Breaks Interstate Park to Hold Second Annual Nature Weekend- Sept. 20th- 21st

Breaks Park Naturalist Jayd Raines
 introducing a group of onlookers
 to an Eastern Hognose Snake.

Have you ever wanted the opportunity to meet a snake face to face? How about a chance to have a close encounter with a bird of prey? Get the chance to experience these things and more at Breaks Interstate's Second Annual Nature Weekend! This event will kick off on Friday the 20th at 6:00 PM and will continue all day Saturday, concluding Saturday evening.

The event will kick off at 6 o'clock Friday evening with "Things My Grandma Taught Me" a program from retired KY Park Naturalist John Tierney. This program will teach you about things in nature that old timers used to treat various ailments, why they used them and how. At 7, you will get the chance to meet Breaks Park Naturalist Jayd Raines, as well as some of his slithery friends from around the Southeastern United States in his program "The Wonderful World of Snakes". At 8:30 PM, journey out to Nature Drive to meet biologist Jason Butler as he sets up a mist net for bats. This is a trapping technique used to catch bats for biological research. This will also give you the chance to get an up close look at one of the most misunderstood animals around.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds refuel at Lake Barkley State Resort Park

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been abundant at the park this week.  They can be seen darting from the flowers and feeders around the lodge pool as they try to fatten up before continuing their migration to Mexico and Central America.  Most of the birds that we are seeing around the park are not ones that nested here, but more likely ones that nested further north and are stopping over at the park to refuel for their migration south.  

 

A hummingbird visits a feeder at Lake Barkley State Resort Park

Ruby-throated hummingbirds weigh about the same as a penny and can double their weight in preparation for migration.  Males tend to migrate first and the females and young from this year follow shortly after.  You can keep your hummingbird feeders up through October or until the threat of freeze, and that way you can feed any stragglers headed south.  Keeping your feeders out longer will not prevent the birds from migrating, their migration is triggered by shortening day length not food availability.   

Over the next week or two we should see a dramatic decrease in the number of hummingbirds in Kentucky as more and more make the perilous journey across the Gulf of Mexico to their wintering grounds.  They will only spend a few months on their wintering grounds and then it's time to migrate back north.  We typically see them return to Kentucky in April.