August 9, 2004 afternoon walk by Steve Litwhiler on trails on this property owned by Izaak Walton League in the City of Rome. Parking lot on West Thomas Street. Part of the Rome Sand Plains Resource Management Area.
Took a break from a hard day of meetings to eat lunch at Pitch Pine Bog Conservation Area. Temperature in the 80's and the cicadas where singing like crazy while I was eating lunch.
Forested trails, for the most part. Stay on the access trail from the parking area and be sure to sign in. Pick up a trail map.
The trails are very well marked.
Once you get to the main part of the property there is a hard left and you're in the Conservation Area.
The area is a mixture of low swampy area and short sandy ridges. Remnants of the old sand dunes. Bridges and log corrugation will help keep your feet dry.
The trail divides and goes all the way around the bog. I took the left hand fork, the quickest way to get to the bog, due to lack of time.
The trail meanders through white pines along the crest of an ancient sand dune. Pines thrive in the sandy soil.
One unique natural feature on this low sandy ridge is how there is a significant elevation difference from one side of the sand dune and the other. The higher side is an open white pine forest carpeted with sphagnum moss - indicating wet conditions. The lower side of the ridge is a red maple swamp. Slightly different wet conditions and acid levels make a completely different forest type, though only 50 feet apart.
Came around the bend of a trail and startled a brood of grouse that were dusting themselves on the sandy trail. They dispersed in all directions, at several second intervals, so I counted 10 different birds. On my way back through this stretch of trail 30 minutes later, I heard them calling to each other with quiet peeps in order to regroup.
First glimpse of the bog from the trail on the east side of the area. Since I only came equipped with street shoes, I couldn't walk out into the very inviting looking marsh.
Tamarack trees are visible all over the bog. They can grow in the wet acid conditions of the bog. They do not thrive and some of these small trees can be 100's of years old. Tamarack are a native tree species which loose their needles in the winter.
Another primary plant species of the bog is sphagnum moss, which does thrive in the wet acid conditions.
Then comes a very interesting man made feature of the Pitch Pine Bog. The trail makes a sharp right turn and goes arrow straight for a couple hundred yards out into the bog on a wide, raised roadway.
Though the marked trail turns left and crosses a bridge to continue circling the bog, continue straight and you will find the end of this raised roadway widening to form a circular clearing which is slowly growing up into quaking aspen.
Occasional open water pools appear along this roadway which may be where dirt was pulled out from to build up the road.
Having run out of time on my lunch hour, I went back the same way I had come from, retracing my steps. In one place back on the sandy ridge, there were a squadron of chickadees which came around to scold me. I used my voice "spish", I called some of the 24 little birds to within 5 feet of me. Thought I heard some other little birds calling, but all I could see were the chickadees. No pictures, those little guys are fast.
Always something interesting to see. Is this a pin oak? I wouldn't expect to see these trees around here.
The birding was pretty poor, considering it was 80 degrees and the middle of the day. Did also see a veery, robin, hairy woodpecker, heard cedar waxwings and saw a garter snake.
Some time soon will visit Pitch Pine Bog again, armed with more time, and go all the way around the trail and find those pitch pine trees.