Miles for May

 It’s been technically “spring” for weeks now, but we’re just now passing into the frost free zone in Southwest Ohio. The morning chill is less biting and the afternoon highs haven’t pick up the humidity to come later. Tucked beneath a canopy of trees or out an in an open meadow you, you’ll find relatively pleasant temperatures. You can also find the nations largest paved trail network - more than 350 miles across the Miami Valley - as well as hundreds of miles unpaved routes through a variety of local, county, and state parks. 

The Miamivalleytrails.org website detailing connections and the miles and miles of trails, many of which were part of the rails to trails program. Those routes follow former railroad tracks now turned into paths for public use. With relatively minimal grade, they make for easy walking or peddaling while connecting local communities throughout the area. From short walking jaunts downtown to extended cross-county cycling journies, they offer low resistance, self-propelled travel options, and show the areas dedication to the outdoors.

Read the complete column here: 

https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/average-guy-outdoors-miami-valley-touts-350-miles-of-trails/article_2bfec1a1-b732-5e1f-846b-3d069b8587f5.html

SW Ohio Trail Events

If you like your events more social, or sociable, and with rewards, you’re in luck. There are a variety of options, much more than I can list here. Check local websites for details, but here are a couple that standout. 

America Hikes 250

To celebrate the countries 250th birthday, the Ohio Department of offers the America Hikes 250 Challenges. It has two go-at-your-own-pace options of completing 25 or 250 total miles before Dec. 31, 2016. Participation is through the outerspatial app and you choose the routes and dates. https://ohiodnr.gov 

Five Rivers Metro Park - 2026 Trail Challenge

Throughout Montgomery County, Five Rivers offers 28 new trails to explore an win prizes at your own pace. Tail length varies from 0.5 to 5.5 miles, and must be completed before Oct. 31, 2026. https://www.metroparks.org/trailschallenge

Twin Valley Trail Challenge

Looking for bigger challenge? Go long with the Twin Valley Trail challenge, on Saturday, June 6th, hiking anywhere from 1 to 28.7 miles. Preregestration required. 

https://www.metroparks.org/twin-valley-trail-challenge/

Fishing Update - What they’re hitting

Matching river conditions now is key. Shaun Gardner used a slow approach with jigs, tubes and ned rigs to land 81.25 inches of fish, winning round 2 of 2nd NAPRA Elite Stage 2 event held on Greenville Creek on Sunday, May 3. 

Morels Are Where you find them

“If you get out, you’ll find them.”

That’s what Clark County morel mushroom hunter Jim Neff told me. It’s great this year, with the big yellows starting now. If we get some rain, they will really pop,” he said. “But I bet if you go look right now, you’d find some.” If you haven’t looked already, the time is now.

What’s the big deal?Backing up just slightly, Morel mushrooms are easily identified seasonal mushrooms. They are commonly referred to by their top colors. The stalks are always light in color, white, cream or beige. The tops of true morels are attached to the stalk at the base, making them complete and hollow if cut in half lengthwise.

Read the complete column here: https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/morel-season-is-here-how-to-find-and-identify-the-prized-spring-mushrooms/article_d4ca0067-88d2-411f-a10e-c832a758c4b0.html

Missing Disturbances

They blocked out the sun. That’s a phrase writers in the 1800s used to describe several natural events, including migrations of passenger pigeons, Carolina parakeets, and Rocky Mountain locust. All of which were extinct a relatively short time later.

The environment is always changing, going through a series of contractions and renewals. Change happens; the problem is when the contraction of one area goes too far to allow a following expansion. If the landscape gets too fragmented or a population of a species becomes too small, the cycle can’t be completed. The result is visibly less diversity, but the impact on the future could put even more species at risk.

Read the complete column, Creating Natural Positive Change

Photo: https://www.audubon.org/sites/default/files/boa/illustration/plate-62-passenger-pigeon.jpg

My nest box brings all the birds to the yard

Spring is officially here, according to the calendar. While the weather in Southwest Ohio will do what it does, meaning whatever it wants, the changes outside are going to progress rapidly.

In just a blink of an eye, trees will be filled with leaves and freezing temperatures behind us. Now is the time to take care of outdoor chores to benefit both the environment and so that you can enjoy the outdoors later.

Get those bird houses and feeders ready: Spring brings the feathered friends to the yard

Nest Box Plans from Ohio Division of Wildlife

Resources and events

Pearmegeddon - Butler County

https://bit.ly/4sqf1w3 

Signs of Spring - Five Rivers Metro Parks - Montgomery County - Conservation Kids Series Mar. 28th 

https://bit.ly/419q1BX 

Wildflower Wander - Clark County - National Trails Parks and Recreation

https://bit.ly/4sQr5Xl 

Fullmoon Hike at Hisey Park - Warren County

https://bit.ly/4sPXLQG 

Beautiful Blooms Wildflower Tour (Adults) - Centerville Parks and Recreation, Mar. 28

https://bit.ly/4169f6K 

Wildflower Walk - Greene County

https://bit.ly/3N5Y6ja

Jeepers Peepers

Image credit: https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/wcm/connect/gov/f9f984f9-0e28-4586-9c15-b841fd03de19/northernspringpeeper1-HERO.jpg?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE.Z18_JQGCH4S04P41206HNUKVF31000-f9f984f9-0e28-4586-9c15-b841fd03de19-pIvo2PS

 I’ve heard, or more accurately, read, that you can hear a lion’s roar from 5 miles away. That’s pretty impressive. At 114 decibels, it’s in line with heavy machinery or a rock concert. At or close to 500 pounds for males, there is some mass behind the sound. At the other end of the size-to-sound spectrum are Northern spring peepers. 

These tiny amphibians weigh in at a minuscule 0.11 to .18 ounces and can probably sit on your thumbnail, but they give the king of the jungle a run for their money for decibels per pound. One of the first harbringers of spring, peepers can hit 90 decibels across the leafless landscape, allowing the sound to carry a great distance. That’s 4 + pounds per decibel for the lion, .002 pounds per decibel for the little frogs, if you’re keeping track. They’re like modern stereo speakers compared to the giant old hi-fi stereo speakers: small but mighty. I recall one spring several years ago. They were in a woodlot more than a ½ mile away but you’d swear they were just across the street. 

https://youtu.be/lXfmubmx-qw

Read the complete column here: These tiny frogs are ‘like modern stereo speakers’ 

Resources

March 14 - Part of Conservation Leaders series - Woodcock Walk

7:30pm - 8:30pm

AGE: 10-17 | $3.00 | Financial Assistance

https://www.metroparks.org/programs-events-finder/?program_number=V76&api=programs&type=program

March 21 - Part of Conservation Kids series - Woodcock Exploration

7:30pm - 8:30pm

AGE: 3-13 | FREE

https://www.metroparks.org/programs-events-finder/?program_number=V78&api=programs&type=program 

Resources

Lion’s Roar

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1WXqfwCNlzqwLTQfMTDSgY5/nine-roar-some-facts-about-lions 

Bellbrook Sugar Creek Parks

https://www.bellbrooksugarcreekparks.org/education/spring-peeper

Ohio DNR - Frogs

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/animals/reptiles-amphibians/spring-peeper 

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/animals/reptiles-amphibians/gray-treefrog

Rain, Rain, Flow Away

Spring can be the most frustrating season outdoors. Aside from really testing the theory of “no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes,” it has a way of putting what we want out of sync with what we have. The temperature might be perfect, but there’s rain. If there’s no rain, it’s cold and windy. When it’s sunny, the ground is saturated and the rivers are high and muddy. Some years the cycle seems to repeat over and over until June. If you’re looking for an excuse not do something, you’re in luck. But then there’s always a couple of days when everything is just right. Take advantage of those, but go outside whenever you have the chance. 

Ready for the Worst

While weather patterns across the country seem altered recently, thanks to the community response to the devastation of the Dayton flood of 1913, local worries about the massive flooding on that scale are tempered. From March 23rd to March 26th of that year, 8-12 inches of rain fell on Southwest Ohio ground that couldn’t absorb any more. The Great Miami River came out of its banks, destroying levees, and rising to 20 feet above normal in downtown Dayton. When the water receded, more than 360 people were left dead and scores of buildings and property destroyed. Almost immediately, engineer Arthur Morgan was hired by local leaders to design a regional flood protection system. His design won awards, and more importantly, protects the area. Records of top events show that even the biggest flows barely test the capacity of the systems in place. The Taylorsville Dam for example, has only been pushed past 10% of its capacity once since it was created. 

https://www.mcdwater.org/flood-protection/taylorsville-dam 

Read the complete column here: Rainy Season Is Here, You're Protected in Dayton

If you’re interested in learning more about the largest drainage in our area and what’s happening, the Five Rivers Metro Park is hosting an EcoTalk series that will address Fisheries and Wetland Research on March 10th. 

EcoTalk: Fisheries and Wetland Research

Mar. 10 6:00pm - 7:30pm

AGE: 12 and up | FREE

River and Floodplain Restorations in the Great Miami River Watershed

by Donnie Knight, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program

Fish Management and Research in Southwest Ohio

By Mike Porto, Fisheries Biologist, ODNR - Division of Wildlife

https://www.metroparks.org/programs-events-finder/?program_number=V212&api=programs&type=program 

Resources

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/16/texas-flooding-houston-climate-change-disaster?CMP=share_btn_tw 

https://www.mcdwater.org/blog/history/exploregreatfloodhistory

https://www.mcdwater.org/flood-protection/englewood-dam 

https://www.mcdwater.org/maps/taylorsville-metropark 

First Robin of the Year VS First Robin of Spring

"Honest as a robin on a springtime windowsill," sang Randy Travis in the hit song, "Deeper than the Holler." Turns out the robin isn't an automatic harbinger of spring. However, that little bugger singing on your windowsill at 6 in the morning isn't a liar either. 

Some of the earliest migrators to return back to Southwest Ohio from southern climes and establish breeding territories, they’d follow food sources back. The early bird gets the worm - and the prime location. We know and associate robins and worms. At least that’s what I was taught and thought in grade school. Turns out seeing a robin after New Year's is about as good a predictor of the coming spring as a groundhog seeing its shadow, meaning not very good at all. Where they actually spend the winter is more complicated than the temperature and the calendar. 

It’s true, robins often migrate great distances. Some have been documented flying from Alaska to Mississippi. It’s also a fact that robins are found in all 48 continental United States year round, and some barely migrate at all, maybe 60 miles, maybe less. They even spend winters in Minnesota and Canada. But they don’t show up at traditional backyard winter bird feeders. When we don’t see them hopping around yards, it’s natural to assume they all flew south. The truth is, they follow the food, like just about everything else.

Read the complete column here: Seeing this bird doesn't mean winter is over

Resources

Audubon Field Guide - Hear calls here - https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-robin 

Are Robins Really a Sign of Spring

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/ask-kenn-are-american-robins-really-sign-of-spring

Robin Migration

https://explorer.audubon.org/explore/species/1055/american-robin/migration?_gl=1*1s8l2jj*_gcl_au*NTU3NjgyNTU1LjE3NzE4Nzk4NzY.*_ga*MTU5MjIxMTI4My4xNzcxODc5ODc3*_ga_X2XNL2MWTT*czE3NzE4Nzk4NzckbzEkZzEkdDE3NzE4ODA1NTAkajYwJGwwJGgw&layersPanel=expand&legend=collapse&zoom=2&x=-757140.2805500003&y=3649623.827899999&range=0.2346%2C0.2546 

Ohio DNR - American Robin

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/animals/birds/american-robin 

A Starling in a Pear Tree

https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1346&context=uhp_theses