not quite a big year, but pretty close

Birding 101 was a success!.....I think :)    It took a while to see some birds....after first admiring the snails and frogs on the trail, but I think we caught the birding-bug.  The post-game stats:

Animal	Count
Robin	1
Bluejay	1
American Goldfinch	1
Tree Swallow	17
Black Throated Blue Warbler	1
Black Capped Chicakdee	1
Indigo Bunting	1
Eastern Bluebird	2
Goose	4
Vulcher	1
Sparrow	1
Snails	26
Frogs	18

We hear them.....but can't see them!  

Exploring the prairie

Only photo with an iPhone....tree swallow

ID the eastern bluebird

These are happy faces....but we were hot!  Very warm day!  

With the birding bug firmly in place....our family decided to watch a super-funny movie the next day....called The Big Year, which chronicles the birding adventures of 3 gentlemen who are trying to set the world record for most species sighted in a calendar year.

I think the next read in my non-stop-non-fiction (NSNF) personal book club will be: 

Check it out!  

A bit of birding

OK!  I think the plan should work for this Saturday, May 18!  Looking forward to it!

PLAN:
When?  9:00 AM Saturday May 18....end latest by 12:00 PM 
Where?  Park at the Buck Schroth Trail parking area (#3 on the map)
Why? Bird Watching
What?  Binoculars, Bird Book, Snacks, Tick/Bug repellent
Who?  Anybody!  Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters! 

At this point, I think we'll start along the north part of the red trail, then walk along the big loop that is made by the combined red and blue trails.  That'll be about 4 miles total.  If we decide to move into the green trail, we can do so...I intend to be back at the parking area no later than 12:00 PM.  Certainly, anyone is welcome to cut it short, head back, or go longer!

SOME BIRDS THAT HAVE ALL BEEN SIGHTED RECENTLY AT ALLERTON!!

Put a Bird On It!

Well, I happened to go onto eBird and view some of the bird sightings at Allerton (a hyperlink from the last post).  Lo and behold, one of the most active birders at Allerton works in my building!  So, I just walked down one flight of stairs, and got some great tips and hints for birding at the park!   But first, take a look at this map of Allerton below.....here is a link for the same map online, which is interactive!

My colleague was very helpful, and he/she suggested a couple of trails (he/she indicated that each is about 2 miles).  The RED TRAIL traverses largely through the prairie habitats.  The BLUE and GREEN trails are forest trails, which host different habitats and different birds.  Then we can use any of the trails to make our way down toward the Sangamon River, which hosts more aquatic habitats.  

PLAN:
My initial plan is to park at the Buck Schroth Trail parking area (#3 on the map) at 9:00 AM on Saturday, May 18th.  At this point, I think we'll start along the north part of the red trail, then walk along the big loop that is made by the combined red and blue trails.  That'll be about 4 miles total.  If we decide to move into the green trail, we can do so...I intend to be back at the parking area no later than 12:00 PM.  Certainly, anyone is welcome to cut it short, head back, or go longer!

STUFF:
If you have them, bring binoculars!  or a camera!  or a bird field book!  or a tree ID book!  or a  lunch!  Bring one of these.....bring all of these!

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
eBird seems to be the most accessible resource for birds specific to Allerton.  A big "THANK YOU" to the birders that post on the website!  I encourage you to go to the Allerton eBird website and check out some of the sightings.  It seems that someone is posting every day!  One of the most rigorous posters on the site works at Allerton, so it's likely a trustworthy resource.  We should be able to have a good knowledge of some birds to view!!

WHAT NEXT:
If you think you may join, I encourage you to post in the comments on this website.  That will help a bit with planning and waiting for stragglers, but if you want to just show up, that's ok too.  Look forward to it!

Shall we do a Big Year? Birding 101 MAY 18, 2019

OK!  Some details about our upcoming trip to Allerton Park! At this point, I haven't resolved parking details, trails, and all that stuff, but I'm anticipating about a 3-hour visit in the park.  Anyone is welcome to leave early or try to meet up with us.  I'll post an anticipated trail-route and more details in a few days.

First, my intention is to observe those beautiful creatures we call BIRDS!  Second, I know VERY LITTLE about them.  So, we may just have to wing it!  I know.....I'm sorry.   However, hopefully some of the resources below can help us get a start!! 



Regardless, you can start to research which birds we may see at the eBird website.  It seems fantastic, and it was strongly recommended by a birding friend.


A global map of eBird entries can be viewed here.  You can zoom into North America.....all the way to Allerton or anywhere else. 

