August 14, 2008 First snow? No, but some hail accumulated by the Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center during a summer afternoon thunderstorm. It lasted about 15 minutes with high winds and plenty of dime-sized hail pelting our cars, windows and parking lot. This picture was taken about 2 hours after the storm. Even with temperatures in the 70s, the hail remains where there's shade! POSTED BY: MEG WELKER August 8, 2008: Update on caterpillars As a follow up to my July 22 post about tussock moth caterpillars, here is a photo of the caterpillars a couple weeks later. Notice the coloration that warns predators they would not make a good meal. As you can see, they really like devouring milkweed leaves. POSTED BY: KATIE GILL August 6, 2008: Outside the classroom A Lebanon Valley College class toured the PPL Brunner Island power plant as part of their curriculum this year focused on local industry. POSTED BY: KAREN AMENT August 1, 2008 A brood of blue birds This season’s third brood of blue birds is almost ready to fledge. We counted seven new chicks in two different boxes at the Brunner Island Wetlands. POSTED BY: KAREN AMENT July 31, 2008 Pearl Crescent This female Pearl Crescent was just one of the twenty different species recorded on the butterfly survey conducted today at the Brunner Island Wetlands. POSTED BY: KAREN AMENT July 28, 2008 Dogs retrieve crowd Lake Took-A-While at the Susquehanna Riverlands hosted a demonstration of highly-trained Labrador Retrievers recently as part of a clinic on the sport of waterfowling, delighting the 30 or so people in attendance. No matter how far from shore they got, the dogs responded instantly to the whistles and hand signals of their human partners and quickly found each of the decoys that had been flung into the lake. While there was clearly a close, loving bond between the dogs and their trainer, what impressed spectators most was the obvious enthusiasm these animals had for their work. They seemingly couldn’t wait for the next opportunity to streak down the shore and plunge into the water. And while it may just have been imagination, you couldn’t help but think they looked a little disappointed when it was time to go home. The photo above shows Maverick waiting patiently for his turn to show off his skills. POSTED BY: CLEM MCINTYRE July 23, 2008 A success story On his morning drive to Lake Wallenpaupack, Fred Gast, PPL's community affairs specialist, saw an injured pileated woodpecker lying in the road. After pulling over to evaluate its condition, he thought that it might have been hit by a car and was stunned. Since the bird was still not moving after a few minutes, Fred decided to put it in a box and bring it to the center until he could come up with a solution. He didn't want the bird to be hit by another car. By the time he arrived at the lake, the bird was sitting up and alert in the box. He released it near the center and the woodpecker immediately flew to a nearby tree. POSTED BY: KATIE GILL July 22, 2008 Hungry little buggers I thought these caterpillars were monarch caterpillars, but I soon found out they are in fact milkweed tussock caterpillars. Each will eventually grow into a large caterpillar with striking black and orange coloring to warn birds that they are poisonous and would not make a good meal. They are known to feed viciously on milkweed plants, leaving a lacy pattern on them. They are also known as milkweed tiger moth. Our local butterfly expert told me that out of the 50 or so tiny caterpillars in this leaf, maybe one or two will make it to adulthood. POSTED BY: KATIE GILL July 15, 2008 Tiny toad I found this toadlet (a baby American toad) near the stormwater basin at Martins Creek during an inspection on Friday. POSTED BY: JOHN DRABIC July 14, 2008 The hustle and bustle of nature It's summertime and everyone is running around making plans. Sometimes it's nice to take a break and observe nature. I spent some time watching the environmental gardens this morning. The activity is never-ending! Baby frogs are getting acquainted with their newly formed legs. Red spotted newts are hanging out in the bottom of the water garden while water striders skip along the top of the water. Dragonflies land on water lilies while cabbage butterflies and bumblebees flutter about in the milkweed. It's amazing what you see when you stop and smell the flowers. POSTED BY: KATIE GILL July 3, 2008 Up, down, all around It was easy to walk right past this nest of the Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), which was built at the base of a tree struggling out of a rock out-cropping. It was less than two feet off the ground and made of leaves, twigs and lined with fine grasses and feathers. As you go birding, remember to look up and down. POSTED BY: KAREN AMENT July 2, 2008 In full bloom Naturalist Jim Smith (far right) explains how to identify the rosebay rhododendron found in the woodlands south of the Martic fault. The rhododendron are very predominate in the lower creek beds in the Holtwood Environmental Preserve. They are in full bloom in late June and early July. Come enjoy them! POSTED BY: KAREN AMENT June 30, 2008 A beautiful hike The native