Summer in the Wetlands was awesome. We had three great students who were involved in research, site maintenance and habitat enhancement. We started the summer by doing some much needed painting and habitat work. We also established a new song bird feeding station in the nursery that has attracted several species including chickadees, goldfinches, nuthatches and the occassional pheasant! This summer a great deal of wildlife survey work was done. The highlight was the breeding marsh bird surveys where we documented 2 pairs of virginia rails. We had great brood production and 6 male wood ducks hung around the marsh all summer. We examined aquatic invertebrate populations in various habitat types and began a plant collection and database. Our research on the effectiveness of Galerucella on loosestrife continued with an added component this year. In an effort to better quantify the life history of this beetle we did a controlled study measuring the timing of various stages. We had many visitors including Elderhostel groups and summer youth camps. All in all it was great summer and we had tons of fun!
Click here to check out the summer action.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 12th, 2005 at 4:04 pm.