Fourth Nature Walk
For my fourth and final nature walk, I decided to once again explore around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. This walk was not so run of the mill for me. For this time, I woke up bright and early (6:30 am) as the sun just began to rise and headed out to the reservoir which is located just behind my dorm building, Walsh Hall. I admittedly underdressed, as it was 30 degrees out and slightly windy, making it all the more worse for my experience. Despite the harsh weather and the unusual wake up time, I was able to make a variety of observations of different organisms. Unfortunately, due to the freezing temperatures I was unable to observe any insects out and about around the reservoir. Despite this, I saw several duck species, swans, geese, and even included an observation which my roommate and I took roughly a week ago of a bald faced hornet which was able to sneak into our dorm room. Bald faced hornets (Dolichovespula Maculata) live to be about a year old before dying and are known to have the most powerful stings amongst the hornets. Though they are scary looking, they are also beautifully intricate organisms. With all of this being said, despite my inability to find any insects on my nature walk I still enjoyed one last chance to go out and observe the organisms we have learned about and studied in my very own backyard.
