My latest trail discovery is the Stone Valley Trail! These pictures are from my second hike there. I came across a painted turtle perched on a steep part of the side of the trail. I'm not sure where its destination was, but it wasn't on the trail anymore when I walked past on my way out.

I also spent some time sitting on a log watching the waterfall and "the tubs." According to a trail sign, the tubs are potholes that have formed as a result of a swirling current with pebbles and sand mixed in that abrade the rock. 

These are a couple of photos from our event with the St. Lawrence Land Trust earlier this month. We collected water samples from Hart's Falls and were looking for different fish species. We ended up catching quite a few shiners by trawling the shoreline, but no big fish. We also managed to catch plenty of frogs and macroinvertebrates from the shallows above the falls.

We did some searching for crayfish in Eel Weir state park over the weekend. Water was low and we found many dried up shells along the shoreline. We also caught 10 or so in the water. They all appeared to be Northern Clearwater or Allegheny crayfish. We didn’t find any invasive rusty crayfish.

After finishing a paddle on the Oswegatchie, I spotted these small Crayfish over the shore by the boat launch. 

A local repair shop was testing out their restored 1950’s/60’s German car/boat combo in the little river. Photos were taken from the SLU boat house on the little river.

Warm spring weather made for comfortable testing in waders under the SUNY Canton bridge. 

This semester, Nature Up North has been helped by two St. Lawrence University students participating in a "Community based learning" course. Among other things, Julia and Ilana helped us to put out some game cameras in early March. We went out today to retrieve the game cameras. Knowing that the St. Lawrence University Kip Tract is primarily forested wetland, and that the trails are flooded, we donned chest waders just to walk the trail and get the cameras. We were successful in collecting 3 of the 4 cameras; one that we had placed near the bank of the Little River was under water!

Kayla and I went out to do some morning birding on the Kip Trail. After abandoning the trail on the Wachtmeister side due to flooding, we headed to the Pike Rd. entrance. Though I have no bird pictures to share, we saw and/or heard at least the following: Eastern phoebe, kingfishers, mallard ducks, brown creepers, hairy woodpeckers, chickadees, a northern cardinal, red-breasted nuthatch, and likely a yellow warbler!

We happened upon more flooding on the trail and also found some evidence of recent beaver activity near the lean-to.

The Edwards Nature Trail is such a hidden gem! It’s so cool to be able to walk along the old train trestle, and the trail itself is very accessible and easy to find. And of course crossing the Oswegatchie River is lovely!

A gorgeous afternoon for a kayak on the Grasse, thanks to SLU’s canoe shack! The first signs of fall are starting to show in the yellowing of leaves. Spotted a few turtles sunning themselves, lots of frogs hanging out on the algae, a few remaining flowers. Followed two belted kingfishers up the river for a while, but they just wouldn’t pose for a good photo. A beautiful day!