Today’s post comes
from Katie Woodhams, our Program Manager. On a Summer Night Hike here at Fenner, she
rediscovered an awe of nature through observing wildlife and the circle of life
firsthand. Read about her rich experience, and come to Fenner for our next
Summer Night Hike on Friday (July 13), 8-10pm!
Whenever I tell people that I work at a nature center, their
first reaction is always some sort of exclamation about how lucky I am to get
paid to be outside and having fun.
While I do have fun at work, I have to tell you – it’s a rare occurrence
for me to actually get outside!
While our camp counselors and naturalists are out blazing trails, I can
usually be found at my desk, in a cubicle, staring at my computer like a zombie! You probably can understand why I
jumped at the chance to tag along for our first night hike of the summer!
As the sun sank lower in the sky giving the prairie grass
that lovely golden glow, my fellow eco-explorers and I started off on our
adventure with binoculars, field guides, camera, and smart phone in hand, loaded
up with Audubon Field Guide Apps.
We had decided that the Visitor Center needed a monarch caterpillar
mascot so our first stop was to go in search of one among the milkweed. Just as we were about to give up, we found
this cute little guy munching away!
 |
Chemicals in the milkweed that are produced as a defense mechanism do
not phase the monarch caterpillars.
Instead, the caterpillars accumulate these toxins in their bodies, which
in turn help to protect them from predators.
|
After our new caterpillar friend, Heinrich, was safe in his
new home inside the Visitor Center we headed back out to the prairie. We came upon this fork in the trail and
faced the age old dilemma about choosing the right path….Should we take that
which is most traveled, or that which looks more adventurous?
 |
| To the left, along the deer trail it is! |
As we headed down the narrow path we discovered animal burrows
and trails that we would not have seen had we taken the route more traveled. At this point my excitement was rising
and I had already forgotten all of the stress of the day.
Just a few steps down the trail we found this entire tiny
skeleton right at our feet! We
decided that it was some sort of rodent, based on the teeth. Nearby we found what looked like a
woodchuck burrow, so we inferred that this was a young woodchuck that had a
little bit of bad luck. A few
steps later we came across a dead mole and spent many minutes inspecting the
insect life that was “recycling” the little guy. Hey, I know it’s gross, but we were so enthralled by the
circle of life happening right before our eyes! In nature, nothing is wasted, and we felt privileged
to observe this first hand.
As the sun dipped below the tree line we headed over to the
field pond. I had heard that there
was a family of wood ducks out there and wanted to see them firsthand. Even though we snuck out onto the
bridge as quietly as possible, we didn’t see any wood ducks (darn!). Instead
however, we saw two mother turkeys and about 20 babies, called poults. They
were getting ready for bed and picking out their roosts along the railing of
the pond overlook. I took a video
as I tried to sneak up on them, but I decided to spare everyone all the heavy
breathing and shaky camera work….instead, look at this cute picture below! Mind you, they don’t look like this for
very long. Soon they will have
filled their cute quota and turn into lanky, awkward, and gangly juveniles
(just like people!)
As we left the prairie and entered the darkening woods, we
spotted a raptor nest of some sort at the top of a red pine. Upon closer examination at the bottom
of the tree we found owl pellets!
Owl pellets are balls of hair and bones that the owls regurgitate
because they cannot digest those parts of their prey. They are fun to pull apart and investigate, and they help
biologists deduce all kinds of information about the owl’s health and even the
types of other animals that are living in the area.
I decided at this point to whip out my fancy smart phone and
play some owl calls to try to hear if there were any in the area. We tried Screech-owls, Barred Owls, and
even Great Horned Owls, but never got a response. Maybe we were too early, and the owls weren’t ready to wake
up for the night yet! Just as we were giving up hope, we saw a large bird fly
overhead. Could it be an owl?....
Nope! It was a Cooper’s Hawk! The hawk landed right above us, and as
I played various calls of its kind on my phone, it looked around, puzzled. We watched it in awe since none of us
had ever been that close to a wild hawk before!
Throughout the rest of the hike I continued to act like a
kid in a candy store. While I
studied biology in college, and have had many memorable experiences with
nature, I still get goose bumps when I get a close encounter with a wild
animal, or even if I find a pretty flower that I have not seen before. Experiences
like this night hike remind me of why I went into this field, and why I believe
that it is so important for everyone, especially kids, to have these same types
of experiences. In a time where
one can look up a video on Youtube or watch a T.V show about nature and see
high definition close-up imagery, I am still convinced that these firsthand
experiences are much more memorable, as well as meaningful. There’s just
something about making a discovery on your own that is so much more rewarding
than having someone explain it to you on T.V. I frequently reflect on what former Fenner naturalist Joan
Brigham often stated, “Man is a part of nature, not apart from it.” Whenever I
think of that statement I feel alive, complete, and ready for my next nature
adventure!
