The Celery Farm & Beyond

Where are all the frogs?

   Marsh Warden Stiles Thomas called today to ask if I have noticed any drop in the Celery Farm frog population. He said that most summers, he hears or sees a frog jump every few feet along the Allendale Brook, but this year he has seen or heard very few.
   My wife and I have noticed a similar decline along the brook, and though we hear an occasional bullfrog, it seems not as noisy as years past.
   What have you noticed this year, frog-wise, and do you have any idea why it might be?
    Do you know of anyone who does annual frog counts at the Celery Farm?
    E-mail me and I will post the results of this informal survey and any information I might pass along.

  

Ace Family Screech Owl Update

As you know, I did not post much about my screech owls this year. We had five owlets, and all left the box successfully.
    Over the past three springs, we have had 14 of 14 nestlings leave the box -- not a bad batting average.
   I am working on a screech owl book, part journal and part how-to. It includes some of my old-style nature writing that reflects my love of nature
   Not sure when it will be done, or how it will be published, but I am plugging away. On the plus side, it will include some of Jerry Barrack's great photography.

Who you callin' yellow?

Local Screech Owl Web Site

   

For those in need of a "screech owl fix," I thought I would pass along a link to this Screech Owl Web site from Hawthorne.

    Has several videos, with some creative video techniques. Link is here.

    Tomorrow: Ace Family Screech owls Update.

The Butterfly Walk Report

     Saturday's butterfly walk was a great success, thanks in large part to the expertise of Tom Burr, who really knows his stuff when it comes to plants and bugs and other neat stuff (Thanks, Tom!)
    We had a group of two dozen on the 75-minute walk, and we saw at least five butterfly species (including the Question Mark above), many awesome dragonflies and plants galore.

   Click "Continue reading ..." for the list of butterflies and some neat shots of dragonflies, Milkweed Beetles and a plant or two. Seymour Drakes assures me that it is well worth the effort.

Monday Morning Mystery 071309

    What plant is this, seen growing around the CF?

    Click here to see other Monday Morning Mysteries.

Coming Tuesday: Butterfly Walk Report and Pix

     

This morning's butterfly walk worked out great, even if the butterflies weren't totally cooperative...
       I plan to post a report and plenty of pix on Tuesday.

Friday evening, from the Warden's Watch

 

Trail clear -- Butterfly Walk Good To Go

   Thanks to Deputy Warden (and Fyke President) Mike Limatola, with a morning assist from John Workman, the Celery Farm path is clear and we are all set for Saturday's Butterfly Walk. 10:30 a.m., Green Way entrance.

Trees down -- may need work crew Saturday a.m.

     The heavy rains of Tuesday night brought down several trees in the Celery Farm. While the main loop is open, you have to navigate through fallen branches.

   We understand that Deputy Marsh Warden Mike Limatola may be trying to remove the branches today (thanks, Mike). If there's too much work,  we'll do  a work detail at 8 a.m. Saturday. Check this blog before you head out.

Bring work gloves, clippers and saws. Meet at Green Way. Thanks.

   We hope you can help.  E-mail me with questions.

Butterfly Walk on Saturday

   Don't forget the Butterfly Walk on Saturday at 10:30. Details here.
   We did a couple of scouting trips over last weekend and came up with several species, including a Great Spangled Fritillary, but we will likely expand the walk to look for dragonflies and other bugs and plants as well.  A friend of this blog reports seeing a nice Red Admiral Butterfly at the Celery Farm recently as well.
     Butterfly walks require a certain degree of serendipidity. Let's hope for a sunny Saturday. We meet at Green Way.

The Bird Watcher 070909

   My column in The Record, "The Bird Watcher," is on Page L-4 of today's paper.
   This week, with the help of a behind-the-scenes expert or two,  I answered readers' questions on subjects ranging from night-time callers (see photo above) to squirrels to nesting boxes.
   Link is here.

Bird ID Help Requested

    The Meadowlands Blog today has a photo of a baby bird found in a handicapped parking spot in DeKorte Park.
     We are thinking it must be a Cedar Waxwing. Anyone have a different theory?
     Link is here.

Red-eared Sliders

Just when I thought it was safe to go into my side yard again, I recently came across this little lady using the mulch as her maternity ward.

The yard was also home to multiple Snapping Turtle egg caches this spring, most of which have been pillaged by raccoons.

   Now 'tis the season for Red-eared Sliders. I found one laying eggs in my front yard this morning, and also saw one encrusted with mud as it walked down the path at the Celery Farm's No-Name Culvert.

 More on red-eared sliders  here -- an article from the Tortuga Gazette. (What a great name.)

    As it turns out, these turtles are among the most-common turtles in the world, and huge in the pet trade. This guy is likely descendant of a pet turtle released into the wild. They are hated in Australia (story here.)

  What can I say? Kids like 'em, and they are a sign of warmer weather...

 

Save the date: Plant walk

   Sunday, August  30: Join Edith Wallace and Don Torino for a plant identification walk around the Celery Farm.

  Meet at 9 a.m. at the Green Way entrance.

Celery Farm Butterfly/Nature Walk on July 11

      Join Tom Burr and me for the annual Summer Butterfly Walk on Saturday, July 11,  from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
    This walk used to be on the Fourth of July but we moved it back a week in hopes of attracting more butterflies.
   Tom is a darned good plant man, and he should be able to point out some interesting plants along the way as well.
   Bring sun screen, big spray, water, camera and binoculars.  We meet at Green Way. Hope to see you then.
  BTW, the photo above, of a Great Spangled Fritillary, was taken last summer at the Celery Farm. If we see one of these puppies on the walk, we'll be a bunch of happy campers.
   E-mail me here to let us know you're coming, or for more information.

MONDAY MORNING MYSTERY 070609

    I guess this is kind of easy, but I like the photo.
    More Monday Morning Mysteries here.

Bat Count: Alas, few and far between

     I did my first bat survey of the summer last week, and the numbers were miserable. I saw no bats leaving the exterior of a nearby house -- a figure born out by a story by Jim O'Neill in The Record earlier this week.

  Bat counts are dropping because of white-nose fungus. Link to Jim O'Neill's story is here.

  The zero count by me is in sharp contrast with years past, where I've counted between 39 and more than 100 . I have done the surveys for several summers now.

    Here is a link to an update I did in 2007 for a previous incarnation of this blog, when I was an environmental writer for The Record. (The blog back then was called, appropriately, "Birds, Bats & Beyond.")

   What's more, I counted only three or four bats whiz silently past in the twilight sky last night, even though I watched for more than an hour -- or 20 minutes longer than usual.
   There could be several reasons for the poor showing.

    Click "Continue reading..." for more.