Riverfest '13

It's that time of year again for Riverfest! We went last year when the baby was just 9 days old. We enjoyed watching the fish shocking, making boats out of natural materials (even if many sank), a family nature hike, a hike out to see the Great Blue Heron rookery, children's activities, learning about area environmental resources, and more! Here is a quick recap of our experiences last year at the Riverfest in Middlebury. See the details for Riverfest 2013 below. 

Riverfest ’13

“Because we all live down river”

Outdoor fun and adventure waits for you and your family in Middlebury Saturday, August 17^th in the wet, wild and wonderful Riverbend Park!  From 8 am to 2 pm Rivefest ’13, invites you to discover the fascinating world of water and the amazing plants, animals, people and history surrounding our own local treasure, the Little Elkhart River.  Join an expert led adult bird hike, dig deep into cool facts about the water and soil under your feet, and take a voyage down the drain and back into the river as you learn water is never a “waste” product.  See the fish populating our waters and the tiny beneficial insects and animals that share their habitat.  Learn about the bigger critters of the river’s edge on the family nature hike. Enjoy a kayak ride to Krider Gardens or a guided stroll ending at Middlebury’s first building and oldest business while learning about the history of the river, region and town as well as future plans that will bring you more outdoor fun and adventure right here in beautiful Middlebury Parks.

Other than a nominal fee for kayak rides, all events are free of charge.  Games, crafts, food, environmental exhibits and activities as well as a silent rain barrel auction take place all day.  Join Middlebury Parks and Recreation for the fun!

Scheduled events:

8 am – Adult Bird Hike/River History Hike

9am – Healthy Soils & Groundwater/Waste Water Wonders

10 am – Family Nature Hike

11 am Fish Shocking Demonstration and Exhibit

12 Noon – Water Life/Ethos Science Bus

1 pm Live Animal Program/Rain Barrel Silent Auction Finale

All Day activities:

Food, games, crafts, environmental exhibits & activities, rain barrel silent auction, and kayak rides.

For more information contact:

Tom Enright, Middlebury Park and Recreation Manager

574-825-1499

parks@middleburyin.com

Great Blue Heron Rookery Tour

Saturday I went out to a Great Blue Heron Rookery Tour sponsored by Middlebury Parks. They put their activities on InMiddlebury and have a Middlebury Parks Facebook page for information as well. We met at Riverbend park, talked about general characteristics of Great Blue Herons, and then traveled over to a nearby private residence. In August, they have the Riverfest each year, which is lots of fun and educational. I went last August and was able to see the heronry then; however, the trees were full of leaves and we didn't see as many of the birds. Tom Enright from Middlebury Parks led the group. Some of the Middlebury Parks board members were also around. Krista Daniels, from Elkhart County Parks, also mentioned a small heronry that people have noticed off CR 120 in Bristol. There are only around 3 nests there, but it may be more accessible for some to see. Be sure to keep your distance if checking them out.

Do you see the many white specks on the photo above? Yes, it was snowing and chilly. These are the die hards! Just in our short time at the park, the car accumulated a fair amount of fluff!

After parking, we walked back to the heronry, watching for cow patties along the way.

It was quite chilly, though the sun came out a few times and made a HUGE difference in how cold it felt. It also made for better lighting in pictures. :-)

I left my binoculars in my Swaggerwagon, but others shared and there was a spotting scope available as well. People were helpful and talked about what we saw and other characteristics of the Great Blue Heron and other birds while we were out. We also made connections, figured out who different people were, and talked of warmer weather activities, such as kayaking. Several tips were given and discussed.

While it's hard to tell in these pictures, we found at least 12 nests. From one view, they totally reminded me of one of the scenes from a Dr. Seuss book with all the big clumps of something in a tree, like the tuttle tuttle tree.

Moving to different angles just 50 feet away or so allowed us to see more nests and get a different perspective. Different perspectives can be good! There was a lot of GBH activity. They were flying, standing on the nests, and we even saw one that appeared to be laying eggs. We watched this deep nest for quite some time trying to identify it, and then figuring out what it was doing. The GBH is beautiful to watch. Here is general information; however, seeing the bird in person is quite an experience. They have a 6 1/2 foot wingspan yet only weigh 5 to 6 pounds. They land gently on the precariously perched pile of twigs called a nest.

There were several Indiana Master Naturalists there, including Monica Yoder, one of the steering committee members for the local IMN program. She helps out with the Middlebury Parks programs immensely!

Bluebird Houses and Bat Boxes

Friday night I took the older boys over to Third Fridays in Middlebury. Middlebury Parks was hosting a bluebird and bat box workshop at the library. We had to stop by the letter elk first. I love how the letters actually jump off the animal. My oldest wondered if it had all the letters of the alphabet on it, but didn't take the time to verify.

We've seen bat boxes for sale around $40, so thought the $5 charge for materials was quite reasonable. Kits were made with all needed construction supplies. One of the helpers who cut boards stopped in to see the fruits of his effort--I'm sure that was neat to see all these families working on their boxes. I thought of the many hours in putting this together. Thank you!

We started with a bluebird house. I've read about the nesting preferences of bluebirds so noticed the size of hole (important) and the deep nature of the box. There is also a way to open the box and clean the nest out each new season. We've had around 5 bluebirds hanging around our bird feeders the last few weeks. I read they are not typically feeder birds, but they hang out on top of the tetherball pole and bird feeders.

This family was so cute. Each girl had a baggy full of change for the bird house. And they were making them with their mom--loved it!

The boys worked together on their projects, with me helping as needed. Okay, a fair amount, but they were involved the whole time. It's a team project, not an individual effort.

I guess this is considered a two-chamber bat box. When we messed up, it was nice to have someone come over and help us fix our mistake--thanks, Tom!

We weren't the only ones. :-)

This was a great team effort. We need to caulk the bat box and paint it black soon. Then we need to find good places to hang each. While I've read basics, we were also given instructions on putting these up and what we might expect. In the process of finding places, the boys will also learn more about the preferences of these animals as well.

We followed up with a little ice cream bribery bonding after we were done since I was on a Friday night "date" with my oldest two boys. I find my kids are usually more tolerating of activities when we combine with a little incentive. Do you ever "encourage" your children?

If you'd like to make your own, there are plans various places online. This is a fun family project. With the kits already assembled, this was an easy way to have ownership in what we made. Looking forward to hanging these up!

Bluebird Nesting Box

Bat House Plans