The purpose of this feature is to give scout leaders, educators and naturalists an idea of some of the natural events coming up each month.  We will try to cover a variety of natural events ranging from sky events to calling periods of amphibians, bird and mammal watching tips,  prominent wildflowers and anything else that comes to mind.  We will also note prominent constellations appearing over the eastern horizon at mid-evening each month for our area for those who would like to learn the constellations.  If you have suggestions for other types of natural information you would like to see added to this calendar, let us know!

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Notes From April 2019

In April I spent quite a bit of time rebuilding and repairing the observatory that I moved from Franklin, Tennessee. I poured the concrete foundation for the pier in November, but only disassembled and moved the obervatory last month.  The long days outside were hard work, but I got to see a lot of natural world in that time. I've recorded ten species of frogs and toads so far this year around the house and pond, and expect to record several more. Black-and-white Warblers were common in the woods near the observatory, and Common Yellowthroats called from the wet areas of the field. I had a pair of Barred Owls that called every afternoon. On April 28th I was driving back around the pond towards the house when I saw 5 tiny ducklings crossing the road in single file in front of me. I guessed that their mother had already crossed. When they saw my car, the ducklings reversed course and exited back down the pond bank, all single file.  I crept by them and, looking back, saw the mother Wood Duck fly back to join them.

A pair of Red-winged Blackbirds nested in the cattails on the south side of the pond. I took the images below on April 14th.

The Kephart Prong Trail crosses over the Kephart Prong of the Oconoluftee River several times. I managed to drop my cell phone directly into the rapids at one of the crossings, and though I waded in after it, couldn't locate it.

Wildflowers were abundant along the trails. The lower trails were bordered with White Trillium and Painted Trillium. Along the upper reaches of the Grassy Branch trail large areas along the trail were carpeted with Spring Beauties and Yellow Trout Lilies. Boott's Sedge, Carex picta, was also flowering.

The trails passed through territory after territory of Black-throated Green Warblers and Black-throated Blue Warblers. Also heard were Winter Wren, Brown Creeper and Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Recommended:  The Frogs and Toads of North America, Lang Elliott, Houghton Mifflin Co.