Wood ducks

Water Creatures

/ TheNextHalfInOhio / 2 Comments

For a couple of months during the winter, we usually pack up the camper and head to Florida to explore nature. And yes, to enjoy the warmer temps and sunshine. That trip usually includes bringing the canoe and spending time with friends. It allows us to see nature up close and personal. Sometimes it can be a bit “too close” and involves some maneuvering.

But what you see can be mesmerizing. Or entertaining. Or funny and cute. And sometimes not quite so calming… Sometimes it’s what’s keeping an eye on YOU.

Yes my friends, there definitely are alligators in Florida. And when you’re paddling in a canoe you see them. You also see them when hiking. But sometimes these little guys (in the photo below) fall under the category of “cute.” Unless Momma is nearby, which she probably is.

Baby gator hatchlings are only about 7 inches long, give or take, and require protection by Momma to keep predators away. Racoons, snakes, birds, otters and even other gators find these little guys appetizing. Baby gators tend to stay together in a group when they’re young, and you often see this out in the wild. Sometimes they stay close to Momma for two or even three years for protection.

But I digress. Let’s move onto the category of mesmerizing. When people hear you’ve been to Florida, the most asked question tends to be Did you see alligators? We know the answer to that one, but the second most asked question is Did you see manatees? And the answer to that is also Yes!

Paddling near the mouth of a natural spring that flows into the Suwannee River at Manatee Springs State Park we saw about a dozen manatees gently floating leisurely by enjoying the warm waters. It’s difficult to photograph a manatee. But look at the horizontal shape amongst the reflections of the trees on the surface of the water in the photo above.

Their front flippers help steer them through the water while the large tail provides the power to move them forward. These gentle giants are threatened due to a number of things including boats collisions, entanglement in fishing lines, harassment, habitat loss and starvation. They are protected by State and Federal law in Florida, and we can only hope they continue to survive.

Paddling around Florida’s waterways always provides a look at many creatures that love water. From shorebirds along coastal waterways (like this Brown Pelican that came in for a bouncing landing), to inland lakes with those creatures that focus on fish as a mainstay of their diet, like the Osprey.

Otter Lake in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is surrounded by towering Bald Cypress trees. The water is vivid blue and on windless days it’s smooth as glass. Sunlight reflects tree images on the water while Ospreys glide overhead.

The Cypress trees towering height make excellent locations for Osprey nests. The trees provide nest locations that offer easy approaches for the birds and good visibility to watch for potential predators.

An Osprey is considered a type of fish-hawk and eats almost exclusively live fish (although there are some exceptions). So having waterways nearby with ample food supply is critical.

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is also a haven for water creatures. From the shy little Pied-billed grebe (which is not a type of duck) to beautiful Redhead ducks and more.

Pied-billed grebes are quite common in most of the U.S. I find it entertaining with it’s quick little dives to avoid being seen. Did you know Grebes eat large amounts of their own feathers. This helps block indigestible items long enough that they can form a pellet (which also includes those feathers amongst other things) they can regurgitate. And they’re the ONLY bird that does this.

And now on to the aforementioned Redhead ducks – a diving duck that’s interesting to observe. Talk about a beautiful creature, wow! As with many birds, the male is always the most colorful of the pair. According to Wikipedia, Redhead ducks make up just 2% of the North America’s duck population. Maybe it’s no wonder I don’t see them very often!

On this day we found them sharing the pool of water with a couple of American Coots. According to what I’ve read, Redheads are very “social” ducks and this photo appears to concur with that.

But Wood ducks are equally as resplendent as the Redheads, at least I believe so. This beautiful pair were remarkably calm and stood quite still for this photo. Generally I find Wood ducks to be quite shy.

And speaking of water creatures that are shy, how about the North American river otter? I rarely see them out of the water, and generally just see them quickly swimming away. But not on this day. Mother nature was kind to us and decided to share their beauty with observers paddling by. These guys were as curious about us as we were about them!

I’ve read river otters can be up to 4 feet long and weigh up to 30 pounds. The males are generally bigger, so I’m guessing that this might be a male due to its obvious size. They’re playful creatures, and on this day we found them scrambling about with several other otters as we paddled along.

