Wildlife Walk, Radnor Lake State Park

Come hike with me as I walk the lake trail at Radnor Lake State Park today. Did I mention we will get to visit with some of the local wildlife as we take a walk on this bright sunny day with temps hovering in the high 60's. Radnor Lake is in the middle of metropolitan Nashville surrounded by large neighborhoods, so it gets a lot of visitors.

After about a mile into the lake trail, I turned toward the aviary trail and hiked another quarter mile into the woods. To my surprise as I neared a clearing in the woods, a huge bird flew up from the clearing and perched in a nearby tree. I have never seen an Owl in the wild, until today! A gorgeous Barred Owl sat perched in a tree perfectly positioned for picture taking. Every now and then he would turn his head all the way around and stare down at me. I was about 200 yards away on the path. You suppose he knew he was the star of my show! Did I mention this is a Life List Bird!

The trail to the opposite side of the lake cuts through the lake and a swamp. As I walked I peered into the water and saw something swimming parallel with the trail. A Muskrat swam past me and disappeared into the deep water carrying a large stash of vegetation. Lunch!

As I peered into the depths of the swamp, a huge Turtle swam by. He didn't seem to mind the company at all.

The Turtles were out in force sunning themselves on downed branches in the lake close to the shoreline.

There were various species of Turtles sunning themselves. I hope they put on sunscreen.

As I turned to make my way to the aviary, I snapped this image looking back at Radnor Lake. It's a beautiful lake and quite large. The perimeter lake trail, if you choose to hike it all the way around, is three miles. I did the entire hike on my first trip here to Radnor Lake in 2016.

I wished I could contain my excitement at seeing my first Owl in the wild. Needless to say, when I checked out my images in Lightroom, I had some fantastic photos of the Barred Owl. He had a sleepy look on his face as he sat motionless lazily sunning himself. His perch was the perfect spot for me to capture quite a few pics of him. I doubt he knew he was the star of my show!

Hopefully, you've enjoyed this hike around Radnor Lake. It's a beautiful park and very flat surfaces to walk on with half of the lake trail paved. I want to go back soon to see if I can capture the Barred Owlettes. Word is they fledged, but perhaps they will come back to the nest. The nest was on the opposite side of the lake from where I hiked, so I didn't make it there on this visit. Have a wonderful weekend all. ENJOY!

A Photographer's Favorite

A large Bison stood motionless taking in the heat of the day at the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes earlier this week. The hustle and bustle of small calves, nary a few months old, rustling around him didn't make for even a stir. As I snapped images with my long lens, I noticed him standing quietly in the fray. It was obvious he knew the daily routine of the Bison herd. Of all the images I captured on that day this one stood out. The sun gives his dark black and brown fur a warm, rich sheen. A tiny weed grows in front of this huge beast. The most delicate and the most beastly exist in harmony. What a contrast. To read more about the Elk and Bison Prairie, click here. Have a great weekend all. ENJOY! 

Bison Loom Large

After you enter the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky, you travel on a three and a half mile loop, in a 700 acre enclosure, where the Elk and Bison roam free. The prairie is a natural grassland with ponds, woods and creeks scattered throughout.

I found the Bison herd crowded together near the end of the loop road. Some were rubbing large boulders while others were headed to a large dust pad nearby. The first image is the matriarch, the very largest Bison in the herd. He was huge. 

There are about 60 Bison in this herd including the calves which are born in May. Breeding season is July to September as was evidenced by the males stalking the females throughout the herd. I even witnessed the matriarch as he attempted to mount a female unsuccessfully. She moved off and he fell off.

These are American Bison or Buffalo. The Bison is the largest land mammal in the United States and the national mammal. Bison graze, rest and chew their cud in two hour intervals and then move to another location to graze again. Perhaps that explains why the Bison always seem to be roaming.

Just before I left the prairie, I saw this little fella nudging his Mother who finally complied. So adorable now, but imagine his size all grown up. The heat and humidity made for heavy breathing for some of the larger Bison. I enjoyed this visit more than my last, as I planned my arrival a tad later in the day, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Elk grazing in the meadow. ENJOY!

Linking to Scoop 339

Elk Watch

At the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes, if you plan a trip very early in the morning or late in the day, you can view the Elk as they munch on grasses in the meadow. They stay hidden in the tree line in Summer during the hotter climes of the day, so plan accordingly if you want to see them.

