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Reflections in Nature: Turtles will become very common in the month of June

After a cold and wet May, we are welcoming the month of June. During the month of June, I usually have several notations in my diary that I had watched turtles attempting to cross the road, however being slow a turtle does not always make it to the other side. The turtles being seen were females that left the water to find a suitable sunny spot to dig a hole to lay her eggs. Turtles are the most familiar and easily recognized of all reptiles. Our word turtle for the reptile is somewhat of a mystery, but it is generally assumed to come from the French word tortue. Our word tortoise ...

New book includes local stories about key river topics and issues

A new 287-page paperback book titled “Stream Studies: Research, Stories and Lessons from the Susquehanna River for Students of All Ages” has officially been published and is available for purchase from the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association. The book includes a compilation of pollution and issue-based topics related to the Susquehanna River, with local research and impacts highlighted throughout. The 39-chapter collection of more than 60 stories includes review questions at the end of each story, numerous experiments that students (and families) can do to better understand ...

Outdoors community calendar for week of June 2

AUDUBON EVENT: FIRST FRIDAY BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT WHERE: Peter Herdic House (407 W. Fourth St., Williamsport) WHEN: Friday, June 5 from 5-7 p.m. NOTES: A spectacular viewing of bird photographs will be on view this upcoming First Friday. Stop by the Herdic House for hors d’oevres and light beverages with your favorite local birding group. The exhibit includes Richard Allen’s bald eagle photographic collection alongside other local avian photographers. AUDUBON EVENT: THERAPY BREWING BIRD WALK WHERE: Therapy Brewing (3978 Quaker Church Road, Montoursville) WHEN: ...

Laurel Caverns — Pennsylvania’s first underground state park

HARRISBURG — Recently Department of Conservation and Natural Resources secretary Cindy Adams Dunn and Laurel Caverns State Park manager Corie Eckman spoke with WITF’s The Spark host Asia Tabb to encourage Pennsylvanians and visitors to take a tour of the Commonwealth’s newest and first ...

The bait shop is like Wikipedia for the traveling angler

One of the most exciting parts of traveling is being able to fish in a new area. One of the most frustrating parts of traveling is fishing in a new area. It’s the angler’s catch-22. You want to try new places and maybe catch a new species, but you don’t have the time to properly learn the area, so you end up fishing at the wrong location, with the wrong bait, and at the wrong time. But what are you supposed to do? Every angler struggles with having the chance to fish a new location, but not the time to adjust to the learning curve. It was something I faced often early on, until ...

Reflections in Nature: June is time to see young wildlife, especially fawns

I was recently asked when the deer population is at its peak in Pennsylvania. During the past 50 weeks, the white-tail deer population has been declining. However, during the next two weeks the population will increase drastically. In Pennsylvania, the peak fawning season is the last week in May and the first week in June. Starting in the second week of June, the deer population will begin to decline until the third week of May of the following year when it reaches its lowest level. Now, this is not to say that fawns are not being born other than during these two weeks. The ...