Central Ohio NatureAutumn On Griggs Reservoir
Posted on October 27, 2020
By mid to late October in central Ohio, should we be blessed with a nice day, we wonder if it might be the season’s last opportunity for an enjoyable paddle.
It’s true that on days with little wind, if colder temperatures can be tolerated, one can usually paddle through December on Griggs Reservoir. But once the trees and leaves part company, the landscape takes on a stark appearance, and the experience becomes less intimate. One feels more exposed with only bare branches to separate the paddler from shoreline homes and the now much louder traffic noise from the adjacent highway.
Of the larger birds that can still be enjoyed; gulls, Great Blue Herons, and Belted Kingfishers will remain throughout the winter in areas where there is open water. There is also some compensation in the fact that, along with the Red-tailed and Coopers Hawk, the bare branches make spotting the resident pair of Bald Eagles much easier. Concerning living things other than birds, on a December paddle a few years ago we did see a few turtles enjoying the sun. However, that was a rare exception as, for the most part, by mid-November wildlife becomes scarce. Great Egrets, cormorants, vultures, and osprey have all headed south. Of the smaller birds, with the exception of a few yellow-rumped warblers that may hang around all winter, the others warblers have long since passed through.
Motivated by these thoughts a few days ago, we put the boat in the water on what could turn out to be the last really nice day.
Looking for birds and other critters.
Those of you that have followed this blog for a while may have heard us reflect that one never knows what will be discovered when paddling our local reservoirs. We often go some distance without seeing anything other than a few of the usual suspects,
High overhead this Great Blue Heron watched as we paddle by.
. . . then just when we’re about to assign the outing “well, it was a nice paddle . . .” status, we stumble upon something that charms and amazes us. Such was the case when we happened upon three killdeer at water’s edge engaged in what seemed to be some sort of dance. They postured, positioned, and pursued each other for as long as we chose to watch. Mating behavior in autumn? We were left to wonder.
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Griggs Reservoir is a long narrow body of water bordered by homes on one side and a highway and city park on the other.
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Paddling into a breeze that reminded us how long it had been since we were in the canoe, we left the killdeer behind and headed back to our launch site still excited about what we’d witnessed and telling ourselves that, even if we saw nothing else, it had been a great day.
A small Map Turtle cooperates for a picture which is not usually the case for these very wary turtles, (Donna).
A female Wood Duck’s portrait gets photo bombed by a mallard, (Donna).
These mallard Ducks are apparently not “locals” as they took flight as we got close. The year round residents would not have flown, (Donna).
We actually got close enough for an acceptable picture of this male Belted Kingfisher. Anyone who has ever tried to photograph these birds realizes it’s not an easy task, (Donna).
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While not possessing the beautiful autumn color of a Vermont maple this sycamore does it’s best.
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As we “headed for the barn”, our day just about complete, we noticed commotion in a dead tree at waters edge. Moving closer, a number of Eastern Bluebirds were observed very actively checking out what had been a tree swallow nesting cavity earlier in the year. Surely they weren’t getting ready to make little bluebirds this late in the year. (It turns out the bluebirds may nest more than once a year.) We were almost as entranced as we had been by the killdeer and moved on only when our curiosity had been satisfied and maintaining the boat position, in the increasing windy conditions, started to seem like work.
Male and female Eastern Bluebirds check out a nesting cavity, (Donna).
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A few hundred yards later, we pulled the canoe out of the water and stowed the gear in the car. It had been a good day. Would it be the year’s last nice one for a paddle?
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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 