rhododendron are in full bloom in stream bed hollows at Kelly's Run and Mill Creek at the Holtwood Environmental Preserve. What a treat for tomorrow morning's scheduled hike. As we wander up the trail along the waterfalls, we’ll be surrounded by the blossoms of native rhododendron and wild hydrangea. POSTED BY: KAREN AMENT June 26, 2008 A rare sight During a school trip today at the Wallenpaupack Environmental Education Center, we discovered a Luna moth resting on the screen of the lab window. Although they are common throughout the eastern U.S., the fact that they fly at night and only live as an adult moth for one week a year, makes them a rare sighting. With a wingspan of up to 5 inches, it is one of the largest moths in North America. The kids and I truly enjoyed our first up-close look at this beautiful insect. POSTED BY: KATIE GILL June 26, 2008 Riverlands butterflies On Saturday, June 21 we held the 15th annual 4th of July Butterfly Count at the Susquehanna Riverlands. These counts are conducted by volunteers in order to monitor butterfly populations, and also serve as an opportunity to educate the general public about these eye-catching insects.  We located 31 different species during the day and counted 767 individual butterflies. The most common of the 31 species was the Cabbage White, making up nearly half of all the butterflies sighted. The highlight of the day was the sighting of an Atlantis Fritillary, a new species for the Riverlands' count. POSTED BY: JOHN FRIDMAN June 24, 2008: Wild grasses at Martins Creek The coreopsis (yellow) and fleabane (wild daisy) and the rest of the wild grasses and wildflower fields near Martins Creek are in bloom. These photos were taken along with the new pedestrian trail that is being installed by Lower Mount Bethel Township as part of a grant they received from the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. PPL provided the township with an agreement that allows the trail to join up with the Tekening Hiking Trail at the north end where the new community center is being built, as well as at the south end near the Cedars Pavilion.  POSTED BY: JOHN DRABIC   June 16, 2008 Relocation This weekend, we re-nested 10 kestrels at the Martins Creek Environmental Preserve. Seven of the birds – six males and one female – were brought into the Tri-State Bird Rescue Center in Newark, Del., and then delivered to me on Saturday. I fed and banded all the birds before placing them in the nest boxes. Due to the habitat Martins Creek has to offer, these young falcons have a great opportunity to survive to become nesting adults. POSTED BY: PAUL KARNER June 14, 2008 A rare sight During our Eagle Watch, we had a very rare sighting of a mother hummingbird sitting on her nest. This is the same nest we saw earlier this year under construction, so we knew where to look, but we were amazed at witnessing such an event. POSTED BY: KAREN AMENT June 9, 2008 Caterpillar season is here Have you wondered why there are caterpillars littered all over the roads this time of year? We are in the thick of caterpillar season here at Lake Wallenpaupack. The caterpillar pictured is an eastern tent caterpillar, which forms nests that resemble tents. They feed on black cherry and other fruit-bearing trees. The forest tent caterpillar, which looks very similar, is typically seen "stringing down" from the trees. They feed on a wide variety of species including sugar maple, ash, cherry, apple, beech and birch. Be careful not to confuse these with the gypsy moth caterpillar, which hatches last and is the smallest of the three. The gypsy moth was brought to the United States in 1869 in a failed attempt to start a silkworm industry. Escaping soon after, this moth has become a major pest in the Northeast. Many people have allergic reactions to all of these caterpillars so you should not handle them. POSTED BY: KATIE GILL June 5, 2008 Happy accident Employees at PPL’s preserves are always looking for opportunities to improve habitat for wildlife residents but sometimes it happens accidentally. When repairs had to be made to a portion of the towpath trail along the North Branch Canal at the Susquehanna Riverlands, a finer gravel was used to complete the walking surface. Local snapping turtles have taken advantage of this for nesting sites and sometimes are lined up three-in-a-row along the repaired area either digging nests or laying eggs. Unfortunately, most of the eggs will not hatch because nest predators such as skunks and raccoons will locate the nests before the young turtles have time to develop. POSTED BY: JOHN FRIDMAN June 4, 2008 Why band songbirds? Paul Karner and I spent Tuesday evening banding tree swallows and blue birds found in nesting boxes throughout the Martins Creek Environmental Preserve. Banding birds is valuable to: trace their movements during migration uncover their range expansions and contractions Monitor their population Investigate their ecology Raise awareness in the public Come join us on June 28 as band Eastern bluebirds.  We’ll be meeting at 1:30 p.m. at the Cedars Pavilion on Foul Rift Road. To register, contact PPL at 570-251-6196 or pplpreserves@pplweb.com POSTED BY: JOHN DRABIC