As summer winds down, our local birds have finished their breeding season, and the fledglings are striking out on their own. Several birds will be switching their diets from insects to high fat seeds and suets to help them get ready for wintering here or migrating south.  That means it’s time to get your bird feeders back out and clean them. You can run them through the dishwasher, or wash with boiling water and soap to get them ready.  

Bird feeding helps sustain birds through the harshest winter days as well as provides exciting interactions with birds as you get to see beautiful cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, goldfinch, titmice, finches and more bouncing around your feeding station every time you peek out your window. You’ll have hours of endless entertainment as you watch your favorite cardinals and goldfinches come to the feeder as well as see surprises like white-breasted nuthatches and fox sparrows.  

Pickering Creek Audubon Center’s annual birdseed sale will be held from Oct 17th to the Nov 2nd. Friends of the birds can order seed during this time period. A large variety of seeds including black oil sunflower and thistle will be available as well as a variety of seed mixes and suet cakes.  Our seed provider provides a high quality seed, typically with less chaff and other debris than what you will find in seed purchased at big box retailers.  This year all payments will be made by credit card online, staff are available at the office if you prefer to call your payment in.  The largest order wins a free birdfeeder!  

Order forms will be available beginning October 17^th at https://pickeringcreek.org 

Seed pick up will be at our Second Annual Birdseed Social on Monday Nov 7th from 3:30 to 5:30pm at Pickering Creek.   Come have a drink and snack on us, meet fellow bird lovers, and pick up your seed! We will have Pickering Creek staff onsite to answer any bird questions you might have.

Monday Paddle at Pickering Creek Audubon Center

Mondays, September 19th & 26th & October 3rd & 17th

5:00- 6:30 pm

$5 per person

As the evenings cool down, summer ends and the trees begin their preparations for fall, it is a great time to enjoy being on the water! Join us for a leisurely canoe paddle along the shores of Pickering Creek. See the Barn Swallows swoop up their last meal of the evening, rays flap in the water, and the Eagles and Osprey soar overhead. Families welcome!

Nature Walk with the Executive Director: New Forest

Thursday, October 13, 2022

5:00-6:30 PM

$5 per person

Join Director Mark Scallion for a trail walk at the Center. Walks are a great introduction to the Center’s trails and programs and an opportunity for you to learn more about what the Center has to offer and for us to learn about your interests. This month will venture onto Pickering’s new acquired 63 acre woods. We’ll adventure to a different part of the Center each month, so come as often as you like!

Adults Only Twilight Adventure

Friday, October 21st

6:00 – 8:00 PM

$5 per person

Explore Pickering in the waning light of a day as the brilliant fall colors in our meadows and woodlands soften and fade into shadows of the evening. Join Pickering staff for a ¾ mile evening walk along our forest trails that take you from the front of the farm to the waterfront. Sharpen your senses and sense the outdoors in new ways as we look for signs of our wild neighbors that become more active at dusk. End the evening with marshmallows over a campfire and a leisurely wagon ride back to the parking area.

For more information, please visit https://pickeringcreek.org/programs/upcoming-programs/

For over 30 years, Pickering Creek Audubon Center has been the destination for students from Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester and Wicomico Counties to discover and connect with the natural world through exploration, science and engaged learning. During that same time, its 400 acres has offered a haven for individuals, community groups and families of all kinds who seek the peace, enjoyment, exercise and magical sightings that nature provides.

The Center completed a Master Site Plan in 2016 and Strategic Plan in 2020.  One of the highlights of both of those plans is expanding the habitat and trails that are part of Pickering.  As a result of their Master Site Plan, eleven acres were donated to the Center in 2016.  In 2018, Pickering leadership began a process with a neighboring landowner who holds two of the four highest priority parcels for the Center.  The definition of high priority parcels is twofold.  First, those that pose both a risk to guests experience at the center as well as disrupt local habitat if they are logged or are developed as home sites. Second, parcels that have the best opportunity for creating more outdoor exploration opportunities for our community on new trails.  The pandemic stalled the process for a while, but last fall discussions began again with the landowner.  Over the course of the pandemic other neighborhood parcels have been logged, which underscores the importance of preserving remaining forest habitat in the County as well as gives a stark reminder of what can happen on parcels near the center.  Discussions with the neighbor highlighted his desire to recoop his original investment through either logging the parcels or developing three home sites on them.

