This was the third Kentucky Wildlife Management Area for Footpaths to hike. Kentucky Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are tracts of land managed by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR). Their website reports that their “primary role is to conserve natural habitats, support sustainable wildlife populations,and provide regulated public access for hunting, fishing, trapping and outdoor recreation”. The Adair WMA had been on my radar because it is named for a radiologist whose Northern Kentucky medical career was ending just as mine was starting in the mid-1980s. He and his wife donated the 635 acre property to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife before his death in 1999, wanting it to remain undeveloped. The Adairs lived in a modest home near Beechwood School in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, my and my children’s alma mater. We opted to visit the WMA this July, when temps were in the nineties, as 94 percent of the acreage is forested, promising shade.

The property has two unnamed loop trails. Our plan was to hike the one on the west side of the property, on the left in the map below, as it appeared to offer the heaviest wooded areas.

From the parking area the trail heads down a gentle grade on what Google Maps identifies as Gum Branch Road. There is a paved Gum Branch Road a short distance away to the south, and in the distant past that the road extended further north, crossing the Adair’s property. At the time of its functional use, it appears that this section was little more than a gravel path with unimproved stream crossings.

The trail was relatively unmowed, with plants ranging from 8 to 36 inches. There were somewhat fresh tire tracts but it did not appear that mowing was involved.

To our right was a moderate ravine that was lined with some massive tree specimens including this American Beech, whose roots extended down into the ravine. There were also some nice specimens of oak and Tulip-poplar, but due to the density of trailside plants it was difficult to capture them in a photo.

In this same area we noted a healthy Shingle Oak that had massive leaves for the species. My field guide reports that the leaves for Shingle Oaks can be from 3 to 6 inches. Most of the specimens that I have seen have been on the smaller end, and these were very much all of 6 inches. The leaves of Shingle Oak are not like those of the more common Red and White Oaks, having no teeth or lobes. The botanical term for that is “the leaf is entire”. Also unlike other oaks, the leaves are quite thick and have a leathery feel, more like those of Rhododendrons.

But as is true for all oaks across the world, it had “clustered terminal buds” at the tips of its branches.

At the bottom of the hill we noted what appeared to be a native cane growing along Gum Branch Creek. Canes are a form of bamboo and members of the Grass Family. They were a favorite food for the bison that were historically native to the Ohio River Valley and visited the nearby Big Bone Salt Lick, which is just a couple of miles from the Adair property, to acquire salt for their diet. The cane was too far from the trail to get a specific identification. I would estimate that they were twelve feet tall.

For lack of a better term, I would describe this hike as primitive. With the height of the unmowed plants and the recent rains, our boots and pants were already soaked when we reached the bottom of the grade and went to cross our first creek.

But the endeavor was not without its rewards. One was seeing this massive grouping of Tall Bell Flower. Tall is the correct descriptive for these specimens, as they reached above six feet.

Their pastel blue is a unique color to see in the summer woods.

Nearby we noted this much smaller plant, just six inches or so off the floor. While we had seen St. John’s Wort on many of our prairie hikes, this was our first sighting of Dwarf St. John’s Wort. It thrives in moist, streamside habitats – exactly where we found it.

As we soldiered on, the quality of the trail would wax and wane. Where sunlight was more abundant the plants got more dense.

But then we would enter another mature wood with stately trees and we would have a trail again.

The trail map showed an area of meadow at the furthest reach of the path, just before it loops back along the bank of Gum Branch Creek. In the meadow, the path was non-existent.

We slogged through the wet meadow plants trying to find the rest of the loop trail, but without success. It was an excellent meadow with a lot of plant diversity, which results in a lot of insect diversity.

Bergamot and Yarrow

Black-eyed Susan and Purple Coneflower

Spicebush Swallowtail and Anglewing

Without a doubt the highlight of the meadow was seeing this Clearwing Moth, which are also called Hummingbird Moths, due to their size and flight patterns. It had a body length of 1.5 inches and a wing span of about 2 inches. This one is specifically a Snowberry Clearwing Moth.

The transparent sections of its wings are fascinating.

After the dead end at the meadow we doubled back on the path, treating it as an out-and-back route rather than the loop trail that is pictured on the map. It seemed the safer thing to do given the heat of the day.

Odds and Ends:

We noted a broad collection of fungi along the trail, which was not surprising given the moisture.

Wood Ear Gel Fungi and Parachute Mushrooms. One can appreciate the diminutive size of the Parachute Mushroom when you compare it to the small acorn at the bottom of the photo.

Splitgill Mushrooms and Rosy Brittlegill Mushroom.

