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Darke County Parks...
Early Morning
Discovery Hike Report
March 24, 2011
In a change of pace, this week’s Early Morning Hike took place at Worth
Family Preserve instead of Shawnee Prairie. In an effort to
‘Search for Spring’, the next several Hikes will be traveling to some
of our other Parks. Worth offered a nice change in scenery and
some glimpses of spring!
With the storm front that moved through the area last night, bird
numbers were a bit lower than they had been just last Saturday during
the Jr Naturalists program. We had a decent list of birds for a
cool, overcast morning with the “best” bird being the Pileated
Woodpecker that was heard (spotted on Saturday as well). There is
also evidence to suggest these massive woodpeckers may be nesting along
the creek this year!
The big excitement from this morning came in the way of the first
wildflower of spring! We found BLOOMING Harbinger of Spring(see
pic above), budding Sessile Trillium, the beginning signs of Trout lily
and plenty of other “greens” popping up... spring has sprung! In
the coming days and weeks the forest floor will be blanketed by the
blooms of our native wildflowers. This is by far one of the most
rewarding times for a walk through your favorite Park!
Check out our Early Morning Discovery Hikes each Tuesday morning at 8am
held at Shawnee Prairie Preserve.
Program
Reminders:
Bluebird Festival
March 26: 9-5 & March 27: 11-5
Greenville National Guard Armory / Fee: $1
Join the Darke Countians for Wildlife Conservation as they host their
annual Bluebird Festival. Speakers, exhibits, conservation
displays, and more will be gathered to highlight this two-day
event. For more info, please call 937-968-3514.
Hike to Health
Saturday, April 2: 2pm @ Turkeyfoot Preserve
Thursday, April 7: 6pm @ Worth Family Preserve
Thursday, May 5: 6pm @ Eidson Woods Preserve
Saturday, May 7: 10am @ Routzong Preserve
Looking to shed a few holiday “leftover” pounds? Join a Darke
County Parks Naturalist for our new Hike to Health series. We
will meet at different parks across the county and hike at a brisk pace
to get our blood pumping. If you attend all 4 hikes this quarter,
you will get a prize! Meet at the designated park for each
session. For more info, call/email the Nature Center.
Butterfly Monitoring
Fridays at 2pm
April 8 - September 30
Shawnee Prairie
Join the Naturalists of Shawnee Prairie Prairie as we hike a pre-set
route and record all butterflies seen along this loop. This data
will be collected to give us a better idea of our butterfly
population. Dress for hiking in the sun. Bring binoculars
if you have them. In the event of poor weather
(rain/storms/windy), contact the Nature Center for more info.
Read it at Darke County Parks
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