A steadfast supporter of the center offered a generous opening gift to get the process started.  In March the two parcels, totalling 63 acres were put under contract for Pickering and our fundraising effort began.  We have now raised 80% of the funds required to acquire the parcels, create trails, integrate the parcels into the centers overall campus, ensure we can maintain them over time and seed future protection of neighboring lands.

When students from near and far visit the Center we seek to give them a phenomenal outdoor experience that allows them to practice scientific methods in the field as well as truly experience the wonder and natural beauty of wild, undeveloped space. What makes that experience work so well is the Center’s ability to showcase the flowers and trees and frequent wildlife sightings that get kids (and adults) excited about being outside. Nothing beats seeing a northern harrier scream by or watching two eagles tangle with each other overhead. These experiences are as much a result of our own property management as the land use of our neighbors.

Pickering Creek Audubon Center surrounds these parcels on three sides, sharing in total 1.28 miles of common border. South of the parcels is our main campus’ back meadow, which includes a new trail and viewing platform. North of the parcels is Pickering’s Peterson Woods. On the eastern side, across Pickering Creek’s headwaters, and only 125 feet at its closest and 325 feet at its farthest, visible from our main campus’ “Farm to Bay Trail” that winds its way through the woods, which serves as the primary classroom for 70% of our school groups.

The landowner of these parcels purchased the two parcels in 2006 at the peak of the real estate market, envisioning them as a place for family hunting and recreation and possibly a retirement home in the future. Much has changed since 2006. The real estate market has declined significantly, depressing the value of the parcels, and the interests of the owners have evolved. The landowners have since subdivided the two parcels into three parcels, and have indicated interest in doing some degree of logging, stating that “the woods are ready but the market is not.” The landowner’s intent is to begin installation of septic systems, utilities and an entry drive through to the three parcels, as shown by some of the permits now in hand to carry out these “upgrades” in an effort to recoup the initial investment with a sale to owners ready and able to build up to three houses.

In Pickering’s eyes, the parcels are perfect for Pickering Creek and this community exactly as is.
Any of the modifications to these parcels proposed by the owner diminish their ultimate value for Pickering and this community, which means the time to act is NOW. We have seen firsthand the effects of timbering in the neighborhood recently. Timbering that occurred adjacent to our Peterson Woods parcel has not only diminished the beauty of the place in the near 5-10 year term, but has also caused significant expense in clearing the subsequent blow downs of remaining trees and limited our ability to use that portion of our campus in the ways we would like. We need to avoid these and other detrimental outcomes with the parcels that border the main campus of Pickering Creek. Two waterfront homes overlooking the Centers main campus would significantly diminish the wild and remote experience in the great outdoors that Pickering is known for and provides for the community.

From the most basic of needs, acquisition of these parcels would protect the wild experience for school students, summer campers, hikers, paddlers and essentially all of our guests to the Center. It would protect the gem that Pickering Creek is to Talbot County, and Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

We have negotiated with the owner an acceptable price, and have a contract in place, contingent on raising sufficient funds by September 2022 to purchase these 63 acres. Including funds to design and implement a trail system with associated signage which is fully incorporated into the existing Pickering campus, assure future care of the property and seed future land protection around the Center we need to raise $2.5 million.

