30 Days in June: Day 17, Magnolia Parke

View Across the Pond

Yesterday wiped me out. I just go too hot and tired, so I decided to just have an easy day today. My plan was to go to Cofrin Park, another favorite City of Gainesville Nature Park, but just as I was pulling into the driveway I saw that the gates were locked and the park was closed for maintenance. I must have missed the memo about that one. I quickly scrambled to come up with Plan B, and decided to take a stroll around the lake and swamp at Magnolia Parke. This is an easy walk in a natural area just behind a business park with medical offices, restaurants and shops. I've come here many times when I had a hour to occupy myself and really enjoy the peaceful pathways. It's a good place to see woodpeckers. I was a frequent visitor this winter in my quest to find the Beaver that was living in the swamp. I finally saw it, but didn't get any clear photos. I think I have better chances for photos after we move because I understand that Beavers are very common in the creeks around Athens.

Hmmmm...

I had a little chuckle when I saw a sign warning about "Poisonous" snakes at either end of the lake trail. I know what they are trying to say, but the snakes are venomous, not poisonous. And I don't recall ever even seeing a snake when I was walking these paths. But that doesn't mean they aren't there. This is Florida. Of course there are snakes! I always just assume that they are somewhere nearby and plan accordingly. The sign seems like a bad idea. It may scare people away from walking around this nice lake and may give them a false sense of security around the bushes and tall grass where there is not a sign warning them of the snakes that are probably there. But I digress.

Bamboo Sculpture

A cheery piece of bamboo artwork by my friend Maralee's husband, Jon, and bright blue Morning Glories added color to the entrance.

Heat-loving Morning Glories

I saw the usual assortment of birds--Mockingbirds, Cardinals, Bluejays, Red Bellied and Red Headed Woodpeckers, Brown Thrashers, Mourning Doves, Vultures and Red-winged Blackbirds. I could hear Common Yellowthroats in the swamp and saw a Mississippi Kite fly over. A fellow birder reminded me that this could be a good place to find Wood Ducks, but no such luck today. Frogs and turtles plopped into the water when I walked by. It was a quiet day with no new birds to add to my list.

Cypress Swamp

Standing next to the cypress swamp, watching bluejays in the trees and listening to the bullfrogs, I thought, "these are my favorite things". I filled in the rest and the result was this:

To the Tune of "My Favorite Things" 

(With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein)

Bluejays and bullfrogs and wildflower patches,

Scuttling lizards and squeaking nuthatches,

Otters and gators that swim by the springs,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Bobcats and limpkins and crayfish in creek beds,

Droning cicadas and cottonmouth snake sheds,

The thrill in my heart when the meadowlark sings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Gophers in burrows and orb weaver spiders,

Fields of liatris and yellow eared sliders,

Sweat bees and starfish and butterfly wings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Fire ant bites, summer heatwave, 

when I'm feeling sad,

I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad.

Sandhills and wetlands and white sandy beaches,

Dragonfly larvae and baby owl screeches,

Wind in the treetops where Spanish moss swings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Whooping Crane sightings and seat turtles hatching,

Pupating monarchs and woodpeckers scratching,

Anoles surveying their realm just like kings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Foxes and bear cubs and milkweed with flowers,

Bird nests and seed pods and afternoon showers,

Waiting to see what the next season brings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Poison ivy, "closed for maintenance", 

when I'm feeling sad,

I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad.

Listen

Today I took a walk around my favorite city nature park, Morningside Nature Center. I love it because it's a patch of sanctuary in our growing city. I can always be sure to see something special when I visit. I worked there as part of the teaching staff for several years and got to know it quite well. It is a special place and I try to go there often.

As I was walking along the new boardwalk in the Cypress Dome (it's beautiful and FULL of water for the first time in many years) I decided to focus my attention on listening. Weekends are really quiet there and I was one of about 3 people in the park, so I could hear tiny sounds and sounds from far away. Around the Cypress Swamp, the primary sound was buzzing. The cicadas buzzed from the treetops and the mosquitoes buzzed in the shade. I could hear the buzz and plop of the dragonflies dipping and laying eggs. I heard leaves drop into the water. A frog chirped from somewhere in the trees. Another plopped into the water. Soon I became aware of bird sounds and was happy that over the years I'd learned to identify a few of their calls. I'm not a super birder, but I'm enthusiastic and do know some of the calls. I tend to walk with my head down, looking at flowers and bugs, so if I hear a bird call that I recognize, it at least points my head in the right direction. Today I could hear the squeaky rubber ducky sound of the Brown Headed Nuthatches. Next I heard the White Eyed Vireo. Sometimes it sounds to me like it's saying "chick" followed by a gobbledegook. Other times is sounds like it's saying "Step to the rear, Jack" ("Or give me a beer, Jack"). In the bushes next to the walkway I could hear the Eastern Towhees calling "Shweep, Drink your teeeeeeeeea". When I hear tapping, I look for woodpeckers, but sometimes if it's a tiny tap, like today, I find that it's a Tufted Titmouse standing on a branch cracking open a seed. Listening opens my eyes.

After a bit, I heard a commotion. A bunch of crows. They were loud and calling from across the park. I thought there was a chance that they were mobbing an owl, so I followed the sounds. Crows dislike owls and will gang up on them to chase them away. Mobbing can be very effective and smaller birds like crows and bluejays can chase away a much larger predator or competitor. I once watched a single, tenacious mockingbird bother a great horned owl so much that it finally flew away. When I got to the source of the racket, I was happy to find that it was indeed an owl. A great horned owl was perched on a pine tree and a flock of crows surrounded it from the trees, cawing and diving at it.

Crow trying to intimidate a Great Horned Owl

This time, the mobbing did not work and the owl just sat there.

This Owl Ain't Budging!

Other kinds of birds were chattering in the trees. Everyone was upset about this intruder! I heard mockingbirds and bluejays. Then I heard the sound of a red shouldered hawk. I thought that it could just be bluejay mimicking a hawk. They actually do a pretty convincing impersonation. I've watched a bluejay clear the bird feeder out with a well placed call. But this time, it was real, and a red shouldered hawk flew into the tree to join the mob. I imagine that the crows, jays and mockingbirds weren't sure what side to take. They don't like hawks, either, for the same reasons that they don't like owls, and can often be seen mobbing them. (The bluejays and mockingbirds will mob crows for the same reasons as the hawks and owls, so this gets really complicated.) So when the hawk moved in, the rest of the birds quieted down and watched from the trees.

Hawk/Owl Stare-Off

Red Shouldered Hawk tries to scare the Great Horned Owl

The hawk repeatedly flew at the owl and tried to knock it off its perch. I heard the "thwack" of the hits. But the owl wouldn't budge. Then the hawk tried flying right in the face of the owl and spreading its wings to look bigger and more frightening. The owl stayed put. I watched the hawk go back and forth from one branch to another, flapping its wings, calling and flying at the owl. Finally the hawk flew away to pine trees nearby. I could hear it call. I'd been watching for about 20 minutes and my arms were tired from holding the camera, so I walked away. Of course, as soon as I was out of sight, the crows started up again. This time they were loud and furious, and I saw some commotion from the trees, so I think they were finally successful. I don't know for sure because I didn't see it, but the silence that followed spoke volumes.