An Afternoon in Bitternut Woods
Time: Starts at 1 PM
Saturday April 23rd (Was April 16th, but it was moved because of weather)
Click Here For Map
Bitternut Woods is a nature preserve belonging to the Nature Conservancy. It is home to many plant and animal species, especially a large number of whitetail deer, but also fox and coyote, besides the usual squirrels (red and gray), chipmunks and raccoons. There are mice too, but they are hard to see. Birds include owls, three kinds of woodpeckers, cardinals, robins, crows, jays, finches, ruby throated hummingbirds, and a Cooper’s hawk – one afternoon a wild turkey was sighted along Williams Creek there. Turkey vultures soar overhead. There are countless insects – invertebrates galore. Everything is coming alive in the Spring
The land for Bitternut Woods had been donated in two sections, the larger one in the last century and the last acre more recently. A walk in the property showed that markers are missing at some points along the boundaries and these need to be measured and markers placed, so that people who walk in the Bitternut Wood know when they might stray onto private property. The Conservancy would like your assistance in surveying those boundaries. The terms and tools of the surveyor’s trade will be made available to you.
Afterward, you can explore the flora of the woods with the Conservancy experts and then adjourn to the porch of a Mensan for a cookout. But there’s one request; She would like to know if she has any Plantago lanceolata L. – narrowleaf plantain as neighbors. It (as do gerardia and stonecrops) provides food for the caterpillar of Buckeye butterflies.
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According to the USDA, this particular plantain is found in Marion County, Tipton County, Hancock County, and Madison County. It should also be in Hamilton County – possibly even in Bitternut Woods. When you are looking through the woods, maybe you can find some growing among the may apples trillium, spring beauties, and other wildflowers. If so, we can report it to the USDA and fill in a blank on their map for this species.
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