An additional 63 acres of woods to explore will offer the community and students who visit Pickering at least two miles of new trails through a spectacular woodland adding to the existing trail system and connecting the main campus with the Peterson Woods. New trails will offer great walks through mature woods, and all the wildlife sightings that come with undeveloped land that provides critical habitat in the vicinity. Bushy tailed red fox and a gang of wild turkeys has been spotted marching through the woods, along with countless songbirds and this spring’s salamander eggs in the vernal pools. Spring woodland wildflowers abound, chorus frogs happily sing on spring nights, Barred Owls nest in beech tree hollows and mountain laurel flourishes. There are two notable creek overlooks, with views of the Center’s main campus woods directly across the creek. Two streams with amphibian laden vernal pools run through the property adding nice diversity to the habitats we already have. All of this could be protected from development and logging, and shared instead with visitors young and old.

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of having the resource of trails and outdoor exploration for our community. Since the pandemic began, we have seen drastically more people using the Center’s trails, many of whom are first time trail users. The trails provided a chance for many to decompress, be away from their home in a safe place, spend time safely with family and friends, and find solace during difficult times.

With your help, Pickering Creek Audubon Center will be able to offer increased green space for the public to explore and expand the places for children to explore as they develop their understanding of natural systems and the part they play in them. By connecting people of all ages to birds, the habitats they need to survive, and the unparalleled beauty of the Chesapeake Bay region, we can inspire this and future generations to steward their surroundings. To learn more visit: https://pickeringcreek.org/getinvolved/morespacetoconnect/

Starry Night: Perseids & Summer Constellations
Friday, August 12, 2022
8:30 – 10:00 pm
$5 per person
The perseids are some of the year’s most exciting meteor showers and the best place to see them is somewhere without a lot of external lights. That’s why Peterson woods is an ideal getaway for viewing not just the perseids but also our fantastic summer constellations! Relax and enjoy the view from the Peterson woods lawn as Pickering Creek naturalists regale stories of the constellations, facts about the perseids and hopefully catch some shooting stars to boot! REGISTER HERE

The Art of Nature: Nature Journaling
Saturday, August 27, 2022
10 – 11:30 am
$10 per person
A practice spanning centuries, nature journaling is a great way to sharpen your observation skills, think critically and practice drawing! Without nature journals we wouldn’t have the works of some of the great ecological thinkers like Aldo Leopold, Charles Darwin, Jane Goodall & Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Learn how to do your own nature journal with detailed observations and sketches while enjoying a hike around Pickering Creek led by Pickering Creek naturalists. Journaling materials will be provided but feel free to bring your own as well! REGISTER HERE

In 2020, Pickering Creek Audubon Center celebrated it’s work with “Celebrate at Your Place – Join us for another night at home” and in 2021 with Dive into Nature, which included small group outdoor nature events held throughout the year.  Each of these efforts played a key role in raising funds to keep the Center’s science and outdoor learning experiences in front of students during the pandemic and transition its school programming to a virtual world (and back again) and work with classroom teachers to continue connecting their students to science and the outdoors.  Funds raised through these campaigns allowed Pickering Creek to keep its trails open (with no admission fee) and looking great for the record number of visitors we have welcomed throughout the pandemic, as the need for respite increased.

This year Pickering Creek offers the Something of the Marvelous Challenge.  Supporters of the Center’s work through the challenge will receive an invitation to either a delightful autumn nature program at the Center or a tour of the impressive gardens at Tim and Lisa Wyman’s historic Wye Heights in Easton, Maryland. Unlike Pickering Creek’s Tour Toast and Taste, Something of the Marvelous has no tent, no auction, and no dinners for sale.  It is all outdoors- just soaking in the marvelous blooms and scenery of the amazing 10-acre garden along the Wye River.

The home’s stunning gardens and grounds will be open on June 4 to approximately 250 supporters of Pickering Creek Audubon Center’s award-winning education programs participating in the Something of the Marvelous Challenge. Timed entrances scheduled throughout the day on June 4^th will include complimentary beverages, time to explore, and special pop-up events such as live raptor presentations and roaming plant identification docent ready to offer guidance as needed.

Pickering Creek’s fundraising goal for the 2022 Something of the Marvelous Challenge is to raise $100,000 for Pickering’s education programs. Please join us as we celebrate our achievements and prepare for the future.

