Nighttime Nature Walk

Outing is a healthy, enjoyable way to learn

There are few things quite as spooky as a nighttime walk in the woods but that spookiness was the big draw last Saturday for the town’s fourth annual evening nature walk, “Things That Go Bump In the Night.”

The annual event is hosted by the town Open Space, Trails, and Riverfront Committee with generous help from numerous partners and volunteers. This year the committee got assistance from Girl Scout Troop 255, Boy Scout troops 42, 6, 45, 246 and 83, Cub Scout Pack 45, and members of the Southern Saratoga YMCA’s Togetherness Committee.

The free hike drew nearly 200 participants attracted by a chance to take a guided walk along the trail in Veterans Park at dusk or in total darkness while learning about local wildlife as they stopped at four nature stations.

“I pushed for this with the committee because we’re about connecting people with nature,” said Open Space Committee member Kristin Murphy. “This gives families a chance to take a hike and learn about nature. It’s good for kids to be out in nature when it’s close to Halloween. Plus, it’s educational and fun.”

The education began before the hikers left the pavilion where nature lover Frank Berlin filled a picnic table with items he’s collected from youthful hunting expeditions or more recent nature hikes. The table held items from wild turkeys, deer, and ducks.

The theme for this year’s event was “Migrate, Hibernate, or Hang Out in New York State”. As each group reached an education station they were given a brief introduction about one specific wildlife species and shown examples of that species.

The kids were also given a chance to spin a wheel to determine whether the species hibernates, migrates or stays in the state during the winter. The game-like aspect drew many young hands in the air at each stop.

The four stations were manned by knowledgeable instructors who passed along information on each species while keeping it all fun. Erin McCabe and Tori Herkalo of the Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park welcomed hikers to the first station.

Holding two large snapping turtle shells McCabe told the group the turtles can weigh up to 35 pounds and the shells can be as large as 20 inches wide.

“Turtles are hibernators in the winter which allows them to stay (in the state) and not eat while they’re here,” Herkalo said. “In the winter they go to the bottom of ponds and lakes and they slow their metabolic rates down and breathe through their tails.”

At station two Elizabeth Jarosz, a volunteer for the event and a Shen teacher, discussed the state’s largest mammal, the moose. Pointing to a skull of a moose calf with its antlers still attached, she told the group how moose remain in the state during the winter by eating twigs and branches of trees.

“Studies show there are about 400 in New York State,” Jarosz said. “They don’t hibernate or migrate. They stay right here in the state for the winter. The calves will stay with their moms and the bulls, the boys, will go

off on their own.”

Station three focused on woodchucks where Hannah McManus of the state Department of Environmental Conservation stood beside a stuffed one and explained how they hibernate in winter and bring their heart rate down to five beats a minute.

“They live underground where they have tunnels that can be 60 feet long,” she said. “The homes can have several layers, including a special room that they use for a bathroom.”

Between each educational station jack-o-lanterns carved by the members of Cub Scout Pack 45 lit the pathway for the groups to follow.

At the last station, Kelsey Clark stood behind several large Canada Geese decoys lit up by a string of holiday lights. Clark discussed how some of the flocks migrate while others remain in the state for the winter.

“Those that breed and nest in Canada in the summer migrate when winter comes,” she said. “And there is another population of Canada Geese that was bred on Long Island that remains in the New York State during the winter.”

When the hiking groups had completed all four stations it was on to the camp fire at the park’s pavilion for S’mores.

PHOTOS BY GLENN GRIFFITH Clifton Park resident Frank Berlin, right, shows off a few duck eggs he found on his walks in the woods around town as part of the Open Space Committee’s “Things That Go Bump In the Night” nature walk last Saturday

A group participating in last week’s Clifton Park’s nighttime nature walk get a close look at the antlers and skeletal head of a moose calf

A group of participants of the Clifton Park Open Space Committee’s “Things That Go Bump In the Night” nature walk take a look at some wildlife items at a table manned by volunteer Frank Berlin. In this photo a sapling with evidence of beaver activity draws the group’s interest.

PHOTOS BY GLENN GRIFFITH Tori Herkalo, center in yellow ball cap, of the Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Nature Center shows a snapping turtle’s shell to one of the early group’s at last Saturday’s “Things That Go Bump In the Night” nature walk in Clifton Park. At left Erin McCabe gathers up a second shell to show the group

Two young participants of Clifton Park’s “Things That Go Bump In the Night” nature walk listen to Hannah McManus of DEC as she explains the habits of the woodchuck. A jack-o-lantern helps light the way at last week’s nighttime nature walk in Clifton Park