Caden celebrates his 5th birthday at Ijams

A child's birthday party at Ijams is a wild affair. There can be butterflies or turtles or snakes or hawks. You never know.

Recently, Caden celebrated his fifth birthday with a Reptile & Amphibian themed party at the nature center which included a dip-net activity at the Plaza Pond.

"Caden absolutely LOVED having his party at Ijams!" E-mailed his mother Kylea. She sent along some photos to share.

To schedule a child's birthday party at Ijams call Kara Remington at 577-4717, ext. 115.


- Story by Stephen Lyn Bales, photos by Caden's mom Kylea.

Ijams Quarry Lake canoeists find a hummer of a nest

Ijams Quarry Lake

There's really nothing like an early morning canoe float on Ijams Quarry Lake before the heat of summer settles into the valley.

This morning we spent about two placid hours, carefree and tranquil. 

Our group searched the water and shorelines for natural minutiae, trifling details that hold the world together, managing to locate two prizes: empty nests: one a hard to find ruby-throated hummingbird tiny condo—the size of a golf ball—made of spun-spidersilk and lichen. (Peg Beute and the day campers actually found it last week, so I knew where to look.)



For a close up very of the nest go to: nest.

A peaceful time was had by all.

The next guided canoe trip is Friday evening, August 3.

- Stephen Lyn Bales

Lisa and Lynne point to hummingbird nest

Ruby-throated hummingbird nest

Eastern phoebe nest

We also saw a couple of black vultures

Chinese exchange students visit Ijams for an afternoon

Chinese exchange students with Ijams educator Sabrina DeVault

Yesterday, Ijams was visited by a group of foreign exchange students from Chéngdé, a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China, situated northeast of Beijing.

The group of high school aged students were given a tour of the Visitor Center, a guided walk on the River Trail and a visit by the captive red-tailed hawk.

Their two-week stay in East Tennessee is hosted by Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church.

- Text and photo by Stephen Lyn Bales

Ijams hosts KTOS Hummingbird Festival: July 29

They are small, active and everyone's favorite bird to watch in late July.

Join members of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS: a local club that H.P. Ijams help establish in 1924) at the nature center for the second annual Hummingbird Festival, Sunday, July 29: 1 to 5 p.m.

There will be a hummingbird banding demonstration by licensed bander Mark Armstrong, talks by hummingbird experts Bob and Martha Sargent about the tiny birds' life history, and Chris Mahoney about favored backyard plants that hummers love.

Free admission to the vendor fair (arts, crafts, food, plants) and bargain barn (new or gently used bird and nature related items); $5 admission to the banding demonstration and indoor talks.

Children under six free. All proceeds go to KTOS and the Ijams education department.

Sponsored by KTOS, Wild Birds Unlimited and Ijams Nature Center. 

To register call 577-4717, ext. 119.

- Stephen Lyn Bales, senior naturalist

    

  

What does a chocolate spider taste like?

Birthday boy Gabe recently had an Insect and Spider themed birthday party at Ijams.

The educational program offered visits by a tarantula, black widow spider and a heaping handful of beetles, plus a sweep-net outing in the meadow just off the Universal Trail.

Afterwords, the party quests were treated to a spider birthday cake, complete with spiderling cupcakes, made by Gabe's grandmother Janelle.

Happy Birthday Gabe, welcome to the world of nine-year-olds.

For information about a birthday party at Ijams, call Kara: 577-4717, ext.115.


- Text and photos by Stephen Lyn Bales

Let the wild rumpus begin!

Ijams Where the Wild Things Are (Grades K-2) Summer Day Camp wrapped up last week with a Wild Rumpus through the plaza and meadow, ending at Jo's Grove, the nature playscape for kids. 

Led by educators Sabrina DeVault and Jen Knight, it was wild. It was raucous. It was as colorful as the Mardi Gras. 

- Our rumpus was a tribute to Maurice Sendak, writer and illustrator of children's books, who passed away last month.

Ijams is the place to find insects and programs about them

July is here and the winged insects are all around the park.

Joshua Schutte has been coming to Ijams and taking photos every season since 2008. Here's a few he took on a recent visit. Hope you enjoy them.

Thanks, Joshua

And don't forget these programs:

Friday, July 13, 8 pm
FAMILY PROGRAM: Bug Night
Join us for a chance to catch bugs and show off their charms with some of Ijams own bug-enthusiasts! We'll be going out into the park to buggy stations to catch some critters and to bring 'em back alive to the visitor center for our Bug Beauty and Less-than-Beauty Contests. Bring a plastic container with a lid for each bug you want to put on display. No glass containers please. This program is $5 for members and $8 for non-members. Please call 577-4717, ext. 110 to register. Leaders: Peg Beute and Kara Remington

Saturday, July 21, 3 pm
FAMILY PROGRAM: Raising Butterflies with Lois
Join local butterfly expert Lois English for a program and demonstration on how to raise butterflies like swallowtails to release into your yard. Highly educational. $5 for members, $8 for non-members. To register, call 577-47617, ext. 110.

Ijams: Nature quote of the day #2

As we were leaving the Visitor Center, 

to lead group of second graders 

around the trails at Ijams, 

one young student was heard to ask:

"Are we going into the real woods?"

Sadly, many children live in the virtual world 

of TV and video games. 

