After a short and mild winter and an unusually warm beginning of spring it is no surprise that some of Montour Preserves woodland wildflowers are showing up early this year. One great example of this early bloom is bloodroot which is in full bloom at the preserve. Bloodroot can be recognized by its large white flowers and leaf which wraps itself around the stem in early spring. This showy spring blossom is aptly named for the orangish red sap that flows from the root and stem of the plant which has been used in a variety of ways in the past. Native Americans used bloodroot sap both medicinally and practically for a dye for face painting and clothing, and as a cough medicine. In the early 1980’s bloodroot extract called Sanguinaria, became somewhat famous as a first line of defense against gum disease and some prominent members of the dental community believed this extract to be as influential in plague fighting as fluoride had been to tooth decay. Don’t miss out on the wonders of early spring; remember our woodland wildflower walk is scheduled for Saturday April 28th from 1:30-3:00p.m.
A Bloody Secret
March 30, 2012 at 11:55 am (flowers, Montour Preserve, native plants, nature, observations, outdoors, Pennsylvania, plants, programs, seasons, wildflowers)
Sappy Days
March 2, 2012 at 3:17 pm (Activities, education, history, Montour Preserve, nature, outdoors, Pennsylvania, plants, seasons, sugaring, trees, Uncategorized)
Those buckets hanging on trees can mean only one thing:
Sap buckets adorn maple trees at Montour Preserve
it’s maple sugaring time. Join us at PPL’s Montour Preserve on Sunday, March 4 as we take you from sunshine to syrup at our second and final maple sugaring open house of the season. Programs begin indoors at noon, 1, 2 and 3 p.m.
Outdoor demonstrations continue until 4 p.m. This is a fun program for the entire family, so join us for some sappy days.
Bill Russell to lead mushroom program at PPL Energy Information Center
September 23, 2011 at 1:06 pm (education, plants, Susquehanna Riverlands)
Tags: Bill Russell, mushrooms, Susquehanna
Marvelous Wild Mushrooms of PA
Sunday, Sept. 25
1:30-3 p.m.
Susquehanna Energy Information Center
Presented by: Bill Russell, author
Prompted by rainy weather, mushrooms seem to pop up overnight in gardens, fields and forests. Some are colorful, others drab. They grow in a variety of fantastic shapes and can be difficult to identify. Bill Russell, author of “Field Guide to Wild Mushrooms of Pennsylvania and the Mid Atlantic,” will help unravel the often confusing world of mushroom identification. The program will begin indoors with a slide show on wild mushrooms of Pennsylvania. Then we’ll head outside for a mushroom identification walk.
Wine & dine
August 25, 2011 at 8:00 am (birds, mammals, Montour Preserve, native plants, nature, observations, outdoors, Pennsylvania, plants, seasons, wildlife)
Clusters of dark purple grapes hang hidden below large green leaves. These wild grapes are ripening and disappearing as they do so. Some tumble to the ground, pried loose by a gust of wind. Others are gobbled up by a wide variety of hungry birds, raccoons, opossums, skunks and red foxes. There are few plants that feed as many different species of animals as wild grapes.
Ripening wild grapes
The Eyes Have It…
August 19, 2011 at 5:25 pm (butterflies, insects, Montour Preserve, nature, observations, Pennsylvania, plants)
Buckeye Butterfly
…at least when it comes to these colorful butterflies. Those large eyespots on the slightly scalloped wings of common buckeyes act to scare off predators. These butterflies are quite common right now, particularly in low vegetation, where there is abundant plantain. Male buckeyes perch on low plants or bare ground, watching for female buckeyes to fly by. From time to time, a male buckeye will fly off to check on nearby insects.
It’s All Relative
July 21, 2011 at 10:08 am (flowers, Montour Preserve, nature, observations, outdoors, Pennsylvania, plants, wildflowers)
Large pink and white, bell-shaped flowers poke through the green vegetation along roads and in fields this time of year. Look closely and you will find them attached to a twisting vine. This is hedge bindweed, also known as lady’s nightcap, bell bind, woodbind, and devil’s vine. Although the nightcap
Hedge Bindweed
refers to the flower shape, the binding alludes to its ability to twine around other plants for support. White lines on the flower direct bees into the deep throat of the flower. Sometimes considered a nuisance because of its fast growth, it has a cousin that is much more highly thought of. The tuberous-rooted bindweed appears on tables all across North America. We know it more commonly as the sweet potato.
Martins Creek’s kestrels
June 7, 2011 at 5:05 pm (birds, birds of prey, Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, plants, Uncategorized)
Tags: American Kestrel, birds of prey, Martins Creek, Paul karner
PPL’s Martins Creek Preserve was pleased to host Paul “Birdman ” Karner this Saturday for an educational program about his work with the American kestrel. Paul, a federally licensed bird bander, has been working with birds of prey since the late 70′s and has placed over 100 kestrel nesting boxes in the Lehigh Valley.
Everyone enjoyed hearing stories of how Paul got interested in bird banding a long time ago- back when he had a full head of hair (his joke, not mine) and how he has developed that passion into a significant database on the population and nesting habitats of this beautiful raptor. He shared with us many successes and challenges and described several pairs of kestrels he has followed through the years.
Attendees were able to watch Paul band three kestrel chicks from a nest box adjacent to the PPL Martins Creek power plant. These chicks, judged to be only a week old, can now be tracked because of their unique identification band.
We look forward to inviting Paul back again soon!
A Touch of Blue
May 4, 2011 at 2:38 pm (Montour Preserve, native plants, nature, observations, outdoors, Pennsylvania, plants, seasons, Uncategorized, wildflowers)
Bee is for blue(bells)
Goose Woods Trail at Montour Preserve has the blues. Virginia bluebells are at peak bloom now and creating a patch of pale blue that is striking. Not only do the blossoms attract visitors but the bees are enjoying a sip of nectar from the trumpet-shaped flowers. These flowers should last at least another week or so.
Woodland Dilemma
April 26, 2011 at 3:33 pm (birds, flowers, migration, Montour Preserve, native plants, nature, observations, outdoors, Pennsylvania, plants, wildflowers)
Dutchman's breeches look like miniature pantaloons hanging in the breeze.
This time of year it is difficult to know whether to look down or up. On the forest floor spring woodland wildflowers are lovely treasures with brand new blossoms. Trout lily, Dutchman’s breeches, spring beauty, Virginia bluebells are a few that are blooming now along Goose Woods Trail at Montour Preserve. This weekend these wildflowers should reach peak bloom. Overhead, recently returned birds are showing off their colors. Several species of warblers, rose-breasted grosbeaks and the first Baltimore orioles add both sight and sound to woodlands that have wakened from their winter dormancy.
Arbor Day program highlights American chestnut restoration
April 18, 2011 at 1:18 pm (conservation, education, history, Lake Wallenpaupack, plants)
Tags: American chestnut, Arbor Day, Lake Wallenpaupack
Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday of April, and is the perfect time to celebrate some successful experiments of a tree native to North America. Join us for a presentation on the restoration efforts to save the American chestnut at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at PPL’s Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center.
Local foresters Robin Wildermuth and Josh Flad, along with other volunteers, have assisted the American Chestnut Foundation in efforts to breed a blight-resistant line of American chestnut to re-establish this tree in our native forests. The presentation will review efforts to locate surviving local chestnuts, produce “back cross” seedlings through controlled pollination and test these seedlings in a local orchard. The orchard will contribute regionally adapted parent trees to restore the chestnut to its former range, which included the Pocono Plateau.
For directions to this event, please visit www.pplpreserves.com, click on “Lake Wallenpaupack,” then select “Directions.”
