With the days of spring winding down on a beautiful sunny day yesterday, I continued my wildflower inventory at Settlers Hill Natural Area. This trail network is located in the Town of Clifton Park and it is comprised of two different segments –
- East trail: Beginning at Gloucester Street, this trail segment heads south across Clifton Park Center Road, Michelle Drive, Waverly Place, Summerlin Drive and Avenue of the Oaks (twice) before terminating a short distance south of 4 Leaf Manor.
- West trail: Beginning at either access point off Addison Way or Fairhill Road, these two access trails will intersect and then this trail segment heads west across Moe Road before generally heading south and terminating at Wildflower Drive.
Trail users were few and far between except for the resident chipmunks and squirrels. Songs and calls from Wood Thrush (forests), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (forest edges), Pileated Woodpecker (forests), Common Yellowthroat (brushy old fields or thickets along edge of wetlands), Yellow Warbler (open woodland), Northern Cardinal (open woodland), White-breasted Nuthatch (forests), Song Sparrow (open woodland and edges of wetlands), Eastern Towhee (edges of forests, thickets, and old fields), American Goldfinch (open woodland), and Eastern Wood Peewee (woodland) illustrated the varied habits that I strolled through along my route.
This is sampler of what I observed blooming –
Partridgeberry
Foxglove Beardtongue
You’ll find all three species of Blue-eyed Grasses along this trail network:
Eastern Blue-eyed Grass
Stout Blue-eyed Grass
Common Blue-eyed Grass
Slender Vetch
Gray Dogwood
Wild Parsnip – CAUTION! Avoid handling this plant; read more.
Lesser Daisy Fleabane
Daisy Fleabane
Horse Nettle
Common Milkweed
Staghorn Sumac
Hop Clover
Hoary Alyssum
Common Elderberry – Edible fruit will ripen around mid-August; read more.
White Avens
Whorled Loosestrife
Sulphur Cinquefoil
Maiden Pink
Selfheal
Smaller Forget-me-nots
Happy trails!
Curious By Nature 