More than the birds!

[PGBird]

Thursday, July 9, 2009

The birds can be so difficult to spot during these summer days, can't
they? Two of us walked the Gorge Loop Trail at lunchtime today and
heard more species than we spotted -- though we did finally find the
Scarlet Tanager high in the top of a wild cherry tree near the picnic
shelter! So summer is good time to look at other aspects of our
natural surroundings.

Two weeks ago, a group of us visited several unique habitats in Wayne
County, Ohio. We were fascinated by the pitcher plants in bloom and
the round-leafed sundews nestled into the mounds of spaghnum moss at
Brown Lake Bog. Both plants are easy to overlook as they blend into
the surrounding vegetation beautifully. The observation platform in
the Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area didn't produce many birds -- one coot
was calling behind some vegetation, but the dragonflies were abundant
and even though we couldn't identify any of them, we could tell there
were at least a half dozen species. We finished our day with a walk
through Johnson Woods State Nature Preserve -- the trees in this old
growth woods are so tall!!!

There are two naturalist-led programs coming up designed to introduce
you to more of the fascinating variety of this region.

Sunday afternoon, July 19, join the LMP Naturalist staff from 1 to 4
p.m. as we host our first River Jamboree. This year will find us on
the Grand River at Hidden Valley Park in Madison. The Grand River is
home to many species including freshwater mussels -- come along and
get your feet wet -- enjoy the afternoon learning about these amazing
animals! There is more information at the LMP website --
http://www.lakemetroparks.com/programs/musselfest.shtml

The day trip for July is on the 25th -- Birds & Butterflies in the Oak
Openings Region. Dan Donaldson and Susan Wiedmann will be leading
this exploration of this unique area. "This globally distinct
ecosystem has been designated by the Nature Conservancy, a renowned
conservation organization, as "One of the 200 Last Great Places on
Earth." (Go to http://www.oakopen.org/ to learn more about the
region). Dan will be the bird expert and Susan, the butterfly
expert. If you've never been in the field with Susan, it's an amazing
experience as she nets butterflies for a wonderful close up look
without doing any damage to the insect. Some of the plant species
that you may see blooming include small purple fringed-orchid, orange
fringed-orchid, Kalm's St. John's Wort, dense blazing star, and
fireweed. Target birds will include the lark sparrow and red-headed
woodpecker. The mid-summer butterflies will be flying and the
challenge will be to find the rare Karner Blue!! You don't want to
miss this opportunity to visit one of Ohio's special places. There
are only 3 openings left and you can register by calling Registration
at 440-358-7275 or going to http://reservations.lakemetroparks.com/programs/index.shtml?id=8489
and register on-line.

Those of you who stay at home on Saturday, the 25th can join Pat Morse
at Penitentiary Glen Reservation for a bird walk from 8 to 9:30 a.m.
It's the season of fledglings and you just never know what you'll
observe that you've never seen before! Plus you'll get rusty with
your binoculars if you don't get out here and use them!!! Good
birding!

Mary Huey
mh...@lakemetroparks.com
Interpretive Naturalist
Lake Metroparks