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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

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

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…

back again.

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…

first bridge.

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.

- 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)

Sunday, May 3, 2015

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

April 22nd. 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 my most productive Spring walks.

This was the first sunny walk in some time.

The Deerberry (Vaccinium stanineum) plants were still blooming in some areas.

I stopped by a Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus) near the water’s edge. Finally, some blooms! A tiny insect was busy feeding on nectar from the flowers and, hopefully, was pollinating them at the same time.

Leaves of a nearby maple tree had Maple Eyespot Gall/Eyespot Midge Gall. These striking spots on Red Maple, and occasionally Silver Maple, leaves are caused by the Ocellate Gall Midge (Acericecis ocellaris). The midge lays its eggs on the underside of the maple leaf. The maggot hatches and produces hormones that cause the striking red and yellow rings around the gall. The maggot develops in 10 days and drops from the leaf to pupate on the ground. The eye spots turn brown with age.

The trail by the first bridge was much more shaded than previously. The bridge was still in the sun though.

A little further along the trail, in the increasingly shaded woods, a flash of white caught my eye.

To my surprise, it was a small Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus) in bloom. The tree was only about five to six feet tall with only five or six flower clusters. A very pleasant surprise; The flowers had fallen by my next walk, so I was lucky to see it.

The Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) plants were still in bloom but I was interested in whether any had been fertilized. I looked around and…

found some flower stalks still attached to the bushes. Although none had started to swell, there was some hope that some might develop seedpods.

The Rattlesnakeweed (Hieracium venosum) plants on the trail approaching the cliff were starting to bloom.

As I approached the cliff, I spotted what amounted to a single stem with branches that was starting to leaf out but which was covered with many stalked clusters of flowers – or so I thought at the time.

I’ve finally figured out that these are probably flower stalks of American Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). According to Name That Plant, this shrub/tree should bloom in August-October. Previously, I’ve only seen a witch-hazel, a 25 to 30 ft tall tree – blooming in the woods in southern Georgia. I’m excited to have found one locally and I’ll have to make sure that I remember to follow this shrub.

These woods are beautiful at this time of year.

The sunny weather allowed for a pretty view of the lake. A pair of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) usually nests on the point in the middle of this photograph. I’ve seen geese in this area; I wonder if they’re using this spot tis year.

Back on the trail, the American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) leaf buds were opening. The beech trees were starting to join the other trees providing shade in the woods.

And then something I didn’t expect. A Luna Moth (Arctias luna) – a female – was lying on the leaf litter just above the trail. I’ll post on this separately.

I found ‘my’ Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) flowers. The weight of the opened flowers had caused the vine to fall and it took a while to find them. Only a few flowers had survived to open.

On down the trail towards the Fishing Area and…

The Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) orchids. They were still blooming. It was a change to see them in sunny weather but they were in the shade and I still needed artificial light to photograph them.