2021 Summer Camp Registrations Now Open!
Registrations for the 2021 Summer Camps & Overnight Adventures are now open. Read on to learn more about next year’s lineup for youth ages 6-17!
Registrations for the 2021 Summer Programs & Overnight Adventures are now open.
Youth ages 6-17 will benefit from Blue Ridge Discover Center’s unique approach to summertime experiences. Our lineup of outdoor programs and adventures is suitable for introducing the most novice naturalist to nature and promoting natural curiosity and self-discovery in meaningful, fun-filled learning activities.
Science in Nature Day Camps
Ornithology Weekend
New River Expedition
Primitive Skills New!
Wilderness Expedition
Fly Fishing Adventures
BRDC is committed to your family's safety. All Blue Ridge Discovery Center programs will follow up-to-date recommended health and safety guidelines that are in effect at the time of the program.
1st Annual Mount Rogers Summer Naturalist Rally
After many years of thinking about a summer season rally, this August we achieved our goal. Gathering at the Konnarock Community Center for a potluck dinner and meet and greet, many new faces joined the familiar for a weekend preview of programs and hikes spanning from Friday night through Sunday morning.
After many years of thinking about a summer season rally, this August we achieved our goal. Gathering at the Konnarock Community Center for a potluck dinner and meet and greet, many new faces joined the familiar for a weekend preview of programs and hikes spanning from Friday night through Sunday morning. With over 60 participants for Friday's dinner, the potluck approach pleased everyone. Without a speaker presentation, we all had time to visit before heading to Grindstone Campground for the evening moth identification program.
Though rain fell intermittently, we were able to dash back and forth between the lit moth sheet and our tent cover for serious keying of our catch. From the very young to the almost elderly, everyone focused on the effort to ID even down to the species level.
Saturday morning, following tradition, all gathered at the community center to line up for the day’s program offerings. A simple breakfast was available, including good strong coffee. Field trip sign-ups continued right up to 8am when the trips dispersed. Birding, a hike sponsored by the Mount Rogers Appalachian Trail Club, fly fishing, medicinal plants, insect investigations, and glaciers in the Blue Ridge highlighted our morning walks. For kids, the world of spiders was explored.
Returning for lunch, hikers regained their strength for the afternoon hikes. Afternoon choices included snorkeling, a mushroom walk, a wildflower walk, a salamander hunt, tree identification, butterflies and flint knapping. The kids program involved small bio-surveys with microscopes.
The mushroom walk was a major hit, with samples brought back to the community center for identification. For over an hour, many gathered around the tables displaying a huge variety of fungal forms, as a species list grew.
Rain was an issue, but mostly after the day's activities came to a close. Back at Grindstone, campers shared an evening meal, potluck style once again, and revisited the day’s activities. Because of the rain, our hopeful star watch program was cancelled, but a salamander foray was well suited to the weather. Some intrepid hikers were treated to a rarely observed courtship behavior of the Yonahlossee salamander along the gravel road to Whitetop.
Sunday dawned behind of veil of clouds and rain, yet an ornithology walk was offered and attended. It is often said, weather is not an issue, just correct clothing. This exemplifies the spirit of a naturalist, a person whose curiosity trumps comfort while exploring the richness of our Southwest Virginia highlands.
Special thanks to the planning committee, guides and volunteers who pitched in to create such a great event!
Deciphering Nature's Signs
So much is happening in nature and in our human constructed world that we tend to ignore some of the most obvious events of the natural world. Plus there are literally thousands of sights and sounds vying for our attention and it takes a significant effort of will to focus and be observant. A certain training of the mind helps in watching even subconsciously for important clues and selecting them from the background "noise."
So much is happening in nature and in our human constructed world that we tend to ignore some of the most obvious events of the natural world. Plus there are literally thousands of sights and sounds vying for our attention and it takes a significant effort of will to focus and be observant. A certain training of the mind helps in watching even subconsciously for important clues and selecting them from the background "noise."
Here are a few examples of what you might see while walking around our VA farm in the middle of summer. As I was toiling up a steep hill along my neighbor's barbed wire cow fence, I was shocked to notice three green June beetles impaled on the wire! This was exciting since it was unexpected, and because I knew immediately what this must mean. It revealed that a loggerhead shrike was feeding in the vicinity; they are famous for impaling their extra prey on thorns and barbed wire. Yet I had not seen the bird, only interpreted its presence by this sign.
