What's Your Nature?
Become a Nature Up North explorer to share your encounters with wild things and wild places in New York's North Country. Post your wildlife sightings, landscape shots, photos from your outings, and even your organization's events!
Baby broadwing hawk!
We spotted this baby broadwing hawk in a nest in a sugar maple tree right by the side of the Lowland Trail at the Indian Creek Nature Center. Without a telephoto lens, I wasn't able to get the best picture, but you can see the baby's pale head sticking up out of the nest. They just stared at us the entire time, perfectly still. One of the parents was somewhere nearby, whistling loudly at us. If you notice a sudden concentration of white bird droppings on the ground, look up -- that's how we found this nest!
Bird's Nest
We found this sweet little nest in the woods near Postwood Park... does anyone know what kind of bird might have made it? It's a tiny cup (2 or 3 inches in diameter) built directly on the ground in open deciduous forest, near a swampy area.
More plant sketches
Sketching plants again -- this time on the Saddlemire Trail. There were so many more that didn't fit on the page!
Plant sketches
Drawing is a great way to appreciate all the different shapes that leaves and plants come in -- here are a few of the ones I noticed at the edge of the wetland near the St. Lawrence senior townhouses.
Sunset Paddle
This week's evening paddle was full of surprises.... We saw no less than five beavers, one of whom was snacking on some tasty pickerelweed (second picture). We also spotted a river otter den dug into the bank (third picture). A gleaming orange sunset made for a fitting end to our adventure.
Waterfall Tour: Tooley Pond Road
Join us for an exploration of the many waterfalls and cascades found along the Grasse River on Tooley Pond Road in Clare. We’ll meet at the Northwest end of Tooley Pond Road, at the junction with CR 27 in Degrasse. Please be prepared to caravan as we plan to stop at several falls along the way before turning around at Tooley Pond.
Waterfall Tour: Stone Valley
Join us for a morning hike at Stone Valley! Located in Colton near Higley Flow State Park, Stone Valley is a 7 mile trail along the Racquette River. We'll hike 2-3 miles, starting at the trailhead on the east side of the river in downtown Colton and walking along the cascades and falls past the dam. The trail slopes up and down, but is of moderate difficulty with no steep inclines. Bring your friends and family! To carpool, meet at the Brewer Bookstore at 9:30 am. We'll meet at 10:00 am at the Stone Valley Trailhead.
“What’s in Your Wood?”: The green mean eating machine (emerald ash borer) and other invasive pests
What’s in your wood? Why shouldn’t you transport firewood? Invasive insects live in your firewood and transporting it could kill the forests you love. Join us at Jacques Cartier State Park for an interactive program to learn more about your firewood and what invasive pests are currently threatening North Country forests.
Nature Up North 2019 Calendar Photo Contest
Calling all North Country nature photographers!
Have you dusted off your camera yet this season? Well now's the time, because Nature Up North is once again hosting our annual calendar contest for nature photos that will be featured in our 2019 wall calendar.
Papermaking Workshop
The Nature Up North team had a blast leading a papermaking workshop on Saturday. We started out by exploring the plants around the Wachtmeister Field Station, and learning which had the best papermaking potential. Then we headed inside to make paper out of pulp made from the invasive common reed, decorating it with flower petals and leaves.