A Gathering of Garter Snakes
Week of April 23, 2023 – April 29, 2023 by Bridget Jones, Environmental Educator Warm spring weather has finally come to Central New York, and with it, life in the forest has burst into full visibility. Emerging wildflowers transform the world with their vibrant colors, while animals returning from migration or hibernation bring sound and motion to the woods. It seems like every day brings an encounter with a new [...]
Reptiles and Amphibians of Phillip’s Pond
Week of April 16, 2023 – April 22, 2023 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator As buds burst and birdsong echoes from the forests, a great variety of scaly and slimy critters awaken. At Baltimore Woods, Phillip’s Pond is one of the best places to find our reptile and amphibian friends. These animals are known as herptiles or “herps,” and looking for them is called herping. The water can be teeming [...]
April Showers
Week of April 9, 2023 – April 15, 2023 by David DuBois, Land Steward Water, even on small streams can create impressive changes. Just this past Wednesday rain flooded Spring Brook here at Baltimore Woods, and washed out a culvert on the Boundary Trail. This water moved cubic yards of material in short order and destroyed a section of trail, certainly a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately the hard [...]
April Flowers
Week of April 2, 2023 – April 8, 2023 by David DuBois, Land Steward Everyone knows that spring is the time for flowers, but what is so special about this time of year that allows our woodland herbs to create such spectacular displays? Spring represents unique opportunities in a deciduous forest. The only part of the year that is both reliably warm enough to photosynthesize and well lit on the [...]
Inside a Bud
Week of March 26, 2023 – April 1, 2023 (Originally published March 13, 2022) by Bridget Jones, Environmental Educator As the snow begins to melt and days get longer, I’ve been looking forward to seeing leaves start to emerge on the trees at Baltimore Woods. Right now, weeks away from the leaves’ emergence, the trees look as still and silent as they have all winter. But at the tips of [...]
Crawling Critters
Week of March 19, 2023 – March 25, 2023 by Sunny Guyette, Environmental Educator The big snow storm that arrived on Tuesday left Baltimore Woods in a thick blanket of twinkling snow. There was a beautiful calm for two days after the storm, blue skies, the sun was shining, the air was warmer, and the snow was glistening. The critters below must have known that it was a good day [...]
Hawkwatch Season
Week of March 12, 2023 – March 18, 2023 by Anna Stunkel , Environmental Educator One of my favorite signs of spring starts on March 1, when the hawkwatch season begins at Derby Hill Bird Observatory and many other North American hawkwatches. A great variety of raptors, or birds of prey, can be seen from this hill overlooking Lake Ontario.Spring raptor migration in the northeast includes hawk, vulture, falcon, eagle, [...]
Thousands of Snow Geese
Week of March 5, 2023 – March 11, 2023 by Elizabeth Suzedell , Environmental Educator One evening about a month ago, I saw a huge flock of big, white birds flying around above a distant field. They were snow geese, who are winter visitors to Central New York. I decided to head over in their direction. As I got closer, I saw that there were hundreds of snow geese landing [...]
Camper Perspectives: Memories from Winter Break Camp
Week of February 26, 2023 – March 4, 2023 by Bridget Jones , Environmental Educator This week, students from across the Syracuse area came to Baltimore Woods for Winter Break Camp. At the heart of the camp experience is the chance to learn about nature through free play and exploration. As an Environmental Educator and camp counselor, I love seeing the campers experience moments of discovery and connection with nature. [...]