Oak Ridge Today

Wildlife nature walk at Freels Bend on Saturday, Jan. 20

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A wildlife management nature walk is scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, January 20, in the Freels Bend area in south Oak Ridge.

“Have you ever seen a deer foraging in a field or heard a field sparrow calling in the distance and wondered what could be done to help these species of wildlife?” a press release said. “Join wildlife experts from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.”

The wildlife management nature walk in the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area is scheduled from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, January 20. Discussions during the tour, which is rescheduled from a rained-out date in October, will include game species, species of concern, and how to manage for them in fields and forests, the press release said. [Read more…]

Pink lady’s slipper nature walk scheduled for Sunday, May 7

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A wildlife nature walk featuring observance of the pink lady’s slipper will be conducted from 1:30 until 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 7, on the Oak Ridge Reservation.

This is part of the spring nature walk series offered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was rescheduled due to rain from a previous date.

Participants will meet at 1:30 p.m. at the North Boundary Greenway along Tennessee Highway 95 located east of the junction with Tennessee Highway 58. [Read more…]

Two spring nature walks remain on Oak Ridge Reservation

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Two more nature walks are scheduled this spring on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation.

They include frog calls and bat monitoring on Friday, May 19, and reptiles and amphibians inventory on Sunday, June 4.

Previous walks included wildflower walks on Saturday, April 15, and Sunday, April 23, and a bird walk on Saturday, April 29.

The May 19 frog calls and bat monitoring event runs from 8 until 10 p.m. as participants will visit some small impounded waterbodies along the Freels Bend causeway to learn how Oak Ridge National Laboratory personnel are monitoring local bat populations and how to identify local frog populations based on calls. Nikki Jones and Kitty McCracken will lead the group along a one-mile level dirt and gravel road. A reliable flashlight is recommended as the walk will occur after sunset, a press release said. The walk is limited to 25, and children are allowed.

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Four more spring nature walks set on Oak Ridge Reservation

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Herpwalk-2015

Children learn to identify a corn snake during a 2015 nature walk on DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation. (ORNL photo)

 

Four more nature walks are planned this spring on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation beginning with a wildflower walk at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10.

Participants will see many native spring wildflowers in the woods along the bluffs of Watts Bar Lake during the 3.5-hour walk. Limited to 25, walking will be off trail in moderately rough terrain of one to two miles. Participants need to have good balance and stamina, dress in layers, wear sturdy shoes, and bring bug spray and water.

Reservations must be made no later than Thursday, April 7, by contacting Tracy Clem at (865) 574-5151 or [email protected]. If bad weather forces postponement of an event, it will be announced on ORNL’s Information Line at (865) 574-9836 at least two hours before the scheduled start of the walk. [Read more…]

Five more spring nature walks planned on Oak Ridge Reservation

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Five more nature walks are planned this spring on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation with themes of frog calls and bat monitoring, wildflowers and forest growth, bird watching, invasive plants, reptiles, and amphibians.

The frog calls and bat monitoring walk is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 4, and will be concentrated in the ponds around East Tennessee Technology Park. Wade Gefellers and Kitty McCracken of ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division will demonstrate how local bat populations are monitored and methods to identify local frog populations based on calls. Participants, limited to 25 with children allowed, will meet at the ETTP visitors overlook parking lot at 7 p.m. [Read more…]

First Oak Ridge nature walk Saturday

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The Oak Ridge Environmental Research Park’s first spring nature walk of 2013 will focus on studies of the American woodcock and winter astronomy on Saturday, Feb. 23.

The walk from 5:30-9 p.m. will include opportunities to view demonstrations of the American woodcock’s elaborate flight displays. Also, a trained falconer from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will have two different hawks on hand for participants to learn about.

[Read more…]