Welcome to the Willistown Conservation Trust Blog

News, ideas, questions, and observations from Willistown Conservation Trust Staff as we use local conservation to make a broad impact.

agroecology Farm Sustainable Agriculture

Feeding Our Community

Fred De Long – May 27, 2020 –

Native Plants Stewardship wildflower meadow

Our Native Wildflower Meadow: An Example of How to Heal Nature from Home

Blake Goll – May 27, 2020 –

Conservation Native Plants Stewardship

Rain Gardens – Digging Deeper

Andrew Kirkpatrick – May 26, 2020 –

Bird Conservation Bird ecology Bird Events Conservation Uncategorized

Video – 7 Ways to Give Traveling Birds a Boost – Flappy Hour Recap

Communications Team – May 20, 2020 –

Nature Photography Preserves

Tag the Trust, Win Some Swag!

Communications Team – May 14, 2020 –

Uncategorized

Clean Water Science Pioneer – Ruth Patrick

Watershed Protection Team – May 13, 2020 –

Bird Banding Bird Conservation Motus

Moving Targets

Communications Team – April 29, 2020 –

Conservation General Nature

Seeking the Healing Power of Nature on Earth Day

Bonnie Van Alen – April 22, 2020 –

Stewardship Volunteers

Stewardship Volunteer Program

Mike Cranney – April 20, 2020 –

agroecology Farm Sustainable Agriculture

Plants Want to Live

Fred De Long – April 20, 2020 –

Bird Banding Bird Conservation Birds

How the Trust Helps Birds

Communications Team – April 20, 2020 –

Stewardship Watershed

Marvelous Macroinvertebrates

Watershed Protection Team – April 20, 2020 –

Bird Banding Bird Conservation migration

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Provides Grant to Track Species of Greatest Concern in Northeast

Bird Conservation Team – April 20, 2020 –

Nature Nature Education Rushton Nature Keepers

Nature Escapes for Kids: Create Your Own Headdress

Blake Goll – April 9, 2020 –

Interns, Co-Ops Watershed

Meet Our Newest Watershed Team Members

Watershed Protection Team – April 8, 2020 –

Bird Conservation Rushton Conservation Center

Designing the Future of Motus

Bird Conservation Team – April 6, 2020 –

Nature Nature Education Rushton Nature Keepers

Nature Escapes for Kids: Healing Forest Art Walk

Blake Goll – March 26, 2020 –

Nature Nature Education Rushton Nature Keepers

Nature Escapes for Kids: Building Toad Abodes and Heart Space

Blake Goll – March 24, 2020 –

Native Plants native wildflower meadow Stewardship wildflower meadow

Create Your Own Meadow – Step 3: Preserve

Stewardship Team – March 19, 2020 –

General

Update Regarding COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Willistown Conservation Trust – March 13, 2020 –

Academic Partners Conservation Interns, Co-Ops Watershed

Meet our Watershed Protection Program co-ops!

Jspragins – July 1, 2019

Each summer, Willistown Conservation Trust hosts students who are pursuing degrees related to the conservation work we do here. We...

Conservation Nature Watershed

Refill Your Water Bottle

Lauren McGrath – July 1, 2019

Human reliance on commercially bottled water is one of the single largest contributors to plastic pollution. At Willistown Conservation Trust,...

Bird Banding Bird ecology migration

For the Love of Birds

Blake Goll – November 14, 2018

On the morning before Halloween, the hedgerows and meadows of Rushton were teeming with migratory birds that had descended on...

Bird banding, Bird Conservation, Brown Creeper, fall migration, Golden-crowned kinglet, kinglet, songbird migration

Bird Banding Bird ecology

Banders Seeing Purple

Blake Goll – October 28, 2018

This is the time of the season when banders are beginning to grow weary as a result of having been...

Bird banding, fall songbird migration, migration, Myrtle Warbler, songbird banding, yellow-rumped warbler

Bird Banding Bird ecology migration

When it's Cold Outside, I've Got the Month of May

Blake Goll – October 20, 2018 – 6 Replies

As if we weren't already a motley crew, banders donned their mismatch layers of winter coats, thrifted fleeces, alpaca fingerless...

Bird banding, bird migration, Cape May Warbler, fall songbird migration, purple finch, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Bird Banding Bird ecology migration

Something to Chat About

Blake Goll – October 12, 2018 – 2 Replies

Another dreary, drippy morning on Tuesday surprisingly produced a season record of 54 birds spanning a dazzling 20 species. Highlights...

Bird banding, kids and birds, Rushton Farm, songbird banding, students and birds, yellow-breasted chat

Bird Banding Bird ecology

Not Just Smoke and Sparrows

Blake Goll – October 5, 2018 – 3 Replies

Mornings at Rushton this week were humid with water dripping from every leaf and berry. As the sun ignited the...

