Central Ohio NatureBeauty In Transitions
Posted on November 23, 2019
It’s hard to think of the period between autumn color and the arrival of colder temperatures and a land covered in snow, as anything other than a time of transition. Ohio’s late November sepia-tone landscape makes one wish for somewhere else, past or future. If we find ourselves walking along a wooded trail or stream our curiosity is challenged in ways not encountered as spring unfolds into the warmth of an endless summer day. Better to be home in a favorite easy chair with the warm glow of a fireplace, a cat curled up on your lap, and a good book as the season’s birds occasionally visit the feeder just outside a nearby window. But the magic of late November is that, surrounded by muted color, the endlessly varied dance of birds not present or as easily noticed during other seasons, is hard to ignore.
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A window into the future, wintry bare branches reflect on the surface of a small pool.
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A year round resident, the cheerful Carolina Wren comes into it’s own as the landscape darkens in late November.
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Tufted Titmice seem more common this time of year. Some migrants from the north?
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A Red-winged Blackbird confuses us by it’s presence. Shouldn’t you be further south?
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In perhaps it’s last “voice”, a oak leaf graces the surface of a small stream.
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Few leaves obscure our view as we watch the comical journey of a White-breasted Nuthatch as it forages for food.
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A tidbit (perhaps a spider’s egg sack) is found, (Donna)
Woodpeckers are noticed at almost every turn, some of which are undoubtedly also northern migrants.
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker, (Donna)
Red-belied Woodpecker, (Donna).
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Before being caught by the wind and carried away, a lone Sycamore leaf catches the morning sun.
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Gray Squirrels are common and always easy to spot but they’re not always so busy eating.
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Almost invisible when trees are fully adorned with leaves the nervous movement of Golden Crowned Kinglets catches our eye.
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On mudflats left behind as a nearby reservoir is lowered for the season, a solitary oak leaf comes to rest.
Oak leaf
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With feeders out, other birds brighten the day with their presence.
House Finch
American Cardinal
Blue Jay
Carolina Chickadee
But not far away, a Cooper’s Hawk waits.
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Autumn’s fading color comes to rest among stream-side rocks.
Scioto River landscape.
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In the chill of the morning, birds enjoy the river without complaint.
An American Robin takes a bath.
Cedar Waxwings stop for a drink.
Blending into the bark, unless your eye catches it’s movement, the Brown Creeper is almost impossible to spot.
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“Snowbirds”, the presence of Dark-eyed Juncos alert us of what is to come.
***(Donna)
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Transforming place, an ephemeral first snow blankets the ground.
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As a metaphor for life, the passing seasons, particularly early spring and late autumn, may have something to teach us when in the midst of life transitions we wish for somewhere else. Perhaps the key is to look closer, be open to the beauty of the present time and place, and then in that moment allow ones self to be caught in it’s embrace.
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Thanks for stopping by.
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Neighborhood Migrants
Posted on October 16, 2019
Warm days, now noticeably shorter, are giving way to colder nights with the landscape increasingly graced with the colors of autumn in Ohio.
Autumn reflection in central Ohio.
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During the past couple of weeks we’ve made a concerted effort to look for birds passing through Griggs Reservoir Park on their southern migration. We’ve avoiding the temptation to travel further afield thinking it would be fun just to see what is or isn’t passing through our “neighborhood”. There have been reports of birds that have eluded us, such as the Blackpoll and Yellow-throated Warbler, but all in all the effort has been rewarding.
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The Black-throated Green Warblers were very cooperative:
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Only one Cape May Warbler was seen:
Female Cape May Warbler
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A fair number of Northern Parula Warblers were spotted:
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This Yellow-throated Vireo is not sure he wants to eat a stink bug:
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We had only one sighting of a Black-throated Blue Warbler:
Good enough to ID the bird but that’s it.
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The fairly common Yellow-rumped Warblers are often seen eating poising ivy berries:
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A Nashville Warbler was also part of the mix:
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One Ruby-crowned Kinglet tries it’s best to hide while another jumps right out and poses. To date more kinglets have been heard than seen.
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Contrasting with last year, this has not been a good year for seeing Black-crowned Herons on the reservoir. However, on a resent paddle we were rewarded:
Juvenile, (Donna).
Adult, (Donna).
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While looking for warblers a group of very active Blue Birds was hard to ignore:
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A young male Wood Duck has been hanging around the park for the last couple of weeks. By it’s association with a group of mallards it appears to think it’s one:
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We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge some of the other birds that have fascinated us while we looked for fall migrants.
An immature Red-tailed Hawk seemed curious about what we were up to.
Something has this Juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker’s attention, (Donna).
A Mallard Duck, bathed in autumn light, swims across the reservoir.
A pair of Northern Flickers, (Donna).
A Tufted Titmouse acts cute like titmouse do, (Donna).
A White-breasted Nuthatch goes about it’s day.
One of the many Cedar Waxwings seen in the park in recent weeks.
A female Downy Woodpecker poses for a picture.
A Great Blue Heron strikes a graceful pose along the Scioto River, (Donna).
This Blue Jay has quite a mouthful, (Donna).
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It’s a dark gray rainy morning as I finish writing this so it’s hard to imagine what nature will offer in the coming days and this is the time of year when things tend to wind down. However, if past experience is any indication, it will only take another walk in the woods to again experience the magic. Thanks for stopping by.
