Arkansas Wildlife Blog and Gallery
Buffalo National River and NW Arkansas
Arkansas Wildlife Calendar & Nature News Blog
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2010 Arkansas Wildlife Calendar of Events -- Updated 2/2/10
Wildflowers
Time to plan your annual visit for wildflower photography. Wildflowers start emerging in early March and pick up steam steadily though the spring. There are early and late species. A pretty good indicator of the kickoff is the daffodil bloom. Many of the early species don't hang around long so plan on a few visits. I will be covering species in detail. Great local locations are Lost Valley and Smith Creek.
Elk
We are well past the end of the official elk rut period, but this year for some a couple of determined bulls are making sure no cow escapes. Brian from Lost Valley Canoe saw a bull mounting a cow elk around the 15th of January. I have continued to see faint traces of rutting behavior, scraping and sniffing still (c'mon guys, give it up). I did hear an elk bugle the last week of January, good grief.
Most people equate the rut with the best elk photographic and viewing opportunities, but the show is hardly over after the peak of the annual rut. The big bull elk form bachelor herds at the south end of Boxley Valley. They do move around some to other areas, but you will seldom see the bug bulls north of the highway 43/21 intersection after the rut. The really big guys are dispersed now in keeping with past patterns, and locating them is challenging.
Bull elk viewing will be very good until late March. I have taken many of my best bull shots after the first of the year all the way up to the antler drop that happens sometime during late March until about April 1. Up until the April 1 antler drop, the light is wonderful in the colder weather, we have much less fog, and very often there are heavy morning frosts. I am really fond of steamy breath elk shots, as well as pictures with frost on the back of their coats. If you are an elk (antler) fan there are still a couple good months of viewing ahead and great photo opportunities. People always ask, so let me state elk sheds are not legal to pick up on the park lands.
Whitetail Deer
Deer are moving everywhere now. Antlers have dropped so you can judge gender only by being close and making rough generalizations on size. Near my home on Old Erbie Road, between two trail heads, we see whitetails every day, including many small bucks. Steel Creek now seems loaded with at least 20 whitetails. If you visit almost any morning you will see whitetails in the fields between the horse camp and the tent camping area.
Birds
The annual bird migrations are completed and many species head through the Buffalo River region on the way to their wintering grounds.
Migratory bald eagle season ends around mid-February. There are permanent populations of bald eagles in the Buffalo National River region, but the numbers go down quite a bit when wintering birds migrate back north. Locals consider the peak eagle season to be from Thanksgiving to Valentines Day. If you hike the river trails it is not uncommon to see eagles flying along the river. I often see them in Steel Creek.
Tip: bald eagles often roost near road kill. Road kill eating is not what we think of when we think about bald eagles, but they are scavengers as well as predators. Look for unusual patches of bright white in the leafless trees. Often these roosting eagles can be seen from quite a distance.
There have been numerous sightings of golden eagles in the park. This is a great bird to view and to photograph. They are not considered common here, but they are not rare.
Trumpeter Swans
For over a month there have only been two of the four swans remaining from the back-migration experiment at Boxley Mill pond. While it is not certain, I now feel that predators have killed two. It is possible that the birds have disappeared to a back pond, but this would be the longest period in my history of observing them.
Other Birds
I have had some success photographing small bird species at and around the Boxley Valley Mill pond.
The mill pond offers an exceptional range of habitat compressed in a small area. It is home to many species of birds. I like to get pictures of birds in flight. I it is cool to catch them reflected in the water while in flight. Some of these qualify as trophy shots, quite difficult to get. The key is patience and gumption -- you will miss a lot of pictures.
This has ironically been a huge year for wild turkey around here. Often there are well over a hundred in a few different flocks in Boxley Valley, generally favoring the northern fields near Ponca. It is ironic that the state turkey season was suspended to protect the flocks and improve the numbers. At least in the areas I see in Newton County, our wild turkey numbers are not only normal, they are up substantially.
Another great bird to photograph in winter is the pileated woodpecker. We have a large population of them here, but they tend to be wary. With the leaf off, it is easier to get viewing and shooting lanes than at other times of the year. When I drive the entrance roads to the campgrounds, I have my camera ready to go. Often my best pictures of these elusive birds is out the window.
Wildflowers
Time to plan your annual visit for wildflower photography. Wildflowers start emerging in early March and pick up steam steadily though the spring. There are early and late species. A pretty good indicator of the kickoff is the daffodil bloom. Many of the early species don't hang around long so plan on a few visits. I will be covering species in detail. Great local locations are Lost Valley and Smith Creek.
Elk
We are well past the end of the official elk rut period, but this year for some a couple of determined bulls are making sure no cow escapes. Brian from Lost Valley Canoe saw a bull mounting a cow elk around the 15th of January. I have continued to see faint traces of rutting behavior, scraping and sniffing still (c'mon guys, give it up). I did hear an elk bugle the last week of January, good grief.
