AEF fledges three birds-of-prey at Ijams

Broad-winged hawk takes its first flight.

Nancy Zagaya, president of The East Tennessee Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, fledged three young birds at Ijams two weeks ago. For all three, it was their first flight.

The young birds—two screech owls and a broad-winged hawk—had been rescued from crows and raised at the American Eagle Foundation in Pigeon Forge. Summer Day Camp kids on-hand that day were there to watch the birds first venture into flight.

- Stephen Lyn Bales

Budding young mycologist visits Ijams

Sofia Tomov is special. She's one of those 8 1/2-year-olds, who is smart and ebullient and mature beyond her years. Her curosity abounds. She loves nature. Whenever she visits Ijams, you know that there is a big smile exploring the premises.

I saw Sofia and her mother Beverly at last week's HummerFest and she showed me what she has been into recently. She's become a budding young mycologist. At a UT Fungi Camp this summer, Sofia visited the Ijams Discovery Trail. Here is some of what she discovered.

Sofia emailed, "Ijams is my favorite place in Knoxville, and provides amazing opportunities for viewing flora, fauna and fungi. This has been an excellent summer for fungi in particular.

Amanita muscaria by Sofia

Amanita muscaria normally has small white bumps on the cap in the early and middle stage. In this picture, you can tell that the mushroom is in a late stage because the gills are turned up and you don't see the white bumps. Amanita muscaria is poisonous, just like almost all species in the Amanita genus (most famously, the Destroying Angel, Amanita virosa.)

 

Coprinus comatus by Sofia

 Coprinus comatus is also known as the "lawyer's wig" or "shaggy mane"mushroom, and I think it looks like a sheepdog's head. It's not considered poisonous, but it's never a good idea to eat any mushrooms in the wild. Coprinus comatus doesn't spread out its cap when releasing spores.

Cyathus sp. by Sofia

 Cyathus is a genus of birds' nest fungus. The egg-like structures are actually attached to the cup by a tiny thread, and contain spores. In the early stage, Cyathus looks like a tiny orange club.

Fomes fomentarius by Sofia

Fomes fomentarius is also known as 'hoof fungus," "tinder conk," or "Ice Man fungus," because the 5000 year old Otzi the Ice Man was found carrying four pieces of this fungus."

Thank you, Sofia for sharing your finds.

- Story by Stephen Lyn Bales and Sofia

ET Pro Photographers hold Youth Photo Camp at Ijams

Thursday, August 9: 9 am - 5:30 pm  

CHIDREN'S PROGRAM: Youth Photo Camp

(Ages 8-18) This terrific camp includes all day "hands-on" instruction from award-winning professional photographers and a Certified Scout Merit Badge Instructor. 

Participants will also receive lunch, a photo nature walk at Ijams, and even the opportunity to photograph some of our animal ambassadors! There will also be a print competition with awards and camp souvenir items! Spaces are limited and pre-registration is required. Register online at: Youth Photo Camp 

For more information or questions, please visit the Professional Photographers of East Tennessee website. Click: Youth Photo Camp 

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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.