Friends of Brightwood Park
  • Home
  • PRESERVE
    • Ecology
    • Invasive Species
    • Ponds
    • Clean Ups
    • Trails
  • ENJOY
    • halloween-22
    • Photos
    • Birding >
      • greenHeron
    • Trail Maps
    • Calendar
  • B W Kids
    • Nature Detectives - the latest news
  • Who We Are
    • Chuan-Chu Chou Blog
    • Perspectives on the Park
    • MemberInfo
    • presidentReport-1Q-21
  • Shop
  • JOIN
  • Home
  • PRESERVE
    • Ecology
    • Invasive Species
    • Ponds
    • Clean Ups
    • Trails
  • ENJOY
    • halloween-22
    • Photos
    • Birding >
      • greenHeron
    • Trail Maps
    • Calendar
  • B W Kids
    • Nature Detectives - the latest news
  • Who We Are
    • Chuan-Chu Chou Blog
    • Perspectives on the Park
    • MemberInfo
    • presidentReport-1Q-21
  • Shop
  • JOIN






brightwood park discoveries

A Rare Encounter in Brightwood

7/24/2022

 
Picture
Picture
I walked in the park early Thursday morning.  When I was passing the meadow area, next to the pollinating patch I thought I saw a shoe left by someone.    When I took a closer look, it turned out to be a turtle mom delivering her eggs.  After finishing the delivery and covering the cave, the turtle headed for the pond.  On the way the turtle took a peek over the fence of Rob's Demonstration Garden.  The beautiful flowers of butterfly weed not only entertained human visitors but also were appreciated by the turtle.  Seeing more people walking dogs nearby, fearing the dogs might go after the turtle, I held the turtle and took her to the shore.  During the course I queried the turtle how she handles the situation of being in an upside-down position.  The answer was "no sweat!"  I marveled at the swiftness of the creature's maneuver.  After saying farewell to each other, the turtle returned to the pond.  

In this park I have seen turtles laying eggs before.  This is the first time I saw one traveling a long-distance, all the way to the stone dust-covered trail and digging holes for laying eggs.

At the shore I found two more places where eggs were freshly laid and hidden by other turtles.  Next to the additional delivery rooms, nature gave a celebration by decorating the place with purple loosestrife flowers.

The dryness caused tree leaves to turn yellow prematurely and fall into the pond, looking like a shower under the morning sun.  Dragonflies did not seem to mind the weather as long as there was still water in the pond.  Two of them flew together and made a brief touch-down on a love boat, and then took off for a honeymoon in an undisclosed place.

A mother mallard duck took her 7 newborn babies on a tour in the pond with a wood duck guide.

Spider webs are unfavored in homes.  It is a different story in the woods.  They not only help to reduce the number of mosquitoes and flies, but offer colorful 3-D art presentations.  Watching them vibrating in the morning breeze sometimes keeps me standing still for quite a while.

Comments are closed.

    Chuan-Chu Chou

    I am a frequent visitor of Brightwood Park and enjoy sharing my discoveries.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022

    ducks
    fox
    pond
    ​owl

    All

    RSS Feed

Location

Brightwood Park is on the North end of Prospect Street.  Go past Franklin School and look for the entrance on the left.

What Our Members Are Saying

"I love the work you are doing at Brightwood.  Your efforts have shone a light on the essential elements of the park that we all cherish: its natural beauty and tranquility."

"I have a deep fondness for Brightwood park and would like to see it restored, remain natural and continue to be a site of passive recreation."

"I loved growing up in Brightwood Park !"


"I found Brightwood a few years ago and it's a great place to find wildlife, fish, and enjoy nature. Nice and quiet; good place to un wind and relax. Love it!!!"

​"As a resident for almost thirty years in the Brightwood area of Westfield, I am thrilled to see what is happening to improve and preserve Brightwood park for today and future generations. "


Contact Us


Become a Member!  We'd Love to Have You Join Us.