Birds
- Least Tern
- Fledging
- As their beach nesting sites have diminished started using flat rooftops to nest
- Colonies at Chesapeake & Sparrow Point High Schools
- Also likely to see at Hart-Miller & Poplar Islands, Sandy Point State Park & Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
- Early Birds of Autumn
- 2nd & 3rd weeks of July
- killdeer & swallows flocking
- shorebirds arriving from artic
- least sandpipers
- See shorebirds at Assateague Island, Hart Miller & Poplar Islands
Animals
- Annual Cicadas
- sing for 6 weeks during hottest part of summer
- Lyme Disease
- Most case in July with June close 2nd
- most tick bites occurred in May
- Most case in July with June close 2nd
- Cicada Killer Wasps
- looks vicious but mostly harmless
- only female can sting but rarely does
- find around areas of disturbed, pesticide free soil, ie raised beds
- Cromwell Valley Park
- live for only about a month
- Manatees
Plants
- Queen Anne’s Lace
- Wildflowers
- Mullein
- native of Europe
- colonist dipped in wax for candles
- cowboy toilet paper
- pinned inside clothing to collect odors
- Chicory
- native of Europe
- contains chemical toxic to intestinal parasites, good in pastures
- roots make coffee substitute when baked & ground
- Mullein
- Black-eyed Susans
- Maryland State Flower
- Blooms about 3rd week of July
- wild variety often on power line right-of-ways
- Showy Flowers of River Banks
- Joe Pye Weed
- Butterfly love
- large purple
- Turk’s Cap Lily
- Very rare
- grows up to 10′
- Cardinal Flower
- Red flowers
- attracts ruby throated hummingbirds
- Find along Gunpowder and Youghiogheny
- Joe Pye Weed
Other
- Hottest Days of the Year
- July 16-25 hold record for hottest days of the year!
Trips
- Gettysburg National Military Park
- suggest bicycle
- I prefer cooler weather of fall but battle occurred in July
- Hemlock Gorge
- narrow gorge of Gunpowder River
- extreme north0western Baltimore County
- Several good swimming holes
- 1/3 mile long
- unmarked narrow trail parallels river and ends at Prettyboy Reservoir
- virgin hemlock forests
- Link is for longer hike that includes hemlock gorge
- Harpers Ferry
- History
- Nature
- Silver Maples lining Potomac host Baltimore Orioles from May through August
- Porthonotary Warblers nest in tree cavities
- Wild flowers along tow path
- Tubing
- can buy tubes under $20 on Amazon, wait until I see if the club can be an Amazon associate so we can get a % back.
- River Riders
- 1.5 to 2hours, $39.22pp with taxes & fees or $36.04 if more than 10
- Harpers Ferry Adventure Center
- all day, $30.19pp + taxes& fees?
- River Trail
- $29 pp., 1- 2.5 hrs., includes tube, jacket, shuttle. Min. age- 12 yrs.
- Ohiopyle State Park
- Youghiogheny river is heart of 20,500 acre park
- Lower Yough has rapids
- Middle Yough 10 miles of smooth water float
- 27 miles of Great Alleghany Passage in Par
- Ferncliff Pennisula Trail has fossilized tree bark clearly visable
- Rafting
- Lower Yough, Class III Rapids, min age 12
- Mon-Fri $38.40
- Saturday $57.60
- Sunday $47.20
- Middle Yough, Class I & II Rapids, min age 4
- Mon-Fri Over 12 $25.60 Under 12 $19.20
- Saturday $33.60 $27.20
- Sunday $30.40 $24.00
- Middle Yough in Duckies (1 to 2 person inflatables that handle like kayaks)
- Mon-Fri Over 12 $ 33.60 Under 12 $27.20
- Saturday $41.60 $35.20
- Sunday $38.40 $32.00
- Lower Yough, Class III Rapids, min age 12
- Camping
- At State Park
- Charges for camping may be waived if a Conservation Volunteer project is performed. Contact the park manager for details.
- 20 people or less $58/ night “modern” tent camping
- 20 – 40 $73 / night
- Youth site booked for 7/18 but site for 14 for $30 available
- Youghiogheny river is heart of 20,500 acre park
- Gunpowder River – tubing
- Tube Rental from Monkton Bike is $30, $5 off if 20 or more. Taxes & fees?
- Poplar Island Day Trip
Service Project
- Fish & Stream Surveys
- Recycling at the fair
