30 Days in June: Day 14, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

Under the Oaks

I had a lot of great locations to pick from this weekend for my farewell tour, but it seemed like a trip to the main entrance of Paynes Prairie was long overdue. I live close to La Chua Trail, on the NE end of the park, so that is my "go to" trail. But there are upland trails, Lake Wauberg, and the visitor's center on the other side and I always enjoy myself when I can get past the half hour trip vs 10 minutes to La Chua, so it was time to make this happen.

Swamp Trail

I got to the park soon after the gates opened. Even though it was supposed to be clear, sunny and very hot, I drove through thick fog as I crossed the Prairie to the entrance. The fog burnt off quickly, though, and it was plenty sunny and hot by the time I walked along the short trail through the dark swamp and arrived at the fishing bridge on Lake Wauberg. I always hope to see an otter there, but it never happens. This morning there were very few birds on the lake, just a couple of Anhingas and a Great Blue Heron. And the sun was right in my face as I looked back into the woods to try to see if there were any small birds in the trees. But luck was on my side and I was rewarded with good look at a Yellow Billed Cuckoo. Another for the list!

Lake Wauberg from the Fishing Bridge

I heard Northern Parulas, Cardinals and Red Bellied Woodpeckers in the trees, but didn't see much more. I didn't even see Green Treefrogs, which is unusual, but there were Bullfrogs a-plenty, Dragonflies and many, many Argiope Garden Spiders sitting in their giant orbed webs behind a filament screen.

Big Argiope Spider with a Katydid

I trotted on down the road before it got much hotter. The temperature was supposed to be in the 90's but feel like 100. The Lake Trail takes you over the fishing bridge and through some huge old live oaks before it enters a sunny, sandy field--often a good place to find Gopher Tortoises. Walking past those magnificent trees, I had a sense that I was in the presence of a Council of Elders. They are ancient oaks. If trees could talk, they could tell such tales.

Council of Elders

Just as I was exiting the oak grove, I saw a young White Tailed Deer. We looked at each other for a few minutes before it leapt into the bushes. I walked the short trail through the sweet meadow and did not see any Gopher Tortoises, though I did see several burrows. I passed tracks in the sand showing me what I had missed all the other times I hadn't been on that path--Armadillos, hopping birds and Coyotes. I saw Tufted Titmouse, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, White Eyed Vireo and Summer Tanager. Vultures wafted overhead. It was getting hot and I needed to hurry if I wanted time to go to another trail. On the way back to the parking lot I surprised a fawn hiding behind a Palmetto. It shook its leg, trying to decide if I was dangerous and whether or not it should run. I guess I didn't look scary and it stayed put, munching and watching.

Deer Encounter

Armadillo Tracks

Hopping Birds

Sweet Meadow Trail

Summer Tanager

Floating Vulture

White Tailed Fawn

The other trail I wanted to see was Cone's Dike Trail. It was far too long, and far too hot for me to walk the entire trail, but I wanted to get out and see at least some of it. I have not spent much time on that trail, but the few times I did were memorable. Access to the trail is through a wooded area near the visitor's center. There is an Eagle's Nest near the trail, but I couldn't see if the Eagles were still there. It is also possible to see Great Horned Owls perched on the giant oak limbs near the visitor's center, but I didn't see them either. It was pretty late in the morning at that point.

Two Good Trails

Down Through the Woods and onto the Prairie

I walked until I got far too hot, about 30 minutes, and decided I had to go back. But the trail was nice. I saw butterflies, Eastern Towhees, Snowy Egrets, Blue Grosbeaks, Great Crested Flycatchers, heard White Eyed Vireos everywhere, and caught a Wood Stork flying over. I also found a mother Alligator and 7 of her babies. A good place to turn around. I hope to get back again.

June Challenge Count: 84, and 18 Natural Areas visited.

