Summer Camp - Week 3

The third week of regular summer camp has begun at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest!  This morning's rain will not do much to change the dry state of the swamp, but the tree frogs were calling in anticipation of puddles suitable for egg laying.  We were glad to see the rain, especially as we rescheduled the boardwalk tour from this morning to yesterday morning.

Here are a few of the things we spotted during our walk through the dry, old-growth, cypress-tupelo swamp!

Golden Silk Orbweaver (Nephila clavipes), female

Golden Silk Orbweavers, female (large) and male (small) eating prey

Unidentified orbweaver

Red-femured Spotted Orbweaver (Neoscona domiciliorum)

Walking Stick (Diapheromera femorata)
(left side thumb)

Fawn pretending it cannot be seen

Rain kept us in most of the day, but the skies lightened after lunch and campers were able to go in search of letters and numbers created by nature's plant life.

Some of the Xs and Os

Images by Mark Musselman