The Elk and Bison Prairie is almost dead center in Land Between the Lakes in Golden Pond, in the very remote southwest corner of Kentucky. It's a pleasant drive from Nashville on a major highway. The countryside you see in Kentucky along the drive is really beautiful with lots of gorgeous farmland. On this visit, I waited patiently for the Elk, and finally was rewarded as this guy ventured out of the woods. He was munching on the grass and eventually tugging at the leaves of a low hanging branch. Then he noticed his gal was missing and slowly made his way across the meadow in hot pursuit.

This gal surely is the apple of his eye. She came out of the woods and began to graze, slowly making her way across the meadow, and finally disappearing into a thicket. The bull wasn't far behind following her in hot pursuit.

Such beautiful, amazing creatures. The huge rack on the bull, covered with its new layer of velvet, was gorgeous. It's extremely hot here in Tennessee. We're in the Dog Days of Summer, although it feels as if we have been there all Summer. There's high heat and humidity daily with afternoon thunderstorms. I am waiting for Fall to bring cooler temps. ENJOY!

Linking to The Scoop 339

North American Wild Turkey

The devil is in the details. Surely you have heard that saying before. It came to mind when I saw the detail in this image I captured of the North American Wild Turkey. The blues in his head and neck. The grays and whites of his feathers. The browns and blacks of his tail feathers. Two North American Wild Turkeys pecked at the grasses as they trotted through the prairie meadow at the Elk and Bison Prairie in Land Between the Lakes, in southwestern Kentucky last week, as I drove the route to view the Elk and Bison.

The Elk and Bison are the heroes of the meadow there. As I drove the route I decided that the wildflowers growing in the prairie meadow there, and the Turkeys trotting in the short grasses beside the meadow, perhaps they should be the heroes. The yellows and golds of the Goldenrod. The whites of the Queen Anne's Lace. The lavenders of the Thistle. The tans of the tall grasses. Could those things not be heroes too. ENJOY!
Linking to Saturday's Critters

Beast of Burden

There is no other way to describe one of the largest mammals on North American soil.

Another view of the Bison at the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes. ENJOY!

Bison, Land Between the Lakes

BIG! BROWN! BISON!

As you drive your car around the route in the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes, you begin to see glimpses of Bison up ahead. Taking in all of the Bison up ahead, you notice they are scattered throughout the fields, the pond, the side of the road. Some are even laying in a dust bowl hoping to rid themselves of insects on their large backs.

What a treat! Approaching the main herd in your car, you notice there are several large Bison standing right in the middle of the road. You have to stop the car and wait. Your head goes up as you see movement in your rear view mirror. You see him. A very big Bison lumbering up the middle of the road directly behind your car. He is going to have to pass right by your car to get to where he is going. He does. As he lumbers past your driver's side door, you hold your breathe and say a prayer, and you don't move a muscle.

Finally, thankfully, he makes it past your car, meanders into the herd of Bison just ahead, and stops right in the middle of the road. Now there are several large Bison right in the middle of the road. Five minutes pass. Ten minutes pass. Fifteen minutes pass. Finally, the two large Bison in the middle of the road slowly move to the side of the road. One of them lays down just off the pavement. Now is your chance. You slowly move your car down the road past all of the Bison. As you pass the last one, you began to breathe regularly again. This is the Bison at the Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes. ENJOY!

Black Bears, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

We are deep within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park today. What images come to mind when I say those words? Mountains, forests, rivers or perhaps fog, rain, smoke. Well, you would be right about all of those things. And then there is the wildlife. Elk, Deer, Fox and Black Bears just to name a few. On this particular trek the day my journey began, I was driving toward the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail when I spotted Black Bears alongside the road.

A female Black Bear, a mother no less, was feeding heartily next to the roadway while her two cubs were off in the brush a short distance away. This is almost the same place I had encountered a Black Bear off in the distance on another visit to the park a year or two before.

My camera was zipped safely away in my equipment bag. Darn! I reached back and unzipped the bag and pulled so as not to break anything on the camera. I got out of the car knowing the Bear was getting ready to head into the forest, but still kept the car between me and the Bears. You just never know. Keep in mind I have a 300mm lens on my camera so while it may seem I am right on top of the Bears, I am a safe enough distance away. If there is a safe enough distance away from such a powerful animal as the Black Bear. Keep in mind while photographing mother Bears that they will charge and fight should you get too close to their cubs. After a few minutes, the Bears had moved further into the forest and disappeared but I was glad to have seen them.

