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Waterman Conservation Education Center

@watermancenter.bsky.social

340 followers 1.9K following 75 posts

Promote conservation education, outdoor recreation, and environmental literacy. We serve our members, the Twin Tiers community, and all visitors to our collection of nature preserves. (Border counties of Central New York and Pennsylvania.)

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Nov 26

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · 6h

The animal engineers at our local pond have been busy preparing for winter!
#beaver #beavers #beaverroads #beaverlodge #wetlandwildlife #pondlife #winterpreparation

youtu.be/CgmiWISBIKQ?...

Beaver Canals

YouTube video by Waterman's STNY Nature

youtu.be

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · 5d

Typical Oriental bittersweet showing its tree-strangling behavior and bright fall-ripened berries
#invasivespecies #orientalbittersweet #vines #Celastrus #Celastrusorbiculatus #bittersweet #invasive #invasivevine

Two trees are pictured, with the sycamore on the right showing a python-like winding vine of Oriental bittersweet girdling it

Yellowed leaves and bright orange-red berries of Oriental bittersweet

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · 16d

Canada geese playing King of the Mountain on a local beaver lodge
#fallmigration #fallmigration2025 #seasonalchange #wetlandwildlife #geese #canadageese #naturephotography #beaverlodge

About 11-12 Canada geese fill up the slope of a beaver lodge, some sleeping or resting, and one near the top taking off with wings spread

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · 20d

The delicate flowers of witch-hazel draw nutrients in part from their own senescing leaves. They bring both color and fragrance at a time when most flowers have faded
#witchhazel #witchhazelflowers #autumnflowers #fallcolors #fallnature #nutrientrecycling #senescence

A twig of witch-hazel shows a colorful cluster of flowers, each one with four yellow strap-like petals

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 18

The very smooth and round face of an #Americanbullfrog

#frogs #bullfrogs #pondlife #wetlandlife #amphibians #wetlandsmatter #naturephotography #frogsmakeussmile #frogfriends #frogfans #froggyfriends #froggyfans

An American bullfrog stares straight into the camera from the shallow waters of a pond, with a visible reflection of its throat, snout, and eyes. The photo highlights how smooth and rounded and broad its mouth is

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 16

Frogs don't eat Hickory tussock moth caterpillars as a rule because the stinging ("urticating") hairs normally protect the caterpillar and make it unpalatable. This Green frog didn't get that memo but may not choose to do this again!
#greenfrog #frogs #amphibians #hickorytussockcaterpillar

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 15

Cinnamon ferns turn beautiful fall colors on their way out! These are along the boardwalk at #sapsuckerwoods at the #cornelllaborornithology

#cinnamonferns #ferns #fallferns #wetlandferns #fernfans #fernfriends #naturewalks #hiking #fallcolors

Tall Cinnamon ferns in beautiful shades of green to rusty orange cluster next to a tree (view from a boardwalk)

One of the boardwalks through the wetlands area of Sapsucker Woods at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 13

Cornell's Sapsucker Woods doesn't just have wonderful birds and beautiful ferns--it has fabulous bullfrogs! The duckweed and watermeal couldn't hide this one from us 🐸
#froggyfriday #frogfriday #frogs #bullfrogs #amphibians #pondlife #naturewalks #cornelllabofornithology #cornell

A fat bullfrog shows its smooth round face in a pond; its back and legs are mostly covered in the duckweed and watermeal that completely cover the surface of the water

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 12

Northern tooth fungus (Climacodon septentrionalis) found in an old-growth forest--it got our attention!
#fungifriday #fungus #fungi #fungifans #fungifriends #parasiticfungus #parasiticfungi #plantpathogens #oldgrowthforest #hiking #mushrooms

Side view of Northern tooth fungus on a living tree shows the off-white shell-like layers

Front view of Northern tooth fungus with a hand in front to show scale. This particular fungus was at least a foot wide and high and shows the whitish-yellow overlapping, fan-shaped caps on a living tree

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 11

Our 3-minute video of #fallwildflowers shows what you can see right now on your nature walks
#sonication #buzzpollination #bees #closedflowers #bottlegentians #newenglandasters #turtlehead #gentians #burnweed #pollinators #nature #naturevideo #fallnature
youtube.com/watch?v=r_k6...

Bees and Fall Flowers

YouTube video by Waterman's STNY Nature

youtube.com

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 10

Thanks again—that’s excellent information

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 10

Thanks! We considered all three species, especially since our photo wasn't taken with a macro lens. Could you share what makes you lean toward Hemitrichia?

