Rain has come in deluges in the Ohio River Valley this summer. When paired with daily temperatures in the mid-nineties in late June, we were looking for a quick jaunt on a paved trail. We opted to revisit the Shared Use Trail at Woodland Mound to enjoy a preview of the upcoming prairie season.
The Shared Use Trail is a 1.5 mile paved loop that winds around the ridge top park, through parkland and prairie landscapes, with welcomed areas of shade.
In the parkland portion of the trail we found ourselves on woodland edges that offered a collection of wildflower species.
American Germander – a member of the mint family, its preferred habitat is woodland edges. Note how the stamens stick out well above the flower petals in the third photo.
Jewelweed – is also known as Touch-me-not. They come in both vivid orange and yellow varieties. They are native members of the Impatiens Family.
Wild Garlic – finding a reproductive stem with only flowers is a bit unusual, as the flowers are often paired with developing bulbets, which require no pollination and drop to the ground to begin a new plant, as an exact clone of the parent plant.
White Vervain – has remarkably small flowers. It is a integral species of the woodland edge, providing nectar for many pollinators and seeds for many songbirds.
Spiderworts are common, but always beautiful. The two most common species are Virginia and Ohio Spiderworts, and their ranges overlap. I believe that this one is Ohio Spiderwort based on the slight white casting to its leaves.
Soon we found ourselves with prairie to both sides of the trail. While we are weeks away from peak prairie season, some early performers were noted.
Partridge Pea – as the name suggests these plants produce seeds that birds of the partridge group feed on, including grouse and quail. Both the flower and pinnate leaves resemble Sensitive Plant and Senna, but the splash of red on the base of the flower petals is the quick give away for identification.
Bergamot – with its tubular flowers, it is a favorite of the hummingbirds. It is also featured in the title photo.
Black-eyed Susan will continue to bloom into the fall.
Tall specimens of White False Indigo stood off the path and somewhat down a slope.
The opposite positioning of the leaves suggests to me that this is Starry Rosinweed, but it was a little too far from the path for better ID. Its petals were just opening and will get larger.
Rattlesnake Master always looks out of place in the prairies where we find it. With its uniform grey-green coloration and barbed leaves, it looks more like a desert plant. This plant is very rigid.
The appropriately named Thimbleweed is a member of the Anemone Family. While it is often recommended for native gardens, its sap can cause a skin rash.
Gray-headed Coneflowers are one of the best early prairie performers. The way the petals fall away from the head of the flower is its identifying feature from the other yellow flowers of the meadow. When the flower first blooms the head is gray, but then turns brown with age.
Slender Mountain Mint is named due to the narrowness of its leaves. All parts of the plant release a pleasant mint aroma when crushed. They are always covered with pollinators when we find them.
Whorled Rosinweed is one of my favorite prairie flowers. The flowers are held high and are numerous, allowing for great visualization. If you look down on the stem you will note the lance shaped leaves arising in a whorl.
Another favorite yellow flowering plant of the early summer meadow is Compass Plant, named such as its large, alternate leaves are always directed north and south. The three inch flowers are some of the largest found in prairies.
Illinois Bundle Flower – in the photo below, you see some unopened flower buds at the top of the plant as well as some frilly flowers. After pollination a very unique seed head will form that looks like a cluster (bundle) of little boomerangs.
No Midwestern prairie hike would be complete without some Common Milkweed. As I looked at the these plants with their large, ball-shaped flowerheads, it got me pondering how that ball consisting of sixty to one hundred flowers results in just one or two, unique, pointed Milkweed seed pods. My research suggests that it is fascinating process and worthy of a future “focused topic” article.
This closeup photo shows that the flowerheads are made up of a large number of individual flowers.
This image demonstrates that a plant that had at least three flowerheads, and perhaps 180 to 300 hundred individual flowers, only seven seed pods formed.
Odds and Ends:
As we worked our way through the meadow we noted a lone Black Cherry tree. It was laden with ripe fruit that was being consumed by at least seven species of song birds including Yellowthroats, Gold Finches, and Indigo Buntings.
We noted this lovely Chipping Sparrow in the woodland section of trail.
This trail is a great place to introduce children to hiking and nature. An enticement that will add to the child’s positive experience is the excellent playground located near the prairie section of the trail.
Interesting Natural History of the Day – we were excited to see a flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds feeding in the grass in the parkland section of the trail.
I was aware that they were native birds and that they lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, more or less turning over the rearing of their offspring to foster parents. That led to some additional reading which revealed these items of note:
The males and females are not monogamous.
A female will lay up to 3 dozen eggs per season. That is by far the most for a species of song bird.
Cow Birds have been documented to lay their eggs in the nests of over 220 bird species, but recent research shows that any individual female will usually only utilize the nest of a single species. Some birds will recognize the intruder’s egg and destroy it, but many don’t.
Cow Birds were originally called “Buffalo Birds” because of their tight ecological relationship with the American Bison, whose activity in the prairie stirred up insects and seeds for the birds to feed upon. In addition, the Buffalo Bird would often provide a grooming service, pecking pests off the hide of the Bison. But it was the Bison’s nomadic lifestyle that necessitated the Buffalo Birds’ “brood parasitism”, the placement of their eggs in the nests of others birds to feed and raise their offspring, as the Bison herd’s migration never left them in a location long enough to build a nest and nurture their young. Over time their name was changed to Cow Birds, as they adapted and have developed a similar ecological relationship with domesticated cattle, allowing them to expand their range.
In summary, our short jaunt on the paved trail at Woodland Mound was an enjoyable outing – it got us out in nature during a weather stretch that was not conducive to hiking on a bare dirt trail or for an extended outing during extreme temperatures. Seeing the early meadow flowers in bloom has us hyped for the upcoming prairie season. If you know someone who would love to see a prairie, but has some mobility limitations, this is an ideal venue. Finally, it was the simple observation of the Brown-headed Cow Birds, and the questions that raised, that presented to me another chapter in the fascinating natural history of North America. To be honest, those types of experiences are what makes writing Footpaths so rewarding.
Footpathsblog.com posts are released every Sunday morning and some bonus content is added periodically. Please click on a social media icon above to follow for future posts and to make sure that you catch all our reflections on, and adventures with, the great outdoors.
Photo credits to Peggy Juengling Burns and Caroline Burns Grizzle.
Overview:
Location – 12 miles from downtown Cincinnati in Anderson Township, Ohio.
Parking – large asphalt lot.
Trail Conditions – well maintained asphalt.
Print Map Link – none.
Benches – several seen along the route.
Picnic Tables – many in the parkland area.
Kids – kids of all ages would do well here. This would be a good route for a stroller and kids’ bikes as well.
Dogs – welcomed on a leash.
Suggested Paired Hikes – None.
Links: