Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 27th, 2015 (Part 2)

July 27th. (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.

The early spring wildflowers have finished blooming; it’s time to watch the developing fruit. A few late spring/summer wildflowers are blooming now.

As I was checking one of the bushes above the cliff, I startled a…

Linne’s Annual Cicada (Neotibicen linnei). It may have recently emerged from the…

nymphal case that I found on a leaf of a bush above the trail.

Although quite aged now, these bracket fungi still provided an attractive diversion.

The Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) fruit on the bush above the cliff was starting to show the slightest tinge of yellow.

The fruits on the Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) were still developing and showing a slight tinge of red. Although most of the flowers had finished blooming, a defiant…

flower bud was going to bloom before too long.

Looking back towards the bridge into the Fishing Area.

A pretty lichen on one of the boulders in the Fishing Area. 

In the ‘Rock Garden,’ the…

seed capsules on the Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) were still green; no sign of ripening yet, but the...

fruit on the Eastern Sweetshrub was definitely starting to turn yellow.

A few stems of Smooth Yellow False Foxglove (Aureolaria flava) were still blooming, with many buds still to go. 

When I rejoined the main trail, I noticed an…

unusual caterpillar on a fallen log. It looked like a tussock moth caterpillar and it proved to be a Definite Tussock Moth Caterpillar (Orgyia definita). 

At the inlet below the Old Fort, most of the…

seed capsules on the Swamp Rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) had ripened and…

opened, ready to release their seeds. 

Out on the inlet, a…

Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) was resting on a submerged log. The goose had been there when I drove into the park; it had been in the same place for more than an hour. 

At the edge of the water… 

Common Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) plants were blooming.

A male Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), was resting on a reed when it wasn’t patrolling in search of food.

I walked back along the main trail and found a few…

Hairy Elephantfoot (Elephantopus tomentosus) plants blooming in the dappled sunlight.

Related posts: 

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 27th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 29th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 13th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort,July 13th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 6th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, July 6th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort,June 29th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort,June 29th, 2015 (Part 1) 

- Orange Sponge Polypore (Pycnoporellus alboluteus)? 

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 22nd, 2015 (Part 2) 

- Summer At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 22nd, 2015 (Part 1)  

- Black Chanterelle (Craterellus cornucopioides)  

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 15th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 15th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 8th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The OldFort, June 8th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 3rd, 2015 

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 26th, 2015 (Part 2) 

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 26th, 2015 (Part 1) 

- Redring Milkweed (Asclepias variegata)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 18th, 2015 (Part 2) 

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 18th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 11th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 11th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 6th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 6th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 30th April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 30th April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 22nd April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 22nd April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 16th April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 16th April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 10th April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 10th April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 4th April, 2015 (Part 2)  

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 4th April, 2015 (Part 1)  

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 26th March, 2015 (Part 2)  

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 26th March, 2015 (Part 1)  

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 20th March, 2015 (Part 2)  

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 20th March, 2015 (Part 1)

Canada Geese: Flotillas

June 24th. I was at Fort Yargo State Park, starting on my walk from the Section B to the Dam. I was crossing the bridge from the parking lot when I noticed some Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) swimming from an inlet on the west side of the bridge.

They were in considerable disarray when I first saw them. It took a minute or so to realize that there were two families. The goslings of one family were older than those in the other family; their white face patches were much more obvious since the feathers on their necks were darker. The younger goslings didn’t appear to have the face patches; they actually had face patches but their neck feathers were a lighter brown so that their was less contrast between them.

They were swimming towards the bridge. They started to separate into their respective families.

The ‘older’ family with the older goslings, and the…

‘younger’ family with the younger goslings; the younger family seemed more organized than the older family.

They all finally got themselves organized into separate families and approached the bridge in almost straight lines.

As the older family emerged on the east side of the bridge, they were in disarray again. In contrast, the…

Younger family were still somewhat organized and it was a while before they spread out.

I was a little amused. It looked like the older goslings were more independent and, while they were willing to approach the bridge in single file under their parent’s guidance, they were beginning to assert their independence compared with the younger goslings that still needed their parents guidance.

Canada Geese: Goslings On The Go

May 11th, 2012. Continued from here. For my money, Canada Geese are among the best parents in the world. I’ve had a couple of opportunities to observe them moving their goslings from place to place at Fort Yargo State Park. We spotted a pair of geese from the river and decided to go over for a closer look. We weren’t thinking much about them having goslings so we were in for a treat. At the river bank, we were only about 15 feet from them.

The gander was alert but didn’t seem at all perturbed when we got to the river bank. Probably because, even standing in the boat, my head would have been barely above the ledge. The goose was in sight but she wasn’t paying attention to us at all; she was grazing. She was also limping. Another reason for the gander to be watchful.

A gosling with the goose. Within a few seconds, we realized that they had two goslings. The plants were tall enough that we couldn’t see them at all when they were heads down, grazing.

A better view of one of the goslings.

Believe it or not, there are two goslings directly behind the gander.

The goslings were continually on the move.

We watched for a while and then backed out into the river. Then...

the goslings came down the bank and…

into the water where they got a drink and floated near the bank for a few minutes before…

they returned to the shore and…

clambered back up the bank where…

they settled into the grass to nap.

What was interesting about this encounter was that the gander, although watchful, didn’t appear to express any concern about us being at the bank or see us as a danger when the goslings ventured down into the water. He moved a little closer to the edge of the ledge but didn’t make a sound.

Next: Great Blue Heron
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Identification resources:
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology: Branta canadensis (Canada Goose)

Related posts:
- Running The Oconee River: North from Dyar Pasture
- Canada Geese: Family Outing
- Canada Geese: Safety Patrol

Zen: Canada Geese In Late Afternoon

Late one afternoon, 0n our way back from Hancock County, we took a back route to cross Fishing Creek further upstream from the GA-15 crossing. Above the crossing the creek widens out into a swamp. We stopped on the bridge to listen to the Birdvoice treefrogs (Hyla avivoca) calling. As we pulled away, I caught a glimpse of a pair of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) floating on a pool in the swamp. They were wary – I don’t think many people stop here – but they stayed in view.
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