Gwinnett County: Little Mulberry Park – East Meadow Trail (Part 1)

When I got to the 0.75-mile marker where a trail connects the West Meadow Trail to the East Meadow Trail, I decided I had time to walk the East Meadow Trail too.

The East Meadow Trail is paved but seems to be more intimate than the West Meadow Trail. The trail winds a little more and threads its way among small clusters of trees. Some areas have been mowed but most of the area is natural.

A trail begins by winding through some woods.

As the trail starts, a cross-country trail goes straight ahead.

Once out of the woods at the beginning, the trail winds through an open area dotted with trees. The sign on the left states: Meadow Restoration.

The cross-country trail wound around the end of the woods where the trail began and crossed the paved trail. It then followed the mowed path along the edge of the woods. I’m not sure where it went; that has to wait for a future walk.

A view to the southeast. Although there is a small subdivision just outside the park boundary, the view from the trail is rural.

The trail winding through another cluster of trees in the open meadow.

A Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) plant that survived the winter in the open. New leaves are developing.

The trail winds though more trees. This turned out to be a special spot on this walk.

A characteristic rosette of Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) in bud. I wasn’t really looking for wildflowers. It seemed a little early to expect any. But there it was! There were a few plants starting to bud. They were in a spot that would get an hour or so of sun in the middle of the day but were protected from radiant cooling at night. (I’d seen some rosettes in protected areas around our house. When I got home, I checked and found a single plant starting to bud). Spring is on the way.

A closer view. The purple colored stems of the young plants makes them easy to spot.

At about the mid-point of the trail, the path moved into the open. Here, the East Mulberry Trail enters the
meadow from the woods to the northeast. It’s an un-paved path – an equestrian trail that crosses the meadow before it exits back into the woods to the northwest.

The sign for the East Mulberry Trail warns of its steepness.

The trail winds along the meadow at the edge of the woods.

A view from the meadow to the southwest.

A sentinel tree in the meadow just before the trail winds back into the woods.
(To be continued)
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Resources:
- Gwinnett Parks and Recreation: Little Mulberry Park
- Southeastern Flora: Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

Related posts:
- Gwinnett County: Little Mulberry Creek Park – West Meadow Trail
- Gwinnett County: Little Mulberry Park – Miller Lake Trail
- Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)

Gwinnett County: Little Mulberry Park – West Meadow Trail

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why is it cloudy every time I go to check out a new trail? Anyway, I was headed over to Buford along GA-324 which goes right by the roads that lead to Little Mulberry Creek Park. Previously, I walked the Miller Lake Trail. Last Friday, I left home early to walk the West and East Meadow Trails before I went on to Buford. The weather forecast indicated partial sun from 8:00 a.m. on until the skies cleared. But it was cloudy. Never mind. Sometimes it’s easier to photograph in overcast weather than in bright sunshine.

I wanted to explore the meadow trails that are accessible from the Fence Road entrance to the park.

I decided to walk the West Meadow Trail and decide when I got to the trail to the East Meadow Trail whether to take the latter or just walk the first trail. As it happened I had time to walk both. It took 1.5 hours walking at a moderate pace and stopping to take many photos.

The West Meadow Trail. The darker green areas in the meadow have been mowed. I saw a sign for the observatory (E) when I started out on the trail. It’s on the top of the hill in the center of the meadow. If you walk the trail clockwise, the hiking trails – the Ravine Loop (B) and the Beech Tree C trails – branch off from the loop trail within the first half-mile. The trail (F) to the East Meadow Trail leaves this trail at the 0.75-mile marker.

A trail marker for the West Meadow Trail. It’s a multi-use, paved trail shared by walkers and cyclists.

This is the entrance to the Beech Tree Trail (C). The entrances are clearly marked; there’s no way to miss them.

A trail map at the entrance to the Beech Tree Trail. It’s difficult to see in this photograph but the map is a topographical map that shows the steepness of the trail. It’s a good idea to study this if you don’t feel up to an energetic hike. Some of the grades are 12% according to the information on the sign. Glad I didn’t plan to do this hike on this visit to the park.

This trail is intended only for walking. Bikes are not allowed.

The start of the Beech Tree Trail. It’s well surfaced with gravel and obviously intended for heavy travel.

Looking northeast from the trail towards an area that has little development.

From this point, I walked up the hill to the observatory that is a flagstone circle with two hemispherical benches.

Cardinal points – N (North), S (South), E (East) and W (West) – are painted on the flagstones just inside the bench.

Tracks of the ubiquitous possum. A series of animal tracks have also been marked across the circle.

In the overcast weather, the meadow and woods were rather bleak. It was good weather for walking though; it wasn’t raining or windy.

A flock of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) were hunting in the grass at the eastern end of the meadow. They were teasers; they would sit until I almost got into a good position to photograph them and then they’d fly just a few feet further away.

I started to call a couple of rows of pine trees – a five on the north side and five towards the south side (D) - ‘The Sentinels.’ One or other of them seemed to dominate the skyline at any point along the trail.

Looking back along the trail at the 0.75-mile point. A covered picnic area with a BBQ stand is on the right and the northern sentinel pines are in the distance.

Looking south from the trail near the 0.75-mile marker towards the Pond Trail and the farm across the road from the park.

The path near the end of the West Meadow Trail.

