|
Darke
County Parks...
Early
Morning Discovery Hike Report
8/24/11
This
week’s Early Morning Discovery
Hike had great weather, great birds and good times!
We
hiked Shawnee Prairie Preserve this
week, and it was a good thing! We
started the hike in the Parking Lot area and heard Wild Turkeys in the
distance
“arguing” as a dog barked at them.
We
walked up the lane and soon discovered something quite exciting in the
tree-tops... WARBLERS! The
fall
migration has begun and we had three species of warblers to show for it! We got many good looks at
a lovely
Blackburnian Warbler, a few glimpses of a foraging Black-and-White
Warbler and
even a quick look at another that we were unable to ID. In fact, the
reason we didn’t
much of a look at the one warbler species was due to a young Cooper’s
Hawk
swooping in looking for a meal! Great
looks (and listens) were had of this Hawk.
Later on, we got to watch as the Cooper’s
enjoyed an unidentified meal
high in the tree branches above us.
Wow!
With
all of the great birds, we didn’t
travel very far on the trails, but it was nice to hear many bird
species
singing in the trees again and to see the yellow blooms of the prairie
gardens
in front of the Nature Center. We’re
entering another season of change and with that will bring much
excitement in
the coming weeks!
Check
out our Early Morning Discovery
Hikes each and every Tuesday morning at 8am; beginning at Shawnee
Prairie
Preserve.
Program
Reminders:
Autumn
Nature Notes is HERE
The
smell of the crisp autumn air, the
crunch of colorful leaves underfoot and the near-lack of mosquitoes all
combine
to make this the BEST time to explore the Parks!
Download
Your Copy HERE
Butterfly
Day
Saturday,
September 3: 1-4pm
Shawnee
Prairie Preserve
Flutter
into the Nature Center and
explore the numerous butterfly displays, exhibits and activities. Make sure you check our
butterfly tent,
housing many species of butterflies for the afternoon.
Discover hands-on butterfly activities and
crafts for the kids! Paint
a flower pot
and plant some milkweed to encourage butterflies to visit your backyard.
Prairie
Days
Saturday,
Sept. 24 10a-4p &
Sunday, Sept 25. 12p-4p
Shawnee
Prairie Preserve and Log House
FREE
Admission and Parking!
Come
enjoy a weekend celebrating
prairies and the pioneer way of life!
See apple butter being made over the fire,
take a horse-drawn wagon
ride, play children’s pioneer games, compete in foot races and
seed-spitting
contests, listen to and enjoy live music and entertainment. Try your hand at
candle-dipping, tinsmithing
and more! Take a
stroll through the 18th
century encampment and watch a tomahawk & knife throwing
competition. What’s
a festival without food?! Browse
local non-profits food booths offering
anything from sweet potato fries to hamburgers to ‘coyote’ stew! There is truly something
for everyone!
See
you on the Trails!
Robb
& DCP Staff
Read
this with links at Darke County
Parks
|
