Station D

Life on the Edge Is Good  (U6)

The lawns north and south of the parking lot are sweet spots for plants and animals that thrive on the edge of forests.  The extra light stimulates foliage production and higher photosynthesis.  The consequent increase in insects, flowers and fruits attracts birds that would normally hide within shrubbery.

Every year, both humans and birds harvest abundant fruits from the thickets of leafy-flowered blackberry and wine rasberry that line the east and western borders of South Lawn.  

Raptors that normally perch in the canopy are more visible and easier to photograph from the lawn than in the woods.  More often than not, you will be rewarded with unexpected views of foraging animals if you would just linger a moment at the picnic table on the Upland Trail at U6, or sit on the shady large boulders north of the playground to scan the interface of woods and lawn.