Recap of our OLLI class field trip on May 4, 2022

Much to everyone's pleasure, the rain did hold off and make a field trip possible.  We headed out from New Road onto Park Road (see map below), and birded our way to Canary Creek and the DNREC launching area on the Broadkill River.  Our bird list more or less in order of observation was:  

Northern Cardinal, Red-eyed Vireo, Black Vulture, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, White-eyed Vireo, Catbird, Common Yellow Throat, Double-crested Cormorant, Osprey, Seaside Sparrow, Laughing Gull, Great Egret (photo below), Willet, and Clapper Rail.  Please let me know what I have forgotten.

The 15 moths I had saved to photograph in our classroom if our field trip got rained out, have now been photographed in a chilled state.  Some of the little moths don't stay chilled out very long, and can present a humorous challenge as they make a hasty departure while my camera is in hand.  I will be putting their photos up on my iNaturalist page...bill6711....so you can see what my 2 moth traps caught on the night May 2-3.

Click on images below for a full size view.  Note the greenish color beginning around the base of the bill, and the plumes emerging toward its tail, are breeding plumage features of the Great Egret. 

 

 

Last OLLI iNaturalist Class on Wed, May 4, 2022 at 9 am

Last Minute Update: Tomorrow, we may go to Prime Hook NWR to see these beautiful Pink Lady-Slipper Orchids photographed by Sally just hours ago.  We will still meet at OLLI to organize our plan.  Click on pic to enlarge. 

 

Hello Class,

Just a reminder that from 8 to 9 am tomorrow, there is a Continental Breakfast in the Trinity Education Building, so immediately before our class.  Events like this are a very good opportunity to meet other OLLI members and discuss like interests. 

For our class tomorrow, we will make every reasonable effort to have a field trip as outlined in the previous post, but of course we will not venture out in heavy rain or thunderstorms.  I am game to head out in a drizzle, and will have light rain gear.

As I also mentioned in the previous post, in case rain forces us to stay in the classroom, I will come prepared with some "chilled" live moths we can photograph and upload the pics to iNaturalist.  So last night I set my moths traps out, and now have 14 chilled moths of various species. 

But here's hoping for a break in the weather and an outdoor field trip.

Bill