October 25, 2023

Sequoyah State Park (1)

October 25, 2023/ Gwen Morrison

Sequoya State Park (near Wagoner, Oklahoma) is about 3 hours from where we live. We opted for an overnight trip last week – staying at one of the duplex cabins in the park. It was a reconnoiter type of trip: how many birds would we see (and the vantage points to see them) and were the onsite cabins/amenities OK (and should we look at other state park destinations in the future). Our arrival was well before check-in time, so we walked down to Inspiration Point. I spotted a damselfly on the walkway almost immediately.

The big event of that walk was a kettle of American White pelicans over the lake. They were far enough away that the images were not very good – but it was fun to watch them swirl – noting how the light made them almost impossible to see for a few seconds; then they would turn and were easily seen.

The fall foliage was just beginning.

There was a rock ‘table’ with stones situated for seats under two trees!

We visited the nature center then drove to a parking area to hike the Fossil Trail that hugged the eastern side of the peninsula. We were rewarded by views of pelicans and cormorants (probably double crested) – still too distant for good images but I liked the color the light gave the water.

There was the usual shelf fungus, insects (katydid…and something that bit me), lichen, plants going to seed…all under a forest canopy with a little fall color.

We were out again at sunset near our cabin – overlooking the western side of the peninsula and the lake beyond. The sky was perfectly clear so there were no interesting reflections off clouds; I included silhouettes of trees instead! There were gulls coming to roost on the water as the sun went down.

Tomorrow the post will include sunrise at Sequoyah!

August 12, 2020

Milkweed Bugs

August 12, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

I am waiting for the milkweed bugs to mature and fly away from one of the last milkweed plants standing in the flowerbed. They have been transitioning to adult form over the past few days. I’ve been taking pictures when I first start my hour of working in the flowerbeds. On the 8th I noticed a few adults – but still a lot of nymphs.

On the 9th there were fewer nymphs and it appeared that some had just made the last molt to become adults.

On the 10th…more were making the transition – shedding for the last time. The blobs of clear ‘skin’ with black squiggles are the sheds.

By the 11th it appeared that they had all become adults. They’ll fly away to look for fresh milkweed and I hope they find it at the pond where the milkweed looks great – unlike the stalks that I am now cutting down when I don’t see any caterpillars or milkweed bugs on them!

After photographing the milkweed bugs, I get busy cleaning out flower beds (and trimming bushes. I takes me about an hour to fill the wheelbarrow, take the load back to the edge of the forest, and plan the work I want to do the next morning.

On the 11th I took a few pictures after I was done with the gardening of small things in our yard…a bit a nature before I went inside to stay cool the rest of the day.

August 06, 2019

Nature Finds During Yard Work

August 06, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

A week or so ago I was doing yard work and seemed to find interesting subjects to photograph at every turn. I took breaks to get pictures.

A katydid on the mint…and mint flowers…in one flower bed. I was cutting the mint because it had escaped the flower bed and was blocking the path to our front porch.

A black eyed susan and spiderweb filled with dew a few feet away. I noticed both when I was cleaning out the bird bath and filling it with water.

I was cutting day lily leaves from around the oak tree…noticed the way the leaves curve around the stem of the flower. There was a rustle in an area I had already cut….a toad. I left the remaining leaves and hope I didn’t disturb the toad’s home too much.

There was also a very small black rat snake among the remaining leaves. I didn’t stay around to get a picture. I’m pleased that the leaves have provided shelter and ‘home’ for wildlife in a suburban setting!

November 08, 2017

A Walk to Josey Ranch

November 08, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

Last week I was in Carrollton, TX and decided to get my exercise by walking from my parents’ house to Josey Ranch Lake Park. It’s about a mile each way. I printed a Google map for the walking route since the route meanders through a neighborhood. It was an easy morning walk. And there were some winter-time birds newly arrived for the season at the lake. The first ones I spotted were Northern Shovelers. They are easy to recognize by the bill that looks too big for the head.

2017 11 w IMG_4942.jpg — I’d seen American wigeons before…but not often enough that I remembered what they were. I took lots of pictures and then checked All About Birds to identify them when I got back from my walk.

The other bird that winters in this area that I saw at the lake was a cormorant. It was harder to spot because it was fishing (diving frequently) and it was seemingly alone.

There were birds that are in the area all through the year too: Common grackles

And American Coots (the two birds in the foreground below…with a Northern Shoveler behind them).

Now that I’ve identified the types of birds present…see how easily they can be recognized in these mixed group images. They were all feeding together at the lake.

I walked a little further around the lake and took pictures of turtles warming up for their day…I got a little too close and they plopped into the water.

I walked back to where I started the loop around the lake. I had just started taking more group pictures of the ducks when some American coots got into a tussle and startled the whole group….lots of splashing water as birds lifted off and moved to the center – safer – part of the lake.