By Margi Jenks

In the morning the spring bird chorus serenades me as I walk to work at the Diamond Discovery Center.  I always wish that I knew what all of their calls mean and exactly what they are saying to each other.  But, I have been privileged in the last month to see a Carolina Wren on the front deck of my house and a Pileated Woodpecker knocking on the trees in my front yard.   Last week when I walked the Wildlife Blind trail, a small brown bird was playing hide and seek with me, and I was wishing for a bird book.  As if by magic, a copy of The Sibley Guide to Birds was waiting for me on one of the benches in the blind.  So, I hunted through the book until I decided that it was either a Wood Thrush or a Veery.  Obviously, some bird lover had left the Guide, because it was well thumbed.  As I looked to see who the owner might be I found two clues: a couple of business cards from a dentist in Magnolia, AR, and a golf score card from the Country Club of the Crystal Coast in Pine Knoll Shores, NC.  If you can tell me the names of the three men who were playing together on that round, I would be happy to send the book back to its real home (right after I figure out those elusive tiny chirpers that stay just out of site as I eat my lunch).

In the last week that beautiful lime green of the new leaves is dramatically changing the look of the forest understory.  All the trees seem to be blooming at once, which makes anyone with tree allergies miserable.  The pollen has been so thick that we find yellow pollen bathtub rings on the puddles after it rains, and I have to run the wipers and washer on my car before I can see to drive.  The River Trail has been lovely with a carpet of Spring Beauties blooming on its floor, with a few purple violets adding contrast.  The redbuds have finished blooming, but the dogwoods are in full bloom, making white “clouds” in among the trees.

March is always a busy time here at the park, because of the school children’s spring break vacation.  We welcomed just over 18,000 visitors to the park, with Saturday, March 21 the biggest crowd with 1,807 paid admissions.  We rented out every piece of diamond mining equipment down in the bottom level of the Diamond Discovery Center, and when a Basic Kit (a shovel, bucket , and screen set) came back in, someone else was waiting to rent it again.  March was also a good month for finding diamonds, with 128 total diamonds found, bringing the year-to-date total to 243.  The largest diamond, a beautiful octahedral 1,68 carats, was found by a young man from Hot Springs, AR,on his third trip to the park.  Due to the unusual amount of rain that March brought to the park, many of the larger-size diamond finds were by people surface searching. We had 42 of the March diamonds found by visitors from out-of-state.  April is starting out with more rain, so we are hoping that our visitors will have the same amount of luck finding diamonds, even though they may have to wear their galoshes because when the field is wet, it can be amazingly muddy. 

Field Last Plowed:  March 30, 2009

Diamond Finds for March 30 - April 5, 2009 (100 points=1 carat)

March 30 - Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 69 pt. brown, 56 pt. brown, 22 pt. white, 13 pt. white, 13 pt. white

March 31 - Jean Johnson, Burnett, WI, 23 pt. white; Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 11 pt. white; Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 1 pt. white, 4 pt. white, 9 pt. white; David Anderson, Kent City, MI, 15 pt. white, 22 pt. brown

April 1 - Chad Johnson, Murfreesboro, AR, 13 pt. white, 16 pt. white; Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 11 pt. brown, 33 pt. yellow

April 2 - Claud Dill, Murfreesboro, AR, 2 pt. white, 2 pt. white, 10 pt. white, 13 pt. white, 18 pt. white, 84 pt. white; Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 13 pt. white, 9 pt. white, 4 pt. white; Jamie Hughes, Nashville, AR, 4 pt. brown

April 3 - Chad Johnson, Murfreesboro, AR, 13 pt. yellow, 11 pt. white; Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 4 pt. white, 4 pt. white

April 4 - Tim Pittman, Lonoke, AR, 9 pt. white, 21 pt. white; Diana Hamlet, Tampa, FL, 1 pt. white, 10 pt. white, 28 pt. brown; David Hamlet III, Tampa, FL, 5 pt. white, 7 pt. white; Crystal Hamlet, 50 pt. brown; Justin Russell, Bluffton, AR, 12 pt. brown

April 5 - Michael Klawitter, Berlin, WI, 32 pt. brown; Brooke Klawitter, Berlin, WI, 31 pt yellow