Most people equate the rut with the best elk photographic and viewing opportunities, but the show is hardly over after the peak of the annual rut. The big bull elk form bachelor herds at the south end of Boxley Valley. They do move around some to other areas, but you will seldom see the bug bulls north of the highway 43/21 intersection after the rut. The really big guys are dispersed now in keeping with past patterns, and locating them is challenging.
Bull elk viewing will be very good until late March. I have taken many of my best bull shots after the first of the year all the way up to the antler drop that happens sometime during late March until about April 1. Up until the April 1 antler drop, the light is wonderful in the colder weather, we have much less fog, and very often there are heavy morning frosts. I am really fond of steamy breath elk shots, as well as pictures with frost on the back of their coats. If you are an elk (antler) fan there are still a couple good months of viewing ahead and great photo opportunities. People always ask, so let me state elk sheds are not legal to pick up on the park lands.
Whitetail Deer
Deer are moving everywhere now. Antlers have dropped so you can judge gender only by being close and making rough generalizations on size. Near my home on Old Erbie Road, between two trail heads, we see whitetails every day, including many small bucks. Steel Creek now seems loaded with at least 20 whitetails. If you visit almost any morning you will see whitetails in the fields between the horse camp and the tent camping area.
Birds
The annual bird migrations are completed and many species head through the Buffalo River region on the way to their wintering grounds.
Migratory bald eagle season ends around mid-February. There are permanent populations of bald eagles in the Buffalo National River region, but the numbers go down quite a bit when wintering birds migrate back north. Locals consider the peak eagle season to be from Thanksgiving to Valentines Day. If you hike the river trails it is not uncommon to see eagles flying along the river. I often see them in Steel Creek.
Tip: bald eagles often roost near road kill. Road kill eating is not what we think of when we think about bald eagles, but they are scavengers as well as predators. Look for unusual patches of bright white in the leafless trees. Often these roosting eagles can be seen from quite a distance.
There have been numerous sightings of golden eagles in the park. This is a great bird to view and to photograph. They are not considered common here, but they are not rare.
Trumpeter Swans
For over a month there have only been two of the four swans remaining from the back-migration experiment at Boxley Mill pond. While it is not certain, I now feel that predators have killed two. It is possible that the birds have disappeared to a back pond, but this would be the longest period in my history of observing them.
Other Birds
I have had some success photographing small bird species at and around the Boxley Valley Mill pond.
The mill pond offers an exceptional range of habitat compressed in a small area. It is home to many species of birds. I like to get pictures of birds in flight. I it is cool to catch them reflected in the water while in flight. Some of these qualify as trophy shots, quite difficult to get. The key is patience and gumption -- you will miss a lot of pictures.
This has ironically been a huge year for wild turkey around here. Often there are well over a hundred in a few different flocks in Boxley Valley, generally favoring the northern fields near Ponca. It is ironic that the state turkey season was suspended to protect the flocks and improve the numbers. At least in the areas I see in Newton County, our wild turkey numbers are not only normal, they are up substantially.
Another great bird to photograph in winter is the pileated woodpecker. We have a large population of them here, but they tend to be wary. With the leaf off, it is easier to get viewing and shooting lanes than at other times of the year. When I drive the entrance roads to the campgrounds, I have my camera ready to go. Often my best pictures of these elusive birds is out the window.
This section is designed to be more in-depth than entries on the home page of AWP. There are three levels of news in three time frames:
Level I: The marquee on the home page is updated by my shooting days. Think of it as the 24 hour news cycle, very current.
Level II: The blog is a updated couple of times a week. It identifies current multi-day patterns and what is coming up.
Level III: The "current wildlife calendar of events" provides seasonal guidance, with some specifics.
In summary, the marquee is brief, the blog more fleshed out and semi-weekly, and the natural calendar is the seasonal perspective with notes.
.
Level I: The marquee on the home page is updated by my shooting days. Think of it as the 24 hour news cycle, very current.
Level II: The blog is a updated couple of times a week. It identifies current multi-day patterns and what is coming up.
Level III: The "current wildlife calendar of events" provides seasonal guidance, with some specifics.
In summary, the marquee is brief, the blog more fleshed out and semi-weekly, and the natural calendar is the seasonal perspective with notes.
.
Bull Elk in Heavy Winter Frost
Trumpeter Swans in Winter Weather
at the Boxley Valley Mill Pond
Before Recent Predator Losses
at the Boxley Valley Mill Pond
Before Recent Predator Losses
To protect what is wild is to protect what is gentle. Perhaps the wilderness we fear is the pause within our own heartbeats, the silent space that says we live only by grace. Wilderness lives by this same grace.
Terry Tempest Williams
Terry Tempest Williams