Glen Helen Nature Preserve

Monday, June 17, my grandpa and I traveled to a few different parks. We first hit Batelle Darby Metropark and then Prairie Oaks Metropark near Columbus. Both parks were great, but this post is on another park.

Around lunch we decided to head down to Yellow Springs, outside of Dayton. Our goal was Glen Helen Nature Preserve. After a nice lunch at Peach's Bar and Grill, we headed, quite literally, right across the street to "The Glen."

Glen Helen Nature Preserve is an area owned by the Antioch College in Yellow Springs. Glen Helen is about 1000 acres and was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1965.

My intent with this visit was more photography based versus nature based, fair warning.

So why is the town of Yellow Springs called Yellow Springs? Well, it's this thing right here. This spring within Glen Helen is the namesake of the town. As you can see, in person it's more of an orange than a yellow from the high iron content. From what I've read, this place was well known to the Shawnees. They believed the spring water held healing properties, a notion carried on by the early white settlers. It is said that even Tecumseh frequented the spring.

Another shot of the spring. This spring is located off a Native American path known as the Bullskin Trace, an ancient pathway that led from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. This path was created by migrating bison and other animals before being used by the Native Americans. It was then used by explorers such as Daniel Boone and then the following pioneers, but it soon became a part of the Underground Railroad (of which the Antioch College of Yellow Springs, with its abolitionist president Horace Mann, was a major stop). Other Native American chiefs are said to have visited the spring for its "powers," including Blue Jacket, Blackhoof, Blackfish, and Little Turtle.

The spring water slides down the hill, cascading over a rocky area making a small waterfall, and finally into Yellow Springs Creek. However, this waterfall right here is located along a tributary to that Yellow Springs Creek. This creek has always interested me. Before this waterfall, the creek has a rock bottom. Hundreds and hundreds of years of erosion has sculpted the rock into many interesting features. As the water goes from that part to this waterfall, a whole new interesting geography takes place. This waterfall starts "the cascades" which is a series of falls and pools that is incredibly beautiful. I don't have any photos of the lower cascades because there were people swimming and I didn't want to come off as "creepy," but let me say you are not allowed to swim in this creek. The rules say so, so please follow them to protect the Glen.

We came across this guy enjoying some sunlight. This is a Hackberry Emperor, Asterocampa celtis. A tip on IDing these subtly beautiful guys can be found on the tips of their antenna. Their white tips help eliminate many other butterflies and point to Hackberry or Tawny Emperors in the Eastern region of America. They are an active butterfly often times with erratic flying. Many times they are curious and will fly over to intrusions, which include humans hiking through the forest. They are attracted to white objects, including white shirts, and may land on you if you so happen to be wearing one when a Hackberry Emperor sees you!

And last, but not least, Glen Helen Nature Preserve is the site of the Raptor Center. The Raptor Center is an education center, but first and foremost its duty is to rehabilitate injured raptors, which include hawks, eagles, owls, and so on. The lighting was bad, but I was able to take this photo of a sleepy Barred Owl as he woke only enough to see what the intrusion was. The Raptor Center is definitely worth checking out if you like birds; it allows amazing views of amazing birds of prey, a complete win win situation.


Glen Helen Nature Preserve is definitely worth the visit. Easy access, many miles of hiking trails, and beautiful natural features make this park a great gem in Western Ohio.

Some Wildflowers from Adams County

Part II of the Adams County trip, except this post is dedicated to the wildflowers I found. Part I can be found here.

Adams County is wonderful for wildflowers, and when it comes to rarities for Ohio, it's chocked full of them. Adams County has special ecological characteristics when it comes to Ohio. As my previous post pointed out, Adams County is part of the Bluegrass Region, has cedar barrens resulting in pocket prairies, and more. Many species of southern plants are found here and are at the northern edge of their range as well, leading to an interesting mix of North meets South.

This was the star (no pun intended) of the trip: Shooting Star, Dodecatheon meadia. I made a trip to Lynx Prairie specifically with seeing this species in mind. You can see why it is called Shooting Star. Shooting Star has been recorded in 24 of the 88 Ohio counties with its population being mainly centered in the South and Southwest parts of the state. At Lynx, these were found in the pocket prairies; in fact, the first pocket prairie had hundreds of these flowering.

