Tuscarora and Locust Lake State Park (15-Feb-2017)

Went back to Tuscarora for a hike. With snow on the ground and more falling, I knew I wasn't going to find trash, but I did see this Northern Harrier Hunting over the fields. To me this was one of the greatest experiences of the winter. I ducked back into the tree line and just watched. There were a couple times when the Harrier flew by really close and either didn't know I was there or didn't feel I was a threat.  

In this shot the Harrier is preparing to dive for prey. There were several times it did go below the grasses, but I never saw it come up with anything. Eventually it landed in the field and I lost sight of it. It may have caught something and stayed on the ground feeding. 

Made a quick stop at a nearby gamelands where this Black-capped Chickadee was feeding on Staghorn Sumac. 

Passing back by the field the Harrier was in on my way to Locust Lake, I spotted this Red-tailed Hawk on a line. I wonder which bird of prey is better at hunting these fields.

The snow was still coming down at Locust Lake State Park. There wasn't as much snow cover as Tuscarora and that allowed me to find some trash. 

I took the easy path around the lake and stoped at several of the lake accesses. 

This was something new. 

Didn't pick up all that much, but I have been to Locust several times in the past couple months. 

Picked up a couple more items after taking the photo above this one. 

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Tuscarora State Park and State Gamelands (2-Feb-2017)

With random snow showers through the day I chose to just do a hike at Tuscarora State Park. I knew I would not find much trash and I didn't know if everything would be covered in snow by the time I was done. 

A few times during the hike the snow was coming down somewhat heavy. Not much was accumulating on the ground though. I stuck to the trails on the back end of the lake and went along the field edges and through one of the old pine groves. 

The rows make it very clear that this isn't a natural pine forest. Pine tree farms are very common in the area and this grove was probably planted well before the state purchased the land. 

Hiking out I passed by a flock of Cedar Waxwings and American Robins off of the trailside. Several times now I have seen these two species flying together. The interesting thing to me is although they seem to go together as a group the two flocks stay separated. The only thing I can think of is that they may feed off of the same food sources and this separation prevents conflict. Has anyone else observed this or know the answer to why they don't seem to mix in together? 

When I approached passed on the trail the majority of Robins moved further away and the Waxwings stuck around.

One of the American Robins. 

This was it at Tuscarora and it was about as much as I anticipated finding. From there I went to a local gamelands for another short hike and to try to pick up a few more items before heading home. 

This winter the Game Commission has done a lot to this gamelands. It may look bad, but this is part of how they manage their lands for game species. This area will either be left to grow in as grassland habitat or it will be planted with feed crops for game species. The areas that are left to grow as grasslands also benefit non-game species as well providing nice field habitats. If you are wondering why there is no snow, the sun did break through for a short time and was enough to melt the open areas like this. 

Like Tuscarora there wasn't much trash at this location. I enjoy areas like this where I can cover a good amount of ground and not find much. 

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Tuscarora State Park (7-Nov-2016)

On Sunday I did go out and hiked trails at Nescopeck State Park. I only picked up a handful of trash, so I decided not to do a post on it. For this trip I was limited on time so I kept it close to home and went to Tuscarora State Park. I had received a text earlier in the day inviting me up to a banding station to watch Saw Whet Owls being captured and banded. This is why I only had time for a short clean-up. At Tuscarora I just walked the high traffic areas around the beach and along the shore. 

In no time I was picking up trash and most was in places along the shore where I normally find it.

Penny tried sniffing out who left this one behind. No surprise, she couldn't tell me who did it. 

For this item I had to tie Penny up and inch my way out on this downed tree to retrieve it. I was not thrilled when I pulled it out of the water. It was stinky. I had to look at the jug for a minute to determine what it was used for and what had been in it. The top was cut and half of a water bottle was shoved upside down in the top. It was a home made bait container and inside were minnows that had been in there for a long time and were no longer whole. I pried the water bottle out and dumped out the smelly contents. 

I was able to hit the majority of high use areas along the lake. Not a whole lot of trash, still good for the time I put into it. Threw out the trash, loaded up the recyclables and it was off to go get ready for the banding station. The next post will be about the owls! 
You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

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Tuscarora State Park (28-Sept-2016)

Most of the time when I go to Tuscarora State Park, I stick to the more heavily used areas of the park. For this hike I decided to go to hit some trails that don't see much use. I knew I wouldn't find a lot of trash, but generally once areas like this are cleaned up they tend to stay that way for a long time. I parked at the flying field for remote controlled airplanes and hiked through an old tree farm and around fields, hoping too to see a lot of insects. 

I only picked up a handful of trash on this hike and what I did find was mostly in the pines. These were a couple of the items that flew into this area. A ballon on the left and a small model plane wing on the right. Being close to the flying field I always hope to find a whole plane. So far I have only found one and it was severely damaged and to high in a tree for me to retrieve. 

In the fields I did find insects. This Monarch Caterpillar was one of the first insects I came across. The fields consist of mostly Goldenrod with a few patches of Milkweed. The Goldenrod did not yield many insect finds, the Milkweed however had an assortment of species.

This was the coolest beetle of the day. It is an Eye-Spotted Lady Beetle. It was much larger than most of the Ladybird Beetles I am used to finding.

On the left is a Ladybird Beetle and a Milkweed Beetle. On the right is a Ladybird Beetle Larvae and Aphids. The Aphids feed off of the Milkweed and the Ladybird Beetles feed on the Aphids. 

A Candy Cane Leafhopper. All of the insects so far in this post were found on Milkweed, so if you are out searching for insects to see at this time of year Milkweed would be a good plant to find. 

If you look closely at the center of this photo you may see the White-Tailed Doe that was staring at me. 

On the Goldenrod I only found a couple bees and these Earwigs. 

What a Spider! It is a Marbled Orb Weaver. It too was found around Milkweed.

This was all for trash on this hike. I probably won't visit this area for another year or so. It was a nice hike and I was happy to see a decent diversity in insect species. 

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA

Tuscarora State Park (30-Aug-2016)

This was just a small clean-up at Tuscarora State Park. I hit some of the most commonly used portions of the lakeshore and took trails down to where the lake empties back into Locust Creek. 

There weren't any large piles of trash, still a piece here and a piece there adds up. 

This was everything collected from the launch to where the lake empties into Locust Creek. Decided to keep going and started walking up the lake towards the swimming area. 

This was everything from up the lake. I didn't make it all the way up to the swimming area and I will have to cover more of the upper portion on a different trip. In all over a pack was removed from the park and I covered a good amount of ground. 

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA

Tuscarora State Park (31-July-2016)

With all of the rain the day before and threw the night I thought it best to stay off the river. Instead it was back to Tuscarora State Park for a paddle and clean-up around the lake. The conditions were perfect, sunny, yet not too hot. 

Paddling the edge of the lake down towards the dam I wasn't finding much other than bobbers. The fishing spots that normally have a mess were either occupied or clean.

Just before the dam I did find one spot that had several bait containers and beer bottles. I did not take any photos because it was a tricky out and in with the kayak. The above is what I found when I made it to the dam. Again a few bait containers, but not much, at least in this corner where the trash normally accumulates. 

This Lunamoth forewing was resting on the surface. Several times now I have found larger moth wings in these areas next to dams. I know it isn't a whole specimen, but even finding remnants like this can tell you what types of species are in the area. 

A lure that had floated down towards the dam. Wasn't the only one found on this trip. I am really accumulating a collection of these. 

This was nearly full. The ingredients of sunscreen can be detrimental to certain ecosystems and I often find bottles like this in our waterways. Eventually the contents will leak out. With this in mind if you ever find a sunscreen bottle like this in a lake, river or stream, please remove it and dispose of it properly.

From the dam I worked my way up the lake. There were a lot of people at the beach area and paddling the upper portion of the lake. I made the decision to only go half way up. I crossed the lake to the opposite shore at one of my least favorite spots on the lake. 

I just cleaned this area last week. Even from a distance I could see it needed to be cleaned up again. I was just smiling when I was picking up the bait containers and other stuff this time. What else can I do. 

This is the third time I have found these types of beer cans. Each time it seems the fish on them are getting closer to what is actually found in the waterbodies I am cleaning up. The first was an ocean fish, the second was a fish that spends a portion of its life in saltwater and a portion in fresh and now this one is completely freshwater and is pretty close to the native trout we have around here. Again at least this trash has some kind of environmental education on it. 

This was the haul for half the lake. The majority was trash from fishermen. I know many fishermen who wouldn't leave anything behind, but there are many who do. If you are out fishing and your fishing hole is a mess, please pick it up and say something to others that you see leaving things behind. 

I did find these two sand shovels as well. They were in the front of my boat and I forgot to pull them out for the ending trash photo. 

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA