And the Challenge Continues! Metroparks Challenge #7

Mom! I lost my shoe!

Last fall, you might remember that Megan, Weston and I had set out to visit all of the central Ohio Metroparks before the snow fell- we titled it our "Metroparks Challenge". We set our goals high- and we simply didn't meet it in the time allowed. That doesn't mean we have given up on the goal! Last week, we went to Highbanks Metropark, located about 2 miles north of our home, for a quick walk around the dog friendly trail, which led us through young woods and old farm fields.

In one of the fields is a prehistoric earthwork, often known as an "indian mound". There are several other interesting earthworks at Highbanks Park.

One of the reasons we chose this particular trail was the opportunity to see birds we had not yet encountered in 2010- birds that frequent open fields and similar habitats. The trail didn't disappoint. We first heard this field sparrow with its dropping ping-pong ball call, and after several minutes of scanning the field, I spotted its pink bill through the binoculars.

And finally, just before we arrived back to the parking lot, we spotted a pair of eastern bluebirds. The female is pictured above.

The lack of posts this week was with reason- I've been busy working at something, something that I'm extremely excited about, which I'll soon announce here.

Tom

Metro Parks Challenge #3 Battelle Darby

A curious goldfinch greets us along the trail

If you live in Ohio, or quite possibly if you really like aquatic ecosystems and live in another state, you may have heard of the "The Darby". This gem of an ecosystem lies just outside Columbus and drains the Darby Plains, once home to a great expanse of natural tall grass prairie, and now home to some of Ohio's richest agricultural land.

Even so, the Big and Little Darby Creeks are still amazingly rich in biodiversity- if I were at work I could tell you exactly how many rare species live in these streams, but safe to say it is dozens. The streams were designated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as State Scenic Rivers back in 1984 and recognized as national scenic rivers in 1994. I have to say that these two creeks are the biological gems of central Ohio, and I just simply need to visit these areas more often.

Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park is where to go to see the Big Darby, and even some of Little Darby, as the two streams reach their confluence in this Metro Park.
The streams are quite unassuming. But underneath their surfaces is a rich diversity of beautifully colored fish and freshwater mussels with bizarre life histories.

So what better place to introduce Weston to a world class ecosystem AND complete our third Metro Parks Hike for the year? Here he is in the backback- If you remember back to our Sharon Woods hike, we forgot the sun shade- but not this time.
However- We DID forget his bib! How fun it was to watch Mom get food all over the place. Murphy's law was certainly in place this day- forget the bib and he'll be sure to be extra messy with his baby barley cereal.

On our way along the trail, we encountered things like cutleaf coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata.
And in higher drier meadows we saw one of the cudweed species in the genus Pseudognaphalium.

And we also got to introduce Weston to map turtles. This female was basking on a rock in a large pool created just downstream from the confluence of the Darby Creeks. She was absolutely huge, probably 10 inches long- dwarfing her male counterparts at the other end of the rock.

As we returned north through the most mature woods along the trail, I happened to spot the plant pictured above. Weird, I thought to myself, I've never seen this. I thought it might be an orchid. A quick e-mail to my colleague Rick Gardner after we returned home and he confirmed that my suspicion was indeed correct. He identified this as the autumn coralroot, Corallorhiza odontorhiza. Some plant species produce flowers that never open and are self fertilized- botanists call these cleistogamous flowers. Autumn coralroot can produce both types of flowers, so it is possible that these flowers will open eventually, or it is possible that they will remain closed and self fertilize.

Megan, Weston, and I had great fun at Battelle Darby Creek Metropark. We parked at the Cedar Ridge area and followed the Indian Ridge trail south to the Indian Ridge Picnic area and back. Here's an aerial view of the day's adventure.


View Metroparks Challenge in a larger map


Tom

Metroparks Challenge Hike #2: Sharon Woods

I have caught a cold! Oh Joy! I just love being sick. I hope I don't pass it on to anyone else.Fortunately, the cold hit last night, so it didn't mess up our weekend. Megan, Weston and I continued our Metroparks challenge- which is to visit every one of the 15 Metroparks in the system here in Columbus and Central Ohio. Two down, thirteen to go!

Sharon Woods a short drive from our home- just two exits off the beltway (i-270) that circles our great metropolitan area. Megan and I have been here before- pre Weston.

We decided that the 1.8 mile Spring Creek loop trail looked perfect for a nice hike with our little guy. The trail offered a variety of habitats- upland old fields and forests, lowland headwater streams, and even a small created wetland. Although none of these habitats were stellar- I wasn't expecting to see an amazing array of biodiversity, the hike was still interesting and fun.

As you can see over Megan's shoulder, the first portion of the hike led us through an old field dominated by Canada goldenrod.

I kept an eye out for butterflies, but the only one I observed was this pearl crescent, one of the most frequently encountered butterflies in Ohio.

After the old field, we entered a young woodland with several "wolf trees". These trees, often much bigger than most of the forest, were remnants of a time when this land was probably pastured or farmed. The old trees would have been surrounded by crops or grasses. At sometime in the past, the land was abandoned, allowing tree seedlings to become established. Since they were all competing against each other, these trees grew quickly and very straight, in contrast to this large open grown oak.

A little further down the trail brought yet another old field opening, this one much smaller. It supported a nice population of grease grass, Tridens flavus. This species seems to be relatively common in central and southern Ohio especially in old fields and infrequently mowed roadside habitats. If you run your hands up and down the stem and panicle, you'll feel why this plant is given the name grease grass- it somehow produces an oily substance- if you haven't felt it, it's really neat.