Next up was this flower that was found right next to the Shooting Stars. This is Scarlet Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja coccinea. Scarlet Indian Paintbrush has been recorded in 23 Ohio counties, and here in the prairies of Adams County you can encounter it in decent numbers. This is Ohio's only Indian Paintbrush species, with most of the species being out west.

This yellow flower and the surrounding clover-like leaves belong to Great Yellow Wood Sorrel, Oxalis grandis. It is our largest native wood sorrel and is found in 47 Ohio counties, generally in the Southern and Eastern portions of the state. This specimen was found at Davis Memorial SNP.

Some times we expect flowers to be large, flashy plants; however, many wildflowers are not that flashy, nor are they always large. That does not mean most wildflowers don't have a subtle beauty. This flower, Houstonia caerulea, might be very tiny, but it does have its own subtle features. The slight blue tint, the tiny yellow center, the simple symmetry made by four petals; all of this is grand in its own sense, if you take the time to actually look at it. This was found at Davis Memorial SNP where they were all along the trail. It's known more commonly as Azure Bluet or Quaker Lady. Found in most Eastern and Southern Ohio counties, this flower thrives in moist, acidic soil in shady areas.

This flower is Downy Wood Mint, Blephilia ciliata. This was found at Lynx Prairie; in fact, they were in every prairie opening almost and added a nice purple to the sea of green. This species is found in about half of the counties in Ohio and doesn't fall into any specific region.

This is one of the more uncommon flowers I came across on this trip. This is Smooth Phlox, Phlox glaberrima. Smooth Phlox has been recorded in only 7 counties in Ohio! The Ohio population is definitely centered in the south, with Adams County and the Shawnee Forest region making up most of the records. This particular specimen was found at Davis Memorial SNP.

All in all, this was a good trip for wildflowers. I found a few more but I don't want to overload this post and have it be incredibly long, so I'm going to stop it here. The next post will be coming soon as well and will be about some of the insects and arachnids I came across. Stay tuned!

Adams County Trip

I went on an Adams County trip on Thursday, May 30, 2013. This is sort of a tradition; I go every year at least once, hike, go down to Maysville, Kentucky, to eat at Margie's, and come back to Pickaway County. Honestly, Adams County is my favorite Ohio county. I love the ecosystems down there.

Adams County is a strange place when it comes to Ohio; it's got many unique characteristics when it comes to ecosystems and other ecological aspects. It's part of the Bluegrass Region, a region that's mostly in Kentucky. It has pocket prairies, it has cedar barrens, and so on. All of this results in a lot of rare and uncommon plants.

There's many, many places to go to in Adams county, but today we first stopped at my favorite nature preserve, Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve. Located near Peebles, this preserve is off the beaten path. First you go off the highway onto a country road, then turn onto a smaller country road, then continue on this road for a few miles, wait for it to turn into a gravel road and then go farther, then wait for it to turn back into a paved road, then go a little bit farther, and THEN you arrive. You are in the middle of nowhere it seems like, but it's so worth it. Here you can see a dolomite cliff. Dolomite is a type of sedimentary rock and Davis Memorial has two types, Peebles Dolomite and Greenfield Dolomite.

On these dolomite cliffs and outcrops grow a rare plant called Sullivantia, Sullivantia sullivantii. Sullivantia has only been recorded in 9 counties in Ohio. It requires exposed rock to grow on, mainly certain types of cool, moist, and porous cliff sides. I've personally seen this species in two places, here and in the Hocking Hills. At Davis Memorial this plant seems to cover the dolomite cliffs.

Another interesting geological aspect of Davis Memorial is this: Cedar Fork Cave. This is a proper cave, although it isn't a large one like you might want it to be. It's only a few hundred feet long, like most of the caves in Ohio. The largest Ohio cave is only a few miles away from Davis Memorial, but even that is only half a mile long. These caves form when rainwater picks up CO2 from the atmosphere and decayed ground matter and becomes acidic. This acidic water becomes a weak carbonic acid and eats away at sedimentary rock, like dolomite, which eventually leads to cracks. These cracks widen and some go on to form sinkholes while others form caves, like this one. This type of sinkhole and cave-ridden landscape is called "karst." In Cedar Fork Cave resides two rare aquatic cave invertebrates and as a result is closed off from the public. You need a written permit to explore, and please respect this to avoid damage to a very delicate cave-ecosystem. Other interesting geological features of this park include a large fault that is visible in Cedar Fork Creek.

Next stop: Lynx Prairie. Lynx Prairie is part of the greater Edge of Appalachia Preserve complex, owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy. Lynx Prairie is one of few remaining examples of pocket prairies in Ohio. This park is a complex of pocket prairies which are actually cedar barrens. The dolomite here is close to the surface which makes it hard for trees to take root. As a result, only prairie species take root, along with the occasional hardy Eastern Red Cedar (hence the name cedar barren). However, as the bedrock level fluctuates, these cedar barrens become surrounded by woods, which in turn makes these cedar barrens pockets, and, ahah! We now see where the name "pocket prairie" comes from. These pocket prairies hold many rare plants, and Lynx Prairie is no exception. There is going to be another post soon strictly on some of the wildflowers I came across on this visit, so stay tuned you flower-lovers!

We found this baby lobster massive crayfish while at Lynx Prairie (at least, it was so large it might as well have been a baby lobster!). This was the largest crayfish I have ever saw. I added my hand as a comparison.

Isn't he cute? Well, he wasn't a fan of getting his photo taken and he tried intimidating me as a result, yet as you can see it wasn't very successful. Crayfish, also known as crawfish and crawdad, are a type of freshwater crustacean. Twenty species of crayfish have been recorded in Ohio. As to what species this guy is... I'm not exactly sure. I'm thinking it might possibly be a Spiny Stream Crayfish, or Orconectes cristavarius, but as I said, I'm not sure.

Here's one last shot of Lynx Prairie, this time showing the forest aspects of the pocket prairies. As you can see, even the forested parts are sparse. Adams County has so very much to offer if you visit, and I strongly suggest you visit some time!

Since there's so much to offer, there's going to be more posts to come on some of the things I found. This post is sort of an overview. The next one will be on some of the wildflowers and will come out either this weekend or some time next week. The last one will be over some of the insects and arachnids I came across. Stay tuned in!

Shallenberger State Nature Preserve

I just graduated from high school on Sunday, which means the next two months for me are opened up for nature-related escapades!

Today, May 28th, 2013, I stopped at Shallenberger State Nature Preserve in Fairfield County with my girlfriend Olivia. Now, I live 20 minutes away from Shallenberger SNP in Pickaway County yet no one around here has seemed to have heard of it. It's a shame though; Shallenberger offers a little slice of the Allegheny Plateau of Ohio without being a long ride if you live in Pickaway or Franklin County.

This vista along the trail shows one of the two main features of Shallenberger SNP. The hill in the background is Ruble Knob. This photo was taken on top of the larger Allen Knob. Both knobs make up the make main features of the park. The trail takes you up both knobs if you feel like climbing, and otherwise just circles the bases if you're not the climbing type. The climbs are by no means demanding however.

Upon nearing Allen Knob, we came upon this monster. This is a Tuliptree, Liriodendron tulipifera, with Olivia as a comparison for size (she's 5'4"). It's hard to tell from the photo, but this tree has three main trunks. I'm no botanist so I'm not exactly sure on this, but I think this is one tree, but I could be wrong and it could be 2 or 3 Tuliptrees morphed together. (If someone can tell me one way or another, please leave a comment!) If this is indeed one tree, then this is the largest tree I've ever stumbled upon. In fact, this whole SNP is filled with old-growth monsters.

Here's another interesting tree that was along the trail. There was a hole in the bottom, as you can see, and right outside the frame the trunk splits back into two as it goes into the canopy.

I almost stepped on this guy when walking along the trail. This is a little Eastern American Toad. American Toads, Bufo americanus, are split into three subspecies. In Ohio, we only have one, the Eastern subspecies. Most likely, you've probably come across one while hiking in the spring and summer as they hop off the trail to avoid being squished. They come in a variety of colors, but this is one that I've never seen before. Normally they seem brown, but this one is a more light and reddish brown than what I've seen.

Okay, this is not the best photo, but this is a Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia. Mountain Laurels are not that common in Ohio, but here at Shallenberger SNP they were covering a lot of the top areas of Allen Knob.