This is a great trail to walk in the winter although it might be a little unpleasant in windy weather. I expect that it could be uncomfortable in the middle of the day in summer since it would be in full sun all day.
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Resource:
- Gwinnett Parks and Recreation: Little Mulberry Park

Related post:
- Gwinnett County: Little Mulberry Park – Miller Lake Trail

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)

After we discovered the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) on the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) tree by the woods, we started to stake out the tree. Chickadees and Tufted Titmice visited the tree frequently; that wasn’t strange since they’re here year round. Then we noticed some little birds that stayed mainly around the base of the tree although, occasionally, one would venture higher up the trunk. They seemed un-phased by our presence when they were low on the trunk and would hop around fearlessly, frequently sitting with their back to us. When higher up the trunk, they seemed quite shy and would sit facing us.

I managed to capture this shot of one higher on the trunk but it wouldn’t come around to the front of the trunk where I could see its back.

A close up.

W managed to get a few shot of one of them near the base of the trunk.

Clearly, it was feeding on sap dribbling down the tree trunk. The yellow patch on its head is visible as is the patch under the wing.

A front view, again showing the yellow patch on its head.

We identified them as Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata). They winter in this area but will fly north to breed. The sap has dried up on the Sugar Maple now. If they’re still in the area, they’re foraging elsewhere now. Next year, we are going to have to keep a closer watch on the maple in the Fall and Winter and, hopefully, we’ll see the yellow patch on the rump.
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Identification resources:
The Cornell Institute of Ornithology: Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)

Banks County: Wilson Shoals Wildlife Management Area

We explored Wilson Shoals Wildlife Management Area in Banks County this afternoon. We entered the WMA on Grant Mill Road from the Yonah-Homer Road (GA-51) and drove north through the area. A map may be downloaded here.



Hudson River and its tributaries flow through the area. We crossed this tributary on Grant Mill Road. The water was cascading gently over a solid-rock riverbed that the road forded. Interestingly, a 2-mile section of the river including this section is rated as a Class I-III+ whitewater for kayaking. The water level was too low today to kayak though.

The roads were in good shape. This section had been recently re-graveled and was ‘tame’ compared with many sections. Many sections were very steep.

This small boulder on an open hillside had an overhang which is not clearly visible in this photograph. Organpipe Mud Dauber wasps had built mud nests under the overhang.

A closer view of the mud dauber nests.

We were high enough at about 925 feet above sea level to see rhododendrons on east-facing slopes. Based on leaf color and shape, there were at lest two different species in this area.

A closer view of one species. It's beginning to bud so we'll have to plan to return to the area in the near future.

We saw a couple of small patches of the club moss, Southern Ground-cedar (Lycopodium digitatum). This moss is much more common further north in Georgia where we’ve seen it fruiting in mid-February. These patches showed no sign of fruiting.

This large flat area extended along a small creek and was completely unexpected in an area that was characterized by ridges and narrow valleys. It is a primitive campground and would be a tempting place to camp in warmer weather.

Driving in Wilson Shoals WMA is not for the faint of heart. Some sections of road descended straight down or climbed straight up steep hillsides. Frequently we would be driving down over ridges – intended to ensure that water ran off the road rather than erode gullies along the roadway – without being able to see the roadway beyond the ridge in front of us. We used 4-wheel drive in many places. This would not be a place to visit during wet weather. Today, several roads were closed. It’s not clear if these closures are temporary or permanent. These may be roads that are open only during hunting season.
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What Shall It Be? Seeds Or Nuts, Seeds Or Nuts

We keep the bird feeders filled during the cold months and the squirrels scavenge for fallen seed. The feeders are conveniently close to the trees where the squirrels spend the night. Easy pickings. The downside is that one of our cats likes to ‘sit and watch the birds,’ otherwise known as ‘let’s see if we can catch a snack.’ He’s not very successful but his presence deters the squirrels from coming to the feeders.

The alternative for the squirrels is to go down into the woods by the creek. Regular as clockwork they make their way down along the branches in the tree tops in the morning. Again in the evening you can watch a procession as they return to the woods by the house to spend the night.

I’m not really sure exactly where they go down in the woods. I’ve never seen them foraging in the creek bottom when I’m down there. Recently, however, I did see evidence of their foraging.

Hickory shells and a couple of clusters of six or seven acorn caps are all that remain of a squirrel’s feast on this tree stump. Quite a haul.

A closer view. The hickory nuts come from a Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) a few feet from the stump. I’m not sure where the acorns came from.

This is the first time I’ve seen the remains of a squirrel’s feast on a stump in our woods. I did see the remains of a pine cone feast at Fort Yargo State Park last year. This seems like a slightly higher-class feast than the pine cone feast. As with the pine cone feast, the diner was messy and didn’t bother to bus it’s table.
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Related posts:
- Hmmm... Should I Or Shouldn't I?
- Dinner For One

Hmmm... Should I Or Shouldn't I?

The bird feeders are filled at this time of year. We’ve managed to squirrel-proof them so the squirrels will scrounge for seed that the birds shovel out when they’re feeding.

I almost missed this little fellow. If it hadn’t been for his moving down the tree trunk, I would have missed him. There he was, upside down, trying to decide if he wanted to come down and dash across the 15 feet or so to the feeders.

A closer view. He’s a handsome little fellow.

BTW, he decided not to. I suspect he went back up into trees and took the overhead route along the branches and down to the ground closer to the feeders for a safer passage to the seed.
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