Central Ohio NatureAugust Rain and Mushrooms
Posted on August 29, 2018
Recently, after several wet days, we decided to take a drive to one of our favorite central Ohio hiking destinations, Clear Creek Metro Park. It’s a park that many frequent when they’re getting in shape for more exotic destinations like the Appalachian Tail or Rocky Mountain National Park. The tails are that challenging. In our case it was more about seeing mushrooms that we wouldn’t find in parks closer to home, but a beautiful rugged trial lined with ferns that winds its way through old growth Hemlock and oak with a trailhead sign that says something like, “Caution, unimproved trail, proceed at your own risk”, is always a plus. Being located at the southern edge of the last glacier’s advance, on land that has for the most part never been disturbed by farming, logging, or other human activities, has a lot to do with the parks beauty. To optimize our chance of seeing mushrooms we decided to use the Creekside Meadows Trail to access the Fern/Hemlock trail loop. Certainly not the longest hike in the park but given our propensity to stop a look at things it made for a good day’s outing.
Park Trail Map
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Just a short note about the cameras used during the hike. We consider ourselves nature lovers who enjoy capturing the beauty of what we see. Often our outings involve a canoe or long hikes over relatively rugged terrain. For this reason hauling a lot of equipment may not be possible or may take away from the experience of “being” in nature. Recently I’ve been experimenting with a Canon 80D Tamron 18-400 mm combo while my wife continues to rely on a Panasonic FZ200 superzoom for many of her insect and fungi shots. Overall I’m happy with the performance of the DSLR combo and it’s potential for more creative control. However, in the sunny day darkness of Clear Creek’s deep woods, with auto ISO limited to 3200, handheld shots were chancy at best and mostly disappointing. A tripod would have resolved the problem but toting it around as well as setting it up for most shots would have changed the flavor of the hike. On the other hand the FZ200 with its fast 2.8 lens, and auto ISO limited to 800, much more consistently provided usable pictures without the use of a tripod. Something that is good to know because while there is no right or wrong when it come to how we pursue photography it is important to ask yourself what it is you are trying to get from an experience before investing in equipment.
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Chanterelles:
Yellow-footed Chanterelle
Chanterelle, (Donna).
Chanterelle, (Donna).
White Chanterelle
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White Phlox
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Shelf like mushrooms:
Turkeytail, (Donna).
Another look.
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Fall Phlox
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Boletes:
Shaggy-stalked Bolete, (Donna)
Shaggy-stalked Bolete another example.
Two-colored Bolete, (Donna).
King Bolete
Unidentified bolete.
Unidentified bolete
Russula, (Donna).
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A small, yet to be identified, wildflower.
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Other mushrooms:
Destroying Angel, not a good selection for the dinner table!
Yellow Tuning Fork
Orange Mycena
Very large emerging free gill mushroom
Further along.
. . . still further.
Unidentified small mushrooms.
Clustered Coral
An unidentified veiled mushroom.
Appears to be a more mature example of the above mushroom.
Unidentified veiled mushroom.
Very tiny unidentified mushrooms
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Pinesap, a parasitic plant classified as a wildflower.
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Along the Creekside Meadows Trail near the end of our day a hiking companion spotted this tiny Ring-necked Snake. The first one we’ve ever seen during our outings.
Ring-necked Snake, (Donna).
Another look, (Donna).
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Finally, I must admit that we are on the steep part of the learning curve when it comes to mushrooms. Using the guides we have available a frustrating number remain unidentified. Perhaps that is a good thing in the world of mushrooms because if you wrongly identify a mushroom it could be hazardous to your health!
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Thanks for stopping by.
August Nature on Central Ohio’s Reservoirs
Posted on August 10, 2016
Recently we paddled the north end of Alum Creek Reservoir not far from our home in Columbus and then a couple of days later ventured about sixty miles due south to paddle Paint Creek. Given that it’s mid-summer we weren’t real optimistic about what we’d see. That said, one thing we observed which seemed rather counterintuitive given the summer’s midday heat was that the birds were much more active and approachable midday. This is something we’ve become accustomed to when looking for butterflies, dragon and damselflies, but necessary for other creatures. Of course, it is the insect time of year so we were not surprised to see plenty of them but in addition we were fortunate to see birds including immature Kingbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Baltimore Orioles, and hawks.