Wood Stork

Gator Family Swim

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

The Sweetwater Dike Trail--you can see the canal on the right 

This past weekend my husband and I took a trip to La Chua Trail in Paynes Prairie to get one last walk up Sweetwater Dike trail that will disappear after this week. It's funny, but for most of the 17 or so years that I've been visiting La Chua Trail, I didn't pay much attention to that trail. It was often overgrown and seemed hot and a little snaky, and I didn't think it really went anywhere. I was more interested in following the main trail down to the viewing platform at the end. But a few years ago I got more involved in birding and found a group of people that hiked out there a lot. Soon I discovered that it was a good place to look for certain birds. The path was lined with bushes and grass that provided good habitat for birds such as Orchard Orioles, Yellow Breasted Chat, Yellow Billed Cuckoo, Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, Bobolinks and the occasional Painted Bunting, just to name a few. I also discovered that the trail could be a good place to find the bison, wild horses and feral hogs, as well as raccoons and an occasional bobcat. This year we had a very wet winter and a lot of the main La Chua trail was under water for much of the season. The Park rangers directed visitors out along the dike trail so they could still experience the wonders of Paynes Prairie and the path became very popular with birders, photographers and hikers. The marshes were especially vibrant this year, allowing good views of King Rails, Least Bitterns, Purple Gallinules, Sandhill Cranes, and Pied Billed Grebes and all varieties of chicks. Butterflies of all types enjoyed the flowers along the trail and the presence of Willows guaranteed a Viceroy in the late summer and fall. The wet weather flooded the low lying areas this year and we had an incredible display of American Lotus and Pickerelweed. And, yes, there were lots of alligators and snakes. My friends and I usually tried to make a lot of noise when we walked, but still managed to stand next to or even right on snakes in the grass. And many times I stood on that dike, surrounded by the bellowing of gators up and down the canal. It was a scary and thrilling sensation. Just this week I worried a mama gator and her clutch of new hatchling babies. It has been a wonderful addition to my Prairie experiences and it gave me many opportunities for amazing wildlife viewing.

Purple Gallinule Chick along the Sweetwater Dike this week

New Hatchling Gators by the side of the trail. They scattered as soon as they saw us!

The Sweetwater Dike trail is going to disappear because of a big, exciting water management project that is nearing completion on the edge of the Prairie. Filling in the canal that runs along the dike is one of the last phases to complete that project. Basically, the City and our local utility company (GRU), the County, and Paynes Prairie State Park have worked together with environmental consultants and contractors to purchase land next to the park and create a water treatment area that will filter and buffer treated wastewater and storm run-off from the city through a series of created wetlands. The water will flow out of the wetlands, and the sheetflow over the Prairie will help filter and purify the water before it reaches the Alachua Sink, where it goes directly into the aquifer. You can read more about the project here at the City of Gainesville's website. Currently, the water is channelled through the Sweetwater Canal that was built in the 1930's by previous owners who ran cattle and wanted to dry out sections of the Prairie. The water comes into the canal from the city with all the associated pollution and excess nutrients that come from waste, and street and landscape runoff. The water also contains trash and seeds and pieces of invasive plants. Creating the wetlands and filling in the canal will help restore the sheet flow to spread the water runoff evenly over the Prairie and the plants and trash will be caught in traps before they reach the Prairie. In addition, the project includes 2-3 miles of trails and boardwalks around the 3 wetlands and there are plans for an educational buildings and observation towers, too.

Wetlands to the left, construction road in the middle

Boardwalk and Plantings

Outdoor Classroom, Boardwalks and one of the Wetlands

Boardwalk over the Wetlands

I had an opportunity to tour the Sheetflow Project construction site with members of Alachua Audubon last month. It was not my first trip there, but it was my first trip coming in the "front door" and walking on the trails and boardwalks, rather than from the Sweetwater Dike trail which leads right there. Judging from my preview of the Sheetflow Project, I'm pretty sure it is going to become one of my new favorite places for hiking and photography. The wetlands are almost complete, but even as the ponds were first being built, the alligators and wading birds were moving in to this attractive new habitat. The native plantings around the construction area are taking hold and during the tour I took last month, we saw Roseate Spoonbills, many types of Sandpipers, Limpkins, Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, Dowitchers, Plovers, Kingfishers, and a Great White Heron, just to name a few. Tracks in the mud showed that that raccoons, armadillos and deer had moved right in, too. One of the rangers at Paynes Prairie told a group of volunteers last fall that a side benefit from the construction of the Sheetflow Project was that it will be such a nice wildlife viewing area that might take some of the pressure off of the more fragile La Chua Trail that has become enormously popular over the past 6-8 years.

