A trip update from Bob, who is currently in New Mexico co-leading a natural history tour!

Day 4-5

Over the these few days, we visited some really neat historical sites here in New Mexico. Yesterday, we did some birding at the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Here we saw a village built inside five caves. These were built 700 years ago!

Then, we traveled north to Santa Fe and to The Salinas National Monument, another amazing site, with remains of a church built in the 1300′s.

In both places, we found lots of birds, butterflies, and lizards, and even some cool snakes too – one rattler! Great stuff!

Days 6-7

On day 6 we spent most our time at the Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge (no not THAT Las Vegas). Las Vegas actually means “The Meadows.” This is sort of like Plum Island, we’re we can drive through some areas and hike in others. Lots and lots of birds there, more lizards, and a four-foot bull snake! I love it out here!

On day 7, we visited Bandelier National Monument, where a settlement was established in the cliffs about 3,000 years ago by the Ancestral Pueblo People. Along with some really great birding, we visited the array of 31 buildings and we saw our first petroglyphs of the trip.

Final Day

Well, we finished up with another terrific day! After visiting the Coronado State Monument, we travelled to Petroglyphs National Monument to see some of the 24,000 drawings etched into the rocks 400-700 years ago. This image of a macaw suggests they were trading with other groups to the south. We completed the day at the Rio Grand Nature Center, where our 4th roadrunner of the day put on a great show. In our final day we went over the 150 bird species mark!  We had a wonderful final dinner at Old Town in Albuquerque. After a fantastic trip we are all headed home tomorrow.

A trip update from Bob, who is currently in New Mexico co-leading a natural history tour!

Wow! Another great day at Bosque del Apache with lots of great nature sightings. We added another 30 something species to the list, including a peregrine falcon and Bullock’s Oriole.

Yesterday we headed farther south to Elephant Butte State Park, which surrounds the state’s largest reservoir, before heading up and over Emory Pass at 8,228 feet. At that elevation, we found birds like mountain chickadee and Clark’s nutcracker.

We’ll be further exploring this southern area for the next few days – stay tuned!

A trip update from Bob, who is currently in New Mexico co-leading a natural history tour!

Our New Mexican birding trip began today as we drove from Albuquerque south to Socorro, and the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge. This 57,000 acre refuge sits at the northern edge of the Chihuahuan desert and straddles the Rio Grande. Water from the river is diverted into a series of ponds, which attract all kinds of bird species. A 15 mile loop road affords wonderful views of these ponds and the amazing plants and animals living in, and around them. In the two hours we spent there today we saw 63 different species of birds, two snakes and a couple of mule deer. We’ll be back again tomorrow to see what others we can add to our list.

Death Valley Trip Highlights Days 2- 6

This is the second post from Bob as he leads a trip to Death Valley with Mass Audubon’s Tours.

The geology and topography combine to make breathtaking landscapes throughout Death Valley National Park. This is a beautiful spot called Zabriskie Point. As the sun rises, it lights up the Panamint Mountains in the background.

From 6,400 ft. we spy between the peaks and to the basin below – Badwater, at 282 ft. below sea level.

Wildrose Canyon on the west side of the basin. Here at about 8000 ft. we visit the charcoal kilns, built in 1877. They are a relic from past days of mining and smelting in the area. The Pinyon Pine trees were cut and burned to make charcoal for the Modock Mining Company. Today, ten kilns stand side by side in perfect symmetry, and still give off the scent of charcoal.

Sunrise at the Mesquite Dunes provides interesting light on the ripples and newly forming dunes. The winds coming off riverbeds pick up the small particles of sand. When they meet up with winds from the North, they swirl around and deposit the sand at this location. Lots of beetles, small mammals, lizards and side-winders make this their sandy home.

A look from Dante’s View. Here we’re at 5,500 feet and looking down onto the salty basin below. The mountains on the left side are where a couple of the previous pictures were taken. It’s often windy and quite cold here, but it was quite beautiful on this particular morning. In fact, we saw a rattlesnake out sunning on the edge of the hill.

As we end our time at Death Valley and begin to head back to Las Vegas, we make a stop at Red Rock Canyon. Here we find the Joshua Tree and a number of very colorful rock formations. Many birds along with snakes, lizards, and the desert tortoise live in and around the Red Rock National Conservation Area.

Interested in Mass Audubon tours, learn more! I’ll be back with more updates on spring at Wildwood soon!

A dispatch from Bob as he leads a trip to Death Valley with Mass Audubon's Tours.

Today we began our Mojave Desert adventure with a visit to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Along with the many birds and other animals we saw, were these spring fed pools. They contain crystal clear water that is 87 degrees every day of the year. They are the home of the desert pupfish, a small, colorful fish found no other place on the planet. In fact, some species of pupfish live in only one pool. The pool pictured here is about 40 long, 25 feet across and 15 feet deep.

Howdy Folks!

It certainly has been an interesting winter so far, hasn’t it?

I can’t help feeling excited as we draw nearer towards the summer months. There is still a thin coating of ice left on the ground, but the days have been bright, sunny, and rather mild. Purple finches, black-capped chickadees, and white-breasted nuthatches have been singing melodiously in the trees, while at night, I have been hearing the haunting calls of the barred owl as well as a rather spooky sounding eastern screech owl.

Walking in the forest incites such a sense of wonder. As I roam around the sanctuary, it is difficult not to smile as you see the small sprigs of wildflowers poking out from underneath a patch of ice.There is a wonderful sense of joy that I get hearing the scurrying of squirrels and chipmunks amongst the snow-covered leaves. Already, it smells like summer. The pine needles on the ground have been heated long enough by the sun to release their fragrant aroma, a smell that takes me back to my very first year at Wildwood.

The deer have been drastically more active as the snow continues to melt. Surely, the know that soon spring will be here. The gardens will be turned over soon, allowing last year’s plants to return their nutrients to the earth and help ensure another excellent harvest. I can only hope that we have enough hands available to help take in the wonderful bounty that is our gardens.

Spring is almost upon us, and with it, the promise of another amazing camp season. I dearly hope to see all of you there again.

Get up, get out, and enjoy nature!

-Johnathon

Howdy Folks!

I just returned for a trip to a few spots in Texas for the holidays, and boy am I exhausted! I’m quite excited to be back after a nice holiday season and hope that everyone had a wonderful month of December.

While in Texas, I had the opportunity to explore unique landscapes and habitats as I searched for a variety of birds. Because of its location, Texas plays host to many species of birds (over 600 in the spring and summer months!). The size of the state alone allows for such geographic differentiation that dozens of different habitats are represented, making it an ideal place to go bird watching. My sightings were nothing short of amazing and I’m thrilled to share that I saw several new birds that I added to my life-list.

I began my birding adventure several hours inland on Cedar Creek Lake, a bit over an hour south of Dallas. The drought had wreaked absolute havoc on the water-level, but the birding was still pretty good. Birds like cattle egret, tri-colored heron, roseate spoonbill, and least sandpiper showed up early on with the anhinga, ferruginous hawk, American coot and mallard duck finally making an appearance as the day progressed.

I also had a wonderful opportunity to travel to the coast to bird with a group in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. I would highly recommend a coastal trip for any bird lover wishing to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of birds. Our sightings included the bearded tyrannulet, green parakeet, muskovy duck, paraque, white pelican, Leconte’s sparrow, American kestrel, zone-tailed hawk, groove-billed ani, Forster’s tern, and, my personal favorite, the whooping crane. There were also some more familiar faces (or beaks!!) such as the great-blue heron, American robin, northern cardinal, and blue jay.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip and I urge you all to consider visiting Texas.

As for Wildwood, all is peaceful as we move towards the middle of January. Still no snow on the ground, but that should change soon as the middle of winter creeps up on us. I’ve seen signs of deer everywhere, and just this morning I saw a fox run across the road (no doubt, taking advantage of the unusual weather to forage for some food). Texas may seem like a veritable menagerie, but fear not! Wildwood is still being represented by our year-round residents like the black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, tufted titmouse, and downy woodpecker. Just last night, I even heard a barred owl call!

Before long, it will be time for the sowing of seeds in the garden as we start to welcome back our amazing array of migratory birds and early spring wildflowers. I look forward to them, and I am sure that all of our campers do as well.

I’ll post an update in a few weeks to let everyone know a bit more about what’s going on up at Wildwood. Get out there and enjoy nature, everyone!

-Johnathon

Hi there folks!