Recent sighting at Allerton can be viewed here.

Apparently 6 of these Scarlet Tanagers were sighted in Allerton on May 8!!!!  I want to see one!  Some of the birders that enter data on eBird have recorded dozens of species every day from Allerton.  So we are bound to see some of them!! 

Middle Fork Paddle Trip

Breakdown:  We made our run down the Middle Fork River!   With just one canoe, and some relatively experienced paddlers...we decided to ramp up our adventure to a 6.5 mile trip!  Turned out to be a great choice.  We started at the Bunker Hill Canoe Access in the north part of the State Fish and Wildlife Area, and we pulled out at the Sportsmans Lake Canoe Access at the north end of the State Park.  What a ride. We saw 2 bald eagles, 1 bald eagle nest, 2 blue herons, many other birds, 9 deer, some beautiful geology and some kind rapids. 

Specs:  For reference if you'd like to make a similar trip sometime: 

Boat:  2000 Old Town Katahdin (14' Fiberglass)
Passengers: 2 adults, 1 child
Depart C-U:  7:15 AM
In Water:  8:39 AM (Bunker Hill Canoe Access)
Out of Water: 10:39 AM (Sportsman Lake Canoe Access)
Return C-U: 12:20 PM
Float length:  6.5 river miles
Est. Paddle Velocity: 3.25 miles/hour
River Stage: 2.4 feet
Fun level:  10

Resources:  There is a very nice, professional YouTube resource called PaddleTV, which includes many videos about paddling techniques, tips for trips, and pointers for kids. 

For the more advanced paddlers, especially canoes, the go-to resource for information is Bill Mason's Path of the Paddle (book or video).  The book is on our bookshelf at home! 

Again...Kickapoo Adventures provides a nice variety of paddling trips at reasonable costs down the Middle Fork River.   They would also likely have more anecdotal information about most ideal river stages and estimated times for trips.

Our route on April 27, 2019

We ran the river between small storm peaks in the river stage.

Beautiful morning for a float trip.

Abby got some paddle time.  Mark was chillin'.

Bald eagle with its nest!

Snack on a point bar.

Quick video, watch for the heron!

Blue heron.

The guy in the stern is supposed to be steering.

A unique find on a point bar.

Shuttle back to Bunker Hill with Mark's vehicle.

paddle faster, I hear banjo music

Thursday's rain.....hmmm.....I've been watching the USGS river gauge at Oakwood every 5 minutes for the last 32 hours (not really)...and it's rising of course.  The rain wasn't a downpour, but it was certainly enough....you can see the spike rising in the last 12-16 hours.

What I'd like to see by tomorrow morning is a stage at 2.5 feet or less.   You can run the Middle Fork at a stage of 3.0 feet, but it would be a very quick trip.  Joan and I ran the river when it was around 4.0 many years ago, and it was like a freeway.  Way too fast and turbulent to be safe.

So...we haven't heard any takers for tomorrow's trip, but that's ok!...Abby and I (and another dad-to-be friend) are likely going to make the run tomorrow morning with our own canoe.  Because of the Illinois marathon, we are going to leave town by 7:30 or so to be safe.  We could actually leave town as late as precisely 8:11 AM (knowing that only because of this awesome online Marathon viewer ), but we want to play it safe.

We'll be arriving at the Sportsman Lake canoe access parking lot by about 8:30 in Kickapoo State Park.  We'll run the rapids of the Class I stream (not really rapids) and pull the boat out just before the bridge (likely around 10:00) at Kickapoo Adventures (formerly Kickapoo Landing).

If you decide that you'd like to join, or run the stream some other time, Kickapoo Adventures is open on Saturdays and Sundays only in April, from 8-6.  However, in May, they will be open every day!  So tomorrow, if you'd like to go, and you don't have a canoe, you can stop by Kickapoo Adventures by 8:00 or so, and they can likely set you up with the same trip that we are doing.   For future reference, the map below shows public access canoe launch/pull-out locations along the Middle Fork.  It's Illinois' only national scenic river......so get out there someday and paddle it!  It's pretty!

Upcoming canoe trip on April 27

Hi all! 

Next time that I will cuonthetrail will be April 27th!  It's coming up soon!  We've got a 2 mile canoe trip on the Middle Fork!  This will be a brief jaunt down the stream, and I think there are only 2-3 meanders total....but it is a good little trip to start and a good little trip for a morning. 

There is a longer trip....8 miles, if there is interest and time....please let me know in the comments. 

