The day was partly cloudy, warming to 84 degrees, after the previous evening was blanketed with rain and high winds. Twenty-seven humans and two dogs attended.

There was an accident on Route 79 Northbound which added 20 minutes to the commute time for at least half of the participants, including the leader! Hike didn’t start until 10:15. Five boxes of nature books donated by Susan Varley were displayed and people were asked to take as many as they wanted. Read the list of what we saw here:

Liz announced that there is an ongoing project at the Arboretum at North Park, every Thursday morning to remove invasives and tag natives. Everyone is invited to attend.

The lower trail was flooded, both by the rain and a beaver dam. We had to turn around and double back.

After lunch, a few of us stop at the Butterfly Trail at Moraine to add a few more sightings to our list.

Click here to see the blooming flower list: http://www.wissahickonnatureclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Wissahickon-Jennings-Prairie-29-July-2022.docx

Butterflies Seen: Monarch, Viceroy, Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Least Skipper, Summer Azure, Orange Sulphur, Cabbage White, Little Wood Satyr, Red-spotted Purple, Silver-spotted Skipper

Photos by Kate St. John

Birds Seen:

Mourning Dove  1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  2
Turkey Vulture  1
Red-shouldered Hawk  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  4
Acadian Flycatcher  2
Yellow-throated Vireo  1
Red-eyed Vireo  2
Blue Jay  3
Tufted Titmouse  1
Purple Martin  1     Female flying over the prairie.
Tree Swallow  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
House Wren  2
Gray Catbird  8
Eastern Bluebird  2
Wood Thrush  4
American Robin  4
Cedar Waxwing  2
American Goldfinch  9
Field Sparrow  2     One sitting high in a tree and singing.
Song Sparrow  7
Swamp Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  3
Common Grackle  1
Common Yellowthroat  5
Hooded Warbler  1
Yellow Warbler  2
Scarlet Tanager  1
Indigo Bunting  3

Photos submitted by Monica Miller.

Leader: Dick Nugent

July 29, 2022 10:00 AM

Outings are free and open to the public. Bring your friends. Trails are wheelchair accessible. Wear a hat and sunscreen. Bring binoculars, field guides, water and a lunch. After lunch, those who are interested can follow us to the Moraine Butterfly Trail to add to our list of flowering species.

Directions From Pittsburgh: take I-79 North to Exit 99, New Castle/ Butler. Drive east on Route 422 roughly 5.8 miles to the Prospect Exit. Turn left (north) onto Route 528. Continue on Route 528 for about 7 miles. Meet in the Jennings Prairie Parking Lot on the left (west) side of the road. (Not the Environmental Center).

Our picnic to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the club, was a perfect day. The weather was a bit chilly in the morning but the sun came out and it was in the 70’s with a slight breeze. Heavenly! Most of us walked the trail to the ponds and saw a nice variety of birds and butterflies and a few plants too. See our list here: http://www.wissahickonnatureclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/mingo-trip-notes.pdf

Around 12:45 we were back at Shelter 4 for our picnic and conversation.

Thanks to Monica, Dianne and Ryan for the photos.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather. 80 degrees and no humidity.

Over 45 people agreed it was a perfect hiking day. Read our list here:

Seven members braved the heat and humidity to see over 70 species of flowers in bloom. Read the list here.

Eight members joined the hike along Beaver Creek: Carl, our leader, Dick, Mark, Loree, Bob, Dianne, Mary and Ken. It was a sunny, hot day in the upper 80’s. 63 species of flowers were noted, along with 20 species in fruit. See the complete list here:

On Saturday, July 21, Loree Speedy and Mark Bowers led the hike along the bike trail at Duff Park.  We entered from the new parking lot on Route 22. Click here to see the list of plants we admired along the way.  Thanks to Mark for submitting his photos.  Other photos by Dianne Machesney.

Witch Hazel in Bud

Spikenard

Jumpseed

Joe Pye Weed

Helleborine