Mentor Marsh

06/23/2026

Happy Pollinator Week! “Although birds, bats, and other creatures are also pollinators, insects are the animals that do the bulk of the pollination that affects our daily lives. Some of these insect pollinators will be familiar (bees and butterflies), but you might be surprised by some of the others (flies, wasps, and beetles)” (Xerces). Learn more about solitary bees, bumble bees, wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies, and moths as pollinators in the link from Xerces in the comments.

Pollinators are essential for life on earth as they are directly “responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food” (Pollinator.org). Simple steps like providing native plants and blooms throughout the growing season from early spring until frost, providing nesting sites and shelter (leave those leaves, last year’s plant stems, and woody debris like logs and sticks!), limit pesticides (and, if used, using them according to the label to lessen collateral impacts), and spreading the word about pollinators and how to help them! Read more about actions you can take to help pollinators at the links in the comments!

And come along on a guided marsh walk to see what kinds of pollinators we discover! There’s always some kind of neat natural history treasure to be found on our guided Mentor Marsh Sunday walks! See link in comments for upcoming programs.

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve
Photo credits: Becky Siekkinen Donaldson and Nan Patrick

06/21/2026

06/21/2026

Happy Summer Solstice! How are you celebrating this longest day of the year? What a way to begin a day-listening to the birdsong chorus at dawn, plans to spend as much time outside today as possible! We're also hiking in the Marsh with nature loving visitors searching for native pollinators! And celebrating dads everywhere! Hope you have a great day!

Our Mentor Marsh eagle antics continue as an adult eagle spent some time in and out of the nest yesterday, perhaps coaching the little ones that they can indeed hop up to this next branch? Love these images of them watching the parent! Expecting fledging soon! And an unsuccessful pirating chase of an Osprey carrying a fish by one of the adult eagles, too! We're watching and waiting for these eaglets to fledge and will keep you posted!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 6/20/26
Photo credits: Nan Patrick

06/20/2026

Happy weekend! Hope you’re getting outside this weekend! Our trails are open dawn to dusk every day of the year (see link in comment for trail map).

Well, these winds we’ve been having have taken a toll on trees and heads up that there’s some trees down on the trails. We’ve rerouted a slight detour around a blow down on the Kerven Trail and are working on a plan to get the trees off the Zimmerman Trail. Still a great weekend to get out to explore the Marsh!

Speaking of these winds, we’ve been nervous about the eaglets and their antics of catching air. It’s hard not to worry! This morning, Nan observed a neat behavior! An adult was in the nest with the eaglets and flew up to a nearby branch. Both eaglets seemed to be watching intently as their parent “branched.” C’mon babies, you can do it, too! We will keep you posted!! Go eagles!

This marsh sure is marvelous! Be sure to check out upcoming programs, take the master plan survey, come to the open house about the strategic planning and more. See link in comments for all of these opportunities!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 6/19/26
Photo credits: Debi Belt

06/19/2026

As we approach the summer solstice, we relish spotting summer wildflowers AND the pollinators that pollinate these plants! Our Sunday hike this weekend is celebrating Pollinator Week and we’ll be exploring looking for bees, butterflies, moths, flies, wasps and beetles, maybe a hummingbird, too!
We’ll learn about their life histories, discover vital host plants and learn how we can help pollinators.

See link in comments to register and for more information about our hike.

This marsh sure is marvelous!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, June 2026
Photo credits: Becky Donaldson and Nan Patrick

06/17/2026

Check out the wingspan of this eaglet as it’s catching air and practicing to fly and stick a landing! These eaglets will fledge (take their first flights and leave the nest) in the next couple weeks. What an amazing time! From weighing about three ounces at hatch, these eaglets now weigh about 10-12 pounds, with wingspans of 6-feet. Bald eagles sure are amazing!

Go eagles! This marsh sure is marvelous!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 6/16/26
Photo credits: Nan Patrick

06/16/2026

One of the jumping spiders (perhaps Hentzia mitrata, the white-jawed jumping spider), hitched a ride with visitors on the Wake Robin boardwalk over the weekend.

Are you a jumping spider fan? These big eyed arachnids appear inquisitive which endears them to humans. Some folks can’t get past their fear of spiders, even with these cuties.

From a favorite blogger, BugLady: “Jumping spiders (JSs) are true spiders in the family Salticidae, in the order Araneae, in the class Arachnida, in the phylum Arthropoda. The family is a large one, including about 5,000 species worldwide, or about 13% of spider species. Some 300 of those species call the U.S. home. This isn’t their first rodeo; jumping spiders have decorated the planet for about 50 million years and can be found preserved in Baltic amber. Jumping spiders can tolerate a wide range of habitats from the very dry to the very wet and from intertidal zones to mountains, but their hearts are in the tropical forests” (UW).

She also writes: “Like other spiders—and most wildlife—JSs will not bother people unless people bother them—for “bother” read “corner,” “poke,” or “handle.” That’s why we call them wildlife. Their bites are classified as itchy and painful, with the potential for several days of redness and swelling, especially in people who are allergic to spider bites…and an addendum from The California Poison Action Line, “Spiders do not attack in herds. Spiders do not lay in wait and attack people. Spiders do not lift the covers at night and crawl into bed to bite people as they are sleeping. Some spiders can jump but they are not intentionally jumping at humans to attack them. A spider generally bites a human because it was scared and bites to defend itself. Spiders generally prefer to live in undisturbed areas such as corners of the house or the eaves or in the garden where they can catch insects in peace.”

What a magnificent and biodiverse world we have and this is why we steward it! To keep it wild! This marsh sure is marvelous!

To read more about jumping spiders, see links in comments.

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 6/13/26
Photo credits: Jacquelyn Hall

06/15/2026

Awesome news, too, that our Mentor Marsh eaglets and the new eagle nest survived those blustery, wild winds of the storm yesterday. Jamie took these pictures around 4 pm on Sunday afternoon after the big winds had blown through. Whew! Thanks for the report, Jamie!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 6/14/26
Photo credits: Jamie Koller

06/15/2026

We squeezed in a fabulous naturalist led hike at the Marsh before the storm hit yesterday afternoon. A bug hunt is always a fun treasure hunt! We’re so glad to share our marsh biodiversity with folks!

This marsh sure is marvelous!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 6/14/26
Photo credits: Becky Donaldson .