Prairie Ridge Ecostation

Prairie Ridge Ecostation Please visit our 40 acres of Piedmont prairie, forest, ponds, a stream and sustainable building

09/05/2026

It’s been a slow year for butterflies at Prairie Ridge - until recently!

We’re seeing butterflies everywhere now, and we especially love visiting the pipevine in the garden to see pipevine swallowtails. The adults fluttering around are beautiful, but their caterpillars chew the thick pipevine leaves so loudly that you can hear them munching from several feet away. Turn up the sound to hear their big crunch!

Did you know that Pawpaws are North America’s biggest tree fruit? They have an amazing tropical flavor and texture like ...
09/01/2026

Did you know that Pawpaws are North America’s biggest tree fruit? They have an amazing tropical flavor and texture like a thick pudding, but the fruits break down very quickly - they are a treat available only fa short time each summer. Ours have been ripe the last few weeks and we’re already near the end of their season.

We often snag fallen fruit from the ground, break them open, and devour them immediately. If you love Pawpaws too, how do you enjoy them?

We jokingly play “Snake or Stick?” when we see something dark stretched across a trail or the road as we go about our wo...
08/29/2026

We jokingly play “Snake or Stick?” when we see something dark stretched across a trail or the road as we go about our work. 95% of the time it’s a stick, but occasionally it’s a snake. We’ve seen a lot of Rat Snakes lately, so it has become a much more interesting game. Check out some of our recent sightings.

Jimothy, the Northern Raccoon with short spine syndrome from the Seattle area, has captured the hearts of millions this ...
08/24/2026

Jimothy, the Northern Raccoon with short spine syndrome from the Seattle area, has captured the hearts of millions this summer. We don’t have any Raccoons likely to become international media darlings like Jimothy, but we do have several on the grounds! We have only seen a few ourselves, as they are elusive during the day, but we often capture them on trail cameras, see s**t, and spot tracks along the creek.

We’d love to hear about any you’ve seen! Share your best Raccoon stories in the comments.

We’ve had far fewer dragonflies this year due to the drought, but there's been an absolute flurry of activity since the ...
08/21/2026

We’ve had far fewer dragonflies this year due to the drought, but there's been an absolute flurry of activity since the pond refilled!

One exciting recent sighting was this Comet Darner, a big, beautiful species that’s not very common locally. This individual did something they rarely do - it landed right by one of our staff. Comet Darners are fliers, dragonflies that spend nearly all of their active time flying over their territories at ponds. What a treat to see one sitting still for once rather than zooming by at full speed!

This weekend is the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census, a collaborative science project that assesses the health of po...
08/18/2026

This weekend is the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census, a collaborative science project that assesses the health of pollinator populations across the southeastern US. Want to join us?

Watch a flower or a group of flowers on August 21 or 22 for just 15 minutes, and count the pollinators you see. Then, report your counts of four group of bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths, and other insects at https://gsepc.org. There’s even a handy printable data sheet with photos of each group available on the website to help you identify pollinators and keep count.

If you join the Census, we’d love to hear about it. Share your stories and photos in the comments!

We burn sections of our prairie every year, and you can see why when you compare photos immediately after the burn to ho...
08/14/2026

We burn sections of our prairie every year, and you can see why when you compare photos immediately after the burn to how it looks several months later. The burn fertilizes the soil and kills encroaching species, allowing grasses and other fire-resistant vegetation to thrive. With this year's drought, the grasses are a little shorter than usual, but they're still a bright, healthy green!

If you guessed that the little blue eggs we shared last week belong to the Eastern Bluebird, you’re right! These gorgeou...
08/04/2026

If you guessed that the little blue eggs we shared last week belong to the Eastern Bluebird, you’re right! These gorgeous birds make cavity nests and love the boxes we provide on site and monitor for science. This is the second set of eggs in this box in 2026 - a good year!

We have collected biweekly data for the Nest Watch collaborative science project since it began. We have a few nests on ...
07/31/2026

We have collected biweekly data for the Nest Watch collaborative science project since it began. We have a few nests on site currently, including one with four pale blue eggs tucked inside a nest box. Which bird made the nest? We’ll share the answer soon!

Our pond has shrunk severely the last several months thanks to the drought, so we were delighted that the recent rains h...
07/23/2026

Our pond has shrunk severely the last several months thanks to the drought, so we were delighted that the recent rains have completely refilled the pond! The frogs are calling like crazy, so it looks like the pond critters are thrilled to have things back to normal.

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1671 Gold Star Drive
Raleigh, NC
27607

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Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm

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