Bambi is here

8 July

Walk with Jeff H. in through the north gate. The Northeast Escarpment Trail and the Trans OWP Trail all the way to the Ponds Trail had many, many Micrathena spider webs across the trail. They looked to be all the same species from a quick glance..no Araneus.

There is still good water below the Burr Oak Bridge in the wash. The trail down from the gate is in good condition. Nick Cz came to the wash below the bridge Wed 1 July and heard deer and owl close at hand..but heard no bats even with ultrasound equipment.

He writes: "saw raccoon and deer tracks in the mud along the creek in the preserve, and at dusk I heard a yellow-billed cuckoo, cardinals, and some other bird call I didn't recognize. Later as I sat there in the dark, sweating in the heat and humidity, a barred owl was hooting very near by part of the time, fireflies were everywhere, hundreds of mosquitoes kept me company as I tried to sit still, there were so many gray tree frogs and insects calling that it was very loud, and at one point a deer startled me when it snorted just a few feet behind me in the dark. It snorted at me three more times as it moved off somewhere to the north.."


Jeff and I spooked a spotted fawn of a white tail in the flat weedy woods west of the Burr Oak Bridge.

Through the southwest gate small tapering leaf bits of green twigs are rising from the previously flooded -- now good and dry forest floor.. maybe young 1-2 yr old persimmon?

The green sedges along the main path are full grown.

High Summer in the Woods

2 July 2009

Back through the new north gate after three weeks away I was happy to see the trail still open and in good shape.

Woolly aphids on previously cut vegetation: young hackberry, sprouts of greenbrier clematis etc.. a significant amount of this along the path from the southwest gate. What plants do they prefer? ( project !)

Reasonably good/ diverse assortment of birds singing along escarpment trail from northeast gate and down into the high woods.

Spiders webs Micrathena and others.. census along the northeast escarpment trail. Count number of webs intercepted along trail twice per week for summer and into early autumn. ( project !)

Traffic noise from highway 9 during morning commute.. note how sound changes (abruptly?) in quality (high pitch snare of tires drops out quickly, low base rumble of engines carries farther) and in volume. How does this affect bird sound at dawn? (project)

In one hour or less in Woods came up with a score of ticks or more so they are still abundant, in full size and seed tick size. Why are there so many ticks here?

I drove along south boundary service road from closed entrance gate to old compost facility. Feral (?) domestic cat running into SE corner of Woods with small mouse(?) in mouth. Road was dry and passable but grown up in weeds 2-3 feet high. Run light traps and beer traps or not?

Carabids attracted to banana slices.. mark, release, recapture along various portions of northeast trail.. upper northeast escarpment and woodland trail west of burr oak bridge. (project)

Lots (5-10) robins along shaded southwest trail.