Yesterday, Linda B and I had a wonderful hike on the Seneca Trail.  We started at 8:16 AM as it was predicted to be quite hot and we wanted to “beat the heat.”  On the trail before we reached the tower, we found some beautiful milkweed with white blossoms.  Apparently, there are at least 73 different species of milkweed in the US.  So, it could be a different species, or as some sources state, common milkweed blossoms can range in color from white to purple or be a hybrid. I couldn’t find a definitive answer so, please chime in to let me know what is going on with these lovely plants.

Linda did an eBird checklist as we walked so the birds seen from the tower were included and not listed separately. We saw or heard a couple of dozen songbirds, some waterfowl from the tower and several tiny American toads along the way. We came upon a female mallard in the shallow water in the slough on the left after you cross over the Wildlife Drive and approach the Seneca-Cayuga Canal.  A couple of times we thought we heard Baltimore orioles but the gray catbirds were singing loudly and pretty much non-stop so it was difficult to pick out other species. And several times motorboats went by on the Seneca-Cayuga Canal which also covered bird sounds. But as you can see from our list it was a very “birdy” walk!

On the Wildlife Drive, the sandhill crane family was in the area on the left, after the short row of shrubs and trees across the Drive from Laure’s Lagoon. There were also other sandhill cranes, great blue herons and great egrets in that area. However, we didn’t see any black-crowned night herons or American bitterns in the mix.

A little further along the Drive I got a picture of a cattail that showed male and female flowers.  The top is the male part and below is the typical cattail that we are most familiar with, the female part. So, for a while, keep an eye out for these amazing structures. Pete had brought this to my attention a short time ago and I finally was able to get a picture that hopefully makes it easier to see these parts. He discovered this in a wonderful book called, Naturally Curious by Mary Holland. She said that cattails mostly reproduce via shoots off their rhizomes, but can reproduce via flowers. In her book, she shows, month-by-month, what is happening in the Northeast regarding many species. She includes amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, invertebrates and plants/fungi. Terrific book!! Thanks Pete!

In one of the pools along I-90 we found a great blue heron with a “monster” fish.  I took a couple of pictures as it struggled with it.  Unfortunately, we don’t know the outcome because there was no clear winner after a pretty lengthy wait so, we decided to continue our survey.

Today and tomorrow are forecast to be steamy with rain/thunder showers late Sunday. However, Monday and Tuesday look to have a refreshing drop in temperatures. There is great stuff to see and experience so I hope you can get out soon to explore the Montezuma Wetlands Complex trails, towers and Refuge Wildlife Drive.

ENJOY, be respectful and safe.