And there you have it. Just a few of the water creatures we were able to share our time with while in Florida this year. Oh, there’s lots more photos to come in some future blogs. Nature has a way to mesmerize and amaze, and it’s so beautiful you just have to share it!

Until next time, keep exploring nature up close!

The Preserves Among Us

/ TheNextHalfInOhio / 2 Comments

This year has been different, to say the least. For all of us. One of the things that has proved helpful to me is exploring nature preserves – especially scoping out ones I’ve never visited or, in some cases, have never heard of. It’s like having little mini vacations. I explored a couple preserves near Lake Erie just a few weeks ago.

DuPont Marsh State Nature Preserve (SNP) is part of the Erie Metroparks in Ohio. The short loop trail (with it’s soft footing of pine needles) connects to a longer Metroparks trail that offers views of the marsh.

It’s a quiet place where nature thrives and encourages those wandering to slow the pace and absorb the peaceful surroundings. Ducks and other water fowl abound. Great egrets slowly move through the water, putting all their effort into fishing; their concentration and patience is quite admirable and readily pays off.

Wood ducks are notoriously camera shy. They generally fly at the slightest hint of human presence – a voice or even the slightest movement. So when I happened upon a large group of them I was extremely surprised to get a few quick photos through the tree branches. This photo shows probably just a third of the number of wood ducks enjoying this marsh cove on this day. One can imagine this is a favorite destination for many types of water fowl.

We also explored Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve which is a National Estuarine Research Reserve. An estuary is typically defined as a place where salt water meets and mixes with fresh water. But in this case Old Woman creek mixes with water from Lake Erie and combines to create a chemically different water from either the creek or lake. It offers researchers a field laboratory to learn about estuarine ecology in a natural setting with habitats of marshland, forests, barrier sand beach, open water and swamp forest.

Boardwalk trails provide solid footing through potentially wet areas, while well-managed trails lead one through heavily wooded areas with magnificent views.

And in the midst of the woodland close to the estuary is a swamp forest. It’s an upland forest in an area that is poorly drained for a portion of the year. Soil here is too wet for most woodland trees, but it still provides habitat for some trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. It’s prime habitat for wood ducks, warblers, woodpeckers, belted kingfishers and even eagles.

I’ve never been particularly appreciative of scrubland – that is new growth areas with small scrubby trees and shrubs – although I have a new appreciation for it after visiting Old Woman Creek.

Scrub uplands never really caught my attention as particularly attractive but when I learned their value and their place in natural forest ecology, I now have a different mindset.

These scrubby areas provide habitat for bird nesting as well as provide a good food source. They protect birds during storms and can help as floodwater retention when located in lowlands. Because of their scrubby nature, it also protects animals from predators. Scrub lands are simply a natural progression through habitat changes over time. I guess I never really thought about it in this aspect before. Visiting Old Woman SNP expanded my view.

If you get the opportunity, take some time to visit Old Woman SNP and Estuary or any of the nature preserves near you. There is so much to explore and appreciate within the preserves. Nature abounds and awaits you.

Until next time, keep exploring nature up close.

Sheldon Marsh

/ TheNextHalfInOhio / Leave a comment

Exploring nature preserves is a great way to banish “Covid fatigue.” It’s like a mini vacation wrapped up in a single day and provides a bit of exercise, fresh air and restores the spirit. I can highly recommend it.

This week we packed our hiking boots, a snack, water and drove an hour or so (on as many backroads as possible) to explore Sheldon Marsh state nature preserve near Lake Erie in Ohio. It’s offers about 470 acres, is home to 300 species of birds and is a well-known place for quite a number of wildflowers in the spring.

SHELDON MARSH

But it’s not all marshy, by any means. Even at the end of October the leaf colors are beautiful, though a bit past their prime.

The Preserve offers some wide straight, wide trails directly to the beach area, but I would suggest following the woods trail instead. It meanders through the trees and provides great views of the marsh and the creatures that live there.

According to signage, the Marsh has hundreds of turtles that bask along the shoreline including Midland painted turtles, snapping turtles and the Blandings turtle (Emys blandingii or Emydoidea blandingii). According to Wikipedia, Blandings turtles are an endangered species in some areas of the eastern U.S. and Canada, can reproduce for 80 to 90 years and show little or no common signs of aging. Wow! That’s a turtle I would like to see.

