meals already in its web; most were pollinators it snagged from its prime spot amongst the Goldenrods. The bright yellow and dark black of its body were mesmerising, as was its size. Though this coloration might seem to draw attention to it in other venues, it blended with the Goldenrods quite well. The zig-zag signature on its web was clearly visible; it is speculated that each spider's signature is unique. Most of us didn't linger too long near this creature, but Scarlett, Acadia, Lily and Lorin couldn't seem to break away! Later, upon inspection of the photographs of the spider taken on both days, Kat noticed that the color patterns of the spiders were not the same. Could the spider seen today be a second Orb Weaver, or is it possible that Orb Weavers have the ability to change their appearance? We will have to investigate this.
Quite close to the orb weaver, Lorin spotted a gorgeous brightly colored leafhopper. This beautiful bug wore stripes of bright red and blue. Laurel had seen this before and identified it as the Scarlet and Green Leafhopper, but it was a first for many of the other Nature Strollers.
As we reached the gravelly spot between the boardwalks and the two far ponds, we noticed a rather large hole in the dirt. We speculated that this could be the site of a turtle nest that had been raided. We had seen evidence of this before at Goose Pond. Penelope decided she would check to see if there were any more eggs left in the nest, much to Kat's chagrin. She quickly became covered in dust. Josh seemed to like Penelope's idea and, as we were counting the 30 + frogs (which we thought could be newly-emerged Bullfrogs), he created his own set of "mud mittens." Stacy thought she had finally gotten the stains from the Osage Orange off his hands; now she had to try to figure out how to get those hands clean again!
Walking across the last boardwalk to the far side of the third pond, Lorin, Ginny and Sybil noticed a flock of birds flying erratically in the sky. Kat, the resident "bird nerd," looked up to see several (roughly seven in all) larger birds she had never seen before. They were a darker bluish/black with a white strip or dot on the underside of the wing (which was all we could see, as they were quite high). By the time she was able to put Lily down and snap a shot and a movie, they had flown off. Later that week, thanks to an email from a fellow birder (thanks, Kelly!!), she was able to determine that they were Common Nighthawks... out in broad daylight! Nighthawks are usually seen at dusk and mistaken for bats as they forage for insects. This was a first for everyone, and quite an exciting find!
As we neared our cars (with the pack of "big kids" leading the way), we talked about our children and our experiences outdoors. We watched Sebastian, Nathan, and Willow holding hands as they walked along the path, and held our babies as we held onto the last few days of summer. Though we look forward to the fall, we we will surely miss the freedom of summer.
