Nature Notes

Cedar Waxwings: Beyond the Beauty

Pennsylvania is home to an amazing array of bird diversity. As of 2024, over 430 species of birds have been reported from the Keystone state – a fair portion of which are consistently encountered. Of those species, there are a handful who elicit a great deal of appreciation from outdoor enthusiasts. Some, like the Long-eared […]

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Autumn’s Very Own: Meet the Witch Hazel

The basic strategy for plant life in temperate climates is to maximize above-ground activity during the spring and summer months when warmth, water, and light are plentiful. Yet there is one species of shrub common in Pennsylvania that deviates from that strategy in a major way. Now that it’s October, it feels appropriate to highlight […]

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Chimney Swifts: A Species in Decline

A chimney swift darts over a pond in Prospect Park in NYC. Photo by Ryan Mandelbaum. Introduction The US Committee of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) published its State of the Birds 2022 report last fall. Among its key findings is a list of birds whose populations have fallen by half between 1970–2019, […]

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Find These Three Mushrooms of Summer

We’ve reached the depths of summer, as evidenced by intense waves of heat and humidity. Solace from our powerful sun awaits beneath the shade of trees, and lucky for us, interesting organisms exist there too. Mushrooms occupy the forest floors throughout the year, but in late summer – and even more so in early fall […]

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The Mountain Laurel – PA’s State Flower

Mountain laurels (Kalmia latifolia) blooming on one of Heritage Conservancy’s properties. Mountain laurels are gorgeous shrubs that have been Pennsylvania’s state flower since 1933. It is one of the few evergreen shrubs that is native to Pennsylvania, however it is very widespread across the state. It is in the heath family living on drier, more […]

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The Other Pollinators

A red milkweed beetle. Most of our pollinators get overlooked for one reason or another. Some are too tiny, simply living out of sight and out of mind, whereas others occur in plain sight but are overshadowed by larger and more charismatic species. Honeybees and monarch butterflies are the rockstars of the pollinator world. The […]

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Events

    1. Swamp Tromp

      March 23 @ 6:30 pm - 8:15 pm
    2. Spring Garden Cleanup

      March 26 @ 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
    3. Art by the Woods: Mural Unveil

      April 6 @ 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
    4. Spring Birding

      April 13 @ 9:00 am - 11:00 am
    5. Business Partners Reception

      April 18 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm