Category Archives: Nature

The Boardwalk at Maumee Bay

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Deb Platt | 1 Comment

Sunset view from the boardwalk at Maumee Bay.

Because Maumee Bay State Park is the site of one of our state’s lodge and conference centers, it offers a number of recreational opportunities. But as a nature lover, one of my favorite activities there was walking the 2-mile boardwalk through a wetland bordering Lake Erie. We visited in May while staying in the lodge. Our strolls along the boardwalk were relaxing and peaceful. They were also an opportunity to do some birdwatching and to see other wildlife like deer.

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Posted in Nature, Northwestern Ohio

Tagged "Lucas County", "Maumee Bay", birding, boardwalk

Mountain Laurel in Bloom at Shallenberger

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Deb Platt | 13 Comments

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia).

Mountain laurel is also known as calico bush or spoonwood. As a mature shrub this evergreen plant can grow to be anywhere between 9.8 feet to 29.5 feet in height (3 m to 9 m). It is native to the eastern United States, and it prefers to grow on rocky cliffs in acidic soil. Although it is a member of the blueberry family, no part of the plant is safe to eat. Even the pollen is poisonous which means that honey made from its pollen is also toxic. Besides being potentially lethal to humans, it is also poisonous to deer, cattle, horses and goats.

However as long as you have no interest in eating it, Mountain laurel is a beautiful shrub, especially when it’s in bloom. The flowers grow in clusters; they are usually white, though some have a light pink tint. The plant blooms in May and June.

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Posted in Central Ohio, Nature

Tagged "Fairfield County", "Woody plants", flowers, Shallenberger

Nelson Kennedy Ledges State Park

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Bob Platt | 11 Comments

Nelson Kennedy Ledges is a most unusual state park located in Portage County in northeastern Ohio. The park is a relatively small 167 acres with 3 miles of trails. The main section of the park consists of a massive rock outcropping. The outcropping is cracked with narrow passages between tall cliffs, small streams flowing through them and huge slump blocks broken off of the cliff face. The trails go around, over, and through the openings and resemble an enormous stone maze.

Deb about to go between slump blocks.

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Posted in Nature, Northeastern Ohio

Tagged "Nelson Kennedy Ledges", "Portage County"

One-flowered broomrape: our fourth plant without chlorophyll

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Deb Platt | 3 Comments

One-flowered Broomrape (Orobanche uniflora)

One-flowered broomrape (Orobanche uniflora) is also known as oneflowered broomrape, naked broomrape, cancer root, one-flowered cancer root, pipes, ghost pipes, squawdrops, and squirrel’s grandfather. It is the fourth plant that we’ve dealt with here that has no chlorophyll. Without chlorophyll the plant is unable to nourish itself through photosynthesis, so it lives its life as a parasite, siphoning off its nourishment from other plants. Unlike the previous parasitic plants that we’ve discussed, this one doesn’t get its food by tapping into tree roots. Instead it feeds off non-woody (herbaceous) plants like Asters.

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Posted in Nature identification

Tagged "nature profile", "plants without chlorophyll", wildflowers

Magee Marsh Wildlife Area

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Deb Platt | 10 Comments

Bob and I have hiked many trails in the nature preserves and parks of Ohio. However the state of Ohio also has designated “State Wildlife Areas” that are under the management of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. These are important areas for hunting and fishing in Ohio, but they aren’t usually geared toward hiking and most of them lack trails. However some of these State Wildlife Areas do have trails, especially those that are good sites for birding.

In our last post I discussed a visit to the boardwalk at the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area during the “Biggest Week in American Birding.” In this post I’d like to discuss the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area more generally.

Sportsmen’s Migratory Bird Center at Magee Marsh.

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Posted in Nature, Northwestern Ohio

Tagged "Lucas County", "Magee Marsh", "Ottawa County", birding, Park Review

Beginning Birder at the “Biggest Week in American Birding”

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Deb Platt | 8 Comments

I am an aspiring birder; actually, I seem to be perpetually stuck at the “beginning birder” level. I enjoy and recognize the birds that frequent my backyard feeding station. And when hiking, I enjoy listening to birdsong and calls… but I rarely catch sight of those singing birds. Most of the time they seem to be perched high above me and hidden by the tree’s foliage. However in Ohio there is an annual birding event called, The Biggest Week in American Birding, and this year I decided to give it a try.

Magnolia Warbler, male (Setophaga magnolia)

A male Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia) that I spotted during The Greatest Week of American Birding.

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Posted in Nature, Northwestern Ohio

Tagged "Magee Marsh", "Ottawa County", birding

Marblehead Lighthouse State Park

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Bob Platt | 10 Comments

Marblehead Lighthouse State Park is a 9 acre state park containing the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation in the United States. The lighthouse is located on the Marblehead Peninsula on the shoreline of Lake Erie.

Marblehead Lighthouse.

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Posted in Nature, Northwestern Ohio

Tagged "Marblehead Light SP", "Ottawa County"

Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Deb Platt | 12 Comments

The Lakeside daisy is Ohio’s rarest, native plant species. This plant only grows in four areas. Its largest population is in Ohio’s Marblehead peninsula, part of Ottawa County. This is where the Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve is located. Lakeside daisies are also found in Michigan’s upper peninsula, and in Ontario, Canada they can be found in the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island.

A trio of Lakeside daisies (Hymenoxys herbacea).

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Posted in Nature, Northwestern Ohio

Tagged "Lakeside Daisy SNP", "Ottawa County", wildflowers

Fort Hill

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Bob Platt | 10 Comments

These two, large outcroppings are across the creek from Gorge Trail.

Two thousand years ago, the Hopewell people built a massive earthwork enclosing a 40-acre hilltop in southwest Ohio. This earthwork which resembles a fort was later dubbed Fort Hill.

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Posted in Native American, Nature, Southwestern Ohio

Tagged "Fort Hill", "Highland County", Hopewell

Gallagher Fen State Nature Preserve

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Deb Platt | 10 Comments

Fen habitats are America’s most diverse habitat for vegetation, and many rare plants are found in fens. A fen is a type of wetland formed when water bubbles up from an underlying aquifer via an Artesian well or seep. In the case of Gallagher Fen, the water emerges from a hillside seep because two aquifers intersect nearby increasing the underground water pressure. Since the water is emerging from deep within the earth through limestone gravel dumped by glaciers during the last Ice Age, the water is very alkaline and very cold, about 56 degrees year round.

Although it is a wetland, it is difficult for many plants to absorb the very cold water. So ironically drought-tolerant prairie plants thrive in fen meadows. Many of the plants found in local fens moved into the area when there were glacially fed lakes in Ohio. As the glaciers retreated these plants were unable to tolerate the warmer weather, and they disappeared from Ohio, but pockets of them remained in these scattered fens. Outside of Ohio’s fens you would have to go to northern habitats like northern Michigan or Minnesota to find other representatives of these plant communities.