Green June bug impaled on barb wire
Shrike loggerhead
Our common milkweeds are in bloom in large numbers and I am on alert for signs that monarch caterpillars are present. Caterpillars are eating machines so the best indication they occur is the presence of their feces or "frass" and bite marks on the leaves. Since caterpillars often hide under the leaves, these two signs are crucial in finding them.
Monarch frass
Monarch caterpillar
In June and July I often see strange white foamy patches in certain of our ponds. I know from experience that these are the remnants of bullfrog breeding from the previous night and there will be hundreds of embryos in these areas. They quickly dissipate as the eggs hatch and tadpoles disperse into the pond.
Bullfrog egg mass
Bullfrog male
Within a mile of our farm there is the New River, which is said to be the second oldest river in the world (after the Nile). It has different aquatic fauna than our small spring fed streams and ponds and I often go there to see new species. This cobra clubtail dragonfly is a fierce predator on small insects; on a hot summer day it was "obelisking" or holding its abdomen in a vertical position to minimize heat gain from the sun. Nearby there was a damselfly that I never see on our ponds, a ruby spot damselfly. The male is much more brilliant than the female and is quite a spectacular fellow. Both of these species are characteristic of larger streams and rivers, presumably due to some specific but generally unknown requirements for the larvae and/or adults.
Cobra clubtail on New River, Fries
Rubyspot American
This tiger swallowtail was perching on dung and extending its proboscis, a clear sign of "puddling" behavior. This is well known to represent drinking of fluids from vertebrate digestion and excretion that contain needed salts, especially sodium, which are scarce in the diets of herbivores. I have become a big fan of horses on trails since their poop attracts beautiful butterflies and holds them for close observation.
Tiger swallowtail puddling on feces
We have planted cup plants (Silphium) which have large yellow blossoms in mid-summer attractive to butterflies. Here a pipevine swallowtail is finding nectar in the flowers while being protected from the attacks of birds by its black and blue coloration which advertises toxicity obtained as a caterpillar from its food plant (Aristolochia species). There are many other butterflies that mimic this coloration in an apparent bid to inhibit birds from attacking them. One of the most beautiful is this red spotted purple, a type of brushfoot butterfly (kin to admirals and buckeyes).
Pipevine swallowtail on cup plant
Red spotted purple
So remain alert in nature and you will observe a tiny fraction of what is actually happening, and be awe struck by the intricate and complex lives that our fellow creatures are engaged in. Trying to understand some of these remarkable stories enriches and enlarges our own existence beyond measure.
Bill Dunson
Galax, VA and Englewood, FL
Explorers Adventure Camp II
Campers had a very hot week of outdoor fun! Saddle Creek conditioned the air and provided the kids with several creek related programs and the occasional and unscheduled full immersion.
Campers had a very hot week of outdoor fun! Saddle Creek conditioned the air and provided the kids with several creek related programs and the occasional and unscheduled full immersion.
The week began with a bird walk and a snake show. Claire Gleason once again shared her famous corn snake, Sylvester, which we compared to a black rat snake provided by BRDC.
Rick Cavey helped our campers learn to tie knots and lash together what became a Native American kitchen. One day the campers visited Rick and Jen's Wagon Wheel Farm to harvest veggies for our noon soup, cooked over a fire, completing the outdoor kitchen experience.
Ellie and Roald Kirby brought two art projects to camp, along with some tall tales and a woodland hike. Jane Floyd helped the kids create, from found natural objects, small sculptures of their own design. Lisa Benish led a snorkeling adventure in the New River, where the campers discovered a decaying Muskellunge much to their amusement and our disgust.
Among other programs we set up a moth sheet for morning examinations, captured and identified aquatic invertebrates, dissected owl pellets, searched for and identified several species of salamanders, caught and released many crayfish (including females with egg masses attached), participated in two treasure hunts, played a variety of games and documented our discoveries and experiences in personal journals.
For our grand finale, Charlotte Hanes and Kim Lawson brought ice cream and fixings to share.
