Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge

The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is one of 14 turtle species found in Pennsylvania. They are easily identified by the colorful markings on their highly-domed shell. Spending most of their time on land as a terrestrial species, they can be found in moist, forested areas or wet meadows foraging for berries, fruits, and invertebrates. Just as this young box turtle in the photo below was found on the Refuge in a forested area along the Cherry Valley Ridge Trail last week (photo: young eastern box turtle/photo credit: Jared Green/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

Happy #BatWeek! Many people will be enjoying chocolate, apple cider, and other fall foods this weekend. But did you know that without bats, many of the foods we eat would not be available? In Pennsylvania, bats are responsible for eating millions of insects that would otherwise be feeding on the crops that we consume. In other parts of the country and the world, bats are directly responsible for pollinating many of the fruits and vegetables that we eat (photo: Mariana Fruit Bat roosting in a tree/photo credit: Anne Brooke/USFWS).

Happy #BatWeek! One of the nine bat species found in Pennsylvania is the Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis), a federally-threatened species. These bats are sometimes called "whispering bats because they can echolocate very quietly to sneak up on insects that can hear normal echolocation calls (photo: northern long-eared bat/photo credit: USFWS).

Happy #BatWeek! As the only flying mammal, bats are already pretty cool, but there may be some more interesting facts that you don't know about them yet. For instance, did you know that the world's oldest bat was known to be 41 years old? Check out the fascinating article below from the U.S. Department of the Interior to learn more about these amazing creatures (photo: tri-colored bat/photo credit: USFWS): https://www.doi.gov/blog/13-facts-about-bats

Happy #BatWeek! White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease that affects hibernating bats and is caused by a fungus called Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Sometimes the fungus looks like a white fuzz on bats’ faces, which is how the disease got its name. It attacks the bare skin of bats while they’re hibernating and causes changes in bats that make them become active more than usual and burn up fat they need to survive the winter. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is one of the agencies working to combat white-nose syndrome. Check out the website below to learn more about the fungus and what scientists have learned about it (photo: bat with white nose syndrome roosting in a cave/photo credit: USFWS): https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/

Happy #BatWeek! The Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) is a federally-endangered species that is one of the nine bat species found in Pennsylvania and has historically been found in the Cherry Valley. These bats roost in trees in summer and in caves during the winter. White-nose syndrome has been a major source of the population's decline (photo: Indiana bat in cave/photo credit: Ryan Hagerty/USFWS).

Happy #BatWeek! All nine species of bats found in Pennsylvania feed on insects, meaning they can potentially help make your backyard experience more enjoyable in the summer. Many bats will roost in hollow trees, but you can make a bat house to give them more space. Check out the article below for easy-to-follow instructions, and be sure to pay close attention to the information on where and how high to place your bat box (photo: bat house blueprint/photo credit USFWS). Be a #BatHero: https://www.fws.gov/southeast/wildlife-and-you/bats/

Happy #BatWeek! Every year from October 24th-31st, bats are celebrated across the globe for the valuable roles they play in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Did you know that bats can eat their body weight in insects in one night? Check out the link below to learn how you can help the only flying mammals, 9 of which are found in Pennsylvania (including the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) in the photo/photo credit: Dr. R. W. Van Devender): https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/battips.html

Despite their name, the Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) is actually a member of the blackbird family (which includes orioles and cowbirds) and not the lark family. Thank you to Bruce for sharing that he recently spotted two of them on the Refuge (photo: Eastern Meadowlark calling from a snag/photo credit: USFWS).

Have you ever seen a river otter (Lontra canadensis) in the Cherry Creek? These members of the weasel family were once rare in the state of Pennsylvania, but thanks to reintroduction efforts, are much more common across the northern half of the state (photo: river otter head emerging from water/photo credit: Peter Pearsall/USFWS).

Happy National Wildlife Refuge Week! Chances are good that you'll see some wildlife on your visit to the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge, just like Stephanie did last weekend when she came across this woolly bear caterpillar. This fuzzy caterpillar will spend the winter under the leaf litter before becoming a tiger moth next spring, thank you Stephanie for sharing your photo (Photo: woolly bear caterpillar at the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge headquarters tract/photo credit: Stephanie Dello Russo).

Happy National Wildlife Refuge Week! Be sure to come out and enjoy the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge this week now that the fall colors have started to show. Which fall color is your favorite to see on the trees on the Refuge (photo: maple leaf at the Cherry Valley NWR Front Nine Trail/photo credit: USFWS)?

Happy National Wildlife Refuge Week! Be sure to get out and enjoy your local National Wildlife Refuges! The headwaters of the Cherry Creek look great at this time of year along the Cherry Valley Ridge Trail, as seen in the video taken this weekend (video: headwaters of Cherry Creek along the Cherry Valley Ridge Trail).

The Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial found in North America, with the females giving birth to young who finish their growth and development in a pouch on their mother's abdomen. A nocturnal and solitary mammal, their response when frightened is to become completely still, which is why they are often only observed as roadkill along the side of the road. This is unfortunate, as opossum consume nearly 95% of the ticks they encounter, with a single opossum capable of eating up to 5,000 ticks in a single season (Photo: opossum/photo credit: USFWS).