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For those interested in Ospreys, paddling the north end of Alum Creek Reservoir can be very rewarding this time of year. Ospreys and their recently fledged offspring seem to be everywhere. During our paddle we also had two Bald Eagle siting’s, however, they didn’t hang around for a photograph. Many Green Herons were also seen as we explored the shoreline and numerous coves. With lake levels slightly low exposing shoreline rocks numerous solitary and spotted sandpipers were also seen.
Osprey, north end of Alum creek reservoir, FZ200
Closer look, FZ200
Adult Osprey, FZ200
Taking flight, Donna, FZ200
Flag-tailed Spinyleg, Alum Creek, Donna, FZ200
Paddling up Alum Creek, FZ200
Long-jawed Orbweaver, Alum Creek, Donna, FZ200
One of many Green Herons, this one was strutting it’s stuff, Alum creek, Donna, FZ200
Fall Phlox, Alum Creek, Donna, FZ200
Amberwing, Alum creek, Donna, FZ200
Very young Map turtle, alum Creek, Donna, FZ200
Solitary Sandpiper, Alum Creek, Donna, FZ200
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The paddle up Paint Creek is stunning, it’s hard the believe you’re in Ohio. As the day progressed it seemed easier to get close enough to Kingfishers so that the resulting photograph didn’t leave you wondering what kind of bird it was.
Paint Creek, Donna, FZ200
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, dark morph, Paint Creek, Canon 3ti 18-135mm lens.
Spotted Sandpiper, Paint Creek, Canon 60D with Sigma 150-500mm.
Butterflies on scat, Paint Creek, Donna, FZ200
Double-crested Cormorant looking rather mysterious, Paint Creek, Canon 60D with Sigma 150-500mm.
Eastern Amberwing (F), Donna, FZ200
Male Kingfisher, Paint Creek, Canon 60D with Sigma 150-500mm.
Female Kingfisher, Paint Creek, Canon 60D with Sigma 150-500mm.
Bob’s big fish (White Bass), Paint Creek, Donna, FZ200.
Spicebush Swallowtail, Paint Creek, Donna, FZ200.
Green Heron tidying up, Paint Creek, Canon 60D with Sigma 150-500mm.
Mushrooms on a log, Paint Creek, Donna, FZ200.
Common Arrowhead, Paint Creek, Donna, FZ200.
One member of Donna’s Hackberry Circus, Paint Creek, Canon 60D with Sigma 150-500mm.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtails puddling, Paint Creek, Donna, FZ200.
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After spending time exploring Alum Creek Reservoir and Paint creek we returned to our own “backyard”, Griggs Reservoir and the Scioto River, where we also found things to fascinate.
Summer along the Scioto below Griggs Dam, FZ200.
Sunflower, Griggs Park, FZ200.
Immature Red-bellied Woodpecker, Griggs Park, FZ200.
Meadow Fritillary, Griggs Park, Donna, FZ200.
Immature Cedar Waxwing, Griggs Park, FZ200.
Another look.
Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Griggs Park, Donna, FZ200.
Halberd-leaved Rose-mallow, Griggs Park, Donna, FZ200.
The Scioto River below Griggs Dam, another view, FZ200.
One of the very few Buckeyes seen so far this summer, Griggs Park, FZ200.
Carolina Wren, Griggs Park, FZ200.
Black-crowned Night Heron, very early morning, Griggs Reservoir, ZS50.
Pearl Crescent, Griggs Park, Donna, FZ200.
Robber fly, Griggs Park, Donna, FZ200.
Monarch, Griggs Park, FZ200.
Zebulon Skipper, Griggs Park, Donna, FZ200.
One of many Hackberries seen, Griggs Park, Donna, FZ200.
Horace’s Duskywing, Griggs Park, Donna, FZ200.
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Often we find ourselves walking along residential streets on the return leg of an urban hike to Griggs Park. We usually don’t expect to discover anything special but you never know what you’re going to see.
Immature Red-tailed Hawk just outside our kitchen window, FZ200.
Immature Cooper’s Hawk, residential street near our home, FZ200.
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We hope you’ve been able to get out and explore and appreciate nature this summer. Thanks for stopping by.
