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Seasonal Appearances of life in
the Preserve
Current Sightings
Fall:
The hills come alive with the colors of Autumn. The yellows of Ash and
Birch come first, then the reds and oranges of Maples, and later the
browns and maroons of Oaks create a rich palette of color.
August and September: Black and Yellow Argiope spiders (often called garden spiders)
become more conspicuous in their large webs after reaching adulthood.
The webs have a large white zig-zag pattern in the middle
which
may prevent birds from hitting the web.
Bucks
(male white-tailed deer) descend to the lower trails and even to the
Marsh trail as they search for females (November mating season). This
makes them easier
to spot as for the rest of the year, they are hiding in the hills.
Migrating Raptors
can
be seen flying overhead. Sometimes they stop at the pond;
recent
sightings include osprey, merlin, kestrals. Even a Golden
Eagle
has made an appearance.
Winter:
When the snow is deep and the wind blows cold, porcupines
move around less and stay longer periods in certain hemlocks making
them easier to find (a little bit easier anyway).
Tracks
in the snow show the presence of ruffed grouse, turkey, mink, coyote,
fox, and other resident animals.
Spring:
The time no naturalist can miss being outside. The return of songbirds
as the males sing to form territories. Many non-resident
songbirds and raptors
may be heard or even spotted as they pass through during northward
migration.
Find beautiful wildflowers if the deer haven't eaten them.
Please don't pick 'em!
Sometimes as early as Late February, but usually the first warm rainy
night of March, the yellow-spotted
salamanders
cross the connector road as they migrate from the CIW woods to the pond
to breed. Spermatophors, tiny white masses on submerged leaves and branches can be seen soon after
migration. Egg masses appear late March and Early April.
Woodcocks perform their spiral, twittering, plumet of a courtship ritual in late March.
Wood
Frogs and, sometimes Pickeral Frogs
can be heard in early spring (late March and early April). Spring Peepers,
the smallest, but loudest frogs in the Nature Preserve can be deafening
on the bridge. Green
Frogs begin calling at this time.
Northern Brown Watersnakes can be seen congregating, courting, and mating at the bridge.
Summer:
Dazzling Dragonflies
and Damselflies
flit around luxuriant vegatation catching other insects, including
flies and all the other insects that bite us (go Dragons!).
Spring Peepers and Green Frogs
continue to call throughout the summer.
Painted
Turtles and sometimes Snapping Turtles
sun themselves on logs.
Northern Brown Water
Snakes can be seen swimming or basking.
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