Nature of Delaware Blog

By Jim White: Senior Fellow for Land and Biodiversity It’s not every day that a new species of animal is found in Delaware. In fact, it is very rare indeed. However, in the summer or 2015 Adam Mitchel, a PhD candidate at the University of Delaware did just that. While collecting insects in a meadow…

Ian Stewart Happy New Year everyone! If you’re looking for an interesting New Year’s Resolution to get you outdoors, why not seek out and learn about a different tree every month? This is exactly the time of year to spot one of Delaware’s most distinctive trees – the Osage orange. The Osage orange (Maclura pomifera)…

Ian Stewart Every fall birdwatchers throughout the eastern United States wait anxiously by their computers for an email containing this year’s Winter Finch Forecast https://jeaniron.ca/2018/wff18.htm. For almost 20 years now Ron Pittaway, a former naturalist at Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario Canada, has been predicting whether this group of small, seed-eating birds that breed in…

Recently, Delaware Nature Society hosted an info session with Stephen Hauss, Department of Agriculture Environmental Scientist, at Ashland Nature Center. This came after the insect was documented at Ashland by our Hawk Watch Coordinator. There have been other confirmed sightings of the insect in Northern Delaware as well. Delaware became the second state to report…

Ian Stewart Jewelweed is a colorful native annual wildflower that is common in damp marshy areas where it grows as a thin bush about 4 feet high. It is also known as ‘touch-me-not’ because of its curious habit of expelling its projectile seeds when the flowers are handled or brushed against. Jewelweed is a classic…

By Annalie Mallon, Ashland School Program Coordinator Waterfalls, wild blueberries, black bear warnings, and winner of the 2018 Pennsylvania River of the year! What more could you possibly ask for on a summer trip into the Pennsylvania wilderness? Every summer the Delaware Nature Society’s Teen Naturalists head out for a week-long adventure, and these are…