On the Trails of IES

Trails

• A wild giant puffball was lurking in the Gifford Garden.
• Sweet smelling black snakeroot had a formal invitation.
• A late blooming small tree is seven son flower.
• In the Little Bluestem Meadow were several orb weaving spiders, one with the remains of a grasshopper.
• A small mob of warblers passed through the Old Gravel Pit again; only identifiable to me were the American redstart and black-throated blue warbler.
• Along the Cary Pines Trail was a well used deer scrape; the sapling fought back as attested by the little blood at the top.
• The unmistakable croak of the common raven was heard along the Wappinger Creek Trail and, as usual, only a gliding silhouette behind the tree tops was seen.
• Too quick for the camera was a black squirrel behind the Sedge Meadow.

In the Fern Glen

• I ran through the Glen today, but I did stop for a leafhopper - I think. I've seen these around, but have never ID'd them.

Butterflies

• 1 Cabbage White
• 2 American Copper
• 1 Great Spangled Fritillary

Birds

• 1 Belted Kingfisher
• 2 Downy Woodpecker
• 1 Northern Flicker
• 1 Pileated Woodpecker
• 3 Eastern Phoebe
• 9 Blue Jay
• 4 American Crow
• 1 Common Raven
• 8 Black-capped Chickadee
• 1 Tufted Titmouse
• 1 Carolina Wren
• 3 American Robin
• 1 Gray Catbird
• 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
• 1 American Redstart
• 2 Eastern Towhee
• 1 American Goldfinch

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