Sharing the Hocking Hills with a friend

My recent vacation got off to a good start when I spent a day hiking and birding the Hocking Hills region with my blogging friend Kelly of Red and the Peanut. Her son was attending a tennis camp at Ohio University, so she decided to spend the week exploring Athens and Hocking counties and all of the beauty this area of the state has to offer. I'm really glad we got to not only meet in person, but do some birding and enjoying of the great outdoors together.


left - Kelly snapping a photo
right - a path to the Upper Falls of Old Man's Cave

One thing that became apparent to us very quickly at our first stop (Old Man's Cave) was the special micro-climate that exists within the 6 Hocking Hills parks. A cool and moist environment was created here millions of years ago when the glaciers advanced to their farthest point south in Ohio, and that environment persisted within the gorges of the Hocking Hills even after the glaciers retreated. Another thing that the glaciers left behind were the seeds of more northern species of plants, such as eastern hemlocks and Canadian Yews.

So how did this micro-climate manifest itself to us, other than the fact that it just feels cooler and more moist in the parks? Well, soon after we got into the park proper, we heard the ethereal, flute-like song of the Hermit Thrush. We were both in awe. They do not nest in Ohio (their nesting grounds are up in the most northeastern states and Canada), but there has been documentation of nesting pairs in various regions of the Hocking Hills during some years. While we don't know if the bird we saw was part of a nesting pair or not, he was certainly singing to attract the ladies. And we didn't just hear one. I believe at one time we heard Hermit Thrush song coming from 3 distinct locations. But even better, we saw one. It was an incredible sighting, about 10-15 feet in front of us in a tree, right at eye level, singing it's heart out. Then it flew across the ravine to a rock wall where it hopped around either catching bugs or sipping water. It was Kelly's eagle eye that spotted the bird, so I'm doubly thankful she was with me! Unfortunately neither of us got a photo of this beautiful creature, but the image surely burned itself into both our memories. Oh, and a bit of a bonus for me: LIFE BIRD (I'd heard one before, but had not seen one until this day)!

Another oddity: Fire Pink... blooming in JULY!!!! Ours quit blooming shortly after Mother's Day! Another thing to chalk up to the micro climate, I suppose.


Even though it has been a wet summer, the waterfalls were not running. Dribbling a little bit, maybe, but not running. Here are some side-by-side shots to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:


Old Man's Cave, Lower Falls
July 2009 on the left, April 2008 on the right


Cedar Falls
July 2009 on the left, March 2008 on the right

I was a little bummed, as I really would have liked for Kelly to have had a chance to see the majesty of these waterfalls in person, but I guess she'll just have to come back next spring to see them for herself!

We saw some other cool stuff along our walk, like this colony of mushrooms on a dead tree:



And a pair of snapping turtles!







Thanks for a fun day of birding and hiking, Kelly, and for helping me get my vacation started off right! I hope you enjoyed your time in the Hocking Hills - I know I always do! (See Kelly's blog, if you haven't already, for more photos and accounts of her time spent in the Hocking Hills region.)


Bird list:
Hermit Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Wood Thrush (heard only)
Eastern Phoebe
American Robin
American Crow
American Goldfinch
Black-throated Green Warbler (we hunted this one down after hearing it sing for a long time, finally got a visual - LIFE BIRD)
Blue Jay (heard only)
Acadian Flycatcher (heard only)
Hooded Warbler (we THINK! - heard only - I'm 95% sure)
Grey Catbird
White-eyed Vireo (heard only)
Red-eyed Vireo (heard only)
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Eastern Bluebird (heard only)
Common Yellowthroat (heard only)
Carolina Wren (heard only)
Red-shouldered Hawk (heard only)
Turkey Vulture

Images from the Hocking Hills

As we round the bend to spring, I find that I have the Hocking Hills on my mind. The Hocking Hills is one of the most beautiful natural areas in southeastern Ohio, and it's home to the Shoot the Hills photo competition which is held in April. This will be the competition's 8th year, and this will be my second year to compete.

Last year, I made several trips up to different regions of the Hocking Hills to "prep" for the competition. Here are some images that I came away with. These were all shot at Cedar Falls.

Hemlock branches shine in the sun

The water was crazy clear, and beautiful

The water shapes the sand and rocks in brilliant patterns

Sand - close up

A narrow pass of just downstream from a waterfall

And here's the waterfall. I'm thinking about entering this photo in the "print" division of this year's competition.

I love to photograph water (moving and still), rocks, and sand, and the Hocking Hills is full of all 3, so it's a little slice of heaven for me and my camera.

The weather this Sunday is supposed to be cloudy, good for photographing waterfalls (although I don't know how strongly they'll be running). Might just have to take a trip up there to start prepping my photo-brain for this year's competition.