Laudholm Trust: Observations

Not just Lincoln: Darwin, too

Scott Richardson ~ 2009-02-12

Charles Darwin painting by G. Richmond

February 12, 1809, was not only Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, but Charles Darwin’s, too. For a little Darwin diversion, try out this little puzzle. Good luck!

Thanks to the Year of Science website for the puzzle pointer.

And Happy 200th, Mr. Darwin!

How'd you do on the jigsaw?

York County’s worst ice storm in decades knocked out power for 4 days at the Wells Reserve. No significant damage occurred to the Laudholm buildings. Surely some branches and trees fell, but trails are all open and the new fallen snow has already inspired at least one cross-country skier.

Making way for a new entry kiosk

Scott Richardson ~ 2008-11-20

Kiosk Deconstruction

The Wells Reserve will soon have a new information kiosk near the parking lot. The one that has served well for more than 15 years is being dismantled and removed. The new kiosk is scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

Maintenance manager Charles Lord and stalwart volunteer Frank Heller removed the old roof, section by section, yesterday. Then they cut away two of the supporting legs. That makes enough room for construction to begin on the new structure while the old kiosk stays in place to provide key information for visitors.

Watch this space as we progress on the project.

Twenty years of bird banding

Scott Richardson ~ 2008-08-12

It’s the 20th anniversary of bird banding at the Wells Reserve this year. The master bander who has been at the heart of the program all this time, June Ficker, recently looked back at her 1988 records and provided this summary:

Operated 6 12-meter mist nets from May 27 to August 31 for a total of 14 Wednesdays from 6 to 10:30 am.

Species banded: 19
Birds banded: 69
Gray Catbird: 18
Black-capped Chickadee: 8
American Robin: 8
Eastern Phoebe: 7

Other species banded: American Redstart, Black-and-white Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Chipping Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-pewee, Ovenbird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-eyed Vireo, Rufous-sided (Eastern) Towhee, Song Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler, Veery
Visitors observing: 129

One fish, two fish… is that really a bluefish?

Hannah Wilhelm ~ 2008-08-04

Michele Dionne, Director of Research at the Reserve, has an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Celia Chen at Dartmouth College to study how mercury moves through the salt marsh system. When some of her lab crew headed out to catch Atlantic silversides to be tested for mercury content, we got some of these small fish instead, which we originally thought must be herring.

Juvenile bluefish next to ruler on lab bench.

After checking a few reference books, everyone agreed they were actually juvenile bluefish, an unexpected catch since bluefish are generally found in more southern waters when they are young. This find was especially exciting since measuring and identification of several of the fish happened under the watchful eye of some visiting students looking through the window from the exhibit area into the lab.

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