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A Journey Through Early Autumn
Posted on October 3, 2019
Perhaps it’s the flowers or the number of sunny blue sky days that have populated the last few weeks, but so far our journey through early autumn, perhaps a bit warmer than one would expect, has been a wonderful celebration of the time of year.
The low autumn light filters through New England Asters.
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Blue Jays, along with migrants from the north adding to the local population, are commonly heard engaged in their noisy banter as we explore local parks.
Blue Jay, (Donna). Griggs Reservoir Park.
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By late morning and early afternoon there are always butterflies and dragonflies keeping us company. It has been a banner year in central Ohio for the Common Buckeye. It’s difficult to remember a year when we’ve seen so many. Several years ago it was late September before we saw our first one. At the other extreme we’re not sure we’ve seen even one Morning Cloak this year. Could the same weather patterns or events be responsible for both of these outcomes? One can only wonder. One interesting bit of information we recently uncovered is that, depending on the severity of the weather, Buckeyes can successfully overwinter in Ohio. This could explain this year’s early sightings.
Common Buckeye, Blues Creek Park.
The underside of the wings, (Donna). Griggs Reservoir Park.
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With fields of golden rod in bloom there’s no question about the time of year, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
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A few days back, while I was fishing, my wife was excited to find a Dainty Sulfur in Griggs Reservoir Park. To make matters worse not only did I miss the butterfly I didn’t catch any fish.
Dainty Sulfur, (Donna). The last time this butterfly was seen in central Ohio in observable numbers was 2012. Griggs Reservoir Park.
Little Yellow butterflies, while not as uncommon, were seen in another area park. We usually observe this butterfly in Florida during the winter.
Little Yellow Butterfly. Blues Creek Park.
Other butterflies were also present:
Eastern Comma, (Donna). Griggs Reservoir Park.
Eastern-tailed Blue laying eggs, (Donna). Griggs Reservoir Park.
Monarch. Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
This Viceroy seen at Blues Creek Park can be easily mistaken for a Monarch but it is slightly smaller, a faster flyer, and has similar but different markings on it’s wings.
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In recent days, no doubt due to the extended warm weather, we’ve noticed more dragonfly activity. The following images are of some of the more noteworthy ones seen. The Wandering Glider is not uncommon but hardly ever lands so it was a real treat to get a picture. This aptly named carnivorous insect is the widest ranging dragonfly and can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
Wandering Glider, Griggs Reservoir Park.
A Illinois River Cruiser perches not far from the river in Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park. We believe this is a first sighting for us.
This beautiful Blue-faced Meadowhawk was also a new dragonfly for us. This one was seen not far from a wetland in Blues Creek Park.
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Prairie Dock is a member of the aster family and can grow up to eight feet tall, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
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The small furry creatures all seemed busy, usually with a nut in their mouth, and were hard not to notice.
Fox Squirrel. Griggs Reservoir Park.
Chipmunk with a real mouthful, (Donna). Griggs Reservoir Park.
Curious chipmunk, (Donna). Griggs Reservoir Park.
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The autumn nights, now longer than the days, usher us too quickly through the season. In keeping with this journey the next post will be about fall warblers as they make their way through central Ohio. Thanks for stopping by.
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A hover fly investigates a thistle flower. Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
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It’s Spring!
Posted on April 18, 2019
While working on a blog post pertaining to time spent in Florida earlier this year I was interrupted. However, unlike many interruptions this one was good. Spring wasn’t just knocking, it was banging on the door, calling us to come out and play. In just the last few days nature has exploded in central Ohio making it hard for my wife and I to contain our enthusiasm. Hopefully this post will convey just a little bit of the excitement.
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One of the first clues that things were changing more rapidly were the wildflowers.
Redbuds.
Virginia Bluebells, (Donna).
Another look.
White Trout Lily
Dutchman’s Breeches.
Yellow Trout Lilies, (Donna).
A closer look. (Donna).
Emerging Buckeye leaves, not a flower but beautiful in their own way.
Spring Beauties, (Donna).
Newly emerged spring fungi, Dryad’s Saddle, (Donna).
Translucent green.
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Then there were the birds, all of which seemed very busy.
From it’s nesting cavity a Red-bellied Woodpecker checks us out.
A Canada Goose on it’s nest at water’s edge. Hopefully there will be no heavy rains in the near future.
An argumentative pair of Blue Jays announce their presence. Could they be discussing nest location?
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Some behavior seemed odd.
This Canada Goose was trying a different menu item. Something we’ve never seen before.
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Other birds were just enjoying the warmer weather.
A Tufted-titmouse makes itself know with a voice much bigger than the bird.
A common but hard to photograph Carolina Chickadee is nice enough to pose.
Sunlight warms a male Mallard in breeding plumage.
Redbuds surround a female Cardinal.
A Great Blue Heron soars overhead along the Scioto River, (Donna).
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The Great Egrets in their breeding plumage continued to enchant us.
Preening.
Another look.
Striking a beautiful pose.
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But the days real excitement was generated when we spotted a newly arrived spring migrant.
This curious Yellow-throated Warbler flew down to see what I was up to.
Too cute for just one pic.
And perhaps one more.
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As if the wildflowers and birds weren’t enough, more turtles than we’ve ever seen on one log decided to get into the act.
Turtles along the Scioto River, How many do you see?
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We hope our enthusiasm rubs off on our readers and everyone gets out to witness springs transformation in their neighborhood.
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Walking in the freshness of an early spring morning
along a path lined with trees just clothed in translucent green
with the sights, sounds, and smells of nature
I am reborn.
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Thanks for stopping by.
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