School groups, families, wildlife enthusiasts and photographers from far and wide visit Pickering Creek Audubon Center throughout the year to participate in hands-on outdoor learning, volunteer experiences and immersing themselves in the natural beauty of the Eastern Shore.

Challenge gifts must be made by June 1 to qualify to attend the June 4 Wye Heights Garden Tour.  For more information please visit www.pickeringcreek.org

WEBINAR: Animal Architects
Thursday, June 9, 2022
7:00 – 8:00 pm
$5 per person
Humans aren’t the only species that build homes for shelter and warmth. This webinar will dive into the amazing world of animal architects and the inspiration humans draw from these beautiful buildings. From the labyrinthian ant nest to the iconic Beaver dam and many other homes in between come and learn about amazing structures built by wildlife across Delmarva. REGISTER HERE

Nature Walk with the Executive Director: Sunset Walk
Tuesday June 14, 2022
7:00-8:30 PM
$5 per person
Join Director Mark Scallion for a trail walk at the Center. Walks are a great introduction to the Center’s trails and programs and an opportunity for you to learn more about what the Center has to offer and for us to learn about your interests. We’ll adventure to a different part of the Center each month, so come as often as you like. REGISTER HERE

Pickering Creek’s four miles of trails are open to the public dawn to dusk every day. Spring highlights include beautiful views of the Creek from Pickering’s pier, plentiful woodpeckers, warblers, osprey, heron and eagles and many spring blooming flowers. In addition to wandering on your own the Center invites the community to join us at one of our upcoming programs, they are a great opportunities to get outside this spring.

Amphibian Adventure
Friday, May 6, 2022
5:30 – 7:00 pm
$5 per person
Do you love fantastic frogs and terrific toads? Have you ever seen a shy salamander? Come join Pickering Creek educators to learn about the many different types of amphibians in Maryland and where they live! Join the staff on a frog hunt through the wetlands and make your own toad abode!

Sunset Canoe on Pickering Creek
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
6:30-8:00 PM
$10 per person
Enjoy a relaxed paddle along the shores of Pickering Creek at a beautiful time of day. See Barn swallows swoop for their last evening meal, Ospreys maneuvering to their nighttime roost, and bright green colors of young leaves. Canoes & Lifejackets provided.

Nature Mythbusters!
Friday, May 13, 2022
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
$5 per person
Does moss really only grow on the Northside of trees? Can you get warts from touching toads? If you’ve ever wondered about some of these questions and other nature myths, legends and bizarre truths then join Pickering Creek educators for this guided walk around the property. We’ll answer your burning nature questions, from the simple to the complex, while we stroll through the meadows, forests and wetlands.

Saturday Service Volunteer Day: Caterpillar Counts
Saturday, May 14, 2022
9:00-11:30 AM
No Charge
Arthropods are an important food source for birds and other wildlife. They also have economic and environmental value. “CaterpillarsCount!” is a citizen science project for measuring the seasonal variation, also known as phenology, and abundance of arthropods like caterpillars, beetles, and spiders found on the foliage of trees and shrubs. From 9 to 11:30 on this Saturday service day, volunteers will be surveying and counting bugs on specific trees and shrubs in designated survey sites. Group leaders will provide all materials needed and guide volunteers through survey procedures as we go. All you need is an interest and willingness to count bugs!

Nature Walk with the Executive Director: Wetlands and Meadows
Thursday May 19, 2022
9:00-10:30AM
$5 per person
Join Director Mark Scallion for a trail walk at the Center. Walks are a great introduction to the Center’s trails and programs and an opportunity for you to learn more about what the Center has to offer and for us to learn about your interests. We’ll adventure to a different part of the Center each month, so come as often as you like.

WEBINAR: Animal Architects
Thursday, June 9, 2022
7:00 – 8:00 pm
$5 per person
Humans aren’t the only species that build homes for shelter and warmth. This webinar will dive into the amazing world of animal architects and the inspiration humans draw from these beautiful buildings. From the labyrinthian ant nest to the iconic Beaver dam and many other homes in between come and learn about amazing structures built by wildlife across Delmarva.

