Oconee River: North To Fishing Creek

May 25th, 2012. We launched at the boat ramp at the Dyar Pasture Recreation Area off SM Copeland Road in Greene County. We headed north. Not to see how far we could go up the river but to see if we could go up into Fishing Creek.

Our route.

We saw damselflies before we launched the boat. Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis)

Heading up river from the Dyar Pasture boat launch

Dragonfly. I’m not sure what this is. Its wings were deformed; it couldn’t fly.

Another male Blue-fronted Dancer on a snag.

Nearby, about a foot away on the same log, a damselfly that looks like a female Blue-ringed Dancer (Argia sedula)

Then there were the freeloaders who rode up the river on our boat – including what looks like a pair of Blue-fronted Dancers.

We headed up Fishing Creek. The entrance to the creek was fairly wide but shallow, only about two feet deep in many places.

*****

The creek narrowed. We had to keep an eye on the river depth. Georgia Power generates hydro power at the dam at the southern end of the lake which means that the lake, river and creek levels can fall a foot or so reasonably suddenly. We could have been stranded literally ‘up the creek’ had the power company started generating power. We were lucky though…

We were treated to an show of Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans) along the way.

The creek opens out into a wide, shallow bay. The Pink Queen we saw a year ago is to the left as we entered the bay. This is the entrance to the bay. The rods in the water have ropes with crayfish traps attached. We circumnavigated the bay and encountered this…

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) high in a tree. It was fanning to cool itself in the hot afternoon.

We returned to Dyar Pasture and then decided to go south to Lake Oconee. Highlights of that trip next…
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Identification resources:
Southeastern Flora: Campsis radicans (Trumpet creeper)

Giff Beaton:
- Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis) [Male] [Female]
- Blue-ringed Dancer (Argia sedula): [Male] [Female]

Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Related posts:
- Running The Oconee River: North from Dyar Pasture
- Pink Queen (Cleome hassleriana)

Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)

Campsis radicans is known by the common names Trumpet Creeper, Trumpet Vine, Cow-Itch Vine. It grows widely throughout the area, particularly along fences. At Fort Yargo State Park, it grows along segment 2 and at the junction of segments 13/14. Both of these sites are viewable from the water.

Plants are frequently seen along fences.

Blooms occur as clusters. These buds are just developing

Flowers are just starting to emerge

A little further along.

A little further still.

The first blooms have opened.

Most blooms are open now.

A seedpod. (The leaves behind the seed pod are a Smilax sp. which is growing on the same fence.

In Winter. The seedpod has opened; the seeds are long gone.

Campsis radicans (Trumpet Creeper) is native to the United States and grows in most states, except the Rocky Mountain states. It also grows in Ontario, Canada.
Click on an image to view a larger image

Distribution Map:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Campsis radicans (Trumpet Creeper)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Campsis radicans

Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)
- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Campsis radicans
- Missouri Plants: Campsis radicans

Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index