A total of 273 nestlings successfully fledged from our boxes this past year! Tree swallows fledged 172, house wrens 84, chickadees 4, and bluebirds 13. Special thanks to all of our volunteers who take time each week to help us with this very important citizen science.

Seven Ponds got a little bit larger at the end of 2011 with the addition of 18 acres on the west side of Richie Pond. The nature center now owns 486 acres in Dryden Township, 341 acres around the Seven Ponds and 145 acres down the road at Jonathan Woods. The acquisition helps provide further protection for the Seven Ponds ecosystem, something which is an important element of the nature center’s mission statement.

The Richie Pond property was transferred to Seven Ponds from the Robert J. Arrol Estate. Robert Arrol was a longtime member of the nature center who passed away unexpectedly last spring. Robert had spent time on the lakes of Seven Ponds during his youth and had many fond memories. He would stop in to visit with the staff from time to time, and a few years ago decided to purchase a home on Richie Pond for his retirement years. Robert was very interested in our work at the nature center, and he applied some of the things he learned at Seven Ponds to his own property. He removed a lot of the invasive autumn olive which was taking over portions of his property and he took on an ambitious tree planting project on his land. He spent many hours watering these young trees during the summers before his death. Robert was extremely generous, and each year would bring over many high quality items for our annual Holiday Auction. On several occasions he called me to offer a tree specimen which he decided he couldn’t use. A swamp white oak below the picnic area and two pawpaw trees in the Woodland Wildflower Area are some of the trees he donated.

Over the years, Robert had discussed with his family and nature center staff the possibility of donating his property to Seven Ponds. After his death, his brothers and sister decided to make their brother’s wishes a reality and made the very generous offer to transfer the property to Seven Ponds. Once again, the nature center is benefiting tremendously from planned giving and we are very pleased to have this additional 18 acres. The property protects additional land around the ecosystem from development, provides a buffer for our existing lands, and also preserves some interesting habitat which adds to the diversity of the nature center. The property includes shoreline on Richie Pond, swamp forest adjacent to the lake, several small ponds, and extensive old field habitat. Last year, a variety of grassland birds nested in these field areas, including bobolink, eastern meadowlark, and savannah sparrow. It is nice to have these species spending summers at the center again.

The Richie Pond property cannot be reached utilizing the nature center’s trails and the property will probably never be open for general visitation. It will primarily be used as a sanctuary for the plants and animals which are native to the Seven Ponds ecosystem. We will use the property for occasional programs, however, especially after we complete a few projects on the acreage this summer. Watch for announcements in upcoming newsletters.

Mike Champagne, Director.