Station 3

Station 3 is the spruce trees. The oldest and tallest spruce trees were planted on the first Earth Day in 1970, before there was a nature trail, and are Norway spruces. The smaller spruce trees were spread from the original trees. These trees are not native to the area, but this type was commonly planted because it can tolerate summer heat. Spruce trees usually grow in colder climates, such as the summits of the Catskill Mountains. Some of the nearby spruce trees have had the tops cut off. We do not know who did this, but it is likely that someone used the top section as a Christmas tree. The tree continued to grow in spite of this damage. If you look carefully on the ground under the spruce trees, you may see small gray clumps of fur. These are owl pellets, which are the digested remains of small animals eaten by owls and regurgitated. This indicates that owls roost here in the forest and stay at least 3-4 hours to digest their meals. Owls are rarely seen in the daytime, but use their keen senses to find prey in the fields nearby after dark.