Have you noticed this year’s bumper crop of black walnuts? Comparing notes with a few friends, I’ve learned I’m not the only one who thinks this is a mast year—a season when certain trees seem to synchronize and pour their energy into producing an unusually heavy
Squirrels
This is the week that autumn began looking a little more like winter. The thermometer fell below freezing here for the first time since last April, the wind strengthened and stripped many tress of their fall colors, the shadows are steadily lengthening as the sun tracks lower in the sky.
October has been busy, but I have been able to keep up with my visits to the park. Here's what I've seen over the past month.
You learn to banish from your mind the illusory fantasy that there is some precious, intact wilderness still out there, beyond the horizon, where wildlife can eke out a healthy existence outside the realm of our dominion. You come to see how the other species we share this planet with
In the spring most of our White-throated Sparrows migrate north to their breeding range in New England and Central Canada. The other day I heard a distinctive song signaling their return: a beautiful, wistful, slightly melancholy tune. They will be my constant companions all winter long, calling from the
Dragonflies
My camera gear finally arrived repaired and ready to go from the service center, and there's some catching up to do. I'll be putting together several posts this week time permitting. The Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa) was an exciting find. They get their name from the
Butterflies
I was surprised to spot a Monarch at the park in early October. It was the first time I spotted one this late in the year, (it's not unprecedented except for me). The monarch’s migration is famously the longest and most complex of any North American butterfly.
Thanks to everyone for your kind words after my talk at the library. I'll eventually post all the resources I used putting it together here. The past couple of weeks I have been either preparing for the talk or waiting for my camera gear to return from Hackensack
I will be conducting creekside walks at the Brandywine Conservancy's Community Waterside Gathering Sunday October 19th at Anson B. Nixon Park. This will be a 20-30 minute guided walk along the Red Clay Creek in Anson B. Nixon Park, exploring centuries of change from wetlands to milldams
I will be giving a presentation about the history of Anson B. Nixon Park on Saturday September 20 at 3-4:00 PM at the Kennett Library. Get a Free Ticket Here
This Week At Nixon Park 2025
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" from "Self-Reliance" - Ralph Waldo Emerson Trying to publish a weekly review of what I've seen at the park doesn't seem to work as well as it once did. Let's try
Dichotomous Key - Skippers at Anson B. Nixon Park 1. Wings are held open and flat at rest Go to 2 1. Wings are held vertically over the back or in a "jet fighter" orientation Go to 3 Group 2 (Spread-wing Skippers) 2. Wings are dark with white