Wild Times At Pine Hill Park Summer, 2026 Summary
The first day of Summer I spent updating the status of the some 50 American Chestnut trees growing in the park at 5 different locations. Some of those trees have been growing in the park since 2015. On the first day of summer last year, the State of Vermont was still under drought conditions. Appreciable rains wouldn’t begin until a week later. The chestnut trees were doing fine on their own over the years without me watering them. So, I purposely didn’t water them during the drought, thinking they’d be fine. BIG, BIG, BIG mistake. About 60% of the trees were lost. The trees that were growing on ledge fared the worst. This was understandable due to the fact that American chestnut trees have a taproot, and that type of root doesn’t do well on a rocky substrate. Trees at the Rocky Pond site did much better. Those trees are growing in an area with relatively deep soil. The one old wild surviving 70 ft. tall American Chestnut continues to do well. It produces a prodigious amount of burs each year. Unfortunately, it’s out in the forest all by itself, so is unable to produce viable nuts. 2 different trees are required to produce viable nuts.
Also, on this first day of summer, baby yellow-bellied sapsuckers could be heard calling from their tree hole nests. It always amuses me this time of the year that no matter where I’m hiking in the forest, I’m sure to hear baby sapsuckers calling for food. Three northern water snakes were seen on the edge of Rocky Pond, and button bush shrubs planted from seeds last year by local school children were doing very well. School children plant milkweed seedlings each year at Rocky Pond as part of their participation in the Monarch Butterfly Way Station Program, and they plant button bush seedlings along the shores of Rocky Pond as part of their project to increase the number of waterfowl in the pond by increasing one of their favorite foods-button bush seeds. Birds seen in the park this day included red-eyed vireo, ovenbird, scarlet tanager, veery, hermit thrush, red-winged blackbird at Rocky Pond, least flycatcher, robin, black-capped chickadee, common yellowthroat, crow, Eastern Wood Peewee, and yellow-throated vireo.
The following day, a doe with 2 fawns, and tiny toadlets were seen along Lower Giorgetti trail.
The next day, I was informed that a painted turtle was observed laying eggs in a nest it had dug out of the ground on the side of the trail just in front of the bench at Rocky Pond. I got up to the park as soon as I could and found not one nest had been dug, but at least 3. The entrance to the nests were perfectly round openings about an inch in diameter. Can’t wait to see if the turtles will return next year. Eastern tiger swallowtail seen feeding on a Common milkweed flower.
The last day of June was dedicated to observing birds. Birds seen that day included veery, ovenbird, red-eyed vireo, red-winged blackbird, song sparrow, least flycatcher, pine warbler, yellow-bellied sapsucker, dark-eyed junco, white-breasted nuthatch, brown creeper, common yellowthroat, American goldfinch, downy woodpecker, chestnut-sided warbler, scarlet tanager, and black-capped chickadee.
The first whole week of July was spent observing birds. Besides the birds already seen earlier, we also observed chestnut-sided warbler, Eastern towhee, tufted titmouse, robin, wood thrush, house wren, hermit thrush, the rarely seen red-breasted nuthatch, and the stunning indigo bunting.
On the 16th of July, I went fishing at both Rocky and Muddy ponds, curious to know what kinds of fish were in both ponds. After hours of fishing, the only fish caught at Rocky Pond, and I caught a lot of them, were brown bullheads, and the only fish I caught at Muddy Pond were bluntnose minnows. Now, I know there are more species in those ponds because a few years ago, I visited the ponds on the day when the pond ice was beginning to melt and observed the winterkill present. The shoreline of Muddy Pond, especially, was covered with thousands of dead yellow perch, largemouth bass, and pumpkinseed.
By July 20th, the forest was becoming noticeably more quiet, with many birds having completed their mating and fledgling stage and are now focused on gathering enough food to prepare them for their long migration journeys ahead.
This time of year, garter snakes and deer are a more common sight. The young garter, and other snake species, are old enough and big enough to be more easily seen, and the does, along with their young, are spending more time in areas of the park frequented by visitors because they feel more safe there.
It was on August 11th that I felt the first cool wind coming down from the North, letting us all know fall was “in the air”. And it was the first day I wasn’t bothered by bugs at all. In fact, it seemed like a very “light” black fly season this year. It is a very well known fact that black fly seasons vary significantly in intensity and timing from year to year, based on snowpack, spring temperatures, and weather conditions during peak season. Not a single bird heard or seen on my hike to Rocky Pond on this day.
In mid-August, I realized that the 2 osprey that nested at Muddy Pond earlier this year, did not successfully raise any young. It looked like they had abandoned their nest sometime in July or early August. My mid-August, the nest had been overgrown with small shrubs. I’m sure they’ll be back next year to try again.
By mid-August the forest floor was becoming more and more covered with fallen acorns. Looks like another great MAST year, with plenty of food for deer, bear, birds, small mammals and other creatures of Pine Hill Park. Squirrels and chipmunks were busy collecting as much as they could before the snow and cold arrived.
Last year in mid-August, migrating waterfowl were already starting to be seen in increasing numbers on Muddy Pond. Not so this year. The pond has pretty much been devoid of such waterfowl. I’ll see an occasional double crested cormorant, and a few mallards and wood ducks but that’s about it. It was also this time of year that the painted turtles left their Rocky Pond nests. Pieces of egg shells littered the entrances to the nests.
On August 23th, while hiking along the middle Giorgetti trail, I heard a gray treefrog calling, observed numerous spring born pickerel frogs hopping about, a broad-winged hawk flying overhead, a cabbage white butterfly, and a doe and its fawn taking a leisurely stroll through the forest.
By the last day of August, you could see the gorgeous Bottle Gentian in flower under the powerline along Crusher Rd. It’s the only place in the park I’ve seen that beautiful flower. For years I’ve collected its seeds and have tried to grow the plant in potting soil with no success. I just found out this year that the seeds need to be placed on TOP of the soil when sowing the seeds, not deep into the soil. Can’t wait to see if I have some success with them next spring.
At the end of the first week of Sept., I went on a bird hike and saw only red-eyed vireo,
white-breasted nuthatch, tufted titmouse and Eastern Towhee. Soon the red-eyed vireo and Eastern Towhee will be migrating out of this region.
By mid-Sept. about the only plants still flowering are the goldenrod, Queen Anne’s Lace, purple clover, New England Asters, Bottle Gentian and a few small wood asters
I have a tradition of hiking in the forest on the last day of each season. This year, I observed leaves in early stages of changing colors, acorns falling in big numbers due to a strong wind, a great blue heron at Muddy Pond, pileated woodpeckers calling, a painted turtle sunning itself at Muddy Pond, and a white-throated sparrow, blue jay, and black-capped chickadee.
That’s it for this issue. Please stay on the trails and respect private property on your rides, hikes and walks. And enjoy your Wild Times at Pine Hill Park.
