Jewelweed is a colorful native annual wildflower that is common in damp marshy areas where it grows as a thin bush about 4 feet high. It is also known as ‘touch-me-not’ because of its curious habit of expelling its projectile seeds when the flowers are handled or brushed against. Jewelweed is a classic folk remedy because the juice of its leaves and stems is a well-known antidote to stings and rashes from stinging nettle, which it often grows close to.
Jewelweed growing along the boardwalk at Ashland
Many Delawareans are familiar with jewelweed as it is often found in shaded suburban gardens and parks, but few people realize that there are two species and they usually grow right next to each other! The most common is spotted jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), which is also known as orange jewelweed. This has bright orange petals densely covered with red spots and a long ‘nectar spur’ which curls along the bottom of the flower. The second, less-common species is yellow jewelweed (Impatiens pallida), which is also known as pale jewelweed. This has larger, yellow flowers with only a smattering of red spots and a shorter nectar spur which dangles downward. The leaves of yellow jewelweed have more veins and are more deeply toothed than those of the orange jewelweed. In my experience, spotted jewelweed outnumbers yellow by about 5 to 1.
Side by side views of spotted (left) and yellow (right) jewelweed showing the differences in petal pattern, the length and angle of the nectar spur, and leaf venation
Jewelweed is pollinated by both hummingbirds and bees and watching these insects crawl into the depths of the flower to access the nectar pooled up in the spur is a fun way to spend a sunny afternoon! If you’re very lucky you may get to see a hummingbird feeding from the nectar spur.
A bee burrows into a jewelweed flower in search of nectar
The bee’s back is now coated in pollen from the pollen stalk dangling above it. The bee may now pollinate the next jewelweed it enters!
Both jewelweeds have a long blooming season from late spring through the early fall and are an attractive native wildflower to plant in a damp, shaded corner of your yard to attract pollinator insects and hummingbirds.
Learn more about how you can garden for native plants and wildlife by certifying your yard as a wildlife habitat through the Delaware Nature Society
By Annalie Mallon, Ashland School Program Coordinator
Waterfalls, wild blueberries, black bear warnings, and winner of the 2018 Pennsylvania River of the year! What more could you possibly ask for on a summer trip into the Pennsylvania wilderness? Every summer the Delaware Nature Society’s Teen Naturalists head out for a week-long adventure, and these are just some of the things that were encountered on this year’s trip.
Teens enjoying lunch at the Canyon Vista Summit. Photo by Annalie Mallon
Earlier this month, the teens and leaders (Courtney McKinley, Lauren Powell, and myself) embarked on a 4-day backpacking trip through the Loyalsock State Forest in northern Pennsylvania. After stuffing our packs to a full 40 pounds each with food, supplies, and gear, we were excited to see what this week in the wild would bring us. Our plan was to hike a popular section of the Loyalsock Trail, a rugged trail weaving its way through the state forest for 59 miles. We were going to hike the trail starting at Dutchman falls, branch off of it to hike the Link trail that travels through Worlds End State park, and then reconnect with the Loyalsock, circling back to where we started, thus creating a 25 mile loop (DCNR map below).
Prior to the start of our trip we had been persistently checking the weather forecast in hopes of seeing nothing but four days of gorgeous sunny skies and no humidity. Instead what we were presented with was a forecast for severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, and damaging winds. During our drive up the PA turnpike it occurred to us that we may not want to get stuck in the backcountry in heavy rain and damaging winds with nothing but the gear on our backs. Our plan for day 1 was quickly rearranged and we decided to start our trip in Worlds End State Park at a group campsite and cross our fingers that the forecast would change so we could start backpacking on Tuesday.
When we arrived at Worlds End we were greeted by a gorgeous valley full of pines and ferns snaking its way along the Loyalsock Creek. We set up camp and decided to find a place along the creek to swim and eat. Cheerful that we did not yet have to carry our heavy packs on our backs, we found a sunny spot next to the roaring creek scattered with smooth stones and perfect sitting rocks. We swam in the cold mountain water and created small rock cairns while we ate our hoagie dinners. A perfect start to our week!
Exploring the Loyalsock and building rock cairns. Photos by Annalie Mallon.
Tuesday morning welcomed us with (shockingly) more sun. With no cell reception we took a short trip to the park visitor center to check the most updated forecast, but to our dismay it had gotten even worse! Tuesday afternoon was apparently bringing several storms and Wednesday was bringing heavy rains, winds, and possible hail. To backpack or not to backpack, that was becoming the major question. After discussing the pros and cons of the situation we changed our plans for the second time that week. We decided to hike, sans backpacks, the Canyon Vista Trail in the state park; a 4 mile loop that takes you up to an elevation of 1,750 feet with stunning views of the creek below. The climb was definitely worth it, the views were spectacular, and the trail itself meandered through a thick deciduous forest scattered with fungi, ferns, and trickling mountain springs. We enjoyed our lunch with a view at the peak and then visited the rock garden where we tested our fear of heights by jumping across crevices, and also explored caves in massive boulders.
Teens enjoying the views of the Canyon Vista Trail and Rock Garden. Photos by Annalie Mallon.
It was around this time that the storms finally started rolling in. We quickly started to make our way back down the mountain, picking up our pace with each crack of thunder that came from overhead. I truly don’t think anyone has ever scrambled 2.5 miles down a rocky mountain trail as quickly as we did in that short 30 minute stretch. Upon catching our breaths and rehydrating at the bottom of the trail we decided that whatever the forecast did or did not predict, we certainly did NOT want to get caught in thunderstorms while in the backcountry. So instead of backpacking that afternoon….
We got ice cream and went swimming instead!!
I know what you must be thinking at this point, this is SO not a true Teen Naturalist adventure trip into the wilderness. Family campgrounds with actual bathrooms, not carrying 40-pound packs on our backs, and now Ice Cream?? Believe me, we would have LOVED backpacking those 25 miles if it wasn’t for that darn weather forecast! But alas, weather is weather, so of course we visited the Worlds End State Park swimming hole and ice cream shop. The creek water was FREEZING but oh so refreshing after our fast paced descent down the mountain. The sun had also come back out so we were quite content. While swimming, we started to brainstorm some plan C options for the afternoon and evening (remember, storms and rain still in the forecast). We officially decided to leave Worlds End and head south to Ricketts Glen State Park!
If you have never visited Ricketts Glen State Park, I highly recommend you do. It makes for a perfect weekend camping trip with beautiful trails and excellent waterfalls. We found an awesome campsite (somehow we scored a site right on Lake Jean!), and set up camp for the night. Then we found the blueberries. Oh. My. Goodness. The wild blueberries. They were EVERYWHERE. Bushes just bursting with the sweetest, yummiest, freshest blueberries. We spent a majority of our time that evening picking and devouring the little berries, and once again we were not complaining that we were not backpacking.
Blueberries galore! Photos by Annalie Mallon.
Wednesday morning brought nothing but clear skies once again, so we decided to hike the famous Falls Trail in the park. The full trail is a 7.2 mile loop with 21 gorgeous waterfalls ranging in heights from 11 feet to 94 feet. We hiked the smaller 3.2 mile loop that follows two separate branches of Kitchen Creek as it cuts down through the Glen Leigh and Ganoga Glen valleys and comes together at “Waters Meet”. The sedimentary rocks that are exposed throughout the hike were formed over 370 million years ago and the waterfalls that cut through the rocks are magnificent. We spent the hike enjoying the falls, looking for salamanders, and even came across a HUGE snapping turtle!
A red-spotted newt in its juvenile Red-Eft stage and Jared holding a HUGE Common Snapper. Photos by Courtney McKinley
Hiking the Falls Trail photo by Courtney McKinley
After finishing our hike we enjoyed a picnic lunch, a small catnap on a lakeside beach, and more swimming, and then (SURPRISE!) made another new plan. We now were headed to our third PA state park of the trip; Hickory Run State Park! The campsite we chose was surrounded by pines and located next to a lovely trickling mountain stream. Unhindered (okay, maybe just a tad hindered) by the park ranger’s warnings of a “major bear problem,” we enjoyed our first lovely blazing campfire of the week with some classic scary stories and marshmallows before heading to our tents for our final sleep.
We awoke Thursday to our last day of perfect weather, and with bittersweet feelings we began to say our goodbyes to the gorgeous PA wilderness and start our journey home. Reflecting on our wild week full of last minute plans and reminiscing on some favorite Teen Naturalist trips of the past, our van ride went by in a snap and we pulled into the Ashland driveway with nothing but smiling faces (perhaps due to the fact that we did not end up backpacking 25 miles).
The Teens and Leaders next to Ganoga Falls at Ricketts Glen. Photo by Courtney McKinley
If you know a teenager, who is 13 – 17 years of age, that would like to join the Delaware Nature Society Teen Naturalists, please contact me at (302) 239-2334 ext. 120. The Teen Naturalists meet once per month, study nature, adventure outside, and go on a trip like this every August.
Migration is a fascinating aspect of animal biology. Each spring and fall, millions of birds, mammals and insects fly thousands of miles to get to either their breeding or wintering grounds. Migration can be challenging to follow however, as many of these animals migrate at night and travel quickly. There are several methods scientists use to track migration but a new collaborative method has recently emerged: the Motus system.
