The first Wings & Things Discovery Hike took place Saturday, May 3^rd at the Natural Education Reserve’s Fox Den Trail. The weather cooperated as Dr. Duke Elsner guided the group through a wetlands, across a meadow area and on a boardwalk through a cedar swamp. Everyone had binoculars for viewing the birds and the kids carried collecting nets for the insects. Some of the discoveries along the way included:

·        small brown moths (the girls caught one!)

·        tent caterpillars (this year there seem to be lots)

·        red velvet mites (the largest of the mites, still quite small)

·        marsh marigolds (beautiful blankets of these)

·        swans (a nesting pair are on the Beaver Pond loop trail)

·        Canada geese (Also in pairs and nesting)

·        black capped chickadees (their songs so clear and plaintive)

·        dead steelhead (made it past the concrete as far as the dam)

It was a great day for a hike and everyone had a good time.

The next Wings & Things Hike will be Saturday, May 10^th at 10:00 a.m., with Dr. Duke Elsner, entomologist,  and Molly McCombs, Audubon leading the hike.