Creeping Primrose-willow – Native Plant of the Day 11/27/2024
Photo from 6/18/2016. Location: Riverwalk, Amnicola Marsh, Hamilton County, TN.
More photos / info at the Ludwigia peploides detail page.
Creeping Water Primrose – Ludwigia peploides
Swamp Rose – Native Plant of the Day 10/23/2024
Photo from 6/24/2013. Location: Riverwalk – Amnicola Marsh, Hamilton County, TN.
More photos & infor at the Rosa palustris detail page.
Swamp Rose – Rosa palustris
Wingleaf Primrose-willow – Native Plant of the Day 08/20/2024
Photo from 8/17/2013. Location: Riverwalk, Amnicola Marsh, Hamilton County, TN.
More info / photos at the Ludwigia decurrens detail page.
Wingleaf Primrose-willow – Ludwigia decurrens
Winged Sumac – Native Plant of the Day 07/31/2024
Photo from 07/27/2013. Location: Amnicola Marsh, Hamilton County, TN.
More photos / info at the Rhus copallinum detail page.
Winged Sumac – Rhus copallinum
American Lotus – Native Plant of the Day 07/28/2024
Photo from Jul 20, 2013. Location: Riverwalk, Amnicola Marsh, Hamilton County, TN.
More info / photos at the Nelumbo lutea detail page.
American Lotus Blossom Detail – Nelumbo lutea
Swamp Rose Mallow – Native Plant of the Day 07/20/2024
Photo from 07/20/2013. Location: Amnicola Marsh, Hamilton County, TN.
More photos / info at the Hibiscus moscheutos detail page.
Swamp Rose Mallow – Hibiscus moscheutos
The “Polar Vortex” came through the Chattanooga area in mid-July, giving us a few days respite from the muggy heat that usually oppresses us in July and August. It would have been horrible to waste that time indoors, so my wife and I spent a little bit of time on Chattanooga’s Tennessee River Walk at one of our favorite spots, the pond at Curtain Pole Road. We started out chasing dragonflies, but soon that turned into much more.
Dragonfly at Curtain Pole Pond – This is a composite of two photos of a single dragonfly – one on the approach; the other upon landing
Friday was another spring-like day, so when I finished up my part-time job for the week, my wife and I took the opportunity get our cameras down to the Riverwalk in Chattanooga to see what birds we’d see. It was a good day; great company and a lifer for us two beginner birders – a Pie-billed Grebe that we spotted on the pond at Amnicola Marsh.
Pie-billed Grebe – Podilymbus podiceps – peering through the waterfront underbrush
As always, click on the pictures for a larger version.
From time to time my wife claims that I can be obsessive, but I don’t know what she’s talking about. On a completely unrelated subject, I’ve been to the Chattanooga Riverwalk at least 5 times in the past couple of weeks. On Mondays I have the privilege of spending the afternoon with two of my home-school grandsons, Chase and Jeff, so this week we walked a couple of miles of the Chattanooga Riverwalk, and then on Tuesday Cindy and I visited the pond next to the Curtain Pole Road parking area of the Riverwalk. They were a good two days for our birding – we were able to photograph three lifers we’ve seen during these couple of weeks of walking the Riverwalk. Here are some photos; the Gadwalls and Mergansers are from the pond next to Curtain Pole Road, and the Green-winged Teal was on the pond at Amnicola Marsh.
The Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is pretty shy. This is typical of how it positioned itself.
A doctor’s appointment took me out to the foot of Missionary Ridge on Thursday morning, and since I was out in the vicinity I decided to make another visit to the Amnicola Marsh along the Chattanooga Riverwalk. I was hoping to get a closer look at the Hooded Mergansers we’d spotted a week earlier. And while those ducks were there, I once again proved that not only am I a rookie as a birder, I’m still a rookie as a bird photographer. I can get frame-filling photos of birds that act like wildflowers – allowing me to approach closely and spend some time taking several photos, as did the Canada Goose and the Mockingbird shown below.
Canada Goose – Branta canadensis