Just in Time for Valentine's Day

I went birding at Schramm Woods this afternoon. It was a beautiful afternoon to be outside. I went to check on the resident Barred Owl, who is always sitting in the same hollow Beech tree, as she was today. This afternoon, for the first time, I noticed its mate sitting in the nearby massive Sycamore tree. I sat down to watch both of them for a while.





I do not know for sure which one is the male and which one is the female, but males are smaller than females, so I think the owl in the Sycamore is the male. I'll have to see whether the Sycamore roost is reused as faithfully as the Beech roost. It is a great spot to roost, and can only be viewed from a small area. I am excited to see if they mate and nest in the woods.


Bird list for the two hours I was there:
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Goldfinch

Raccoon at Schramm Woods

This afternoon, while doing a bird count for the GBBC, I spotted this raccoon asleep on top of this tree. He would poke his head up when I whistled, but then quickly hunker back down.


By the way, the Great Backyard Bird Count is a simple way to contribute to our scientific knowledge. My list for my hour spent at the woods is short, but is a typical afternoon list at Schramm. I usually see Juncos and Goldfinches, but they are probably at someone's feeder right now.

Barred Owl (sitting in the same tree as always)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
European Starling
Northern Cardinal

Barred Owl at Schramm Woods

I had a wonderful opportunity to watch a Barred Owl at Schramm Woods this afternoon. I spotted him sitting up in a cozy hollow of a Beech tree. Luckily I did not flush him upon first seeing him, so I took the chance to sit in the slush and admire one of my favorite birds.

View of the roost tree from the trail.

Intently watching me.

A White-breasted Nuthatch started to creep down the tree in which the owl was sitting. The owl kept an eye on him. The nuthatch didn't come down too far before he realized the tree was occupied.



A Pileated Woodpecker started tapping on a Shagbark Hickory off to the owl's left.
The owl sat for me for twenty minutes before flying off to the southeast. Schramm Woods is a Central Indiana Land Trust (CILTI) property on Mt. Comfort road just north of 200S. There is a nice loop trail leading from the parking lot now.

Update 1/20/10: The owl must like this tree. He was sitting in the same place one week later.

A Few Fun Fall Flowers

Cabin Creek Bog, the north end of the main sedge meadow. I recently learned (or relearned) that Cabin Creek Bog, in Randolph County, is a National Natural Landmark. Dr. Ruch and I just finished another year of vegetative monitoring. I think fall is one of my favorite times there. There are so many interesting flowers in bloom. Below, are some of the flowers I have recently seen in bloom and decided to photograph, from many different sites.

Agalinis purpurea - Purple False Foxglove
I am glad it wasn't too late in the season to see these pink, fuzzy flowers at Cabin Creek Bog.

Bidens cernua - So pretty in flower, I wish it never went to fruit. ;) You can see the disc flowers have five petals. Photo taken at the Hal Ashton mitigation wetlands, but you can find this flower almost anywhere it is wet right now.

Circium muticum - Swamp Thistle
I always like Swamp Thistle. It has a cool habitat, a great flower, it isn't obnoxiously prickly, and the involucre is sticky.

These were blooming in a fen in Henry County

Euonymus obovatus - Running Strawberry Bush
Cool little Euonymus fruits. Southeastway Park, Indianapolis

Gentianopsis procera - Fringed Gentian
One of my favorite fall fen flowers.

It was cool to watch them open up on Sunday morning as we were monitoring.

Gentiana saponaria - Bottle Gentian or Soapwort Gentian
I found these blooming in Kosciusko County while on a delineation, in a very disturbed area. The mosquitoes were so thick, that I did not get a great look at them, but I am pretty sure this is the correct species.

I love the blue in these flowers.

Helianthus giganteus - Swamp or Giant Sunflower
These flowers were blooming at Cabin Creek and at a mitigation wetland in Henry County. They are quite gigantic in height, at times.

Lobelia cardinalis - Cardinal Flower
Cardinal Flower seems to be everywhere this year in wetland and prairie plantings, but it was cool to find this guy blooming in Schramm Woods, on Mount Comfort Road in Hancock County, where it seemed unlikely that it was planted.

Lobelia inflata - Indian Tobacco
I like this little lobelia.

Check out the inflated fruit. It is easy to see where it gets its name.

Lobelia siphilitica - Blue Lobelia
Our 'weedy' lobelia. Seems to be everywhere right now.

Spiranthes cernua - Nodding Ladies-tresses
These were blooming throughout the fen, with none falling in our plots. You got to love random sampling.

Black-and-White Warbler

The fall warbler migration must be going pretty strong. There were a lot of warblers at Jacob Schramm Woods today. I saw several American Redstarts, among others. This Black-and-White hopped from tree trunk to tree trunk, within six feet of me. Pretty cool.

Jacob Schramm Nature Preserve

I can't think of any other officially preserved natural areas in Hancock County, besides maybe the Mary Moore Woods by GCHS. With that in mind, the Schramm Nature Preserve is pretty nice. It is 34 acres and has no trails. A significant part of the woods is forested wetland, so be prepared if it is a wet time of year. If anyone knows of another preserve in Hancock County, leave a comment.