This Week at Hilton Pond

Bill Hilton Jr.
Executive Director
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
York, South Carolina 29745 USA

Nothing's Slower Than A Turtle (15-21 April 2009)

Last June we wrote about a painted turtle who excavated her nest just outside our office window. Since then several people have asked whatever became of the hatchlings, and not until "This Week at Hilton Pond" did we finally have the answer. To learn the fate of this wandering turtle's reproductive efforts please visit our photo essay for 15-21 April 2009 at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek090415.html . There's also a note about and photo of our oldest-ever bird at Hilton Pond--retrapped this week after a very lengthy absence--as well as a list of all birds banded and recaptured during the seven-day period.

Figure 1. A tiny painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) —scarcely larger than a U.S. quarter —emerged in April 2009 from a nest its mother dug ‘way back in June 2008. Photograph copyright Bill Hilton Jr.

Nature Festivals: Sunny Florida & Appalachian Spring (22-30 April 2009)

We were away from home the second half of April due to presentations, field trips, and/or bird banding workshops we led at nature festivals in Florida and West Virginia. We've described the adventures--complete with images of birds, wildflowers, and other natural stuff--in our "This Week at Hilton Pond" photo essay for 22-30 April 2009. To view the installment, please visit http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek090422.html . As always we include a list of birds banded and recaptured at Hilton Pond during the period, few as they were.

Figure 2. This adult palm warbler (Dendroica palmarum) in breeding plumage was one of the birds we banded at the 2009 New River Birding & Nature Festival in Fayette County, West Virginia. Photograph copyright Bill Hilton Jr.

Mayflower Quiz (1-21 May 2009)

It's been a while since we posted a contest to our Web site, so "This Week at Hilton Pond" we've designed “Mayflower Quiz 2009.” No, it's not a test about your knowledge of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock but of plants we found blooming in South Carolina or West Virginia during the first part of this month. To view our photo essay for 1-21 May 2009--and to see how many Mayflowers you can identify--please visit http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek090501.html .

As always we include a tally of all birds banded or recaptured, and there were quite a few of both during the period. Of particular interest is a mug shot of a Prothonotary warbler female in breeding plumage--a coastal plain species that historically has not nested in the South Carolina Piedmont county of York.

Figure 3. This blue “mystery blossom”—growing on the roadside at Hilton Pond Center—is part of our “Mayflower Quiz” for 2009. The object of the quiz is to get the reader to figure out identifications for all 11 “Mayflowers.” Photograph copyright Bill Hilton Jr. 

Mayflower Quiz: The Answers (22-31 May 2009)

More than 50 people took time to e-mail us their plant identifications as part of “Mayflower Quiz 2009” that we posted in the preceding installment of “This Week at Hilton Pond.” In our current photo essay we provide some info about each bloom and reveal the answers—as well as the name of the person who got the most correct IDs. To see how many of the blossoms you could identify and to learn about our contest winner, please visit the 22-31 May 2009 edition at http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek090522.html .

We hope you'll also want to scroll down to see a list of birds banded or recaptured at Hilton Pond during the period and to read a few miscellaneous nature notes.

Figure 4. This unusual flat “mystery blossom” is part of our “Mayflower Quiz” for 2009. The tiny bloom is only 3/8” in diameter. Photograph copyright Bill Hilton Jr.

To help support the education, research, and conservation work of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, please see http://www.hiltonpond.org/FundingMain.html . Editor.
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The Citizen Scientist (05 June 2009).