The Bucktoe Motus tower
The Motus system is an international network of automated towers which detect any animal fitted with a special small tag within a 15km range (‘Motus’ = Latin for ‘movement’). Since each tag emits a unique signal it is possible to track the movement of individual animals as they pass by one of more towers. The great majority of animals fitted with tags are birds but tags have also been placed on bats and large insects like dragonflies or even butterflies! The Motus network allows scientists to collect data on tagged animals to help them find out how variables like weather and the animal’s age, sex, and physical condition affect the timing and speed of their movements. It also aids conservation efforts by identifying key areas where animals stop to feed and rest during migration which can then be protected.
There are over 200 towers spread across the world, most of which are in North America (see the map on the Motus homepage www.motus.org). In the summer of 2017 a team of dedicated field biologists erected a line of towers all the way across Pennsylvania. The towers are so close together that their detection ranges overlap, meaning that they would pick up every tagged animal that migrates north or south anywhere in the entire state!
Distribution of Motus towers across PA and DE
Thanks to generous funding from the Starrett Foundation and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources via the Willistown Conservation Trust, a Motus tower was erected at Bucktoe Creek Preserve near Kennett Square in August 2017 as part of this line and has been recording 24/7 ever since! In the fall of 2017 it detected 7 thrushes, 3 warblers, a woodcock and a bat, all presumably heading south for the winter. In the spring of 2018 it detected a thrush and 4 shorebirds, all likely heading north to breed.
Another remarkable feature of the Motus system is that much of the data is open-access and can be viewed by anyone with the Internet. To see what animals are being detected follow these 4 simple steps.
1. Visit the homepage at www.motus.org then scroll down to see a map of the world with a yellow dot representing each tower.
2. Zoom in to find the tower you’re interested in (e.g. Bucktoe Creek) and click the dot. A box will then open telling you the name of the tower and its location plus the contact details of the organization overseeing it. The bottom row gives the number of tags detected by that tower (if there have been any) with ‘table/timeline’ in parentheses next to it.
3. Click on ‘table’ and a new page will open with several columns including the date each tag was detected plus the ID# of that tag (in blue text) and the species it was placed on.
4. Click on the ID# to reveal the date and place where the animal was tagged, and then if you want to explore further, either click on ‘table’ in the bottom row to see a list of towers at which that bird was detected, or ‘timeline’ to see what time the animal passed by the tower and how long it stayed. My own favorite is to click on ‘map’ to show the route the animal took!
Every year more Motus towers are erected throughout North America and they are also starting to spread across other continents. The number of tagged animals is also steadily increasing and every time one is detected it adds to our understanding of animal migration. Watch this space for updates from the Bucktoe tower!
Story and Photos by Joe Sebastiani, Ashland Nature Center Manager
What happens on a Delaware Nature Society Eco-trip? This spring’s adventure to Montana and Yellowstone featured lots of Black Bear, Grizzlies, Bison babies, over 150 species of birds, and world-class scenery. Throw in a few overnights in haunted hotels, cute mountain towns, and great food, and you have the recipe for an eco-trip to remember for a lifetime.
Forrest Rowland from Rockjumper Birding Tours led the trip. Forrest leads groups around the world, but lives in Montana. Joe Sebastiani, Ashland Nature Center Manager, accompanied the Delaware Nature Society group to experience one of America’s most wild and beautiful areas. Many fans of the Ashland Hawk Watch know Forrest as the first Hawk Watcher during our 2007 inaugural season. Now he is in charge of New World Operations for Rockjumper, and a highly sought-after guide.
Richardson’s Ground Squirrel looks like a pint-sized Prairie Dog. This one is barking at our group!
Our trip started in the short-grass prairie ecosystem around Billings, and focused on finding the birds of the region. Many prairie species are declining, and some of the rare ones take inside knowledge of where to find them. Luckily, Forrest lives in the area, and is tuned-in to where pockets of decent prairie habitat remains that supports birds.
Some of the highlights include watching the breeding displays Sprague’s Pipit, McCown’s and Chestnut-collared Longspurs as well as Long-billed Curlews chasing Golden Eagles. Curlew disdain for eagles is known right away, as they scold and chase the larger eagles, America’s most powerful predatory bird, across the prairie. Rare prairie nesting species we encountered included Ferruginous Hawk and Baird’s Sparrow. A few species I thought I would never see in my life.
Chestnut-collared Longspurs fly up in the air and parachute back to the ground on wings held high, impressing feathered and human onlookers.
We were lucky to encounter a Plains Hog-nosed Snake which allowed us some close-up looks.
