Photo by Kellen McCluskey | |
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A few spots are left in Saturday's Geocaching 101 program with naturalist Katey Nelson! We'll use GPS technology to look for treasure in the woods and also place a new cache of swag we create in class. Katey is director of Wonder in the Wild, a local nonprofit focused on nature play and environmental education.
The program is designed for children ages 8 and up, but kids ages 5–7 may participate with an adult. Click here to register.
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Arboretum Assistant Director Jenny Houghton was honored with the Robert Finton Outdoor Educator of the Year Award at the Maryland Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education (MAEOE) Annual Conference held earlier this month.
A longtime leader in environmental education, Finton personified enthusiasm, innovation, and excellence in the field. Honoring his memory by rewarding efforts to strive for these qualities, the award recognizes an educator who demonstrates leadership and innovation in environmental and outdoor education.
Originally trained in French and education, Jenny began her Arboretum career quite by chance. Marriage brought her to the Eastern Shore, where jobs for French teachers were nonexistent. She fell in love with the Arboretum while attending a fall festival and made a cold call for employment the next day.
More than 15 years later, she has participated in extensive environmental training and has advanced from nature preschool teacher to Youth Program Coordinator, Youth Program Director, and, finally, Assistant Director. In this role, she oversees the Arboretum's volunteer and Master Naturalist programs, writes grants and youth program curricula, and facilitates group tours, outreach, and special events. If you've ever enjoyed an event at the Arboretum, you have reaped the benefits of Jenny's hard work and organizational wizardry.
Congratulations, Jenny! Thank you for bringing enthusiasm, dedication, and a genuine love of nature to the Arboretum.
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Jenny Houghton (center) received the Robert Finton Outdoor Educator of the Year Award at the
MAEOE Annual Conference. She is pictured here with MAEOE Board Member
Gina Felter (left) and Advisory Council Member Melissa Boyle Acuti (right).
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In addition to longtime favorites like Yarnstorming, Fairyfest, and Beer Garden, several new events are on this year's schedule. Make plans now to join us!
On Saturday, April 22, celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day at Earth Day Adkins! Live music, local food and drink, and a bevy of fun activities will make this an Earth-friendly day to remember. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, advance admission is only $5! Admission is capped at 400 people, and the fee increases to $10 on the day of the event, so secure your spot by registering today.
Baltimore-based artist Hoesy Corona will bring a work of performance art that explores climate change to the Arboretum on Sunday, May 7. In dialogue with his exhibition Terrestrial Caravan, on view through August at the Academy Art Museum, Corona will present ruminations on climate-related displacement and highlight our connection to nature and the fragility of our settled experience. This event is free, though advance registration is appreciated. Click here to register.
Join flutist, composer, and teacher Carrie Rose for Breathing in Nature, a solo flute concert, on Saturday, June 17. Interweaving solo flute with recorded and ambient sounds of nature, this outdoor concert will include compositions by Rose and other classical and contemporary composers. The program will also explore the writings of environmentalist Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring and The Sense of Wonder. Advance registration is strongly encouraged—click here to join us.
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Love is in the Air and A Creeping Bird | |
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For some birds, Valentine's Day started a couple of weeks ago. Based on the number of daylight hours, not the warmer temperatures lately, birds began singing to claim territory and to attract a sweetheart. These are the birds that I have heard singing love songs:
Tufted Titmouse: The Titmouse started singing its 'peter peter peter' more than three weeks ago. Females sometimes sing a quieter version.
Carolina Chickadee: The song of the Chickadee is not the 'chick-a-dee dee dee' call that is easy to associate with the bird. Its song is a simple four-note whistle. Cornell Labs notes that the Chickadee also has more than 35 other songs and call notes.
Northern Cardinal: The male and female sing the same song. There are different versions of the song, but the two most common are a clear, rich whistled 'wacheer wacheer wacheer' and 'birdy birdy birdy.' Scientists believe that female Cardinals sing to defend the territory they share with the male, to call for food when incubating eggs, and to alert the male not to come to the nest because a predator is present.
Eastern Bluebird: On Monday, February 13, during my daily walk along John Brown Road in Queenstown (the wooded section, not by the sod farm), I counted 11 bluebirds singing their low-pitched, jumbled 'chivvy chivvy charmer' song. Females sometimes sing this call if they see a predator in their territory. Their call note is a husky 'tu-a-roo.'
House Finch: The House Finch is said to sing all year 'round, but I have noticed the males singing much more recently. Their song is a long jumble of notes. To be sure it is a House Finch, listen for an upward or downward slurred 'zreeeee,' which is usually at the end of the song but can be stuck in anywhere.
Red-winged Blackbird: This song starts with two short notes and ends in a buzzy trill: conk-la-dee or konk-a-ree or ok-a-lee or con-que-reee or whatever you want it to be.
The Brown Creeper
Whenever I see a Brown Creeper, I am thankful. It is a difficult little bird to find because of the multiple hues of brown and tan on its back and tail that can perfectly match tree bark. The white belly is hidden when the bird is pressed up against the tree.
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Ornithologist Dr. W.M. Tyler described the Creeper thusly:
"The Brown Creeper, as he hitches along the bole of a tree, looks like a fragment of detached bark that is defying the law of gravitating by moving upward over the trunk, and as he flies off to another tree, he resembles a little dry leaf blown about by the wind."
I almost always find one as it flutters from a tree to the bottom of a nearby tree to start probing for insects in the bark with its almost toothpick-thin bill. It climbs up the tree in a herky-jerky manner with frequent sideways detours until it decides to drop to near the bottom of a nearby tree to start over again. Flights between trees are short and weak. This video shows the Brown Creeper in action. Its diet is almost exclusively insects, larvae, spiders, and insect eggs, but it will come to feeders for suet, peanut butter, and small chips of seeds.
The Creeper is a slender, lanky bird, about 4 ¾ inches long with a thin, stiff tail to help keep it upright. It weighs about .2 ounces. Males and females look alike, but the male's bill is slightly longer (as if you could ever tell!).
The male and female select a nesting site, but the female builds the nest. Cocoons and spider egg cases are used to make a base for a hammock-shaped nest made of bark, leaves, plant fibers, and feathers. The nest is almost always placed behind a loose flap of bark. The male helps by bringing nesting material to the female and feeds her during nest building and incubation. Both feed the chicks.
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The Arboretum's mature forest hosts Brown Creepers from October through mid-April, and then they head farther north to breed. See their range map here. The song of a Creeper may be the best way to find it as you wander the Adkins trails. Listen for its thin, high-pitched 'trees trees beautiful trees,' which certainly describes Adkins Arboretum.
Please contact me with questions at wlsngang@verizon.net.
Instead of my usual Jeobirdy quiz, I want to recommend that you visit this website. On Valentine's Day, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology sent me an email with this title: 'How Do Birds Fall in Love?' They present several videos of amazing rituals that male birds go through, allowing the females to select the best and the brightest.
Jim Wilson
Birder/Arboretum volunteer
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