The Birding Cup, Shaver’s Creek’s annual fund-raising tournament was this past weekend. From Friday, April 30, at 7:00 p.m., through Saturday, May 1, at 7:00 p.m., 18 teams of over 80 birders competed to identify the most number of bird species in a twenty-four-hour period in the central Pennsylvania region. For the third year in…
The Naturalist Notebook
Welcome to the Shaver’s Creek blog! The entries here are posted by staff, interns, and volunteers, and aim to keep you informed about the programs, updates, and natural history happenings here at the Creek. Enjoy!
Settling down to sleep at 12:34 am. A good start for our team though- Saw-Whet Owl, Great Egret, Snipe- yes, really Snipe. We hope to sleep for about 3 hours before heading out for the dawn chorus! Wish us luck! Mark
Wild ginger (Asarum spp.) has been spotted along the Twin Bridges trail and various hillsides around Shaver’s Creek. Walk too quickly and you might miss it- the jug-shaped flower, found at the base of the twin heart-shaped leaves, is often hidden among leaf litter on the forest floor. Gaywings, or fringed polygala (Polygala paucifolia), is…
The Birding Cup, Shaver’s Creek’s annual fund-raising tournament is this weekend! From Friday, April 30, at 7:00 p.m., through Saturday, May 1, at 7:00 p.m., 18 teams of over 80 birders will compete to identify the most number of bird species in a twenty-four-hour period in the central Pennsylvania region. Our goal for this year’s…
A chilly and fairly quiet spring morning walk along the not-lake shore. After some initial difficulties, all seventeen of us did get an excellent view of a singing pine warbler, perched at the top of a walnut tree. Other highlights included a singing red-breasted nuthatch and purple finch and a drumming grouse. As I was…
Check out this great article from Grassroots Outdoor Alliance about Appalachian Outdoors, a long-time supporter of Shaver’s Creek: http://shar.es/m5qBC
This past week, Shaver’s Creek interns Lauren Seiler and Danny Hontz regained the title of Trail Steward Champions, but had to wrestle the belts from the previous week’s winners Alyssa Thiel and Lauren Chain (not pictured). Trying hard to keep the peace is Shaver’s Creek Caretaker Brian Sedgwick, the one who deems which interns have…
Trout lily.pdf Download this file My favorite flower Trout Lily is in bloom right now all over our forest here. This verse hangs in my office as well. Mark
A beautiful morning to be on the boardwalk trail with 21 other enthusiastic bird watchers. Highlights include singing brown creeper and blue-headed vireo, as well as good looks at a field sparrow and bluebird taking advantage of what is now “Meadow” Perez. The trail also features a nice assortment of spring ephemerals, many just coming…