Central Ohio NatureSpring Walk
Posted on April 5, 2022
Despite a colder than normal spring with some trees showing just a hint of green, the longer days and the now more persuasive rays of the sun continue their call for nature to awake. Recently our walks in the wooded areas of local city parks have carried with them the unavoidable expectation of the season.
Sometimes with the expectation of the season comes the unexpected, a Fox Squirrel that appears to be Break Dancing (click on panes for a better view):
Much of what brings real meaning to life are the acquired tastes that must be pursued with intention after just the smallest beginning flicker of interest. In nature, as with most of life’s experiences, the more you look the more you see and then appreciate, becoming richer for it.
Thanks for stopping by.
Florida Wrap-up
Posted on April 26, 2019
After a week at Mike Roess State Park we travelled a short distance to what has become one of our favorite parks for wildlife viewing, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. After a week there we would travel to Blackwater River State Park which was a new park for us and recommended because of the beauty of the river. We planned on being there for a week before traveling home to Ohio for what we hoped would be just a brief period of winter before spring arrived.
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Paynes Prairie is not a great paddling destination but does offer good hiking within the park and good bicycling opportunities in the park as well as on nearby roads and bike trails. The park offers great opportunities for viewing nature and is highly recommended if that is your passion. Just a short drive away the Bolen Bluff Trail, Barr Hammock Preserve, Sweetwater Wetlands Park, and the parks north entrance with a boardwalk along Alachua Sink are an added bonus. We had no problem keeping ourselves busy during our one week stay.
Remember: you can click on the images should you desire a better view.
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The Bolen Bluff Trail turned out to be a great “wildlife” trail but in our case did require use of the car to get to the trailhead.
The area contained excellent habitat for a variety of birds.
Bald Eagle
A young Sharpe-shinned Hawk with a Yellow-rumped Warbler, (Donna).
Meal time!
. . . and feathers fly.
There were also a number of Red-headed Woodpeckers looking for something to eat.
Found a bug! (Donna).
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There is no need to get into the car as we found plenty to see on park trails that can be accessed right from the campground.
On a trail not far from the campground a Barred Owl is spotted.
There is a huge expanse of wetland in the park which among other things is home to bison and wild horses.
Cloudless Sulphur on a large thistle.
Palamedes Swallowtail, (Donna).
Giant Swallowtail.
Zebra Swallowtail.
Eastern Towhee.
Pileated Woodpeckers are often seen on the park trails.
A large katydid visits our campsite.
A Northern Parula sings it’s heart out in the woods near our campsite.
Another look.
A paradise for large wading birds.
Always fascinating to watch, a Great Blue Heron stalks its next meal.
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Paynes Prairie Preserve north entrance, Alachua Sink was another excellent natural area just a short drive away.
A Live Oak casts shadows on the waters surface near Alachua sink.
Graceful and beautiful an Anhinga preening, Alachua sink.
Alachua Sink.
A very small (and cute?) Alligator enjoys the sun.
Looking across the wetland, Alachua sink area.
Immature Little Blue Heron.
Mature Little Blue Heron.
It was a real treat to see these immature Great Horned Owls, Alachua sink area.
With mom nearby.
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Finally another excellent area that is even a shorter drive is Barr Hammock Preserve. The preserve trail consists of a large loop circling what used to be farmland but which is now at least partially flooded.
Landscape.
A Tri-color Heron tidies up, (Donna).
Patterns in tree bark.
Immature White Ibis, (Donna).
Reflections
Largeflower Primrose-Willow
Little Yellow, a butterfly we don’t remember seeing before, (Donna).
American Bittern
Alligators large and small.
No hike in Florida would be complete without a turtle, Florida Cooter.
Swamp.
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Compared to other parks visited, wildlife sighting were not nearly as common at Blackwater River SP. However quality made up for quantity with a rare wildflower sighting and the pleasant surprise of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker sighting. Also the river did live up to its reputation for being a beautiful and during our one paddle a bonus was enjoying the many turtles that had taken up residence on shoreline logs. Our stay in the park was a quiet one so walking along a park road or a trail offered an equal opportunity to see wildlife.
The Red-cockaded Woodpecker’s habitat is the Southeast’s once-vast longleaf pine stands. They also occur in stands of loblolly, slash, and other pine species. The birds dig cavities in living pines and live in family groups working together to dig cavities and raise young. Due to habitat loss the species has declined drastically and was listed as Endangered in 1970.
Not far from the woodpecker, but in the brush at ground level, a Brown Thrasher made an appearance.
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Patterns in the sand, Blackwater River.
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.  .  . and at river’s edge:
River Jewelwings, in this case males, were a real treat to see, (Donna).
Female
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Enjoying the river’s beauty.
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In the order of carnivorous insects, Odonata, we were also fortunate to see a beautiful Green Darner one of the larger dragonflies.
Green Darner
Another view.
. Â . Â . Â and also a pair of mating Cypress Clubtail Dragonflies.