Birds already moving in. There is a Roseate Spoonbill in the group.

Wide Variety of Wading Birds

Sandpipers

Big Colony of Black Bellied Whistling Ducks

Something for Everyone! Note Kingfisher in the tree.

Semi Palmated Plover

Limpkins have found some exotic Apple Snails

Have no fear, Raccoons are Here!

I am definitely going to miss the Sweetwater Dike trial. In a short time I became quite fond of walking up there. I know that animals will be displaced and that there will be casualties. My husband and I saw the remains of a squashed snake on the trail, probably run over by heavy equipment, and a little turtle that didn't make it. The gator nest I saw this week will be relocated one way or another. And the birds will come back next spring to find their familiar bushes and trees missing. But nature is pretty good at healing and I'm fairly confident that the animals will find new places and will probably really benefit from the new, improved landscape. I am very optimistic and hopeful about the changes to come and look forward to this winter when the boardwalks are supposed to be open to the public. All of the people that I have met who are connected to the Sheetflow Project have been dedicated and sincere about their commitment to the project. I believe that they have done all they can to make sure that disruptions to the wildlife will be done with great care.  We visitors will lose one nice access to close nature encounters, but we will gain many more in the boardwalks around the wetlands.

Setting up Silt Baffles before the construction begins

Taking out Trees on the sides of the path

Snake Casualty--Not sure what happened to it

So, things they are a changin'. And just imagine--2 incredible natural areas, La Chua Trail and the Sweetwater Branch/Paynes Prairie Sheetflow Project right next door to each other! I can't wait to get out there and explore!

Pickerel Weed on the Wet Prairie

June Challenge

The June Challenge Trophy!

Another June Challenge has come and gone, and as usual, I did not win. This comes as no big surprise or disappointment to me because I am not a particularly knowledgable birder, and that's ok. I'm interested and enthusiastic about birding, but I'm also interested in flowers, butterflies and other animals. I don't know the intricacies of Empidonax Flycatchers, Sparrows and Warblers, but I do recognize the usual, obvious birds. My list is growing each year, so I am learning and getting better. A friend reassured me by quoting renowned birder Kenn Kaufman, who said “Birding is something we do for enjoyment; so if you enjoy it, you’re a good birder. If you enjoy it a lot, you’re a great birder.” I do enjoy it a lot, so I must be a great birder! But by that measure, I'm a great botanist, lepidopterist and herpetologist. But seriously, there are people out there who know so much more than I do and spend so much more time birding that I will always be in the middle to back of the pack, and I don't mind a bit because the June Challenge gives me so much more than the challenge. 

Green Heron All Stretched Out

A little background on the June Challenge: this is a friendly competition created by a member of our local Audubon chapter to keep birders busy and engaged in the hot, quiet summer when the migrants have passed through and there is little going on. The challenge is to see as many species of free-flying birds as possible in the month of June. The birds must be seen within the boundaries of our county and they must actually be seen to be counted. Hearing is not enough! (Damned Bobwhites.) On June 1st some of our most experienced birders usually lead a birding field trip that helps get our lists off to a good start. And then for the rest of the month people text, email, and call about daily excursions to look for rare and difficult to find birds. It takes a lot of stamina to win, but everyone is eager to share a special sighting. This is a very congenial group. For example, I usually have White Winged Doves at my bird feeders, and a Cooper's Hawk often hangs around the pine trees in the yard. I told a few friends and saw more than one car slow drive by slowly, checking for other birds on the list. I think it's all a lot of fun. And it's been so popular that people outside of our county have started their own June Challenge!

