The Sunday Walk in the Park

This week's Sunday walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park features some more blooms, a pair of turtles sunning, and my friend Wade Asper heading off to start the season's first haying.

The Arrowwood Viburnum along the Dykeman Walking Trail is in full bloom

More Blackberry blossoms in the wetland

Two Painted Turtles sunning in the bog pool

Wade heads off to start the season's first haying

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Little Ramble

I did a brief ramble in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park this morning, getting it in before the heat settled in for the day. We're getting in to the 80s this afternoon, but while I was in the park it was in the mid 70s with a pleasant breeze blowing. Lots of flowers, a Song Sparrow, and a Painted Turtle sunning on a rock in the north duck pond were the chief subjects today, plus a panoramic shot of the pond from my favorite bench under the Kentucky Coffee Tree. It was all very laid back!

The Multiflora Roses are adding their sweet scent throughout the park

This Painted Turtle actually let me get quite close

My favorite view in the park

Daisy Fleabane along the trail in the wetland

A Song Sparrow singing away

Yellow Wood Sorrel along the trail in the wetland

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

This Week's Sunday Walk in the Park

So this weekend is the unofficial start of the Summer season, being Memorial Day weekend, but you wouldn't know it - it's overcast and gloomy, threatening rain, and cooler than the seasonal average. But it's certainly lush enough for Summer, and there are plenty of May flowers in full bloom. This morning's weekly walk in the Dykeman Spring Nature Park was proof of that.

Stork's Bill blooming along the Dykeman WalkingTrail

Yellow Flag in the marsh by the ball fields

Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the Dykeman Trail...

After 10 years I still haven't figured out what this plant is

A female Redwinged Blackbird keeping a wary eye on me by the north duck pond

Blackberry blossoms up on the meadow

 © 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Up One Creek and Down the Other

I decided to follow the local creeks today, out into farm country along Burd Run via Fogelsonger Rd. and back into town along Middle Spring/Branch Creek. And along the way there were definitely things to see.

I started in the Burd Run Riparian Restoration park in hopes of getting another shot at that Green Heron, and sure enough there it was, fishing in the collection pond. It caught one frog and ate it right there, and then caught another and flew up to eat it on a tree branch over the creek, which allowed me to get much closer. I spent about a half hour with that bird and took close to 30 shots, and ended up using the last one.

Of course I also found cows along Fogelsonger Rd. And I got surprised going back down North Earl St., where a very large Pileated Woodpecker flew into a tree right in front of me and proceeded to pry bark off in search of tasty bugs. He completely ignored me, so I got pretty close and shot another 20 or so photos. This ended up being a very productive hike!

The Green Heron strikes a pose

Burd Run at Fogelsonger Rd.

Holsteins on Fogelsonger Rd.

Daisy Fleabane by Middle Spring Creek

The Pileated Woodpecker digging for lunch

A Yellow Poplar, also known as Tulip Poplar

The flowery, and shady, banks of Branch Creek

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Visit to the Brookside Wetland

I went to visit the Brookside Ave. wetland today because I hadn't gone there since I switched to shooting in RAW. It being May, I was hoping for butterflies, but it was a little chilly and fairly windy, and no butterflies were out in those conditions. But I did get some good landscape shots, and a Tree Swallow portrait. And on the way home I found two kittens playing on a farm. So it was worth the trip!

A view of part of the collection pond

Walking along the berm around the pond

A Tree Swallow atop its nesting box

Another view of the pond

The boardwalk at the entrance to the wetland

Two kittens playing. You can just see a bit of Mama behind the gray one

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Walking in the Woods

I felt a need to walk in the woods today, so I headed over to the Dykeman Spring Nature Park and the Upland Trail, which rises out of the wetland and heads up to the meadow. Of course, I had to go through the wetland to get there, and of course there were birds. And a Painted Turtle. So it wasn't just a walk in the woods.

Dame's Rocket in the woods along the Dykeman Walking Trail

A male Red-winged Blackbird singing in the wetland

A Blue Jay in the wetland woods

A Warbling Vireo in the Kentucky Coffee Tree by the north duck pond. It has such a beautiful voice!

A Painted Turtle and its reflection in the bog pool next to the north duck pond

The woodland stairway on the Upland Trail

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Short Walk on the Rail Trail

Today has been very Summer-like, much warmer and more humid. I went for a short walk in the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail just to be out and about to see who might also be around. I was in luck! Lots of birds flying around, and I managed to get shots of a Red-bellied and a Red-headed Woodpecker as well as a Brown Thrasher, and got an almost-missed shot of a Chipmunk enjoying a Black Walnut snack just off the trail. And of course there were cows! A few scenic shots round out the tally for the day. Take a look!

Walking down the Rail Trail

There are a lot of these boulders along the trail

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Holsteins on a farm near the trail

Chipmunk snack time!

Brown Thrasher

Red-headed Woodpecker

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

A Busy Day at the Feeder Station

I had things to do today, and it was pretty windy out, so I stuck close to home. I did aim the camera out the kitchen window at my bird feeder station from time to time, though; it was pretty active and well worth some attention.

A pair of Mallards visits my back yard every Spring; the hen was there today

A Mourning Dove was cleaning up some of the spillage the Sparrows and Starlings leave behind

And here are the House Sparrows making the mess

The resident Chipmunk also likes the mess the Sparrows leave

The Cardinals all prefer the Sunflower seeds in the flat feeder

A rare visitor, a Brown-headed Cowbird stops by to sample the leavings

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

The Long Way Home

I had a couple of refills to pick up at CVS this morning, and I figured I'd take the long way home up Burd Run, through the Brookside Ave. wetland and the Burd Run restoration project park. It seems the theme of the day was birds; the Tree Swallows are back at Brookside Ave., and I saw several Brown Thrashers in the restoration park. And as has been usual lately, the feral cat was guarding the boardwalk at the entrance to Brookside Ave. when I arrived.

The Guardian of the Bridge

Mom and Dad take the kids out for a spin on the collection pond

The Tree Swallows are back!

A Blue Jay in the Brookside wetland

A Brown Thrasher in the Burd Run restoration park

A female Red-winged Blackbird in the restoration park

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger