Join Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi on the 33rd annual in-stream exploration of the ‘green grand canyon’ of Bedford Reservation, the Great Gorge of Tinker’s Creek. Wear wettable shoes and clothing as we will traverse the stream, floodplain and nearby habitats of this remote area of Bedford Reservation. View massive shale and sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and pools, and secluded groves of mature floodplain trees with lush ferns and wildflowers. Bring a light lunch, snacks, camera and binoculars.
Overview: Join Volunteer Naturalist Fred Losi on the 33rd annual in-stream exploration of the ‘green grand canyon’ of Bedford Reservation, the Great Gorge of Tinker’s Creek. Wear wettable shoes and clothing as we will traverse the stream, floodplain and nearby habitats of this remote area of Bedford Reservation. View massive shale and sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and pools, and secluded groves of mature floodplain trees with lush ferns and wildflowers. Bring a light lunch, snacks, camera and binoculars. What a great day Saturday was! The creek level was marginally high, so initially we followed Hemlock Creek upstream. After Vulcan Rock we reversed course and backtracked out. We then hiked to the end the floodplain beyond Button Road Hill and entered Tinker’s Creek. We managed to get to Powers Mill area and hiked back using the north rim trail. Here are some recorded details: Thanks to everyone for a fun adventure in the creek! See you next time.
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Overview: Join volunteer naturalist Fred Losi for a mid-day summer walk along beautiful Sagamore Creek in search of salamanders. Wear wettable shoes and clothing as we walk alongside and in the creek What a great day to explore Sagamore Creek! The weather was near perfect and the water level made our search for Salamanders an easy endeavor.
We noted two different species:
We also noted an American Toad, several species of mushrooms and one impressive Dark Fishing Spider. iNaturalist Observations Frank's Photos If you enjoyed this outing, please consider the August Tinker's Creek Stream Walk on my Nature Calendar. Otherwise, I hope to see everyone on a future Woodlands program. Enjoy summer! Overview: This is a late spring walk through riparian woodland and open field habitat in search of butterflies. Along the way, we will note associated host plants and other items of nature’s beauty. We had a great summer outing, looking at both the Hemlock Creek lowlands as well as the uplands of Button Road Field. We noted the following species.
Thanks to everyone for an excellent outing! We had a very rainy evening that kept us from doing several of the planned activities. We did not get to look at any of the astronomical wonders and we did not set up in lawn chairs to quietly sit and observe nature.
However, our small group did travel into the field area and enjoyed all that the rainy conditions offered. One of the special experiences was to see Common Nighthawks flying over feeding on what insects were available. In fact, while we were at the peak part of the field, one graced us with a quick pass within a few feet. What a spectacular experience! We discussed but did not detect the migrating birds, which would have been quietly waiting for better conditions. Overview: We hiked in Bedford Reservation noting beautiful spring wildflowers as we walked. The hike started at the Gorge Overlook and visited several sandstone quarries, the Cleveland Quarry and the Wagar Quarry. We used my Wildflowers of Bedford checklist during the walk as a learning tool.
Here are some fun facts about our walk.
Thanks to everyone for making this a most enjoyable outing! Overview: Enjoy early spring birding in beautiful Bedford Reservationi. Many different habitats will reveal new arrivals such as Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Towhee, Fox Sparrow and Bald Eagle. Beginners are welcome. Some binoculars are available for loan. What a great outing! We enjoyed much better than predicted weather as rain was in the forecast. We didn't see a drop and ended with a sunny and warm spring day. We covered just over three miles following this route. Out list of birds was quite reasonable for a March day. We only tallied one bird from the four that I included in the description, Eastern Phoebe. However, that bird gave quite a few great looks with a pair by the Hemlock Creek bridge, probably starting to nest underneath. I shared my 2006 nest photo collage from Tinker's Creek State Nature Preserve. Throughout the hike, Song Sparrows were plentiful, including a ten count moving away from us by the largest Circle Emerald pond. Those were seen just after we spooked a Wood Duck pair from the pond edge. Overhead at the field were Turkey Vultures and a Red-shouldered Hawk. Near the Button Road Hill, several Golden-crowned Kinglets flitted around, but didn't provide many cooperative looks. Thanks to Frank Comodeca for taking these quality pictures during the hike (click the image below). I hope to see everyone on the Spring Bird Walks birding series. The details are posted here, or see my full Nature Calendar.
Overview: We will hike downhill to examine the secluded floodplain of Tinker’s Creek, including the 150 year old stone dam of Powers Mill. Spectacular ice formations are hoped for in the creek itself, surrounded by a beautiful winter hemlock forested backdrop. The extreme wintry cold has not appeared this February. Therefore, there were only ice along the shore of Tinker's Creek. However, the patterns were very pleasing with overlapping ice formations courtesy of the water level dropping. Please enjoy Frank's photos from the day.
Power's Mill only has the Pontius Dam still visible. However, we were able to use our imagination on what may have been present in the past, largely thanks to Joe Jesensky, and his exceptional artwork. Here is a sketch of the Woolen Mill Raceway. Nature's beauty was all around with many Eastern Hemlock. Tsuga canadensis, including reproducing populations. Partridgeberry, Mitchella repens, also was showing through the snow with beautiful contrast of the evergreen leaves and red berries.
The Program
This Woodlands of Bedford program was one week ago, on January 14. The program started at the end of the day and transitioned into the darkness of nighttime. The conditions were warm, but not as muddy as one would expect for our 3.5 miles of walking. The two inches of rain from two days previous didn't impact our footing. However, Tinker's Creek was running very high, at around 800 cubic feet/second. Our stop down to the floodplain revealed several brave kayakers navigating high water with very fast flow.
The uplands of Circle Emerald were beautiful. A Great Horned Owl was perched in plain view and presented us with a quick moment to enjoy before it silently flew off. The walk to Indian Point was in darkness but no astronomy was possible due to the cloud cover. We ended by walking to the highpoint of the field passing through weathered Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium. Thanks to Frank Comodeca for talking these excellent photos. Scouting in Advance
Scouting for this program the week before was a very different experience. The several inches of snow cover was perfect and the temperatures were under 20 degrees. Nighttime didn't come close to darkness and walking after dark seemed almost as bright as an overcast day.
My photo collage below is a good summary of the evening. Think Spring! It is the start of winter, but spring will be here soon enough. Therefore, planning to attend the Spring Bird Walks should be a priority. This six week series starts in April and ends in May, has locations around the Cleveland Region and is described here. I lead in Bedford Reservation and below is my program description. 84rd Annual Spring Bird Walks
Join us to witness the grand emergence of avian springtime. Spectacular warblers in breeding plumage will flit about in trees. Powerful raptors, such as Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks, will fly gracefully overhead. Breeding birds will compete for territory as nesting commences. These pleasures and much more will be experienced on these weekly walks. No experience is required, only an enthusiasm for nature. Some binoculars are available for loan. Hemlock Creek Picnic Area, Bedford Reservation Sundays – April 16, 23, 30 and May 7, 14, 21. 7:30 AM Start Time 330-715-6300 We had a great December day yesterday exploring Bedford Reservation. The landscape was frozen but not snow covered. We covered around ten miles and made brief visits to Circle Emerald Field, the Great Falls of Tinker's Creek, the Arch, Old Quarry Falls, Bridel Veil Falls and the Gorge Overlook.
Here are a few nature notes from our many experiences. For future programs, please see my Bedford Nature Experiences Calendar. |
Fred LosiThese blog entries will be related to my interest in nature. Archives
February 2020
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