Recent Sightings

A black rat snake was seen in the garden.

A redstart and yellowthroat were seen with many praire warblers at the Game Commision loggin area.  There were many great-crested flycathers and chestnust-sided warblers singing at the clear cut area of Game Land.  A few indigo buntings, a scarlet tanager, an ovenbird, and a veery was seen on the Appalachian Trail.

A fawn was seen laying in a bed of ferns behind the visitor center.  Mountain Laurel is in bloom.  A black rat snake, garter snake, and timber rattle snake were seen sun bathing of of Main Lookout Trail. 

Mountain Laurel is budding.

A Flushed Ovenbird was seen sitting on its eggs near the River of Rocks study plot.  A Wood Thrush on its eggs and an Eastern Towhee on its nest were spotted in the same area. 

On the River Trip with Ryan Beltz the last wild azalea bloom was witnessed during the day.  Latter in the evening screech owls were heard and a pair of saw-whet owls were seen. 

The staff saw a Luna Moth on the back door of the visitor center.

A male American Redstart was seen near the feeders. 

A Scarlet Tanager was seen at the feeder pond.

There was a close encounter with a large timber rattlesnake on the Express Trail.

A Black rat snake was seen at Kettle View. 

Pink Lady Slippers and Wild Azalea are in bloom along North Lookout Trail.

Yellow Root, Wood Poppies, Ginger, Tiarella, Spring Beauty, Columbine, Golden Rag Wort, Bluebells, Dogwood, Violets, Jacob's Ladder, and Trillium are in bloom in the Native Plant Garden.  

On the Pine Swamp Road and part of the Gamelands Trail there were many birds. 

There were three singing male hooded warblers and one female.  There was a blackburnian warbler.  There was a chestnut sided warbler.  There were ten male baltimore orioles and three females.  There were four female scarlet tanagers. There was a total of six rose breasted grosbeaks that had devided into mating pairs.  There was a female American redstart and a female common yellowthroat. There was one male and one female ruby throated humming bird.  There was a male and female black throated blue warbler.     

A black rat snake was seen in a tree on the left side of the North Lookout Trail near Bald Overlook.

A drake and hen pair of wood ducks was seen in the forest, they were perched on a tree on the way to the shed.

A garter snake was spotted near the River of Rocks cutoff on the North Lookout Trail.