The following day having changed my plan of direction going into the park due to impending thunderstorms, I drove across the main road that eventually takes you to Cherokee, North Carolina. You pass Newfound Gap and the road to Clingman's Dome as you make your way up the side of the mountain and around the mountain and back down on the eastern side. As I reached the bottom of the mountain on the other side of the park, now in North Carolina, I encountered a group of cars. I knew full well it had to be a Bear sighting. This Bear was a large male Bear munching way off in the brush by himself. He spent some time in one area before moving away farther into the forest. You will notice as I cropped this image closely, this Bear is tagged. I hope it was not due to being a nuisance. If so, and he causes a nuisance by getting too close to humans, he could be put down. Let's hope the tag is for a study.

I enjoyed seeing the Black Bears and knew there were plentiful sightings from the alert posted on the park's website before I left home. Hope you are off to a good start to your weekend. Back soon. ENJOY!

Linking to Saturday's Critters

Elk, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

At the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there were no Elk to be seen which was the norm. As I made my way back through the park, I happened upon this lone Elk munching on the grasses in a field right off the road about two miles from the visitor center.

She is a sow and I don't think she gave birth to a calf this Spring as there was no evidence of one with her. I loved that she also did 'not' have a radio collar on which made for nicer images. As the group of cars that stopped to watch her graze began to grow, the Elk would look up every now and then. This was one of the looks she gave me as I sat across from her in the car at a good distance. It was a priceless look. When it started to rain, she looked up and all around her, and then abruptly turned and hightailed in the opposite direction and crossed the road heading for the treeline next to the river. It made one wonder what was going through her head at the time. If you look closely, you can see a few rain drops in the image. At least she posed for a few pics for me. ENJOY!

Muskrats, Murfree Spring Wetlands

Today was the perfect day for an outing. The temperature was in the mid eighties with an abundance of sunshine peeking through the clouds and at times a nice breeze would blow through to cool things off. I decided to visit Murfree Spring Wetlands in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, southeast of Nashville. The wetland is situated next to the Discovery Center which is a children's venue accompanied by a museum. The wetlands is about 25 acres and is home to mammals, amphibians, birds, waterfowl and obviously thousands of insects. The definition of a wetland follows . . .

Wetlands are land areas that are saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, 

such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. Wetlands include swamps, marshes

and bogs. Wetlands vary widely because of  differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology,

water chemistry, vegetation, and other factors. Wetlands are economic drivers because of 

their key role in fishing, hunting, agriculture and recreation. 

This being my first visit I was surprised to find a large Muskrat sitting on top of marsh weeds and grasses munching on pond weeds. Pond weeds are the tiny green weeds you see in the water all around the Muskrat. This Muskrat looked to be an adult and wasn't the least bit concerned at my presence nearby on the boardwalk. So I gingerly snapped a few images of him having a midday snack. After a few minutes and having gotten his fill, he disappeared into the water never to be seen again.

After my initial walk around the parameter of the wetland, I headed back to my car for a quick drink of water. The sun was coming down pretty good at times making for a warm walk. Back to the boardwalk for a second lap around, I just happened upon several smaller Muskrat feeding on pond weeds right inside the wetland entrance. Muskrats in residential environments can be a nuisance, but these little guys were in the perfect environment in the swamps and, needless to say, there was plenty of food to be had.

My visit was packed full of sightings of all types of species from mammals to waterfowl. Along the boardwalk I happened upon large Turtles basking in the sun covered in pond weeds, Eastern Pondhawk Dragonflies, Green Frogs and, of course, the Muskrats. The birds I encountered were the Yellow Crowned Night Heron, a pair of mated Wood Ducks, a Grackle, several Eastern Kingbirds, countless Robins, and the Red Winged Blackbird which are plentiful around swamps and marshes. There was a virtual plethora of wildlife to be seen and enjoyed. I hope your Memorial Day holiday has been enjoyable and I promise I will be back in a day or two with more images from my visit. We have rain on the horizon for tomorrow. Apparently that front that has caused major flooding and storms in Texas and Oklahoma is headed my way. Although I don't think we are supposed to get quite as much rain as the Midwest has gotten. ENJOY!