Clik here to view.
Nature: Ohio winters offer a warm welcome for tree sparrows
An American tree sparrow/Jim McCormacNature: Ohio winters offer a warm welcome for tree sparrowsColumbus DispatchNovember 27, 2016NATUREJim McCormacCome late October/early November, the American tree...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nature: Damming of Scioto spares two magnificent waterfalls
Indian Run Falls/Jim McCormacColumbus DispatchDecember 4, 2016NATUREJim McCormacColumbus and the surrounding flatlands are not known for waterfalls. Yet some mini-Niagaras lurk in hidden spots.In...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A trip to Slate Run Metro Park: Botanical highs and lows
Part of a large wetland complex at Slate Run Metro Park in Pickaway County, Ohio. A section of the westernmost part of this 1,705 acre park is a mosaic of meadows, ponds, and wetlands.It's sometimes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
White-tailed Deer, on a tear
Not far from me is a wonderful metropark known as Glacier Ridge. For years, I rarely went there - maybe a stop once or twice a year. As I've become more acquainted with the place's little wildlife...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Swartz Covered Bridge
A covered bridge spans the cold waters of the Sandusky River, as seen yesterday morning. It was about 23 F, windy, with snow flurries and I was in Wyandot County, Ohio to chase birds.Even though this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
And now, for something completely different: Chinese Lantern Festival!
Going off the reservation a bit with this post, to be sure. If you're looking for something totally different, visit the Chinese Lantern Festival at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus. Despite...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gargantuan Sycamore, in ghostly light
While exploring the artwork of the Chinese Lantern Festival photo-documented in the previous post, I was struck by the more natural beauty of some of the massive Sycamores, Platanus occidentalis. These...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ubiquitous gray squirrel an acrobat - and a thief
A hungry gray squirrel dines in a box-elder/Jim McCormacColumbus DispatchDecember 18, 2016NATUREJim McCormacOne of the most widespread, familiar mammals in Ohio is the gray squirrel.They occur in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Merlins of Union Cemetery
The open, savanna-like habitat of Union Cemetery, with its wide open spaces punctuated by scattered large trees. This cemetery, in Columbus, Ohio, straddles Olentangy River Road just south of Riverside...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Intricate ice patterns
Intricate ice patterns formed in a frozen pond, Alley Park, Fairfield County, Ohio. Christmas Day. Much of the surface of this several acre pond was etched in ornate patterns; the effect was quite...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Giant Leopard Moth cats on the prowl!
The caterpillar of the Giant Leopard Moth, Hypercompe scribonia, a bit sluggish but decidedly active at a temperature of 41 F. I saw four of these large caterpillars today in Hocking County, all...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bald Eagle relieves Lake Erie of a fish!
I journeyed to one of my favorite Lake Erie haunts today, the city of Huron, in Erie County. The lakefront here features the mouth of the Huron River, and it is nearly always birdy. Even today, when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hocking County rich in bird diversity, as new book shows
Columbus DispatchJanuary 1, 2017NATUREJim McCormacHocking County rich in bird diversity, as new book showsOne of Ohio's smallest counties has long been a favored refuge of Columbus residents fleeing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Female Northern Cardinal, in flight
A female Northern Cardinal nears a perch, and flares its wings. This species, which is Ohio's state bird, is very common in central Ohio where I live. They're pretty easy to photograph, at least when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Great Gray Owl!
Well, my blogging has certainly fallen behind! I was hoping for more time for this sort of thing, but travels and other stuff have made for less of it.Anyway, just returned from a trip to the bog lands...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sax-Zim Bog and boreal birds
As seen in the previous post, a massive Great Gray Owl casts its baleful gaze on the photographer. I was glad indeed that I was not a vole.While it is the allure of Great Gray Owls that lures many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Baby rhino!
Yesterday was the annual Ohio Ornithological Society's"Raptor Extravaganza" at the Wilds in Muskingum County, Ohio. This mid-winter event has been going on for about a dozen years, and always attracts...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dawes Arboretum's holly collection - and its birds
A Northern Mockingbird guardsĀ "his" patch of possumhaw, Ilex decidua. There were plenty of would-be frugivorous marauders to fend off.A few days ago, I ventured to the always interesting Dawes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Great gray owls are magnificent birds
A great gray owl scrutinizes a visitor to a Minnesota bogColumbus DispatchJanuary 29, 2017NATUREJim McCormacMilton B. Trautman was the undisputed dean of Ohio birds. Trautman, who died in 1991 at the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Talk this Sunday - butterflies & moths!
A pair of Spicebush Swallowtails spar over blossoms of a pinxter-flower azalea. Swallowtail butterflies are a major pollinator of deciduous rhododendrons, or azaleas.I'm giving a program at the...
View Article