Spring in Volo Bog

Eager for a hike after working 4 days in a row, I headed out to Volo Bog. I was there about six weeks ago during the strange warm-up that the midwest experienced and thought that I had seen what the bog looked like in spring, but I was wrong!

Volo Bog has a visitor's center with a perennial garden, benches and bird feeders.  The bulletin board had up a notice about guided bird walks on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 and 1, so if you're in the area stop on in!  Some of the perennials are up and blooming already, including this plant that I've never seen before.

After passing the visitor's center it's just a short stroll down to the interpretive trail that is a floating boardwalk through the bog. When I was there on Sunday I spent some time watching two pairs of Canada geese who were hanging out by the boardwalk and also watching this Great Egret fishing for lunch.

While the interpretive trail is nice, after watching the birds for a little while I opted for the 3 mile long loop hike instead. It was full of blooming bushes and there are birdhouses set up along the trail so visitors can glimpse them easily. I saw 14 varieties of birds, without binoculars and without trying! It seems I missed a lot of the spring wildflowers, or else there just aren't that many here.

I went off trail a little bit to see if I could find some jack-in-the-pulpit or other plants common to wet areas, but all I found was this darling little fern....and my first muskrat of the year!

Back on the trail, I heard movement in the bushes and spied this fat robin, then a few minutes later found this unusual fungus growing on the top of branch. It's great to come back to a place you've been before and still discover new things!

Since I was here six weeks ago they've done a lot of work clearing brush, burning, and creating a new observation deck. A large portion of the bog wasn't visible before along the trail because of the heavy brush growing there, but now it's all cleared out and it felt like I was someplace I'd never been before. I also stopped at the observation blind but there weren't any waterfowl in that area today. If you visit, make sure to watch out for coyotes - they've been spotted hanging out there according to signage. They've marked their territory and the blind is a little smelly! I also saw rabbit fur and coyote scat on the trail, but don't let that keep you away, Volo Bog is the best outdoor recreation area I've seen in Illinois!