Another species growing in this meadow was Sorghastrum nutans, or Indiangrass. One of our showiest native grasses, I'm not exactly sure what it was doing here. It is native further west in Franklin County in the Darby prairies, but here it may have been planted or introduced from mowing equipment. It could have been a natural population, but I'm guessing that it is more likely introduced at Sharon Woods.

With Megan carrying Weston, she kept continuing hiking on, especially after my grass photography. It was taking too long- and he is heavy.

It's hard for me to not take a photograph of a honeylocust trunk covered with protective spines. I just find those spines amazing. The honeylocust is considered an example of an anachronistic species, first described by Dan Janzen and Paul Martin in 1982. The gist of this theory is that this tree species' protective spines are no longer needed because the giant herbivores that this tree evolved with and developed these spines to protect against are now extinct.

We crossed over a small stream that was full of minnows- although I've only dabbled in identification of Ohio's fish, if I had to guess- this is a creek chub.

Out of the forest and back into the old field, I did spot a few birds, including this field sparrow.

And, what I think is a song sparrow.

After just short of two miles of hiking, we finished the loop, and stopped to take a break before we got into the car. "Dad, that was fun hike, but I really just want to eat your camera!"

If you'd like to visit Sharon Woods, here is a Google map with aerial photography that shows the lay of the land. I've placed a pin where we began the trail, and roughly the traced our path. Overall, a nice little place for a quick getaway from life in the city.

Also- Megan is also blogging about our Metroparks Challenge with pictures of me not seen here.

So, two Metroparks down, thirteen to go. The next hike will be Batelle Darby Metropark, home to one of Ohio's highest quality stream ecosystems, the Big and Little Darby Creeks.



View Metroparks Challenge in a larger map

Batelle Darby Creek
Blacklick Woods
Blendon Woods
Chestnut Ridge
Clear Creek
Glacier Ridge
Heritage Trail
Highbanks
Inniswood
Pickerington Ponds
Prairie Oaks
Scioto Audubon
Sharon Woods
Slate Run
Three Creeks

The Metro Parks Challenge

Megan and I took Weston to Clear Creek Metropark this Saturday- down at the gateway of the hocking hills. With the construction of the Lancaster bypass, we can be in Ohio's hill country in about 50 minutes. When we're there, it seems as if we're much further from home than we really are. One of things about living in Columbus is that we're a nicely sized metro area, but we're also a pretty compact metro area, in spite of all the suburban sprawl taking place. This means, at least for now, that we can take a fairly short drive and be out in very rural areas. Growing up in the megalopolis that is northeast Ohio- finding rural serenity was just about impossible. Although I did find out that this was in fact possible when I left home for Hiram College- a short drive but also a world away from home.


Back to Saturday. We're gradually taking Weston, 6 months old now, on increasingly longer car rides, and using our backpack carrier we were graciously given by Megan's Mom. Although Clear Creek is famous for its hilly terrain, I remembered from a former visit, in my single days, there is fairly flat trail that followed the creek. Since Megan was prepping for a 5K the following day, that would be the perfect trail to walk with Weston.


Here we're about to load the little guy up and hit the trail.


In the carrier, but not yet on my back.


On my back. When I first put this thing on, I'm shocked at just how heavy it is. Weston is over 19 pounds, and the carrier itself is at least 5 pounds- it is quite a load, until you get going.


Clear Creek Metropark is also Ohio's largest dedicated State Nature Preserve- a fact not widely advertised once you are in the park. The creek itself runs clear and cool- cool enough to support a stocked population of brown trout, so the park is frequented by anglers and hikers alike.


Weston looking mighty baby like- and being fed Gerber squash. I tried it- sweet, like butternut squash. Not bad at all.


Here's Weston's new sinister grin. We're not sure how he came up with this, but it started this past Friday. Whenever he gets excited, he seems to flash this funny smile. It is pretty cute, since it reveals his newly formed teeth!


Dad, I really must eat this stick. Don't worry, mom pulled it away a split second after she took this photo.


But I have to get some nature in- The floodplain of Clear Creek reminds me of the Olentangy, except for one big difference- the lack of invasive species. No honeysuckle, no garlic mustard. Overall, a very nice example of a floodplain community, and all the late summer species were blazing.


Here's one to watch for, its Gaura biennis. These small pinkish and white flowers don't look like much until you really look at them closely, and wow, they're really quite neat. Check out that dangling stigma. Very cool.


Megan and I really enjoyed our short hike with Weston, in all, about two miles in the bottomland of Ohio's hill country. We enjoyed it so much, that we had a little idea. An idea that we're calling the Metro Parks Challenge.

What is this challenge? This fall, before the snow flies, we're going to take Weston to each Metro Park in the central Ohio Metro Parks system- all 15 of them- before the snow flies. Can we do it? It should be fun trying, for sure. There still are a handful of parks that I've never been to, and Weston will be able to tell his baby friends that he's been to all of them before reaching the tender age of one. We'll both be blogging about this- so also look for Megan's perspective on her blog- My New Life as a Mom.

1 down, 14 to go.

Batelle Darby Creek
Blacklick Woods
Blendon Woods
Chestnut Ridge
Clear Creek
Glacier Ridge
Heritage Trail
Highbanks
Inniswood
Pickerington Ponds
Prairie Oaks
Scioto Audubon
Sharon Woods
Slate Run
Three Creeks