Great Blue Heron

In the end, the 2 winners (both are my friends, and one was my photo buddy, Maralee!) each counted the phenomenal number of 116 birds of the total 128 birds reported. I saw 77, which I don't think was too bad considering that I wasn't able to attend the kickoff event and took a trip out of town for a week. I missed some of the easier birds, but I saw some special ones, too. There were some rare off-season American Robins nesting just up the street from me, but I never saw them. And several people spent an astonishing amount of time camped out hoping to see a Broad Winged Hawk. I didn't see it either. But I did see 3 Burrowing Owls (first time! Yay!) and finally got a Bobwhite to show itself. I see Bobwhites all the time, but for some perverse reason, never in the month of June. 

It's too bad that you can't count feathers because I saw several from birds I didn't get on my list

But for me, the June Challenge is about so much more than seeing and counting birds. It pushes me to get outside and explore as often as I can. It helps me get out of the rut of visiting the same old places, and it helps me meet new friends who are also out and about and of like mind. In the course of my month of bird searches, I woke up before dawn, hiked in the blazing mid-day sun, and hunted for owls at dusk. I walked by Lakes, Ponds and Creeks, through Sandhills, Flatwoods, Wet Prairie, a Cow Pasture and Cypress Swamp. I staked out parking lots, bird feeders and a medical park in the rain. Each day out was an adventure and I felt more alive with every excursion. 

Early Morning in the Cow Pasture, in Pursuit of the Burrowing Owls

Pine Flatwoods

Cypress Swamp at the End of a Trail

Red Tailed Hawk in the Rain at a Medical Park

Because I was out so often, in addition to my 77 birds, I was able to see lots of flowers, insects, mammals and herps. I saw Sandhill Crane colts (that's what  their chicks are called), baby Grackles, Gallinules and a Fish Crow chick. 

Sandhill Crane and Colt

Boat-Tailed Grackle Chick

Common Gallinule Chicks

I crossed paths with Rabbits, Raccoons, Wild Horses and their colts (the 4 legged kind), Feral Hogs, White Tailed Deer, a Bobcat (!) and a Fox Squirrel! 

Eastern Cottontail Rabbit

Raccoon

Wild Horses and their Colts

White Tailed Deer

Flying Fox Squirrel

I saw a Corn Snake, Water Moccasins, Lizards, Alligators, Soft Shell Turtles and numerous Toads and Frogs, including a Gopher Frog--another first for me! 

The Corn Snake Stuck Around Even After Being Stepped On!

Alligator Tracks and Skid Marks

Florida Soft-Shelled Turtle, Perhaps Laying Eggs

Little Southern Toad

Gopher Frog and its Many Admirers!

I saw huge Regal Darner Dragonflies and tiny Damselflies, Spiders and Grasshoppers. 

Regal Darner

Jumping Spider

Walking along those trails, we saw numerous butterflies: Buckeyes, Monarchs, Sulphurs, Giant Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries, Zebra Longwings and a Red Spotted Purple sunning in the parking lot. 

Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly

I found a new wildflower, the Largeflower Rosegentian (Sabatia grandiflora), found Tarflowers blooming in the flatwoods, and was thrilled to see a stunningly beautiful display of Pickerelweed on Paynes Prairie. No one around here has seen the Prairie covered like this for years. It's really been a fabulous month.

Largeflower Rosegentian (Sabatia grandiflora)

Tarflower (Bejaria racemosa)

Pickerelweed (Pontedaria cordifolia) As Far as the Eye Can See

Now that the challenge is over, I am looking for new adventures to get me out in the field. Sometimes it's hard to motivate myself. I get tired after a work week and my tendency is to just blob out at home in my free time. But I feel so much better when I get out and battle the chiggers and heat. All it takes is a seeing a raft of frog eggs floating in an ephemeral pond on a trail, or a perfect Hooded Pitcher Plant and I forget all about itching and sweating. At those times I am exhilarated and feel completely alive. 

Egg Shell Under the Pines

At the June Challenge celebration on July 1st, I heard someone suggest that we do a July Challenge, too! As fun as it sounds, I don't know if most of us can keep up the grueling pace for 2 months. Especially in the heat and humidity of Florida in July. But I'll be looking for opportunities wherever I can. Butterflies and Hummingbirds like this hot weather, and as I walk the trails, I can already see signs of fall wildflowers to come. It's going to be a good fall. And winter. And spring. It's always good!

Happy Trails in My Future