Many thanks to Heidi Breedlove, Susan and Claire Gleason, Carol Broderson, the Caveys, the Kirbys, Lisa, Kim, Charlotte and the Old Hickory Council, Boy Scouts of America, for use of their property.
Lepidopteras on Display
In late July on our VA farm, the predominant color of the landscape is GREEN! But our 10 year old pollinator field is now predominantly yellow with the blooms of oxeye sunflower. This is a table set for the multitude of mouths of the lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), which are a prime food for birds.
In late July on our VA farm, the predominant color of the landscape is GREEN! But our 10 year old pollinator field is now predominantly yellow with the blooms of oxeye sunflower. This is a table set for the multitude of mouths of the lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), which are a prime food for birds. While some of these insects may be considered pests, many are spectacularly colored and have very interesting habits for study by the naturalist.
Aphrodite fritillary Whitetop
There are three beautiful species of large fritillary butterflies in this area. The Aphrodite from higher altitudes is only slightly different from the more common great spangled, which has a broader white band on the margins of the outer hindwing, and one less spot on the inside margin of the forewing. A third member of the genus Speyeria , the Diana fritillary, is rare in our area but a friend, Cecelia Mathis, has obtained a wonderful photo of two male Dianas with a great spangled on the flowers of a common milkweed along a remote forest road. In contrast with most sexual differences in which the male is more showy, the male Dianas are a relatively dull brown and orange color compared with the brighter black and blue female. The color of the female is even more remarkable since it appears to be a case of mimicry of the toxic pipevine swallowtail.
Diana fritillaries
Some of the moths can be quite spectacular. The hummingbird clearwing sphinx moth hovers as it drinks nectar from flowers. The yellow collared scape moth lands on flowers and is apparently mimicking a wasp and thus avoiding some predation during its daytime feeding. The brown hooded owlet moth is very inconspicuous as an adult, but its caterpillar is absolutely gorgeous in yellow, black and red stripes; such advertisement usually accompanies toxicity but little is known about such chemical warfare in this species. It also appears to have head/tail mimicry by calling attention to the tail rather than the head to divert attacks by birds.
Hummingbird clearwing sphiinx moth at bergamot
Buttonbush flower with yellow collared scape moth
Caterpillar brown hooded owlet moth Cucullia convexipennis on wingstem
An examination of the numerous flowers in bloom will reveal a wide variety of butterflies visiting them. Some examples are the silver spotted skipper on wild bergamot, a white morph orange/clouded sulphur on red clover, and a red admiral on purple coneflower. I have also noticed a number of monarchs mating in our fields where we have thousands of common milkweeds ready for them to lay eggs. The leaves of many of these milkweeds are tender and thus attractive to monarch caterpillars since the fields were mowed for hay about six weeks ago and the plants have regrown. This is an example of how careful timing of mowing can benefit monarchs.
Silver spotted skipper on bergamot
White morph sulphur orange or clouded
Red admiral
Monarchs mating
So in late July bird song is definitely waning, but the insects and especially lepidopterans are abundant and active for you to observe and enjoy.
Bill Dunson
Galax, VA and Englewood, FL
Summer Marches On
As July starts, the nature lover can continue to enjoy some breeding birds and observe an increasing number of interesting insects.
Sam catches bass at farm pond
As July starts, the nature lover can continue to enjoy some breeding birds and observe an increasing number of interesting insects.
New flowers are blooming, such as day lilies and catalpa trees and we are starting to be bothered by some of the less desirable critters such as Japanese beetles and ticks.
I spend a lot of time watching our ponds, some with and some without fish. The pond in the first two photos is next to our house and our grandson Sam enjoys catch and release of our "pet" bass and sunfish.
Fish pond at farm with grandsons fishing
A second pond I watch has no fish but far more species of dragonflies and damselflies. For example a type of clubtail dragonfly, the black-shouldered spinyleg (note long spines on the third leg- the better to hold prey) is somewhat of a generalist and is found in both the fish and non-fish ponds. In contrast the beautiful azure bluet damselfly is primarily found at ponds lacking fish.
Black shouldered spinyleg
Azure bluet
Another example of how a small change in habitat conditions supports a new species is the eruption of Jimson weeds on the soil around our landscape debris burn pile. The seeds in the ground perhaps were stimulated to germinate by the recent burning of the debris. Jimson weed flowers are striking examples of the nightshade family and are quite toxic due to the presence of atropine and scopolamine. The flowers are pollinated by night flying sphinx moths.
