Robber Fly

In central Ohio it’s been several weeks since we’ve had any appreciable rain. Add to that numerous days with temps greater than 90F and you have the recipe for a very dry landscape. On concrete hard ground, if it has been walked on at all, as dust rises grass seems to break apart under foot. For the grass it’s hard to believe life will…

Measuring Wealth

Certainly not an original thought, but most would say that if you have your health, enough resources to ensure adequate food and shelter, some leisure time when you are not dealing with “resources”, and good friends with whom you enjoy sharing life’s adventure, additional wealth is probably not going to contribute to life’s meaning or happiness. It also doesn’t hurt to have a curiosity…

A Quiet Voice

One of the wetlands in Prairie Oaks Metro Park, a park located not far from our home, is easy to pass right by as you drive into the west entrance. Unlike the grand vistas of Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon that overwhelm one’s senses making it hard to look away, wetlands speak with a quiet “voice”. A voice that can only be “heard” if…

Butterflies That Don’t Look Like Butterflies

In the last few weeks butterflies have become a lot more common, especially during warm late spring afternoons. To the casual observer some don’t even look like butterflies. . Below are some seen recently where there’s no question what they are. . But then there are some where we’re not quite sure, a moth, butterfly, or something else? . And then there’s this rather…

Getting Along Just Fine

At first, as we looked across the river, there appeared to be a Double-crested Cormorant hanging around with a bunch of turtles. But a closer look revealed that one turtle didn’t resemble the others. The others, Northern Map Turtles, were almost too many to count. The unique turtle was a Spiny Softshell Turtle which, while not uncommon, can’t compete with the map turtle when it…

A Warbler Fascinates and Delights

We are blessed to have Prothonotary Warblers nesting in central Ohio. Much of the nesting success can be attributed to the numerous nested boxes that have been installed and maintained in the habitats favored by this delightful bird. During hikes and while canoeing we also see nesting activity in abandoned woodpecker cavities. It is always a little more special to observe the prothonotary’s behavior…

Bringing Up The Rear

It’s been over a week since we’ve seen a significant number of spring migrants passing through our local park. For this year at least, female Redstarts and Black-throated Blue Warblers trailed their male counterparts by a few days. It was exciting to see Yellow-billed Cuckoo along the edge of the reservoir again this year. . When the Blackpoll Warblers move through Griggs Reservoir Park…

With A Little Help From . . .

We are blessed to enjoy nature and this usually results in not being around a lot of people. A perfect combination for these times. Spring is the season of new life whether it be the young leaves and flowers of a buckeye tree, or the sometimes almost frantic activity of nesting and migrating birds. One day last week, along a wooded park road at…

Birds Being Birds

Early migrating spring warblers and other birds are moving through the area. With that in mind we’ve spent a fair amount of time in recent days looking into bushes and up into trees. Yellow-rumps have been found almost everywhere, but for yellow-throated warblers we had to look into the very top of tall sycamore trees making a good picture a challenge. Along with early…

They Eat Skunk???

This was supposed to be a post about spring wildflowers and migrating warblers but the other day, while I was bicycling with a friend, my wife was busy exploring the park near our home. What she discovered goes against everything I would have thought possible. . A Red Tailed hawk eating a skunk! . I case there are any doubters, “Maybe it was someone’s…