Boy, it’s great to look back at this past summer and think about all the amazing things that we were able to accomplish. I want to take this time to thank every one of our campers for their help in making 2011 our most productive gardening season ever! Without your help, who knows what would have happened to all of our delicious veggies? Thank you as well to all the parents for continuing to support our program as well as our great counselors for yet another year of fun and outdoor exploration!

Camp has been rather quiet as of late, with the exception of my homeschool class. We’ve been having a lot of fun learning about wetland and forest ecology, as well as climate change and conservation. We’ve heard a variety of birds, particularly dark-eyed juncos, and come across quite a few tracks, many of which were left behind by deer and porcupine. We had a lot of snow a few weeks ago, but other than that the weather has been unseasonably, but not uncommonly, mild.

The owls have still been quite vociferous at night. This coming weekend, Astro (our property manager) will be helping the local boy scout group put up some owl boxes that they built for the sanctuary. You may think that this is a bit early, but our owls tend to start scouting out areas for nesting around this time so that they can begin to lay eggs in January-March. Later on, the scouts will be back to put up wood duck boxes out on the pond. Because these ducks are cavity nesters, this will be a great way to protect and maintain a healthy population of these beautiful birds.

The holiday season is upon us. I hope you all had a very wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones. Whatever your plans this season, remember that you will always have a family here at Wildwood. Stay safe, and enjoy the outdoors.

Happy holidays everyone!

-Johnathon

As the weekend’s weather forecast has become more certain over the last 24 hours, Mass Audubon has asked its sanctuaries to remain closed on Sunday. Please do not travel to Wildwood on Sunday, August 28! Because of this recommendation, we are delaying the start of Family Camp until Monday, August 29, and we invite registered families to arrive from 11:00 a.m. – noon. Lunch will be served at noon.

Please call the camp at 603-899-5589 to let us know if you anticipate arriving later than lunch time on Monday, and feel free to call anytime if you want to check on conditions at camp before leaving home. Bob Speare, Wildwood director, is available at camp at x3701 and is the best person to contact if you need information during the weekend.

Because we’ll be starting later than anticipated, we’ll extend camp through mid-afternoon on Wednesday. After breakfast, we’ll provide activities on Wednesday morning, lunch at mid-day, and then family packing and departure following lunch. We hope you’ll be able to stay on a bit longer and enjoy some more activity time at camp.

We encourage you to stay cozy and dry at home as Hurricane Irene passes through, and to travel to family camp only when it’s safe to do so. We’ve already heard from several families to let us know that they’re planning to arrive at camp on Monday. We want to make sure that everyone receives this message, so if you haven’t already e-mailed (bspeare@massaudubon.org or azoellner@massaudubon.org) to let us know your plans, please do so – we’ll contact by phone anyone who hasn’t e-mailed.

Hello Everyone,

Today was that special event day I spoke about in our last post. It was Medieval Day, where staff were dressed in a variety of costumes from that era and campers engaged in activities such as;

Castle Building – on the beach

Coat of Arms – creating a coat of arms for their Order

Rat Pucking – flipping a rat on a stick at a target – oh yeah!

And lots more!

Right now they’re watching the movie How to Train Your Dragon as the final touch for the day. We are playing it on the side of the showerhouse. All the campers are with blankets and sleeping bags in the field watching it – it’s great!

Both of the last two days have been really great weather-wise. In fact it was so clear and beautiful last night, that I snuck out to take a couple pictures of the stars. Of course the pictures don’t to justice to the actual scene. The Milky Way was clearly visible above the dining hall and across the pond.

Tomorrow and Friday we’ll finish up our IGs and DGs and begin planning for our closing campfire on Friday night. The session 5 closing campfire has usually been the best one of the summer, but I’ve got to say, some of our other closing campfires this year have been pretty amazing. We’ll see if this group can live up to the challenge!

For both overnight camp groups and Junior Counselors, we’ll be having our closing ceremony on Saturday morning at 10:00 am followed by dismissal – although the Jr Counselors may want to have their own brief closing together after this. If you have any questions about Saturday, feel free to give us a call. I know we’ll be anxious to see you and share some of our stories with youl. Enjoy these last couple days and let’s hope Irene changes her mind and her course for the weekend! Enjoy some more pictures from our last couple of days.

All the best,

Bob