Over most of the eastern two-thirds of North America, from central Canada southward, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird reigns supreme. Predominantly a neotropical migrant, it winters from southern Mexico to Costa Rica. Each spring, this species arrives in numbers along the Gulf Coast by early March, filtering northward over the next two months until arriving in northern states and southern provinces by late April or early May. Migrating males usually arrive a week or so before females at any given location. Climate change is affecting the migration of Ruby-throats, though. As conditions warm on the wintering grounds, data indicate that they leave their winter homes earlier on their way to the Gulf Coast. Interestingly, it also appears that hummingbirds then hang around in the Gulf Coast for longer than normal, perhaps to recuperate from their trip across the Gulf of Mexico.
Go ‘off the beaten path’ and hike hidden trails right in Radnor! Learn about wild plants along the way and explore some of the historic mill ruins along Darby Creek.
Code: TT71061
Dates: April 29, 2018 Check for other dates
Meets: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Location: The Willows
Instructor: Mary Coe
$16.00 Course Fee
Save $6 with a MLSN Membership
Notes: Meet at the upper parking lot near the Willows mansion.
Explore the rich history of the remarkable rivers and streams in our area and how they contribute to the quality of life in our local communities. Beginning in 1812 when Philadelphia became the first American city to provide fresh drinking water to citizens as a government service, water has played a significant role in the history of our region. Discuss the current state of our waterways and learn why water conservation and stormwater reduction management have become important issues. Learn about the affordable modifications, such as rain barrels, that you can do on your property and in everyday life to help improve water quality and preserve this precious resource.
Code: HG41001
Dates: May 17, 2018
Meets: 10:00 AM to 12 N
Location: Creutzburg Center
Instructor: Instructor Information
$39.00 Course Fee
Save $9 with a MLSN Membership
Usually, individual birds infected with a disease develop an “immune memory” that is used to help protect them from reinfection. It’s similar to when your body creates antibodies after you get sick or receive a vaccine. The antibodies help prevent reinfection by that same pathogen strain. However, since birds can’t walk into vaccine clinics, their immune memories are not always perfect, and we’re learning about this phenomenon from House Finch eye disease.
Plants are the foundation of any garden. Creating a successful, enjoyable space that works depends on choosing the right ones. Intimately knowing your plants makes gardening more rewarding, enjoyable and less work. Learn how great plants can come together to form a dynamic, self-reliant community. After a brief lecture, get ready to get your hands in the soil as we start to plant the new Creutzburg Center entrance garden.
Code: HG42001
Dates: May 3, 2018
Meets: 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
Location: Creutzburg Center
Instructor: Chris Fehlhaber of Chanticleer Garden
$39.00 Course Fee
Save $9 with a MLSN Membership
This spring, Pitch in a Patch for Pollinators. We know pollinators need habitat to thrive–can you commit just a little more space for a new pollinator patch? Each of us has a role we can play in stitching together vibrant, healthy habitat for our butterflies, bees, birds, bats, and various other pollinating wildlife.
I was stepping gingerly across a mat of floating vegetation—the roots of sedges, grass, moss, and even a few blooming yellow buttercups tangled together, their bond just secure enough to hold my weight. The surface of the fen bounced like a waterbed. Then my right leg broke through to dangle in the cold and frightening depths. That’s when I realized, with crashing certainty, just why Rusty Blackbirds were such a mystery.
Over a century ago, then-Congressman John Lacey of Iowa observed of the Passenger Pigeon: “a single generation has seen them swept away.” He wrote at a time when other bird populations—egrets, herons, spoonbills, and more—faced decimation, slaughtered for their plumage. Bird populations once deemed so abundant by John James Audubon that he imagined their populations impossible to annihilate were imperiled. And the Passenger Pigeon, once numbering perhaps in the billions, went extinct.
Learn about the rewarding and important art of beekeeping on the beautiful grounds of historic Harriton House. Visit the onsite hives in appropriate apiary costume (provided). See how a hive is constructed of frames and wax and how the bees are installed.
Code: HG61111
Dates: April 21, 2018
Meets: 9:30 AM to 12 N
Location: Harriton House
Instructor: I Harriton House
$45.00 Course Fee
