April 22nd. (Continued from…) I
started to walk again at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Georgia. One of my favorite walks is from the
Group Shelter A to the Old Fort and back.This is a rewarding walk for viewing
wildflowers and I’ve been trying to walk it weekly and document the wildflowers
I see.
The route, which I described here, here, and here. This
turned out to be one of the most productive Spring walks.
Just as I approached the bridge to
the Fishing Area, a small bird was foraging in the bushes along the lake shore.
It wasn’t particularly nervous at my approach and I managed to get a photo
before it decided I was getting a little too close. I think it’s a Blue-gray
Gnatcatcher (Polioptila
caerulea). It
looks olive-green in the shade of the bush but it was clearly blue-gray when it
was in the open
Another surprise. It’s very unusual
to see turtles in the inlet by the bridge. It didn’t stay long when it saw me.
I think it’s a Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta).
The Green Arrow Arum (Peltandra virginica) plants were
thriving.
Yet another surprise. This Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) was warming itself in the sun and
stayed still for a long time. I’ve never seen one of these before so this was a
real treat.
An attractive rock lichen.
Starting off into the ‘Rock Garden.’
The Woolsower Galls that were so striking on previous walks
had lost the pink color and were now brown and white. It was going to be harder
to spot them on the trail now.
There weren’t many mushrooms after the recent rains but
these were growing on a rotten log
I wanted to follow the blooming of the Wild Yam (Discorea
villosa). The plants are just starting to set flower buds. This Harvestman
spider had spun its web and had made itself at home on this one.
Another rare fully opened flower on one of the many
Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) bushes in the Rock Garden.
The Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata) may be
developing a seedpod.
The new leaves of the wild ginger, Little Brown Jug
(Hexastylis arifolia) have developed and ‘pushed’ the leaf litter away from the
center of the plant. The flowers are now visible.
Instead of following the trail back to the main trail, I
followed the fisherman trail further along the shore and found…
several Smallflower Pawpaws (Asimina parviflora) plants. One
still had some flowers.
I cut back to the main trail and walked through to the Old
Fort, and then…
I followed the main trail back towards the Fishing Area.
This tiny mushroom with a relatively very long stalk was
growing at the edge of the trail.
I found another one of the Woolsower Galls that I’d seen the
previous week. The previously pink spots on this gall had also turned brown.
Nearby, I found an interesting gall on a Shagbark Hickory
(Carya ovata). I haven’t been able to identify this gall yet.
When I passed by the Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium
acaule) plants, they were in the sun. I’d never seen the sun on them before.
I pressed on south to the…
cliff, then south to the…
The Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) plants just south
of the first bridge were still blooming. From there…
60-P4226251-web
I made my way back to the parking lot after one of the most rewarding walks I’ve made
along this trail.
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