And they were flowering! Here's a closeup of some of the flowers, really beautiful flowers at that. Mountain Laurel is an evergreen shrub that is found in the rocky and mountainous areas of the Appalachian Mountains. Here in Ohio, they're restricted to the eastern portion of the state in the Allegheny Plateau. 

Here is a pair of mating Six-Spotted Tiger Beetles, Cicindela sexguttata. I was lucky to get this photo. Olivia pointed this pair out, who were busy and did not flee immediately like tiger beetles tend to do. As a result, I was able to creep up with my 55mm-not-made-for-flighty-insects-lens (which was a funny sight to the onlooker) and shoot this photo. Six-Spotted Tiger Beetles are common in Ohio, especially if you look at sunny areas along dry forest trails in Southern Ohio. They look ferocious, especially with those large mandibles, but they will not bite humans unless handled and prefer to scurry and fly away from any person sauntering down a trail. Their brilliant flash of green will certainly grab your attention though as it catches the sunlight. 

Another attention-grabbing insect on this trip was this large fly right here, a female Golden-Backed Snipe Fly. You can tell it's a female by the larger abdomen along with the non-touching, smaller eyes. The males have large, touching eyes. Found in deciduous forests in the spring and summer, not much is known about this fly; people aren't even sure if the adults eat or not! Regardless, it's an interesting fly. A few people I've talked to said they've seen good numbers around Ohio so far this year, so keep an eye out!

This was a successful trip and kicked off the summer season for me. Since I'm finally done with AP classes and the massive amounts of homework they entail, my time is open for hiking! I'll be moving down to Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, halfway through August to attend college, so this blog will begin featuring things from that area more!

Snakes and Flowers

I journeyed out to AW Marion State Park Sunday with my friend Olivia in order to hike the 5 mile perimeter trail and to see what we could find.

Almost immediately, she jumps off to the side. Confused, I turn to her and give her a questioning look. She points down and...

Hello there! The first snake of the year! And what a tiny beauty. This is an Eastern Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis. He was very tiny, only probably a foot long or so. He just calmly froze and attempted to remain invisible. However, I had to move in for a somewhat closer shot.

Here you can see a bit more detail. Eastern Garter Snakes are one of the three types of garter snakes found in Ohio, but by far the most common. Others include the Butler's Garter Snake and the Plains Garter Snake. Eastern Garter Snakes are highly variable, but most have three light stripes on a darker background, which can range from brown like this one to black. Interestingly, in the Western Basin of Lake Erie, almost 50% of Eastern Garter Snakes can be completely black (with some white on the chin), which is something called melanism.

The woods, albeit brown and drab mostly, were beginning to come to life with some wildflowers. This was the first one we came across. This is Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. Native to Ohio, the red juice is poisonous. However, some people have used this plant for medicinal uses like dental hygiene products, although studies suggest this may lead to oral cancer. Toxicity aside, the delicate white flowers were a beautiful and welcomed sight in the forest.

These tiny flowers are called Spring Beauties, Claytonia virginica. These are found all over Eastern North America, especially in deciduous forests, although they can be found in cities and more. It's a tiny plant, as you can see, but has a subtle beauty that many wildflowers have. We are used to flashy, large flowers that have been cultivated to be...well, large and flashy. However, wildflowers, for the most part, aren't very flashy, and most have a complexity that creates that subtle beauty wildflowers are known for. The large leaf in the back isn't part of the Spring Beauty; that's actually a waterleaf in the Hydrophyllum genus, although I'm not sure of the species (if someone can help, just comment please!)

The last one for this post (although more will be coming!). This is the gorgeous Grape Hyacinth, also known by Muscari, the name of the genus. These are popping up all over town. They aren't native; they're from Eurasia and can get a bit out of hand in areas. However, I must admit they are beautiful. They're named for the grape-like flowers that you can see.

All in all, it was a good trip for Olivia and I. She's a non-birder, but I recently found out she's interested in trying. So, this Sunday we're going to go out and try birding to see if she likes it. I'm quite excited; this might be my first friend to be serious about wanting to pick birding up. Wish her luck in her findings!

Spring seems to be here, for the most part. The trees are beginning to bud and bloom, flowers are coming up, bird migration is picking up, and more. Keep your eyes out my friends, and see what you can find!