Accomplished birder and Shaker Village Preserve Manager, Ben Leffew, will lead this hike featuring the diversity of birds that use the forests of the Kentucky River Palisades. Ben will teach participants to identify birds by sight, sound, behavior, and habitat. This program takes place during peak migration and will prepare participants who may be interested in Global Big Day and other citizen science birding programs.

Zeb Weese, Executive Director of the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, will lead this program for all ages to find some of our native frogs, snakes, salamanders, and turtles in the various habitats of Floracliff, including ponds, fields, and streams.

Our native frogs and toads breed in shallow waters during Spring and the evenings are a great time to get close-up views of them. During this program, we will visit the ponds near the nature center to inspect the frog activity. We expect to find Cope’s gray treefrogs and possibly a few others. All visitors need to bring a flashlight and wear close-toed shoes.

With close to 150 species in this genus found in Kentucky, the diversity of sedges (Carex) is astounding and they can tell us a lot about the natural communities upon which they are found. Join OKNP botanists Devin Rodgers and Tara Littlefield on a hike to learn some of the most common sedges found in the Bluegrass.