As we pulled into the parking area I mentioned to our daughter Ellen, the stand-in photographer, that the goals for the outing were to see some owls and hopefully the increasingly rare Red-headed Woodpecker. That morning I had watched a video which had some suggestions on how to find owls in the forest, so I thought I would put them into action in this mature wood. In addition, Footpaths had hiked on two nearby trails in past years and had seen or heard a lot of woodpeckers.
Hamilton County Parks are well managed and well utilized. We were excited to see a near full parking lot on the first pretty weekend day in a long time. Miami Whitewater Forest is the largest of Hamilton County’s parks at 4,670 acres, providing ample space for people to spread out.
The Oakleaf Trail starts near the unique Timberlakes Program Shelter. It is part outdoor classroom, part viewing blind, allowing visitors to observe wildlife in the forest.
The trail itself on this beautiful mid-winter day was inviting, with a golden glow arising from the persistent leaves of young beech trees in the understory.
The trail leads down a mild slope to the banks of a couple of man made woodland ponds.
As we crossed the dam from which the above photo was taken, we got a strong whiff of ammonia. It caused me to ponder what in nature would cause such a stench.
Nearby we had some majestic white oaks, including this towering specimen. There were many similar siblings in the wood.
Once across the dam we turned left on a loop segment. This headed down grade toward a larger woodland pond.
With both ponds there was an element of siltation, which I do not believe is due to erosion upstream, as the entire watershed seems to be within the boundary of the wood. I think that it is the result of the accumulation of organic debris such as leaf litter from this very healthy forest.
One of the “owl hunting” secrets was to look at tree cavities on the sunny side of the tree trunks, as owls frequently perch on the rim of the cavity to sun themselves in the winter. There were many tree hollows to check out, but unfortunately, even with the use of binoculars, we had no luck.
As we were traipsing the path we noted many fellow hikers being accompanied by their dogs. That was when Ellen solved the ammonia odor mystery – each dog feels obligated to leave its own scent in that one location, letting its peers know that the area is already spoken for.
As we neared completion of the loop trail we heard an interesting bird call just above our heads in a large Sugar Maple. Using the Merlin Bird App we had our answer.
Its call went on for a minute or so in the tree above us. But we could not find it. And then it went quiet. It was possible that it had ducked into a tree cavity as we did not see it fly off. So we had heard a Red-headed Woodpecker but had not seen it – does that count for something?
Earlier I mentioned the decline in population of the Red-heads which is felt to be multi-factorial. Habitat loss of mature forest plays a role, as does the forestry practice of dropping dead tree snags. Another item that is mentioned includes competition for nesting cavities by the non-native and very aggressive Common Starling. Finally, the literature stated that Red-heads prefer open understories, so I have to wonder if plants like invasive Bush Honeysuckle, which clog up the forest floor, may be a factor. Unfortunately I have seen statistics of population declines of 50 to 70 percent over the past 35 years. So my search continues.
While we did not see the owls nor red-headed woodpeckers that we had hoped to find, we did have several interesting sightings along the way.
Ellen did an outstanding job capturing photos of this Red-bellied Woodpecker, who looked radiant in the sunshine. If you look closely you can see the red hue on its abdomen in the third photo.
As we walked through the wood I asked Ellen to take a photo of a rusty colored spot well above the forest floor on a White Oak.
I was surprised when we studied the photos. It appears a Pileated Woodpecker has been prepping the area for this season’s nest. They frequently develop their nesting cavities in February.
We also liked these Mossy Maze Polypore fungi. They resemble Turkey Tails but are different. They have a green hue due to the presence of algae on the top surface. I could not find a good explanation for the relationship in the naturalist literature, but perhaps it is the “hairy” surface of the top that holds moisture and allows the algae to grow. The term “mossy” is a misnomer as the green comes from algae, not moss.
Another impressive fungal display was on a log on the forest floor at the top of the ridge. Fungi play a big role in the decomposition of decaying trees on the forest floor. The term for fungi that feed on decaying matter is “saprophytes”. I believe that these were False Turkey Tail fungi.
And lastly, as we completed the loop and returned to the banks of the smaller pond we were greeted by this trio.
Identification of this berry fruit is challenging but I’m favoring it to be a Nannyberry Viburnum.
In summary, our quick outing to Miami Whitewater Forest was a good one. While we did not accomplish either of the goals that I had set for the day, we did at least hear a Red-headed Woodpecker. Also, we did get to study the impressive architecture of the many mature trees in the deciduous forest as we searched for owls. Finally, it was exciting to see the hiking trails so busy on the first pretty weekend day of the new year. The populace truly embraces this jewel of a greenspace.
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Photo credits to Ellen Burns.
Overview:
Location – 9001 Mt Hope Road, Harrison, Ohio, 24 miles west of Downtown Cincinnati.
Parking – large asphalt lot with parking for 40 cars.
Facilities – seasonal Porto-let in the parking area. Non-winter offers a formal restroom.
Trail Conditions – bare dirt or embedded gravel. The trail is 0.8 miles in length with mild altitude change of only 114 feet and would rate as easy.
Print Trail Map Link – https://res.cloudinary.com/govimg/image/upload/v1615483891/5a5f7a6b41a5361ef1395dbc/MWF-Oakleaf-Trail.gif
Benches – Several benches noted.
Picnic Tables – None on the trail but numerous throughout the park.
Kids – Kids four and over should do well.
Dogs – Welcomed on a 6 foot leash.
Paired Hiking Trails – The Oakleaf Trail shares a parking lot with the Badlands and Timberlakes Trails.
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