After the prairies, our group ventured into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in southwest Montana. Our base was Livingston, and we enjoyed the town and hotel as much as the adventures. The Murray Hotel, downtown, allowed us to experience an old, western, authentic establishment, that is famously haunted, especially on the third floor, where my room was! After returning from an old burned-over woods containing Lewis’s Woodpeckers, and visiting a wonderful bird feeding station with Evening Grosbeaks, Cassin’s Finches, Red Crossbills, and many others, the Murray awaited. The rooms were well-appointed in Western and Native American decor. Old photos of folks dressed in long-ago outfits decorated the walls. I did not have a supernatural experience that night, but others in the group might have been in touch with the spirit world.
We visited two fantastic feeding stations, allowing opportunities to view hard to find species such as the Evening Grosbeak, a large finch.
Forrest Rowland, our Guide, enters the Murray Hotel in Livingston, with its famously haunted 3rd floor, where my room was.
Our group eagerly awaited Yellowstone National Park. Large mammals abound, not to mention otherworldly hot springs and geothermal features. Our first stop was Mammoth Hot Springs, which bubbles up boiling water, creating a beautiful cascade of dissolved limestone that reforms when in contact with the air at the surface. Said to look like an inside-out cave, Mammoth Hot Springs is a beautiful sight, combined with sulphury smells, hot steam, and swirling colors.
Mammoth Hot Springs
We took one of the longest hikes of the trip here, partially to find Dusky Grouse and Williamson’s Sapsucker. We found the Grouse by listening for its soft, low, cooing calls, produced by pinkish air sacs on the side of the male’s neck. Forrest heard it, located it, and had us making concentric circles around the bird, without making eye contact with it, until we were right on top of it, taking a seat feet from the bird. It went about its business, unconcerned by our proximity, so it seemed.
This male Dusky Grouse allowed us to sit practically next to it, as it made low, soft cooing sounds from the air sacs on its throat.
Along the walk, a few of us were looking at a butterfly, trying to identify it, when a brown figure was seen walking up a side trail towards us. EEEEK! It was a bear! We noticed it when it was about 25 feet away, which is rather close. We quickly stumbled away from it, walking at first, then moved with a little more urgency towards Forrest, who had the can of bear spray. Hearts were racing, and there might have been a little pushing, but it turned out to be a young male cinnamon-colored Black Bear, only interested in getting a drink at the nearby creek, and eating some flowers.
This mild-mannered cinnamon Black Bear certainly startled a few of us on the trail, as we did not notice it until it was very close to us.
After our Bear encounter, we moved on to some of the large, open valleys in the park to seek other large forms of wildlife. One way to do this is to stop where other people are on the side of the road looking at something. One of our first “wildlife jams” on the road was caused by a mother Grizzly Bear and her two cubs tearing apart an elk that she had just killed. As we watched them feed (300 yards away through the scope), you could see them tearing meat off the carcass…a brutal reminder there are animals here that are one step higher up the food chain than you.
For many of us, it was the herds of Bison that made the show at Yellowstone. These hump-backed, woolly cow-like creatures plod around grasslands, roll in the dirt, walk down roadways, butt heads, and move along with young calves, right in front of you. The calves are extremely cute, and allowed us fabulous looks.
In early June during our trip, it was “Cute Calf Season” for the Bison.
During our last few days in the park, continued our search for wildlife. Sightings included Coyote, White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Moose, Pronghorn, and many species of birds including Harlequin Ducks and Barrow’s Goldeneye which inhabit the fast-moving rivers in the park. One thing we missed by 10 minutes, however, was Gray Wolf. We gave it a good effort, but didn’t end up seeing them.
Coyote are apparently more difficult to see in Yellowstone that Gray Wolves. We missed the wolves, but had this Coyote walk right past us.
Finally, although it was early June, we couldn’t leave the Rocky Mountains without at least one shot of snow. Beartooth Pass, at nearly 11,000 feet in elevation, was closed to vehicular traffic up until the day we needed to cross it. Finally, on June 3rd, hours after it opened, we ascended to the top. Snow was falling, as was the thermometer in the car as we climbed. At the top, the temperature was 31 degrees, the wind howled, and we dressed in every layer we brought. We drove through canyons of snow 20 feet deep, as the road snaked its way over the barren top of the pass. Considered one of the most scenic roads in the Lower 48, it was a perfect way to cap off the adventure to the Montana and Yellowstone National Park.
The weather at Beartooth Pass finally allowed for some blue sky and clouds, after 31 degrees, snow, and high winds earlier in the day.
The next Delaware Nature Society Eco-trip is to Ecuador to see hundreds of species of birds in the Andes Mountains, where you will have the opportunity to surpass the elevation on the Yellowstone trip. From 13,000 feet down to about 5,000 feet, sample the best of birding, eco-lodges, food, and natural beauty in one of the world’s most bio-diverse countries. Sign up today!!!
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