For over 70 years, our mission at Ijams 
has been to connect children to nature.
For many urban kids, Ijams is
their first true nature experience. 
Yes, most definitely, 

we go into the REAL woods 
to see what we can find.

- Stephen Lyn Bales

Owls and Woodpeckers at McClung Museum/Ijams

This summer, the Frank H. McClung Museum on the campus of the University of Tennessee will be hosting a photo exhibit "The Owl and the Woodpecker" by wildlife photographer Paul Bannick.

Ijams is partnering with McClung to present a series of programs that are owl and woodpecker related.

Wednesday, June 6, 9 pm: Late Night Owl Prowl at Ijams

Saturday, June 16, 2 pm: WalkAbout: Exploring Barred Owl Habitat along Ten-Mile Creek Greenway

Saturday, July 7, 10 am: Creating a Bird-friendly Yard with owls and woodpeckers in mind

Sunday, July 8, 2 pm: Ghost Birds: Jim Tanner and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Presentation by UT Press author Stephen Lyn Bales at McClung Museum

Saturday, July 14, 2 pm: WalkAbout: Searching for Woodpeckers along the Third Creek Greenway

Saturday, August 11, 10 am: Woodpeckers and Owls of Tennessee. Program at Ijams.

Saturday, August 25, 9 pm: WalkAbout: Owls and Woodpeckers of Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge.


To register for any program call 577-4717, ext. 110. 

Map turtle making a strong recovery

Dr. Louise Conrad, our in-house veterinarian, reports that the young map turtle on display in the Exhibit Hall is recovering from its Vitamin A deficiency.


Dr. Louise has been treating the turtle and reports it is livelier, showing signs its health is improving. The non-releasable reptile has been with Ijams for two years because it's missing one foot and would have a hard time surviving in the wild.

MeadowLark: In tune with nature

Ijams begins e-recycling program

Ijams has begun a new recycling program! 

We are collecting empty printer cartridges, used cell phones, laptops, mp3 players, gps devices and digital cameras for recycling. Each year, over 300 million cartridges and 30,000 cell phones are thrown away, creating mountains of waste in landfills. How can you help? 

Instead of tossing out your old cartridges, cell phones, laptops and small electronics, bring them to Ijams and drop them in our recycle bin, located in the Visitor Center. We will recycle them through an organization called the Funding Factory. Not only will you be contributing to a cleaner, greener community, but you will also be helping Ijams to earn money which will help support our education programs.

 

  - Pat Roney, Development Assistant.

  

Service project gives bird-feeder a new look

Mark Andrews installs refurbished bird-feeder.

Special thanks to Bearden High School freshman Connor Cameron for restoring our bird-feeder on the east end of the Visitor Center. 


Coordinated by Ijams staffers Pam Petko-Seus and Peg Beute, Connor and his stepfather Mark Andrews did the refurbishing as a service project.


From all of us at Ijams, THANKS!


- Stephen Lyn Bales

Paddleboarding the quarry, a great summer activity at Ijams

Drifting on a RiverSports paddleboard, a great way to spend a summer's afternoon.

Like Huck Finn drifting down the Mississippi on a raft, you too can experience the sensation of floating aimlessly and carefree on placid water.

Every Friday (Noon-8 pm), Saturday (10 am-8 pm) and Sunday (noon-7 pm), Knoxville-based River Sports is setup at Ijams Quarry Lake renting bikes, canoes and, yes, paddleboards!

"It's not so hard," says Travis, "Once you find your balance on the board."

I'm sure Huck Finn would have said something similar.

- Stephen Lyn Bales

Mead's Quarry Lake

Lenoir City eagle nest update

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Tony King's eagle nest: 17 March 2012

We first visited the Lenoir City eagle's nest with a WalkAbout group from Ijams in early March, that's when the above photo was taken.We found three fuzzy, gray nestlings laying in a pile in the center of the nest after a rainy Saturday morning. They were huddled together to stay warm. Discovered by local birder Tony King in 2006, the nest has been active every year since. 

Recently, I received an update from Tony.

"The bald eagles of Lenoir City fledged three good looking juveniles on Mother's Day (of course) May 13, 2012," Tony writes. "They are still flying to and from the nest tree after resting in between flights. Their parents have successfully raised 15 eaglets in the seven years we [Tony and Denise] have known them."

I last visited the site in early May and discovered an almost full-grown trio ready and eager for their first flight. They fledged a few days later.

Historically, bald eagles were not in the Tennessee Valley, they lived in West Tennessee: Reelfoot Lake, Land Between the Lakes, etc. But, starting in the 1980s, young eagles have been released every year on this side of the state. Now, there's successful nests on all the lakes and many of the rivers.

A young eagle spends its first four or five years roaming, seeing the country fancy-free, but when it becomes sexually mature and molts into its adult plumage, it usually returns to within 75 miles of its first flight to find a mate and claim a nesting site.

Thanks, Tony for your update!


- Stephen Lyn Bales

Three eaglets watching for their parents. 7 May 2012.

Summer Day Camp begins second week at Ijams

Summer Day Camp is underway at Ijams.

Last week, the Extreme World Travelers Camp took the campers to explore Toll Creek looking for aquatic critters at the east end of the park. Feet got wet. Critters were found. Campers smiled and laughed.

Most of the day camps are filled but there a few openings left in others.

For the complete schedule, go to: Summer Camps 2012.