Couple of things!  Canoes/kayaks.....does anyone have them?  We've got 1 canoe.  I have a friend who can likely bring 2 canoes and has access to a 3rd.  That's a total of 4 canoes.  Any kayaks out there?....  Let's try to coordinate a few things: 

(1) Who's going? 
(2) Who's got canoes/kayaks? 
(3) Who's willing to transport those devices?

ALTERNATIVELY, we can opt to hire Kickapoo Adventures for canoe/kayak rental and shuttle....for the "Lower Section" (8 miles), it costs $35/canoe (same for tandem kayaks).  Not too bad of a price!  I'll check if they offer a shuttle for the 2-mile trip.  It's not listed on the website. 

LASTLY, we will need to keep an eye on the water levels.  The USGS stream gauge at Oakwood is the key gauge.  We'd like to have the river stage (depth of water) below 2.5 feet (based on exerience and reading the Paddling Illinois book). 

Here is the current gauge as of this morning.  So...needless to say, let's cross our fingers for some dry weather. 

A back up plan can always be a float around the lake(s) at Kickapoo State Park.  It can be fun as well.  

OK!!   Let me know what you think!  

Kickapoo Conquered!

 Kickapoo Nature Preserve was conquered!  We ventured into the woods with only a map and compass (well, maybe we double-checked digitally here and there), but we persevered!!  We traversed gullies, dissected thorny patches and enjoyed a delightful mostly-off-trail adventure.   Nice work everybody!!  

 

 Next month......we're scheduled to go on a short canoe trip on April 27th!!  Right now.....I anticipate that we may opt to hire the local canoe outfitter (Kickapoo Adventures) to take on on the short, 2.5 trip down the Middle Fork.  I'll get some cost estimates.....However, we may be able to wrangle enough canoes, drivers, and/or paddles to make the trip ourselves.  We'll see!  Nonetheless, it can prepare us for a longer trip at Turkey Run later in the year!

Keep your eyes peeled on this blog for info and updates! 

MARCH 23- Maps and Compasses- Kickapoo State Recreation Area

OK.......sorry about this, but I'll have it together better next month!!  If you'd like, you can head out to Kickapoo State Park tomorrow, we'll be there at 10AM at the parking lot just west of the river on Kickapoo Park Rd.  From there, we will head north on 1000 E Rd and park near Johnson Hill Cemetery.  Lastly, we'll hike around and use the attached topographic map to find locations in the woods.  If you are able to print the topo map, and/or bring a compass, we'd love to see you there.  

At noon, we plan to head down to Sportsman Lake parking area and visit a large point bar to enjoy the river and look for pretty rocks and fossils.  

Head home after that!  

just map it

In case you are more of a visual person.......this year's schedule!

Add caption

Keep your eyes peeled for some info on the March 23 trip!  Coming soon!!  

Let's get outside!

The goal:  The intent of this blog is to provide details of planned, monthly weekend outdoor getaways near east-central Illinois.  Activities may be as brief as 3-4 hours....or as long as 2 days....but they won't be too processed or micromanaged.  The goal is to have fun and learn a bit at the same time.  Personally, my initial intent was to build a stronger outdoor relationship with my daughter, but then I figured, why not share the opportunity with others?!  We'd love for you to join us!  

The schedule: This year, I've planned weekend activities once a month from March through November! My 10 year-old daughter and I will be participating every month, and approximately 7 days prior to each activity, I will be posting details about locations, logistics, schedules, and necessities for each trip.

March	23	Navigating and Map Reading	Oakwood, IL
April	27	Canoe Trip 2.5 miles	Sidney, IL
May	18	Bird Migration/Owl Observation	Allerton Park
June	22	Solstice Overnight Hike Indiana	Shades St. Park, IN
July	20	Fossil Hunting/Geode Hunting	Indiana or Iowa
August	17	Kickapoo Rail-Trail Ride	Urbana-St.Joseph, IL
September	21	Equinox Canoe Trip 1-2 Day	Oakwood or Sugar Creek
October	19	Starved Rock 1 Long Day	Ottawa, IL
November	23	Day Hike Lodge Park Geocaching	Lodge Park, Monticello, IL

The scoop:  I have no intention of missing these events, but our participation may change due to other short-term/urgent schedule conflicts.  It happens.  However, prior to each trip, I intent to post enough information that anyone else can certainly adventure out to the sites and participate.  Trips in June, July and September are unavoidably/intentionally overnight trips.  We're super excited about those.  All others can easily be completed between dawn and dusk.  Feel free to email me at jthomason11@gmail.com if you have any questions or suggestions!