Birdwalking

Late this morning I decided to take a walk to try out my newly downloaded Cornell University "Merlin" birding app. It is free! I had heard of it but hadn't tried it before. On Saturday's walk several of my co-walkers were using it and I decided to try it at my earliest convenience.  I started the walk at about 11:30 a.m. and kept at it till about 1 p.m.  Along the way the Merlin app detected the songs of twenty-five birds. I have never made a real effort at learning bird songs, but maybe this app will help me. The high pitched little squeaks if the Indigo Bunting and the Eastern Towhee's loud and distinctive "TOE!!! we-ee-ee-ee" (some folks say "DRINK - your tea-ee-ee-ee!" may stick with me. 

I wish I could have actually SEEN more of them -- especially the Indigo Bunting (pics are from Wikipedia):

..

and the Summer Tanager...

I know the app is not foolproof, but it was correct about the few common birds that I did get a good look at.

Besides those my list today included the usual robins, sparrows, finches, titmice, wrens, chickadees, starlings, grackles, crows, geese but also: Swainson's Warblers, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Easter Wood Pewee, and a few others. 25 in all.

T.R.E.D. Nature Walk

Sheila and I enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the Mt. Berry Trail with thirty or so fellow ecological enthusiasts on this beautiful Spring day. Our leader was Owen Kinney. The walk was sponsored by T.R.E.D.* Owen did a great job of pointing out all sorts of natural wonders along the way. I will definitely steal a few of his talking points for my walks at Arrowhead. 

We were pleased to see several of our friends along the way, including Rob Innis who took this picture of us...

 

... and two pictures of this bird ...

... that Owen had identified by its call which Owen says sounds like "Peep, You're Weird"

The rest of my photos are from my own iPhone:

I noticed a Great Blue Heron in the pond near the trailhead. Owen talked about what a patient and efficient killer the heron is as it plods about shallow water at the edges of the pond spearing unsuspecting frogs, fish, and even turtles with its huge dagger of a beak.

Several folks, including Owen, used their "Merlin" smartphone app to pick out the calls of several other birds. Other used their "iNaturalist" apps to ID plants along the way.

Owen found an insect gall in a Goldenrod stem and picked it apart.... 

...and passed through the group to show the larva nestled inside.

At the forefront of the group is another friend Marilyn Lindholm (in the green blouse). Marilyn is a fellow member at Trinity United Methodist Church and also a fellow storyteller.

Owen found another example of an insect implanting its offspring in a host -- this time a leaf. Here he shows it to Sheila.

These muscadines have put on a lot of fruit...

... I'll keep an eye on these as they mature!

Woolley aphids on a blackberry cane

This was a fascinating little demo. Owen picked up a Daddy Longlegs by its head. He applied slight pressure to it and it produced an excretion that smelled like chocolate! This is an adaptation intended to repulse predators. No permanent harm to the arachnid!
Here is an article with some interesting Daddy Longlegs info.

On the walk back we noticed that silt from spring flooding was head high in the leaves of this Sweetgum.

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* T.R.E.D. = Trails for Recreation and Economic Development of Rome/Floyd County

A Saturday Riverwalk

Another nice walk from our back door north along the Riverwalk to the Veteran's Memorial Drive bridge over the Oostanaula and back. I was very glad to have some gloves and a muffler around my neck.

It is so good to see so many folks out on this cold but sunny day. We weren't sure we'd get past the pond just beyond the trailhead -- it often floods and we've had a lot of rain. 

We usually meet at least one or two folks we know along the trail. Today Alan Guyatt came along behind us on a very fat-tired bicycle. He stopped and talked a minute before counting upstream. We met him again as we neared our turn-around point. He had been to the end and back. We got a better look at his bike. It is an E-Bike. He says he powers it with the pedals except for significant hills where he supplements leg-power with the built-in battery. At seventy-five, that sort of bike seems appealing to me.

When we had made our turn we met our church friends Fran and Rick Buice walking the trail.

Beautiful day for a walk!

We pleased to see that there were several cars parked at the trailhead (behind the post office) indicating lots of folks walking the trail today.

Starting our return walk near the Veteran's Memorial bypass.

I had seen pictures of a large downed tree looking the trail on a couple of my friends' Facebook pages. I wondered if we'd see the obstruction. Turns out the city Parks & Rec folks are on the ball. It's all been cleared.

The low point of the trail is near the trailhead where it passes a  pond. The walk is barely out of the water on the Southside with just an inch or so of water at the north edge. Yay! We can get by.

Ribbon Cutting

Today we attended the ribbon cutting for the new bridge over Little Dry Creek on Rome's wonderful Riverwalk. This completes the connection between the section of Riverwalk along the west side of the Oostanaula River with the Mount Berry Trail section. With any luck within another yera we will be back to celebrate the bridge being built to span the Big Dry Creek a few miles farther north. That section will tie the Mount Berry Trail to the Armuchee Connector! That will make it possible to walk from the confluence of the rivers all the way north to the Connector, across that bridge to the east side of the Oostanaula and back to your beginning point with no retracing of your steps and with out crossing a single road.

Wild Blackberries

 We have had a wonderful crop of our thornless blackberries in our garden this year. But today we picked a cobbler's worth of the smaller sweet wild berries as we walked along the Mount Berry Trail. These are the blackberries for which one pays in blook and chigger bites. They are almost worth it.

Down the newly paved ramp from the Riverwalk...

... through the new shelter under the trestle...

...to the Martha Berry Trail and blackberry lane.

Getting Close on the Mount Berry/Riverwalk Trail Connection

Sheila and I walked up the Riverwalk to the new trail section this afternoon for the first time in about a week to see the progress. My ankles are still giving me fits so long walks are off for right now. 

We were pleased to see that the shed under the trestle is nearing completion. 

It is interesting to see the geology along  Little Dry Creek near the new bridge. This is very near an exposed section of the Rome Fault.

Unfortunately the approach from the upstream side of the bridge is still closed off. 

My walking companion, Sheila, looking from the new bridge back toward the trestle and new shed.

The Riverwalk Keeps Growing

My dang feet are giving me fits and have precluded long walks the last couple of months, but I still stubbornly keep some walking up, and we have enjoyed seeing the progress continue on the Riverwalk north of our house. Sheila and I were delighted to see today that the Riverwalk behind our house is now fully connected to the Mount Berry Trail! 

Here are some pics from our walk today.

As we walked upstream we saw new asphalt!

We snapped a selfie at the top of the ramp that leads down from the levee and under the trestle.

Construction has begun on a shed to protect those on the trail from anything falling from the trestle.

Emerging fro the trestle we could see that the new pavement reaches all the way to the new bridge over Little Dry Creek.

Returning from the Mount Berry Trail toward the Little Dry Creek Bridge approach.

The bridge from up stream.

A closer look at the construction under the trestle.

Riverwalk: Getting to Ready to Pave!

 Work continues on the connection between the Riverwalk and the Mount Berry Trail. Sheila and I walked from our house to the new connection and through it to the MBT. Here are a few pictures of the progress:

A silly selfie from the Riverwalk looking down the ramp toward the railroad trestle.

We were not the only folks making use of the new, as yet unpaved, trail.