Jimsonweed around burn pile
Jimsonweed flower
A very different flower of the catalpa tree was blooming nearby. I planted these to observe the "bean worms" or catalpa sphinx moth caterpillars which are used as bait by fishermen. The unusual flowers are primarily pollinated by large bees and the resulting long seed pods are the "beans."
Catalpa flowers
A toxic insect that gains protection from its poisonous food is the red milkweed long-horned beetle which is now common in our grasslands. If you look carefully you may notice why this is called the four-eyed beetle, since the antennae on both sides bisect the eyes into two parts. Milkweeds support a number of such interesting specialist insects in addition to the monarch butterfly. A second aposematic long-horn is now found on our elderberries, the elderberry borer, and is also brightly colored to advertise that it is toxic due to its diet. Few realize that aside from the edible flowers and fruit, the rest of the elderberry plant is dangerously poisonous.
Red milkweed beetles mating on common milkweed
Elderberry borer
So as summer progresses, birds will complete their breeding, new flowers will appear, and insects will generally become more prevalent. Observe and enjoy the changing panorama of life.
Bill Dunson
A June Nature Ramble
Here on our Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain farm we are still having some cool nights in the 50's, but many days are sunny and warm and nature is in full growth and reproduction mode.
Here on our Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain farm we are still having some cool nights in the 50's, but many days are sunny and warm and nature is in full growth and reproduction mode.
I enjoy re-acquainting myself with the resident odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) and lepidopterans (butterflies). One of my favorite damselflies is the ebony jewelwing in which the male has black wings and a spectacular iridescent blue/green body, the color depending on the angle of the sunlight. When I was growing up in Georgia, these were called "snake doctors" since they sometimes landed on basking water snakes. The remarkable metamorphosis of dragonflies, from aquatic nymph to flying adult, is not fully appreciated until you observe the process as seen in the photo below. All dragonflies are highly carnivorous, but the impressive dragonhunter actually feeds on other dragonflies and must appear as a miniature T rex to its prey.
Dragonfly metamorphosis from aquatic nymph to flying adult
Ebony jewelwing damselfly male
Dragonhunter
Butterflies are appearing in our fields in increasing numbers and this male black swallowtail was attracted to a patch of white clover along a trail. When grass is mowed repeatedly in our hay fields, the result is often a dense patch of white clover which is beneficial to butterflies. The black swallowtail is one of the confusing "black and blue" butterflies which appear to mimic the toxic pipevine swallowtail. The "tails" are likely to be a head mimicry trick to appear to be antennae and divert the strike of predators away from the real head. Great spangled fritillary butterflies are out in numbers and are strongly attracted to the first common milkweeds to bloom, as well as to orange butterfly milkweeds.
Black swallowtail male butterfly on clover
Great spangled fritillary on common milkweed flower
Spring is of course a time of considerable amphibian breeding, but it is now time for summer breeders such as bullfrogs to lay their eggs. The early spring breeders such as wood frogs lay large globular clusters of eggs communally in a sunny area of the pond to elevate the temperature for development. In contrast, bullfrogs lay a thin surface sheet of eggs and jelly from one female which maximizes the oxygen available in warm water and leads to quick hatching. Warm rains encourage the movement of the terrestrial phase of the aquatic red spotted newt, the red eft. These brilliantly colored salamanders are advertising that they are very toxic due to the presence of tetrodotoxin in their tissues.
Bullfrog embryos in pond
Red eft salamander
Bright colors in a male box turtle, however, seem to be instead a species identification mechanism. Although there is an anecdotal report that box turtles can be toxic after they have eaten poisonous toadstools.
Box turtle male
Many birds have completed raising one brood already, perhaps the case with this mockingbird nest with three hungry babies on June 18. So the rush to reproduce in some species continues at a frantic pace.
Mockingbird babies in nest
Middle June symbolizes the end of the springtime magic of wildflowers and overwhelming bird song. Get ready for the long hot summer of equally exciting but different natural wonders.
Bill Dunson
Galax, VA and Englewood, FL
