Waterman Conservation Education Center
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watermancenter.bsky.social
Waterman Conservation Education Center
@watermancenter.bsky.social
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.)
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
November 4, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Typical Oriental bittersweet showing its tree-strangling behavior and bright fall-ripened berries
#invasivespecies #orientalbittersweet #vines #Celastrus #Celastrusorbiculatus #bittersweet #invasive #invasivevine
October 30, 2025 at 3:27 PM
October 19, 2025 at 3:58 PM
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
October 15, 2025 at 3:34 PM
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
September 16, 2025 at 1:47 AM
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
September 15, 2025 at 1:07 AM
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
September 13, 2025 at 1:33 AM
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
September 12, 2025 at 4:06 PM
September 10, 2025 at 1:08 AM
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
September 8, 2025 at 10:26 PM
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
August 26, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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
August 24, 2025 at 11:54 PM
August 8, 2025 at 10:51 PM
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
August 7, 2025 at 2:16 PM
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
August 6, 2025 at 3:27 PM
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
August 5, 2025 at 2:07 PM
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
July 29, 2025 at 12:02 AM
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
July 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
July 23, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Slimy Waxcaps (Gliophorus irrigatus) really live up to their name!
#mushrooms #fungi #nature #waxcaps #slimysunday
July 21, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Dairying ants, their aphid flock, and the aphid wasp wolf
#dairyingants #aphids #aphidwasp #mutualism
July 13, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Common whitetail or Long-tailed skimmer (Plathemis lydia) at the local #wetlands

#pondlife #dragonflies #naturephotography
June 19, 2025 at 11:28 PM
The latest video in our fern playlist has dropped, and we had a lot of soggy-footed fun putting this together. In less than three minutes, anyone can feel confident identifying it!
#ferns #livingfossil #cinnamonferns #wetlandplants #frondfriends #fernfans

youtu.be/0FvlR-LQ5_U?...
Cinnamon Ferns
YouTube video by Waterman's STNY Nature
youtu.be
June 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM