corrine, Author at Kirkland Ny Trails

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E.H.Williams Nature Observations July 1st, 2023

What can you see along the trail now? Song sparrows, yellow warblers, catbirds, and red-winged blackbirds remain numerous, with many other birds seen and heard; I can find at least 25 species on each morning walk on the KT. June has brought out butterflies and other insects, too, so keep an eye out for them in open areas. A few are pictured below. Monarchs have yet to appear as of June 28 although milkweed is common and has started to flower.

With plant life, the season changes rapidly, and every week presents new species in flower, including many more than I can show here (my list has more than 180 plant species found along the trail). Send me a (clear) photo if you want to know some plant you’ve seen. The summer is passing, and some fruits are already developing – honeysuckle, grape, and baneberry fruits are visible now.

Along with chipmunks scurrying across the trail and painted turtles basking at pond edges, other wildlife lurks nearby. The milk snake shown below was a pleasant surprise recently – and fairies have left evidence of their return to the trail! What can you see on your walks there?

E.H.Williams Nature Observations July 1st, 2023corrine2023-09-20T10:11:17-04:00

E.H.Williams Nature Observations June 1st, 2023

What can you see in early summer along the trail? All the photos below were taken May 30.

The most abundant flowers right now are Dame’s rocket and chervil, with buttercups close behind and more species opening up. Flowering shrubs /vines include honeysuckle, alternate-leaved dogwood, buckthorn, a viburnum, and grape.

Every morning you can hear yellow warbler, common yellowthroat, Amer. redstart, catbird, song sparrow, indigo bunting, robin, and red-winged blackbird. I found 36 bird species on my May 30 trail walk, a number that shows the diversity of birdlife along the trail. With the canopy fully open now, it’s easier to hear than to see many of the birds that are present. Nesting is well underway. Check out the two ponds for green and great blue heron, kingfisher, mallard, painted turtle, muskrat, and a sandpiper.

Look for what appear to be white foamy globs of spit on low trailside plants, especially bedstraw. Inside each is a nymph of a spittlebug, an insect that sucks up sap from its plant and blows sappy air bubbles out its rear end to produce a surrounding layer of moist bubbly protection. I wiped away the bubbles to show the nymph in the photo below. The adults are true bugs (hemipterans) known as froghoppers.

There is much more to observe as well. Look for horsetail, a spore-producing relative of ferns, which adds a different green pattern to trail edges.

E.H.Williams Nature Observations June 1st, 2023corrine2023-09-20T09:53:49-04:00

Clinton & Kirkland Awarded $10million DRI Grant!

Exciting news for our community! On Thursday New York State Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez announced the awarding of the 2022 $10,000,000 Regional DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) Grant for our region to Clinton & Kirkland in a ceremony held at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Representatives of local government and nonprofits as well as private citizens attended. Clinton Mayor Elizabeth Tantillo and Kirkland Deputy Supervisor Gary Colarusso accepted the award on behalf of the community. Smaller grants were awarded to the Villages of Cooperstown, Sharon Springs and Dolgeville.

This was Clinton & Kirkland’s third application for the grant. The effort has been led by CKIC (Clinton Kirkland Improvement Commission), Waterville Times Publisher Patty Louise and former Clinton Chamber of Commerce Director Jackie Walters. Projects proposed as part of the Clinton & Kirkland application were submitted by the village, the town, Hamilton College, private businesses and nonprofits, including Kirkland Trails, KAC, Kirkland Town Library and others. Not all the proposed projects will receive funding. Now begins a process which includes forming a local committee which will work with the state to identify the most promising projects and move them along to completion. Kirkland Trails’ proposals focus on constructing additional sidewalks in the village and adjacent town, a possible small trailhead park at the corner of Chenango Ave. and College Street and a bridge across Sherman Brook along the route of our planned Chenango Canal Trail.

Here is a link to CKIK’s website where you can find the entire 2022 Clinton & Kirkland DRI Application, which includes all the proposed projects: https://ckic13323.org

Here is a link to a good article in Thursday’s Rome Sentinel about Clinton & Kirkland being awarded the grant: https://romesentinel.com/stories/clinton-kirkland-to-get-10m-for-revitalization,169481

And finally, here is a link to a WKTV story on Clinton & Kirklands’ selection and the awards ceremony: https://www.wktv.com/news/local/kirkland-clinton-cooperstown-receive-state-grant-funding-to-revitalize-downtowns/article_350439e4-b941-11ed-a09c-87caf8530e17.html

Clinton & Kirkland Awarded $10million DRI Grant!corrine2023-03-04T14:04:58-04:00

Kirkland Trails Newsletter, Issue 5 – December 2022

Kirkland-Trails-Newsletter-Fall-2022

Kirkland Trails Newsletter, Issue 5 – December 2022corrine2022-12-15T12:38:40-04:00

E.H.Williams Nature Observations October 1st, 2022

This is late season with yellow and orange leaves, flowering composites, and developing fruits. I enjoy all the asters that emerge now, four of which are shown below. Smaller goldenrods, such as zig-zag goldenrod, appear along with coneflowers and sunflowers. Deptford pink adds a flash of color to trailside, and red and purple fruits like those of pokeweed and false Solomon’s seal appear – as well as strange fruits like those of wild cucumber. Some plants keep flowering as they have for months, including Queen Anne’s lace (See the dark red spot in the middle? A common myth is that Queen Anne of England pricked her finger while making lace, and a drop of blood fell on the lace.) Hops vines and their flowers are a nice find along the trail as a reminder that a large hops agriculture once existed in this area. Crush a flower to get the smell of an IPA.