Nature Walk with the Executive Director: Sunset Walk
Tuesday June 14, 2022
7:00-8:30 PM
$5 per person
Join Director Mark Scallion for a trail walk at the Center. Walks are a great introduction to the Center’s trails and programs and an opportunity for you to learn more about what the Center has to offer and for us to learn about your interests. We’ll adventure to a different part of the Center each month, so come as often as you like.

All programs at Pickering Creek Audubon Center require advanced registration. Participants may register online at https://pickeringcreek.org/programs/upcoming-programs/

The ragged and sometime unkempt nature of a wild meadow is often is short supply for creatures who need it! Pickering Creek and its partners are working reverse that trend with a newly created meadow and trail designed for your enjoyment! The new meadow trail is just under a mile long, and weaves through two emergent meadow habitats on the far side of the center’s pond. There are two interpretive panels. One describes the many creatures that call this type of meadow home, and a second panel illustrates the seasonal beauty of the area. At the farthest part of the trail, visitors will arrive at Les’ Lookout Viewing Platform.  From the platform visitors are treated with a panoramic view of the meadow in all its seasonal glory. Les Roslund was an avid birder and sharer of nature, who passed away in 2020.

Why are we so excited about meadow habitat? You may have heard the stories of pollinators in decline. Meadows, defined as an area covered with a diverse collection of native herbaceous plants, are the habitat that many pollinators require. Some of our most important pollinators include butterflies, bees, moths, bats, and a wide array of other insects. Unlike a lawn, the structural diversity of a meadow supplies critical food and shelter to insects and small mammals. These creatures, in turn, provide a food source for songbirds, raptors, and owls.  Below the surface, in a healthy meadow lie the powerhouses; microbes.  Nitrogen, carbon and oxygen, are recycled in the soil, and supply the plants with protection from harmful pathogens, help aggregate the soil, act as filter systems, and are efficient carbon storage facilities. All these systems both above and below the ground work together to create a robust biodiverse meadow.

In 2016 two agriculture fields totaling 25 acres were converted by Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage into the meadow at Pickering Creek, and in 2018 Pickering Creek received a Recreational Trails grant, to start the construction of the trail. Now, well established, the meadow features native warm seasonal grasses, an assortment of wildflowers, including white snakeroot and goldenrod; several varieties of shrubs such as marsh elder, and from the neighboring forest a fairly persistent invasion of sweet gum and loblolly pines. Each year 1/3 of the meadow is mowed to maintain the emergent meadow state.

So put your walking shoes on, grab your binoculars, or just your imagination and come spend some time on the meadow trail! The pollinators in the warm weather will not disappoint!

Meander through mud, wallow in the wetland, and frolic in the forest at our summer EcoCamp! Our exciting, unique, and hands-on activities allow campers to engage with nature at their own pace, by providing a welcoming and safe environment to explore. Campers learn about nature and gain outdoor skills through hiking, swimming, playing games, fishing, and creating crafts. Small groups of campers will discover the wetlands, forests, creek, and pond along with an experienced counselor and EcoCamp alumni (our enthusiastic Junior Naturalists). Test your skills at spotting wildlife, playing camouflage, catching frogs, building forts, and canoeing.

Pickering Creek Audubon Center’s EcoCamp has a philosophy that campers will have rich learning experiences in a fun and safe outdoor environment. EcoCamp’s small groups and low student to instructor ratio provide for an exceptional outdoor summer camp experience. Camp Director Alex Lloyd has been teaching outdoor education for six years, most recently at Pickering Creek, and has her BS in Ethnobotany from Frostburg State University. Alex served as a camp counselor at Pickering Creek in 2019 after a successful year of teaching school year programs for the Center.  She rejoined the Center as a full time staff person this past summer.  She will be joined by an assistant director and by three summer counselors who will lead campers on fun, exciting, safe, and educational outdoor adventures. Pickering Creek offers exceptionally well-trained and experienced instructors and leaders for all of its programs.

