On the Trails of IES

Trails

• Perhaps tomorrow the lotus in the Gifford Gardens will bloom.
• Equally interesting were the nearby pitcher plants.
• A treat at the start of the Sedge Meadow trail was seeing a brown thrasher.
• Not much farther along was a bright eastern comma, so called for the mark on its hind wing below. (No, it doesn't possess a serpent's head, that's just a stick behind it...)
• Goldenrods stood out against the little bluestem grass.
• A line of puffballs ran across the side of the 2nd Old Hayfield.
• Mushrooms were in number along the Wappinger Creek Trail still moist from the recent rains. Flat, sunburst, and puffball were some of the forms.
• In the Old Gravel pit I paused to follow the bark tapping of a foraging bird. Then was when the warblers came through...
• Quite a while later I emerged dazed and confused to the comforting view of the Gifford House across the Little Bluestem Meadow.
• The view to the south was nice too.

In the Fern Glen

• Last week a slightly disheveled blister beetle was hanging out on enchanter's nightshade.
• I noticed that a mite was clinging to it. I'm sure there was something on the mite, too.
• Bottle gentian has been along the path around the pond.
• Groundnut was blooming right at the entrance to the path
• Mushrooms were not restricted to the Wappingers Creek Trail...
• I thought I had an albino bee, but I believe it was just covered with jewelweed pollen.

Butterflies

• 1 Black Swallowtail
• 31 Cabbage White
• 5 Orange Sulphur
• 2 American Copper
• 3 Eastern Tailed-Blue
• 5 Great Spangled Fritillary
• 16 Pearl Crescent
• 2 Eastern Comma
• 1 Red Admiral
• 11 Monarch

Birds

• 2 Chimney Swift
• 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker
• 2 Downy Woodpecker
• 2 Northern Flicker
• 2 Eastern Wood-Pewee
• 2 Eastern Phoebe
• 2 Red-eyed Vireo
• 9 Blue Jay
• 3 American Crow
• 1 Common Raven
• 1 Tree Swallow
• 13 Black-capped Chickadee
• 4 Tufted Titmouse
• 3 White-breasted Nuthatch
• 1 Carolina Wren
• 32 American Robin
• 5 Gray Catbird
• 1 Brown Thrasher
• 1 European Starling
• 2 Cedar Waxwing
• 1 Chestnut-sided Warbler
• 1 Magnolia Warbler
• 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
• 1 American Redstart
• 1 Scarlet Tanager
• 4 Eastern Towhee
• 2 Field Sparrow
• 1 Baltimore Oriole
• 2 House Finch
• 2 American Goldfinch

Moths

• 1 Hummingbird Clearwing
• 2 Snowberry Clearwing