Unfortunately on this day there was little if any sun so it wasn’t conducive to those basking turtles (which is why I plan to come back).

This area is very attractive to ducks and shore birds. On this day we saw Wood ducks, Mallards. Gadwells, Canada geese, cormorants and Great Blue Herons. I have a few photos to share of these, but the zoom on my FZ300 wasn’t quite up to it, as the ducks/geese were quite a distance away.

GREAT BLUE HERON (forefront) and WOOD DUCKS (rear)

We also ran into a pretty aggressive groundhog. Now before you start laughing (I did too when a fellow visitor first warned me), take a look at the photos. They just might change your mind.

NORMAL GROUNDHOG, RIGHT? NOT!

Now normally groundhogs are pretty timid. They run away when they see a human. Not this guy! He would look at you, then come out onto the trail and face you like he was taking a stance. If you moved, he moved to face you and showed some teeth. He didn’t act rabid; he just acted old and mean like we were on his turf – which we were I suppose. Poor guy.

But that didn’t stop us from sliding around him to get to the Lake. It was a bit windy on this day and quite choppy. The gray/blue skies blended well with the icy gray color of the lake. The wind was quite loud in the tree branches and leaves along the shoreline.

Very near the water in some shrubby areas was a Yellow-Rumped warbler flitting about. They DO move quickly. I was surprised I could get any photos at all.

This is a barrier beach and (according to signage) is one of the most fascinating habitats at Sheldon Marsh. It’s one of the largest protected beaches on Lake Erie’s south shore. It provides the potential for bird nesting habitat of such endangered species as the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) and Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). (The Common Tern is listed as endangered in Ohio and the Piping Plover is on the federally endangered list.)

BARRIER BEACH AREA

If you get the opportunity, take a break from “Covid fatigue” and visit Sheldon Marsh. It’s a glorious place to explore nature and let go of some of life’s stresses. While not too many people feel comfortable going on vacations these days, a mini-vacation day trip to a nature preserve is almost perfect.

VISIT SHELDON MARSH STATE NATURE PRESERVE

Until next time, keep exploring nature up close.

Nature’s Effect

/ TheNextHalfInOhio / 7 Comments

Now more than ever, it’s important to find ways to calm the mind and nourish the spirit. With all the continuing news of the Covid-19 virus and its devastating effects, it’s sometimes difficult to find that peace.

Exploring nature and recognizing the beauty around me has helped. A blogger I follow once commented something to the effect of (and I’m badly paraphrasing) if you find the joy in nature, joy will follow you wherever you go. I subscribe to that thought.

For me that means securely planting myself in the moment. Letting go of “what ifs” and truly seeing the spectacular beauty of nature. Not just beautiful scenery, but the true marvel of that tiny little wildflower or a small bee (Andrena mining bee shown in photo) with it’s legs festooned with pollen, or an unknown fly also enjoying the same flower.

On one of my walks, I found a fuzzy looking green plant which turned out to be Common Mullein, a non-native which is considered invasive in some areas of the United States. This plant is also known as “Cowboy toilet paper” among other things, though that’s not a recommended use! According to some things I’ve read, this plant was also used by Quakers (in days gone by) to brighten the cheeks of ladies when use of makeup was frowned upon.

This biennial plant can grow to 5 to 6 feet tall and produces rather beautiful little yellow flowers. The plant is also very prolific, sometimes producing as many as 175,000 seeds per plant. It loves disturbed areas, which is why it’s easy to see how it could be invasive.

And not to be outdone by plants, birds and ducks have been making their presence known this week. Mallards are what I expect to see, but I’ve also seen Buffleheads and Lesser Scaups, along with timid Wood Ducks camping out in trees.

A woodland walk helped bring a lot of things into perspective for me this week. There were so many things growing with the promise of Spring’s magnificent color. It reinforced the realization that some things haven’t changed and I don’t need to keep my “social distance” from them, thankfully!

I hope you have the opportunity to go for a walk soon. Take your time. Explore the things that are green and growing. Listen to the songs of birds anxious to find a partner and begin starting their new families. Find something unusual that attracts your attention and do a little research to learn more about it. Nature offers so many amazing things to explore.

Until next time, keep exploring nature up close.