Each camp lasts one week and focuses on a unique nature-inspired theme. Pickering Creek offers camps for three age groups: Fledglings (students entering K-1^st next fall), Larks (students entering 2^nd-4^th), and Shrikes (students entering 5^th-7^th). All camps operate from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, with an option for Fledglings to be picked up at 2:00 pm.

Fledglings will get a gentle introduction to the outdoors through hikes and activities especially tailored for their abilities. Walks are short in length and activities vary throughout the program to keep them interested and active.  Fledglings spend some quiet time indoors after lunch napping or reading, and have an optional snack time in the afternoon.

The Larks EcoCamps engage campers with hikes, free explorations, and lessons on identifying the many animals that call Maryland home. Campers hike and play throughout the Center’s 400 acres, and seine for aquatic wildlife in Pickering Creek.  Larks can choose from all seven weeks of camp this summer.

Shrike campers will be introduced to the same themes as younger groups, but the challenges are greater. These older campers will hone their survival skills with shelter building, orienteering, longer canoe trips, water hikes, tracking, and camouflage games.

Week 1, June 20 – 24: Wet & Wild Cool off in the waters of Pickering Creek. We’ll be exploring the muddy freshwater wetlands, looking for the little creeks and puddles that dot our forest and seine and fish in our creek. Be prepared to get wet and muddy as we wade through these habitats collecting and watching wildlife, creating dams and new pools, and learning how water is the center for all habitats – big and small!

Week 2, June 27 – July 1: Puzzle Masters asks “What grows when it eats, but dies when it drinks? What breaks but never falls, and what falls but never breaks?” We’ll answer nature riddles, use our team-building skills to complete challenges, and find clues to follow a scavenger hunt through the forests, wetlands, and shores of Pickering Creek!

Week 3, July 11 – 15: Tall Tails will introduce campers to the magic of storytelling! As you explore our forest, catch frogs in the wetland – make the story of your summer a captivating one. We’ll imagine a butterfly’s journey in the fields and decide the tale of a fish’s fate in the creek. Hear tales of animal heroes and folklore and create new stories everyday of our own to share!

Week 4, July 18 – 22: EcoCamp Village imagines a home-away-from-home for campers.  If we lived at Pickering Creek, how would we live? We’ll build shelters in the forest, make baskets from vines and gather acorns and walnuts in the forest. As we seine in the creek, we will learn about all the animals that depend on the fish in the water for food.  Rope-making and face-painting will abound as we learn to work together in our exploration of Pickering Creek!

Week 5, July 25 – 29: Outdoor Survivor will prepare campers to survive outdoors! Learn how to predict the weather, what to watch out for and what can help in an emergency, and how to build shelters and keep warm. Find out more about the tricks that animals (and even some plants) use to survive in difficult conditions and test your skills! After a week as an Outdoor Survivor, you’ll be ready for your next adventure!

Week 6, Aug 1 – 5: Nature Ninjas In the past, we were Forest Ninjas; this summer we are expanding to the Creek and Wetlands as Nature Ninjas. We’ll practice the art of camouflage and close observation. We’ll learn how to be calm, quiet, and prepared. We will be “One with Nature” and learn to activate our Quiet Mind.

Week 7, August 8 – 12: Adventureland  From water games to fort building, nature art to seining, wetland traversing to log flipping! Enjoy all your favorite parts of Pickering– choose your own adventure at EcoCamp’s final hurrah!

Transportation will be available from the Kohls parking lot in Easton to Camp each day on the following weeks:  June 27-July 1, July 18-July22, Aug 8- Aug 12.

Online registration will begin in early March 2022 at 10:00. Find information on transportation, registration, and scholarships at www.pickeringcreek.org. Contact Alex Lloyd, EcoCamp Director, for questions at [email protected]. Spaces will fill fast so don’t wait!