Mohican Wildlife Weekend

Many of my best mornings start on a marsh, and yesterday was no exception. GMAS was leading a Bird Walk at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary, just short mile down the road from one of my favorite hang-outs: the Orweiler Road Marsh.


Spring is starting to show at the marsh, as the spatter-dock leaves peak through the water. We pre-scouted on our way to OBS. Our bird walk would end at the marsh, where Roger Troutman would have scopes set up and ready to view the passing waterfowl.

The entrance to Ohio Bird Sanctuary, the site of Friday night's keynote speaker Kristin Stanford. There are several excellent hiking trails here and a fascinating display of live birds.

As our group started down the trail, the first encounter was with Ohio's showiest native dogwood, Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida, an edge-of-the-woodland welcome.

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.................Photo by Wikipedia

Today's walk could have easily been titled "The Towhee Tour". Eastern Towhees were plentiful and conspicuous, and their loud calls suggest our group should "drink your...tea..."

Jan Kennedy, our tour guide, enjoyed sharing great looks at a Eastern Towhee perched in clear view, singing his heart-song just above the bridge.

And below the bridge, a lovely seep filled with "Hostas-of-the-Woods", so sadly called Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus. They need a better press agent, to overcome the name that has held them back so many years!

And as always, a Weepicker plays favorites towards the vegetation. The first of the year Greek Valerian, Polemonium reptans were warming up enough to unfurl their blue petals. This is the woodland plant that first caught my childhood interest in spring ephemerals. Often mistaken for Jacob's Ladder - the iron clad difference is the lack of stamens protruding from the flower on the Greek Valerian.

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To see the wide array of offerings, from boat tours- to butterfly programs, Click on this link for the schedule for Mohican Wildlife Weekend.