Carpenter Park is perhaps the finest natural area in Sangamon County. For a sense of scale, the man in the picture above is well over six feet tall. Now that the size of trees has been established, I should tell you that this trip focused mostly on smaller matters.
I had never seen Purple Rockets (Iodanthus pinnatifidus) before. This is a Midwestern species found primarily in high-quality river floodplains, though I also found specimens in wetter microclimates above the floodplain. Unusually for a plant in the mustard family, it's native, violet-white, and found in high-quality habitats. By contrast, most of its relatives are weedy and/or non-native.
Carpenter Park is an entomologist's paradise. If you hate bugs, however, don't visit. I don't mean spiders, I mean all insects in general. The odd-looking fellow above is a Leaf-footed Bug, genus and species unknown. Every fall, one of these bugs of this species can be found on the screen of my bedroom window. This has been the case every single year, with no exceptions.
Commonly found on paths at Carpenter Park is the familiar Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata), and this preserve has the largest population I have ever seen. As this species likes to lay its eggs in sandy soils, and Carpenter Park's soils are some of the sandiest in the area, the tiger beetles are on every path in fairly decent numbers.
Frogs, too, are common, such as the Leopard Frog (Rana spp.) above.
Large snails were also present, though not widely.
Turning up in large numbers as we approached the floodplain, various Toads (Bufo spp.) appeared. I could not tell you whether these were American or Foster's Toads, but there were at least two differing color forms. One was as shown above, a species with a brown-sandy, mottled appearance. I know that both species are variable as to the color forms, and that amphibians dislike handling. If I recall correctly, the identifying trait is something obscure. Either way, there were at least a good ten or so toads of various kinds, as well as four Leopard Frogs, by day's end. Gray Treefrogs called non-stop all around us, though we saw none.
Bee-lieve it or not, this is actually a Bumblebee Mimic Robber Fly (Laphria spp.), with an unknown insect in its jaws. It was one of several bumblebees and bumblebee-resembling insects we found.
Working our way down into the valley, a small prairie restoration appeared on our right. Over the river flew this immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). I'd be really curious to know whether this is the same individual whom I see at the lake occasionally, or if a second immature bald eagle lives solely along the Sangamon River.
Another sort of toad (Bufo spp.) appeared in a stream near the edge of the floodplain. This was a much darker individual. Nearby, we spooked a Belted Kingfisher, but unfortunately it flew away too fast for pictures.
Walking on, I spotted a Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus), above, and a female Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), below:
In case you couldn't tell, birding is also excellent here. Walking towards the river, I spotted my first ever Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens), calling in a nearby tree.
Bizarre features abounded in such a place, such as this spiked Gray's Sedge (Carex grayi):
Coral Fungus, somewhat dried, grew on the side of a log:
Also growing nearby was a personal favorite of mine, the Green Dragon (Arisaema dracontium):
The unusual flower is below:
After replacing the bark, I spotted this female Indigo Bunting amongst the Butterweed:
Soon, the bluffs drew nearer, and I walked back towards a nearby ravine:
On the eastern edge of the ravine, the six petaled Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata) which has become one of my profile pictures hung on still... wait, this was actually a DIFFERENT location. Evidently, there were TWO six-petaled Woodland Phlox flowers.
On the slopes nearby, I found this very hairy Spiderwort, living up to its name if you look carefully enough. (That means there's a spider hiding on the plant, a very small spider that I didn't even see at the time.) It is my suspicion that this is Virginia Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana), but I believe that the genus Tradescantia in Illinois warrants more examination.
To appreciate the tenacity of these plants, here is an image of the sandstone slope they grow on:
Also in a nearby area grew both American Arisaema species side by side, Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) in the back and the Green Dragon in the front. All other species of this genus grow in eastern Asia, with only these two in Eastern North America.
At the base of the bluffs grew False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum), a personal favorite.
The dry sandy soils at the top of the bluff provided habitat for several plants less common in Sangamon County, including this Pale Beardtongue (Penstemon pallida), named for the flower color and hairy flowerparts, respectively. Curiously, in this part of the world most people say Beardstongue, not Beardtongue as the name is actually supposed to be said.
...while Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) bloomed on the edge over the Sangamon River.
For some perspective, and because talking about plants can be boring to other people, here's a shot of the bluff itself. It should be noted for people from out of state that the vast majority of Central Illinois is composed of some of the flattest ground in the United States. Thus, cliffs are a rarity here.
While on the way, the friend I was hiking with spotted a fox, but it ran away into the brush before I even saw it, let alone got a picture. Still, it was an excellent end to a spectacular day of hiking.
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