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 10

There certainly can be visible fruiting bodies on the top, but a lot of times they are hiding underneath as they seem to crave a LOT of moisture

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 10

A neat #slimemold, Trichia varia

#slimemolds #slimemoulds #myxomycetes #naturephotography

Tiny orange balls form a semicircle around a knot of wood on a rotten log

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 8

This was our first season getting to find the fruiting bodies, and it's very exciting for us, too. When you see that unique colored wood (it will be on very rotted logs), always take a closer look and flip it over!

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Sep 8

A fun (and rare) find today: Dog's Nose Fungus! And this one was good enough to look like its name #fabulousfungi #fungi #fungifriends #dogsnosefungus

A round black fungus with what looks like a dog's nose protruding is on the side of a fallen log with no bark

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Aug 26

There were tiny surprises for us in this casually arty photograph of Arrow-leaved tearthumb (Persicaria sagittata) on a local hike #wetlands #wetlandplants #pond #hiking #naturephotography #persicaria #spiders #babyspiders

A web is bending over some Persicaria sagittata (Arrow-leaved tearthumb) on the edge of a pond. The web is filled with tiny spiders

Close up of the small white flower of Arrow-leaved tearthumb shows the web pulling it over and a better view of many baby spiders in it

Another closer crop of the original photo shows another white flower of the Arrow-leaved tearthumb and one of its leaves, as well as the spiky stem that gives the plant its name--and more baby spiders!

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Aug 24

This log may look like someone stained it with teal paint, but it's a #fungus! If you come across rotting wood that looks like this, now is the time of year to see the fruiting bodies known as #greenwoodcups!
#FungiSunday #greenelfcups #mushrooms #fungi #fungifans

Rotting log with teal-colored stain--actually a fungus

A cropped photo showing the Green wood cups (or Green elfcups) up close. They are initially a very bright turquoise with a rough, often irregular cap-like shape--and they can be tiny and easy to miss!

A bright turquoise collection of Green wood cups on a small decaying tree branch lying on dead leaves

A dead log that is densely covered with more mature and therefore more teal-colored Green wood cups

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Aug 8

Wood ducks in a row 😀
#ducks #woodducks #beaverlodge #wetlands #wetlandswildlife #pondlife

Nine juvenile wood ducks sit on various branches coming out of a pond, with six of them on the left sitting on the edge of a beaver lodge

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Aug 7

The swamp milkweed is the hottest nectar bar in town these days, and everybody wants to have a drink there! Here two Bronze Copper butterflies share some space
#butterflies #pollinators #swampmilkweed #naturephotography

Two Bronze Copper butterflies face each other on the same Swamp Milkweed flower. Their wings are orange and white with black spots

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Aug 6

There's a reason American Goldfinches are called "thistle birds"! As #granivores, their main food source is seeds; the #bullthistle provides these and also thistle down for their nests right at the time that they are breeding (now!)
#goldfinches #birds #breedingseason

A bright yellow (male) American Goldfinch pull out a bull thistle seedhead

A bright yellow (male) American Goldfinch sits on a bull thistle with thistle down in its beak. A bee with obvious pollen basket is getting nectar from a purple bull thistle in the background

Side view of an American Goldfinch sitting on a bull thistle that's gone to seed. The thistle down forms a comical cone on its beak

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Aug 5

The tiny floret(s) in the center of many Wild Carrot (aka Queen Anne's lace) umbels has been a mystery since Darwin but has been shown to attract more pollinators to the plant. It seems to mimic an insect, promising opportunities for mating and eating #pollinators #wildcarrot #plantmystery

Close up of the center floret of Wild Carrot (Queen Anne's lace), here a ruby red with several stamens visible

Umbel of Wild Carrot (aka Queen Anne's lace) showing a heart-shaped dark purple center floret. The florets range from light ruby red to dark, almost black, purple

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Jul 29

Monarch butterflies are pairing up now! Their mating can take from a few minutes to about 16 hours and can include flying from location to location while attached (as it did in this case) #monarchbutterflies #monarchmating #butterflies #nature #birdsandbees

The male monarch butterfly is joined with the female in a tree

The male monarch holds onto a goldenrod plant with the female attached and hanging upside down

Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Jul 27

On the left the Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) and on the right the Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe): Can you spot the differences? #moths #clearwings #snowberryclearwing #hummingbirdmoths #hummingbirdclearwing #pollinators #monarda #beebalm #wildbergamot

The Snowberry Clearwing moth drinking from a wild bergamot (bee balm) flower. Notice the dark banding and black legs

A Hummingbird Clearwing moth drinking from a wild bergamot (bee balm) flower. Notice the lighter legs, lack of eye banding, and orange/brown coloring of wings and body

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Waterman Conservation Education Center @watermancenter.bsky.social · Jul 23

Thistle drama!
#wasps #bees #naturephotography #pollinators

A bumblebee and a honey bee are next to each other on a thistle flower with a shadow of a wasp in the background

A wasp flies towards a bumble bee and honey bee getting nectar from a thistle flower