Bird banding, Connecticut Warbler, kids and nature, migration, Winter Wren

Bird Banding Bird Conservation migration

How You Like Me Now? Crowds Get Heavy at Rushton

Blake Goll – September 29, 2018

This week of banding was a whirlwind of feathers, fanatics, and fog. It began with our bi-annual Open House last...

Bird banding, Blackpoll warbler, environmental education, Motus Wildlife Tracking, White eyed Vireo

Bird Banding Bird ecology

It's Raining Warblers, Hallelujah!

Blake Goll – September 21, 2018 – 1 Reply

Late September is a thrilling time of abundance in the natural world. As more yellow leaves begin to hustle to...

Bird banding, fall songbird migration, Gray-cheeked Thrush, magnolia warbler, migration, Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Bird Banding Bird ecology migration

Put the Lime in the Chestnut-side

Blake Goll – September 13, 2018 – 3 Replies

Strikingly different from the deep calico colors it flaunts during breeding season, the fall Chestnut-sided Warbler is still a...

American Redstart, Bird banding, Chestnut-sided warbler, fall migration, songbird conservation, veery, wood thrush

agroecology Bird Banding migration

You Look Like a Tall Glass of Waterthrush

Blake Goll – September 6, 2018

The sallow leaves fell slowly through the visible cloak of humidity, dark silhouettes of jays pierced through the gray overhead,...

Bird banding, bird migration, Carolina Wren, fall songbird migration, northern waterthrush, sustainable farming

Bird Banding Bird ecology migration

Warblers Comin' in Hot

Blake Goll – September 4, 2018 – 2 Replies

The Rushton banding crew was back at it this morning, collecting as much data as possible before the temperature exceeded...

American Redstart, Bird banding, fall songbird migration, magnolia warbler, Rushton Woods Preserve, wood thrush

Bird Banding Bird ecology migration

If Black-throated Blues are Here, Fall is Near

Blake Goll – August 30, 2018 – 2 Replies

Even though the autumn equinox has not yet occurred and you're still wistfully packing your bags for one last summer...

Bird banding, Black-throated Blue warbler, early successional shrub habitat, fall songbird migration, Rushton Farm

Bird Banding Bird Conservation migration

A Toast to Our Birds of 2017 and the Peculiar Tower Atop the Greenhouse

Blake Goll – December 20, 2017

I like winter. As December rolls around and the snow sparkles and swirls outside my window, I have no choice...

Bird banding, Connecticut Warbler, Motus Wildlife Tracking, nanotag, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rushton Farm

Bird Banding Bird Conservation migration

Monitoring Songbirds On the Move: Rushton Banding Station's Eighth Autumn

Bird Conservation Team – September 11, 2017 – 1 Reply

The last day of August was the inauguration of our eighth fall banding season at Rushton Woods Preserve. Aside from...

Bird banding, early successional shrub habitat, fall migration, MAPS banding, stopover ecology, sustainable farming

Bird Conservation Native Plants wildflower meadow

Inspiration From a Wildflower Meadow

Blake Goll – December 31, 2016 – 4 Replies

The following is an excerpt taken this year from my journal, "Meadow Walking," an attempt to document the delights of our...

american goldfinch, black swallowtail, false sunflower, grass leaved goldenrod, hyssop leaved boneset, native wildflower meadow, new york ironweed, virginia cup plant

Bird Banding Bird Conservation migration

Autumn Songbird Banding at Rushton Farm – A Community Treasure

Blake Goll – September 16, 2016 – 1 Reply

Fall has arrived, which means 20 billion birds are burning through the night sky with the big dipper at their...

American Redstart, Bird banding, Blue-winged warbler, Chestnut-sided warbler, fall songbird migration, field thistle, White eyed Vireo

Bird Banding Bird Conservation MAPS

Our Woodland Bird Nursery + Highlights from Spring Migration

Blake Goll – July 2, 2016

Two weeks ago the Strawberry Moon rose within the Cusp of Magic. In times past this full moon was so named because...

Bird banding, Common milkweed, Gray Catbird, MAPS banding, migration, native tree, stopover ecology

Amphibian conservation Bird ecology Phenology

Spectacular Spring Secrets

Blake Goll – March 24, 2016 – 2 Replies

The beauty of a cloudy spring day seems to stand out against the sunshine-filled days. Calming gray skies provide depth...

American Woodcock, amphibians, Conservation, spotted salamander, spring peeper, vernal pool, wood frog

Uncategorized

Happy New Year!

Blake Goll – December 31, 2015

Bottoms up! Here's to the things done and left undone in 2015, the birds that were seen and those that...

White eyed Vireo, Winter Wren

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