One of nature’s most adorable engineers is working hard to keep Willistown Conservation Trust’s (WCT) Ashbridge Preserve green and healthy. The American beaver (Castor canadensis) may be our saving grace as drought and severe weather become more frequent. Beavers are best known for their dam-building skills, a behavior seen in action at Ashbridge Preserve! By building successive dams, beavers create higher water levels, allowing them easier access to food and shelter. The increased water levels have helped nourish 1,500 native trees planted at Ashbridge over the last six years. The growing trees act as a sponge, cleaning, filtering, and cooling the water flowing into Ridley Creek. Like the beaver, WCT works every day to shape a healthier, more connected future—piece by piece, acre by acre. But we can’t do it alone. Your support helps us protect habitats that are disappearing at an alarming rate, along with the wildlife and natural heritage they hold. Will you consider making a gift of $50 or $100 TODAY, to help safeguard the lands and waters that matter most? With your gift to the Annual Fund, we can: Prioritize the protection of habitats that are essential for the survival of countless species Inspire the next generation of conservationists by continuing efforts with innovative land management and conservation solutions (with the beavers' help, of course) Provide opportunities for people of all ages to experience nature first hand through our programs: Bird Conservation, Community Farm, Land Protection, Watershed Protection, Stewardship, and Education/ Outreach Just as the beaver builds for the future, your support helps lay the foundation for a healthier, more resilient landscape—one that sustains people and wildlife alike. With your help, we’ll continue to preserve, restore, and steward the land we all care so much about and the remarkable creatures that call it home. Warmest Regards, Kate Etherington President and Executive Director Use the following link to donate: https://wctrust.org/donate/ (fb)

Although the incessant rain kept us from banding this week, last week was a thrilling one with a recapture that gave us goose bumps: Wood Thrush 606 (WOTH 606). This female thrush was one of the 18 Wood Thrush on which we deployed Motus radio transmitters in Rushton Woods last summer as part of a region-wide collaborative study on Wood Thrush conservation. According to data from Motus.org, 10 of our 18 Wood Thrush have been detected back at Rushton Woods as of last week! Thanks to our Motus receiving station at Rushton, we would have known WOTH 606 had returned without having caught her in the nets, but there was something awe-inspiring about holding this bird in the hand while pulling up a digital map of her neotropical travels. The magic of Motus revealed instantly that just one month before that full circle moment, this astounding creature was in Belize, Central America. A closer look at the map of WOTH 606 shows the bird departed Rushton on September 19th, 2024 and was detected at Piney Woods Elementary in South Carolina on October 1st, arriving in eastern Georgia a day later. She hung around Georgia a bit, flying northwest to check out the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest north of Atlanta before pinging a tower farther south in Georgia by the Eatonton Beef Research Farm on October 14th. After that, WOTH 606 was MIA until April 7th in Belize. Likely, she overwintered in South America and was on her way back north when she was detected in Belize. There are not as many receiving stations in South America, so it’s difficult to have a full picture of her journey. Still, this paints a better picture than we’ve ever had before! As for our other tagged thrushes, Motus revealed that two came north this spring through Texas using a more inland route, and three were detected in Central America. WOTH 609 was in Bucks County on April 30th and then back south at Rushton on May 1st, alluding to the possibility of these birds possibly overshooting their destination and then somehow course correcting! How birds precisely hone in on a distinct patch of habitat without an internal GPS is still mystifying. There’s a lot going on in the woods, Blake (fb)