General News: Have a Nature Adventure
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| A quiet moment on the Pond Quest |
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| Photographic bird guide at viewing station |
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| The geese enjoy Goose Pond |
June 14, 2007
Standing outside the new Quest Visitors Center at the new Hudson Highlands Nature Museum, one is drawn in by the green fields at the height of spring opulence – grass waving, wildflowers blooming, birds calling out as they wing by. Woodlands beckon beyond.
Four Discovery Quests now wend their way through these varied habitats and on Wednesday a small group of visitors walked along the Pond Quest, a half-mile jaunt perfect for an overcast afternoon. Other visitors took off on separate adventures on the Field Quest, the Woodland Quest and the Hiking Quest.
Following our guide books we stopped at the first viewing station at the edge of the pond to look for redwing blackbirds, herons, and the killdeer. A pair of muskrats swam by in the adjoining pond while swallows circled, looking for a tasty insect to eat. Further on, animal tracks had been cast in stones. The Quest guidebook helped identify which paw belonged to which animal.
The guidebook is designed to provide habitat information, with descriptions of how a watershed flows, how frogs and Monarch butterflies hatch and grow, and the importance of growing a buffer of native plants around a pond to maintain its ecological balance.
If one closes his or her eyes while on the Quest, the guidebook shows you how to listen to the abundant sounds of nature – ducks quacking, dragonflies buzzing, and frogs plopping as they hop. You can stay for as long as you want along the quest trails, learning, listening, or just stopping to enjoy the natural beauty of the habitat.
The Grand Opening of the Discovery Quests is Saturday, June 16, at 10 a.m. at the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum on Route 9W in Cornwall. Visit www.hhnaturemuseum.org for details or call (845) 534-5506, ext. 203.
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