Sandy Lake Butterfly Count Trip Report July 8, 2017

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

The day started out cloudy with a few scattered showers but quickly turned to increasing sun and mid-70’s. Kim and Jean, Walt and Dana, joined walk leaders Bob and Dianne at 10AM for the count. Mid-day we met up with the 8:30 AM group consisting of Glenn and Maryalice, Curt, Neil and his children, Samuel, Harvey, Ruth Ann, Rachel and Naomi. After a picnic-style lunch, we continued to the Polk Wetland to look for the Baltimore Checkerspot, which we found. 28 species of butterflies and 80 species of flowering plants were recorded . Click here to see the lists.

Vipers Bugloss Sandy Lake Gamelands

Moth Mullein

Chicory

Bouncing Bet

Bee Balm

Angelica

Sandy Lake Walk July 8, 2017 10AM

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

Notice: bring boots or old shoes that can get muddy. It’s been raining in that area the past two days and the dirt road we will be walking could be messy!!

Sad news

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

Longtime member, Joel Platt, passed away Friday, June 23, 2017. He attended many of our meetings and outings. He was our Refreshment Chair – making sure the water was hot for coffee/tea by the time members arrived and keeping our inventory bin stocked. He was a kind and intelligent man, who will be missed by all.

Joel’s obituary may be found at http://www.schugar.com/obituaries?id=1382

May 4, 2017 Meeting

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

All Members Night A Tribute to Chuck Tague.

20 plus members ( and one well-behaved dog) brought slides, photos and memories in honor of our past-President, Chuck Tague. Attendees shared a nice array of snacks and cookies as they reminisced. What a great way to celebrate the life of a man who has done so much for nature and our environment and especially for the Wissahickon Nature Club.

This was the last meeting of the season. See you in September!

April 20, 2017 Meeting 7PM

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

June Bernard presented Magical Monarchs.

We discovered interesting facts about the life cycle of these bright orange and black butterflies, their amazing metamorphosis and their incredible annual 3,000-mile tricountry migration. Monarchs begin to arrive from Mexico in our
area mid-May to early June. June provided information on
where to find eggs and caterpillars, examples of simple
equipment needed to raise and release them and gardening
tips on which nectar and host plants will attract them. We learned
how we can become citizen scientists by tagging and
releasing Monarchs for the fall migration through the University
of Kansas’ Monarch Watch program. Monarch butterflies are in
decline due to rapid loss of habitat across North America.

Trip Report: Cedar Creek April 1st

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

The rains held off and eight of us had a very successful walk in the Cedar Creek Gorge. We were delighted to meet Holly Peck, whose grandfather Werner Buker was a longtime member of the Botanical Society.
He volunteered at the Carnegie Museum herbarium for 40 years and collected thousands of specimens. Holly has all his slides, each is identified. I Hope we can talk her into giving a talk and show!
We saw 20 some blooming flowers, the highlights were Snow Trillium, Harbinger of Spring, Hepatica, Twin Leaf and Blue Bells. We saw at least 20 not-blooming or non-flowering plants, most notable were Few-flowered Valerian, Blue-eyed Mary, Liverwort, Scarlet Cup and Crowded Parchment mushrooms. We also saw several Mergansers and Spring Azure butterflies.

Submitted by Judy Stark, Trip leader

Outings Scheduled

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

Check out the May 4, 2017 newsletter for a list of upcoming outings.

April 6, 2017 Meeting

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

Doug Oster presented Getting Started Early in the Garden. . Even though he was battling a scratchy throat, Doug gave a great presentation, using lots of examples from his own home garden. He recommends all organic gardening, lots of mulch to keep the weeds down, using homemade compost and starting seeds early under grow lights. Peas were planted on St. Patrick’s Day and radishes last winter for microgreen addition to salads today. Corydalis lutea is a nice early blooming perennial. Check out his newsletter at http://everybodygardens.triblive.com/newsletters/

March 23, 2017 Meeting

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

Mike Fialkovich presented nature in Southern California. From 234 feet below sea level at the Salton Sea to just over 8000 ft. above sea level in the San Bernardino Mountains, the Channel Islands and deserts, Mike’s program showed the wide variety of nature Southern California has to offer.

Burrowing Owl

March 9, 2017 Meeting

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Dianne Machesney

The Eastern Coyote is present in all 67 counties of Pennsylvania. WCO Thomas Kline educated us on the coyote’s traits, habitat and some common misconceptions.

He had a video of suburban coyotes that had been radio-collared. They were then able to follow them at night and record their behavior. Coyotes are the number one predator of Canada geese, eating both the eggs and the young. They are opportunistic, feeding on whatever is easiest to obtain. Road kill and small mammals make up a large part of their diet. They will also eat fruit, like fallen apples and wild grapes, when available.