April Nature Walk

On our last nature walk of the season, we once again had wonderful wildlife viewing weather.    Today was a perfect morning for viewing birds and we saw plenty of them.  Nita Cox and John Thalacker joined me in identifying 12 different species of birds, including several sightings of summer tanagers, a swallow-tailed kite, rufous-sided towhees, blue-grey gnatcatchers, a pileated woodpecker and red and white vireos. By the time we were finishing our walk, the butterflies were showing up for our pleasurable viewing.  We saw palamedes swallowtails, common buckeyes, gulf fritillaries, and dusky roadside skipper butterflies.  Sand blackberry, flag pawpaw, white wild indigo, wild bachelor’s button, Carolina rockrose, blackroot, shiny lyonia and rusty lyonia were all in bloom today.  It really was a wonderful day to be in the woods, even the biting insects were kept at bay with a faint breeze. 

Have a wonderful summer and I hope to see you next fall when we once again resume our monthly walk in the woods. 

Dixie County Initiative Event

One of the Friends Initiatives for 2013 is to increase the number of activities on the Dixie County side of the Lower Suwannee Refuge. Today Leroy Harmon of Suwannee led a 6-mile hike off the Dixie Mainline Road and the Saltcreek Road.It was a real adventure. You will notice how beautiful the trail was...but notice also that it was not just a walk in the park, especially crossing the creek near the end!

Pygmy Rattlesnake

River Turtle

Sandy Palfy, Pam Darty, Jane Connor, Leroy Harmon, Donna Thalacker, John Thalacker, Russ Hall

Gulf Hammock Rat Snake

Donna and Peg

Near the beginning of the trail

Farther into the Refuge

Pond Cypress

how pretty

John, Donna, Jane, Leroy, Pam

Getting close to the "adventure" part

John went first

He made it!

Eeeeks, hang on Jane!

Whew! Almost there

Pam's looking good...just walking right across

 

Oh my, will Donna make it?

Yes!

Sandy decided it was easier facing north.

And our fearless leader Leroy brought his sandals and waded. Smart guy.

River Trail Improvement Update

Through the efforts of Lower Suwannee Friends Mac Cox, Jay Bushnell, Tom Deverin, Ed DeHaan, Jim Decker, Law Fotterall, John Thalacker and Refuge forester Daniel Barrand, additional posts and signs identifying trees and other vegetation were added to the River Trail April 10th.  There are now forty two signs installed to help visitors identify plants on the one mile River Trail loop.

 According to John Thalacker, project manager for the Friends, the signage project started in 2010 with the first engraved plastic signs being put on four by four posts.  “We’ve tweaked the way we install them a bit, but the signs have held up very well” he said.  Hopefully other people will notice plants or trees that could be added to those present and report their location to the Refuge office.

The next step for volunteers will be to cover the many cypress knees and other tree roots in the trail with crushed limestone.  Eventually plans are for the trail to become handicap accessible. 

The River Trail is located off county 347, about 5 miles south of Fowlers Bluff at the same turn off as to Refuge Headquarters.

April 16 Nature Walk at the Refuge

Our next nature walk at the Lower Suwannee NWR will be Tuesday, 16 April at 8:30 am.  We will meet at the North Entrance to the refuge.  From Cedar Key, drive north on SR 347 until you get to the North Entrance on the left.  We will meet just inside the entrance. 

There are many migrant birds in the woods now, such as the N Parula Warblers, White-eyed Vireos, and Red-eyed Vireos.  And, as the morning warms up, we may see plenty of butterflies as well.  I hope to see you then!

How Did the Annual Meeting Go?

What a beautiful day we had for the Annual Meeting and Open House! The largest crowd ever came to celebrate our refuges...almost 150 people.

Registration Table

Getting Set Up

Peg, John, and Jim welcome David and Taylor Viker

The Silent Auction was a huge success, bringing in almost $2500 and rewarding the bidders with fantastic prizes. The Friends booth rivaled it selling almost $500 in fun memorabilia.

 

Our Friends president Peg Hall and the Refuge Manager Andrew Gude welcomed the members.

David Viker, the Chief of the Southeast Region of the National Wildlife Refuge System, joined us with his family. He grew up in Bronson and worked as a summertime Youth Conservation Corps member when he was in high school. Later he volunteered at the Lower Suwannee Refuge when he was a student in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida. In a special way, we are his refuge. We greatly enjoyed hearing his story and meeting his family.

We talked about our Initiatives for 2013 and many signed up to participate in them. After the business meeting and election of officers, Dr. Peter Frederick gave our featured presentation: Oysters and Oystercatchers of the Big Bend--Their Past and Future.

Lunch, cooked by Kenny McCain, was a feast of barbecued ribs and chicken, swamp cabbage, hash brown casserole, sourdough rolls, and baked beans. The Pot Luck table groaned with vegetables, casseroles, desserts, and iced tea.

The afternoon was filled with boat rides, hayrides, and nature walks. We need to do this more often.

If you have photos we can use, especially of the afternoon activities, send them to us at friends@friendsofrefuges.org and we'll post them happily!

Blazing Barnett Creek Rd Loop Trail

Daniel Barrand, Lower Suwannee NWR Forester, and John Thalacker, Friends Board member, placed bright orange blaze marks on key trees of the newly named Barnett Creek Road Loop Trail today.  The trail begins at the entrance to Barnett Creek Road and continues to the end of the road then through gate 34 to your right.  The loop is completed at gate 31, right next to the entrance to Barnett Creek Road.  

 We reviewed the names of some of the trees and vegetation while we worked, and Daniel gave a short logging history of the area. He pointed out the differences between the unplanted forest on one side of the trail and planted forest on the other and the work being done at the refuge to try to bring back the natural habitat.  Daniel commented this area of the refuge is among the best tree growing spots in the state. 

My duties included the recording of key landmarks for a map and way points of interest to the hiker as well as identifying the birds along the trail. These included a Yellow Crowned Night Heron, Blue Grey Gnatcatchers, White Eyed and Red Eyed Vireos and a couple woodpeckers. Also seen were a feral hog, raccoon and alligator. 

It was a beautiful and productive work day. The next stage will be to develop a trail guide for this 3 mile loop trail in one of the most beautiful parts of the refuge.  Stay tuned!