Posted on May 27, 2014
We’re in the process of preparing for a hiking trip in Scotland and what better park than Battelle Darby to go for a long walk. Besides, who knows what flowers, birds, or other wildlife might make an appearance, or what follow bloggers we might meet along the way. My wife cautioned that we shouldn’t stop too often to look at “things” or the walk would lose it’s training effect. As you can see from the photos we weren’t entirely successful in meeting that goal.
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Our route:
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The first thing we noticed was an Eastern Meadowlark:
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Not long after that wildflowers started to appear:
Miami Mist, new to us, seen but not photographed due to technical difficulties – picture is from J Petranka’s Flickr Site. This flower is interesting for reasons other than it’s beauty. As my wife found out, if touched it can produce a fairly severe burning itching sensation in the area that comes in contact!
Violet Wood Sorrel, new to us, perennial plant is up to 6″ tall. It consists of a small cluster of trifoliate basal leaves on long petioles that emerge directly from the ground. Individual trifoliate leaves are about 1″ across and they open up during the day. The leaves may turn purplish in response to cold weather or strong sunlight, otherwise, they tend to be greyish green. (from the web)
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Where there are flowers:
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Not to be outdone the birds started to show up.
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At one point along the trail we heard a fairly loud buzzing/whirring sound coming from the nearby woods, like a sound that might be made by many small wings. We headed over to investigate and found a swarm of bees! Have you ever seen such a thing? Neither had we. After pictures were taken we didn’t stick around.
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As the trail returned to the river’s edge we collected ourselves and noticed a Common Water Snake relaxing on a rock. A little later a Rat snake was seen but not photographed until another one was seen at the nature center.
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A immature Gray Squirrel seems curious as is watches from a trailside tree.
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From what we could see on the trees, the park isn’t home to a rich variety of lichens but we did see a very nice shelf fungus.
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Our walk was made all the more special because we had the opportunity to meet and take a few minutes to chat with Tracy of Season’s Flow. We left the park tired from the long walk and the many investigative side trips but so much richer for our experience.
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Category: Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, Big Darby River, Birding in Ohio, butterflies, Central Ohio Nature, Central Ohio Parks, Columbus, flowers in central ohio, Ohio Nature, photography Tagged: Appendaged Waterleaf, Black Cherry, Blue Bird, Canon SX40, Common Water Snake, Daisy Fleabane, Eastern Meadowlark, Foam Flower, Indigo Bunting, Miami Mist, Northern Pearly-eye, Ox-eye Daisies, Panasonic FZ-150, Pearl Crescent, Polypore Fungi, Rat Snake, Red Winged Blackbird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Violet Wood Sorrel, Virginia Waterleaf, White or Red Baneberry, Yellow Flag Iris
Posted on May 24, 2014
Normally when on a walk to explore nature, it’s a flower or warbler that highlights the outing. Today a very large bird flew overhead. For a moment, without protest, it took us away from our enjoyment of the many Cedar Waxwings that were occupying the trees and bushes along the reservoir.
The bird’s call was unmistakable and for most men my age, when it came into view, identification was not difficult.
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After the sound the four Pratt and Whitney radial engines faded into the distance, we got back to enjoying the birds.
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The very common Morning Dove was also present along the river. It’s beautiful call announces that spring is really here.
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Now that it’s leafed out the Orioles are much harder to see but we did manage to get one record shot.
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My wife was busy taking inventory of the wildflowers that were in attendance.
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and I was again trying to identify some of the lichen seen.
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So on this Memorial day weekend a deep feeling of gratitude goes out to the men and women who have served at sea, in the air, and on the ground to preserve our freedom and way of life.
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Posted on May 24, 2014
This morning we decided to canoe the shoreline of Alum Creek Reservoir and look for warblers. After it leafs out, we’ve found this to be a great way to see birds while enjoying a day on the water.. When hiking a trail through the woods your line of sight can become very limited as the season progresses but paddling a shoreline can provide an unobstructed view of the trees and brush as the birds move in and out of view.
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It was a beautiful cool clear day, a little windy but the blue sky was dotted with puffy white clouds. The excitement started before we even got into the canoe with the unusual sighting of two deer swimming across a rather wide part of the reservoir.
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Below is a map of our route of about six and one half miles:
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Exploring the many coves is a big part of the draw. Sometimes we’re able to beach the boat and explore on foot:
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Is wasn’t long before we spotted Yellow Warblers which nest in the area and are fairly common this time of the year:
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Sometimes it’s just about enjoying a beautiful secluded cove:
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There were other birds, including Red-eyed Vireos, Wood Ducks, Green and Great Blue Herons, and Osprey, but only the following wanted their picture taken:
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. . . and turtles, including Painted and Spiny Soft Shells, but only this one sat still long enough for a photo:
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The early spring wildflowers are giving way those found in late spring and summer:
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A wonderful day enjoying nature:
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Category: Alum Creek State Park, Birding in Ohio, canoeing in central ohio, Central Ohio Nature, Central Ohio Parks, Columbus, Ohio Nature, photography Tagged: Canon G11, Canon T3i, Daisy Fleabane, Dames Rocket, Eastern Wood Pewee, Honey Locust, Kingbird, Painted Turtle, Panasonic FZ-150, Yelow Warbler
Posted on May 21, 2014
For the past several weeks we’ve been hearing Northern Parula Warblers in the small wooded area along the Scioto River below Griggs Reservoir Dam. Hoping to get photograph before it leafs out making the bird(s) impossible to find, we’ve made several trips trying to locate them. So far we haven’t had any luck getting a photograph but have been compensated for our efforts by other things.
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Tree roots intrigue along the river running high from recent rains;
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Trying to make up for the absence of the Northern Parula a Red-eyed Vireo puts forth it’s best effort;
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Wildflowers continue to fascinate;
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A male American Redstart in a nearby bush checks us out;
Finally, a quick trip to Houston for our son’s graduation from Rice and a stop in Georgia to visit my aging mom resulted in a few pictures that have nothing to do with central Ohio but seemed too nice not to share.
Category: Birding in Ohio, Central Ohio Nature, Central Ohio Parks, Columbus, Griggs Reservoir Nature Preserve, Ohio Nature, photography, Scioto River, waterfowl, wildlife Tagged: American Redstart, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Canon G11, Griggs Reservoir, Herman Park, Leaffooted bug, Leptoglossus phyllopus (Linnaeus), Nodding Thistle, Panasonic FZ-150, Red-eared Slider, Red-eyed Vireo, Scioto River
Posted on May 13, 2014
A few days ago we decided to explore the Twin Lakes Area of O’Shaughnessy Nature Preserve by canoe. Part of the fun is the journey so we decided to paddle from a launch point on the other side of the reservoir. As a result we had the opportunity to pass a number of lovely coves along the way. The total length of our paddle was between four and five miles.
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We hoped to see Prothonotary Warblers which are fairly common in the Twin Lakes area this time of year. We were successful and my wife put together a nice study of one of the males.
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While she was busy with the warblers, I was taking a few pictures of some of the other suspects.
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Recent rains had really brought out the color in some of the lichens. The brown lichen with a white fringe was one we hadn’t noticed/seen before.
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Paddling further, my wife spotted some Pussytoes just beginning to flower along the bank.
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A Common Water snake kept an eye on us as we glided by.
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And if the birds and everything else weren’t enough, heading back to our launch site we spotted the largest concentration of Spiny Soft Shell turtles that we’ve ever seen in central Ohio. While perhaps not as aggressive as the more solitary Snapping Turtle, they will bite if given a reason. On this particular day they seemed okay sharing their log with a Few Map Turtles.
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Pretty exciting considering it all was like something we might see while visiting the Columbus Zoo which interestingly enough is only a couple of miles away.
Category: Birding in Ohio, canoeing, canoeing in central ohio, Central Ohio Nature, Central Ohio Parks, Columbus, O'Shaughnessy Nature Preserve, O'Shaughnessy Reservoir, Ohio Nature, Scioto River, wildlife Tagged: Canon T3i, King Bird. Tree Swallow, Lichens, Panasonic FZ-150, Prothonotary Warbler, Spiny Soft Shell Turtle
Posted on May 10, 2014
We decided to paddle Griggs Reservoir with the goal of hopefully seeing some unique wildflowers that populate the low shoreline cliffs. In addition, while the migrating waterfowl have long since left, we might see one of our favorite local residents, the Wood Duck. Considering the number that nest in the area, we were pretty sure we would also see a few Baltimore Orioles. Given the wind, which presented significant boats control issues, my wife was kind enough to take care of most of the photography while I took care of the boat.
click on images for a better view
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After a short paddle to the cliff area, we discovered the flowers we were looking for.
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Prior to setting up house keeping the male and female Wood Ducks always seem to stay together.
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A few other suspects, including a Black-crowned Night Heron, greeted us as we paddled on.
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But not to be outdone and as if they were celebrating Mothers Day in advance, the female Mallards decided to introduce their recently hatched ducklings. It was a real treat!
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One mother Mallard seems to have an adopted duckling.
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And not to be left out. The “Hey wait, what about me!”, Baltimore Oriole.
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Happy Mother’s Day!
Category: Birding in Ohio, canoeing, canoeing in central ohio, Central Ohio Nature, Central Ohio Parks, Columbus, flowers in central ohio, Griggs Reservoir, Ohio Nature, photography, waterfowl, wildlife Tagged: Birding in Ohio, Black-crowned Night Heron, Griggs Reservoir, Mallard Duck, Mother's Day, Nature Photography, Panasonic FZ-150, Red-eared Slider, Spotted Sandpiper, Wild Columbine, Wild Stonecrop, Wood Duck
Posted on May 8, 2014
It’s fascinating how often something interesting happens in nature when you’re on your way to do something else. An outing recently along the Scioto below Griggs Dam was intended to be a test session after we changed some settings on my wife’s Panasonic FZ150 and Olympus E620 to improve performance in the branch infested, fast paced, world of warbler photography.
click on image for a better view
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Before even starting to look for warblers we noticed a Great Blue Heron at river’s edge quite frustrated with something it was trying to eat. A closer look revealed the problem.
The fish was just too big!
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Further on, Baltimore Orioles seemed to be everywhere. At one point, four males were flying circles around us as they chased each other.
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A bird was seen quietly moving around in the brush and lower trees. It turned out to be a Swainson’s Thrush. Not a bird we were looking for but exciting nonetheless.
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The first Red-eyed Vireos we’ve seen this year,
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along with our first Prothonotary Warbler.
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We finished our outing seeing warblers seen before over the few days,
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along with a few other birds that call the area home all summer.
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As I write this I can’t help but notice a Common Grackle at our feeder. A very beautiful but common bird that’s easy to take for granted.
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Category: Birding in Ohio, Central Ohio Nature, Central Ohio Parks, Columbus, Griggs Reservoir, Hoover Park, Ohio Nature, photography, Scioto River, Spring Tagged: Baltimore Oriole, Birding in Ohio, Blue Jay, Canon T3i, Great Blue Heron, Nature Photography, Panasonic FZ-150, Prothonotary Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler
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