The Pleated Inkcap mushroom has a fleeting life, appearing after a rain but then dying, sometimes within hours. Its thin stalk makes them very susceptible to trauma. The caps of these mushrooms turns into a dark, inky goo when they mature. In the past people have collected the dark liquid to use as ink.

Among the butterflies we saw were some Little Wood Satyrs. These photos allow you to see the coloration of both the upper and lower wing surfaces. As their name implies they inhabit woodlands. While their caterpillars feed on grasses on the edge of the woodland, adults feed on tree sap, rotting fruit, and aphid honeydew, rather than flower nectar as most butterflies do. The term Satyrs refers to the mischievous, woodland fairies of Greek mythology.

We likewise got similar images of the Silver-spotted Skipper. Note its furry back.

Pipevine Swallowtails are one of the rarer swallowtails. They are toxic to would be predators.

One of the more unusual wildflowers that you will see on the edge of a wood is Bear’s Foot, a member of the Sunflower Family. It can grow up to 10 feet in height and its leaves can be the size of a dinner plate, perfect for capturing the fleeting sunlight on the woodland edge.

This close up image of Purple Coneflower demonstrates that sometimes what we consider to be a single flower, is actually a collection of perhaps hundreds of individual flowers. Each of the yellow and red rods in the flowerhead is a tiny flower called a floret. When a floret is pollinated, a single, small, sunflower-like seed will form, and a seedhead of a Coneflower will have hundreds of seeds. Birds will then pick the seeds from the cone.

This Heal-all flower is unusual in that it is white with just a hint of purple. Most Heal-all flowers will be purple to light blue. If your wildflower guide separates the flowers by color, as most do, one could struggle identifying this one.

This metallic blue insect is a nymph of the Leaf-footed Bug. I believe that you can appreciate the leaf-life appendage on its hind leg.

This female Widow Skimmer Dragonfly can be identified by the gold stripes on her abdomen. The abdomen of the male of the species can be a range of colors, but the wings of males always have bands of white next to the black bands.

Since our hike at Adair, through the wonder of the internet, I was able to locate and contact Norman and Martha Adair’s daughter Barbara, who lives in Boulder, Colorado. She has fond memories of the love that the Adairs had for this property and the peace that it brought them. It was Norman and Martha’s desire to protect the acreage from development that led to their donation of the property to the State of Kentucky. Barbara said specifically that her parents wanted others to enjoy the property as they had. She plans to return to Kentucky in October and has invited me to accompany her on a visit to the Adair WMA and some adjoining property that she owns. Hopefully it could lead to an additional article on this gem of a greenspace that is not being utilized to its potential.

In summary, while the maintenance of the trails at Norman and Martha Adair Wildlife Management Area leaves a lot to be desired, the venue has much to offer. We noted several areas of large trees that are worthy of closer study, and the meadow atop the hill appeared to be outstanding, with a great variety of plants. Wildlife Management Areas are primarily managed for hunting, and summer is not prime hunting season, so that may be the explanation for the unmowed trails in July. While I would not recommend Adair for everyone, I think a visit in March, between the winter deer/squirrel and spring turkey hunting seasons, would be worthwhile. The leafless trees would allow for appreciation of the architecture of the large specimens and you would probably see some nice early spring ephemeral wildflowers. I suspect that the trails would not be overgrown following mowing for the hunting season. We should hold Norman and Martha Adair in warm regard for preserving this excellent piece of greenspace for the Northern Kentucky community. It is an outstanding legacy – they lived modestly but gave generously.

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Photo credits to Caroline Burns Grizzle.

Overview:

Location – 11036 Big Bone Church Road, Union, KY, 22 miles south of Cincinnati. The parking area is located just behind the cemetery at Big Bone Baptist Church.

Parking – gravel lot for approximately 10 cars.

Facilities – None.

Trail Conditions – generally unmowed with knee high plants. Some trail segments were of bare dirt with trip hazards noted. The terrain is moderately hilly. Long pants are a must for this hike. On line resources list the west loop as 3 miles and the east loop as 5 miles.

Print Map Link – https://fw.ky.gov/More/Documents/Dr.NormanandMarthaAdairWMA_all.pdf

Benches – None.

Kids – I would not recommend this trail for kids, except perhaps teens during the winter season.

Dogs –Welcomed.

Paired Hikes – Big Bone Lick State Park is just a couple miles away and offers some nice hiking as well as good picnic areas.

Links:

https://app.fw.ky.gov/Public_Lands_Search/detail.aspx?Kdfwr_id=149

https://app.fw.ky.gov/kfwis/destinations/adair_WMA.ht

Below is a link for the Kentucky Hunting Seasons to help you schedule a visit to Adair WMA –

https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/ky-hunting-fishing-seasons-planner.aspx