Cypress Clubtails
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Some low-lying areas along the trail required boardwalks.
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Dragonflies weren’t the only insects mating, a pair of Carolina Satyrs were also seen, (Donna).
A beautiful Queen butterfly, (Donna).
Dubious Tiger Moth, (Donna).
Where there are butterflies there are often wildflowers.
Yellow Butterwort, a very rare sighting for us, this carnivorous plant is a Florida threatened species.
These purple flowers (False Rosemary?) were relatively common during our hikes.
Sky-blue Lupine
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Due to weather and river flow conditions we only paddled once but it was energy well spent.
Tannins color the otherwise clear water.
A peaceful view.
The low winter sun highlights budding trees.
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The next post we will be back in Ohio in search of Ohio’s spring wildflowers but whether it’s nature in Florida or Ohio we remain amazed and enchanted.
Blackwater River
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Thanks for stopping by.
Nature In Myakka River State Park
Posted on March 20, 2019
After two months in sunnier climes with limited internet access we are now back home. While still an improvement over Ohio, this winter’s trek south to Florida’s Myakka River State Park in an effort to escape the cold found us greeted by windy cool and sometimes wet weather. The wind precluded using the canoe as a means to gain access to photo opportunities away from the main park roads but we were still able to enjoy hiking even though it was often on partially flooded trails.
My wife walks under a Live Oak covered with Resurrection Ferns on one of the dryer tails.
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Every year is different. Last year the arrival of a hurricane not long before our arrival resulted in the park being completely flooded. During our stay the water receded leaving pools of stranded fish for wading birds to gorge themselves on. This occurrence offered a unique opportunity to observe and photograph various wading birds and nothing like it was in the offing this year. The consolation was that the Black Necked Stilt, a favorite bird, was more common than last year. In addition to this year’s critter pics more effort was made to capture the landscape so those shots have been made part of the mix.
The Myakka River
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As in the past Black Necked Stilts continue to charm us.
Black Necked Stilt
What ever they’re doing it’s always fascinating, (Donna).
Stilt with Lesser Yellowlegs
Walking.
Flying, (Donna).
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Flooded hammock.
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Other small wading birds were seen but American Avocets eluded us.
Least Sandpipers along the shore of Upper Myakka Lake.
Killdeer along the shore of Upper Myakka Lake.
Lesser Yellowlegs along the shore of Upper Myakka Lake, (Donna).
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The Myakka River.
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While certainly not uncommon, we always enjoy seeing the Great and Snowy Egrets. Whiter than white, a slightly overcast day seems to work best for photographing these birds.
Great Egret
Close-up.
Snowy Egret
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Standing water in low-lying areas gives rise to shadows and reflections.
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Black Crowned Night and Great Blue Herons are seen in Ohio but not the petite Tri-colored Heron.
Tri-colored Heron.
Great Blue Heron with lunch along the shore of Upper Myakka Lake.
Great Blue Heron.
Little Blue Heron hunting, (Donna).
A Black Crowned Heron peeks through the branches, (Donna).
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Upper Lake Myakka.
Flooded habitat.
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Roseate Spoonbills are right up there with Black Necked Stilts when it comes to interesting birds to observe.
Roseate Spoonbill preening.
Spoonbills.
My what a big mouth you have, (Donna).
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Florida hammock landscape.
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An Alligator Limpkin stare down.
The Alligator and Limpkin were so close together it’s hard to believe they weren’t aware of each other.
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Myakka River landscape.
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We were fortunate to see several Wood Storks.
A Wood Stork forages for food along the shore of Upper Myakka Lake.
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A canopy of branches.
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Palm Warblers were everywhere as were Black Vultures. The Barred Owl and the small Common Ground Dove were a rarer treat.
Palm Warbler.
Black Vultures were everywhere.
Scarcely a moment went by without hearing the call of a Red Shouldered Hawk.
This Barred Owl seemed so obvious once we spotted it but they’re not so easy to find.
Common Ground Dove.
The Red-bellied Woodpecker is common in Florida but perhaps not quite as common there as in Ohio.
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Shadows betray this Live Oaks identity.
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Flowers, fungi, and air plants:
A lovely small flower is found looking something like a small wild rose
Another small but very noticeable flower.
There were fungi but not in the variety seen in Ohio, (Donna).
Other than as a location to live, air plants ask nothing of the tree they reside in.
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A fallen tree finds home in the flooded hammock
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Other creatures:
Our friend Teresa was surprised by the opportunity to get this quick shot of a Bobcat as it crossed the trail.
We are always surprised by the number of turtles given the number of gators.
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This years visit to the park was only six days but we managed to see quite a bit for such a short time. Because of the colder than normal weather there weren’t as many alligators in evidence and while birds were seen the higher than normal water levels and more places to forage meant they were disbursed. We’re planning a return visit next year so who knows what the future holds as every year offers different mix of weather and resultant water levels.
Thanks for stopping by.
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Central Ohio Nature 