Bird vocalization is less now, but birds are present, often flashing quickly through the trees. During the fall you can expect to find the three species shown below. Keep an eye out for recently released pheasants. The pond remains an attraction in fall, giving views of summer-resident green herons and a kingfisher.

This is the last nature update for Kirkland Trails for this year, but the trail remains an attractive and safe place to walk, run or bike. You might enjoy some time there. Best wishes and “winter well.”

E.H.Williams Nature Observations October 1st, 2022corrine2023-02-17T13:19:56-04:00

E.H.Williams Nature Observations August 1st, 2022

The photos below show diversity and beauty you can see along the Kirkland Trail now. Trail edges are dominated by flowers of the first five plants in the first row (knapweed is a nasty invasive); the last three flowers in that row are garden plants added to the trail where removal of Japanese knotweed is continuing. Yellow warbler, common yellowthroat, song sparrow, goldfinch, indigo bunting, cardinal, robin, and catbird continue to sing along much of the trail, though they’re seen less often at this stage of summer. Even though the water is low and algal filled, the pond remains a hot spot for activity, with frequent appearances of great blue heron, green heron, killdeer, spotted sandpipers, geese, and mallards. Several butterflies flit along open trail edges. Numerous other plants are in flower, too; look for both kinds of jewelweed and three varieties of beebalm (Monarda), red, wine, and pink. But the summer is passing; goldenrod has begun to flower, boxelder seeds are maturing, and honeysuckle is in fruit.

E.H.Williams Nature Observations August 1st, 2022corrine2022-08-15T16:54:46-04:00

E.H.Williams Nature Observations July 1st, 2022

Each month is different, but there’s always much to see along the Kirkland trail! I took all the photos below on June 29-30. You’ll see flowers in open areas – along trail edges and in fields. Daisy fleabane, field mustard, and wild parsnip are currently the most abundant, but beware the last one because its sap causes a rash. Shrubs currently in flower – dogwood and elderberry – are white, while honeysuckle and raspberries have started producing colorful fruit.

Listen and you’ll hear an appealing soundtrack along the trail, with warblers, catbirds, song sparrows, and red- winged blackbirds being the most vocal. I found 30 species of birds these last 2 days, including green herons and a kingfisher at the pond. Volunteers have worked to control the Japanese knotweed near the beginning, and the town has mowed the trail edges, so you can enjoy a July 4th walk on our local trail.

E.H.Williams Nature Observations July 1st, 2022corrine2022-08-15T16:21:41-04:00

E.H.Williams Nature Observations June 1st, 2022

May brings late spring wildflowers; replacing trillium and trout lily, we find dame’s rocket, golden Alexanders, and honeysuckle bringing color to the trail edges. (Side note: Dame’s rocket resembles phlox, but dame’s rocket, a mustard relative, has four petals while phlox has five petals; count the petals!) Many new plants are in flower along the trail, only a few of which are shown below. White patches of chervil are dense in places. May is also a month of abundant bird song and color; just sit on one of the trail benches and listen. Japanese knotweed has begun to grow rapidly and is being fought by a gallant crew of trail volunteers (you’ll see tarps near the trail head). Other than the scarlet tanager photographed on May 8, all the photos below are from the past two weeks.

E.H.Williams Nature Observations June 1st, 2022corrine2022-06-07T13:31:02-04:00

E.H.Williams Nature Observations May 1st, 2022

Spring has brought the emergence of plants and the return of migrant birds to the Kirkland Trail. Here’s an update, with all comments and photos and from Sunday, May 1 (yesterday) along the trail from Dugway Rd to Deansboro.

Both red and white trillium are flowering in abundance, with more red trillium than in previous years. As water has receded from low areas, march marigold has begun to flower, and also in flower are blue cohosh, blue violet, and wild ginger. The last hepatica and skunk cabbage flowers are still visible, but they are declining quickly. By the number of species in flower, this spring appears to be a little delayed compared to spring a year ago.

Migrant birds are back, and bird song is continuous during morning hours. Red-winged blackbirds are back in large numbers as expected. A wave of ruby-crowned kinglets was passing through yesterday, and warblers included yellow, northern waterthrush, and yellow-rumped (aka “butter butts”), with more warblers still to come. Swamp sparrows were singing in marsh areas. Other species conspicuous along the trail included cardinals, song sparrows,
white-throated sparrows, red-bellied woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, doves, robins, jays, and tree swallows.

The pond by the bench at marker 10 is high – beavers have reinforced the dam by the outflow – so the central pond islands remain submerged. A green heron flew overhead while I was there. An early-spring large pond on the left (east) side has mostly drained, so most of the trail looks the way it did last year. The problemsome knotweed at the beginning of the trail has yet to appear. As I wrote last year, emerging leaves add a lace-like green to the spring forest, making this prime time for a trail walk in the woods with much to see and enjoy.