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Protecting, Restoring, and Sharing Nature in the Bluegrass
Protecting, Restoring, and Sharing Nature in the Bluegrass
Protecting, Restoring, and Sharing Nature in the Bluegrass
Protecting, Restoring, and Sharing Nature in the Bluegrass
Protecting, Restoring, and Sharing Nature in the Bluegrass

Floracliff Nature Sanctuary is a 346-acre nonprofit nature preserve located in the Kentucky River Palisades region. Our mission is to care for the sanctuary property, ensure its protection as a nature preserve and promote public education of the natural history of the Inner Bluegrass region.

Floracliff is only open for guided hikes and events. We offer a variety of programs, volunteer and research opportunities, and hands-on workshops to interested individuals and groups. Please see our Events page to register for an upcoming hike or program.

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floracliff

Guided hikes available via scheduled programs or private tours by appointment; Please send messages to info@floracliff.org

It’s starting to look like spring around here. O

It’s starting to look like spring around here. Observed today:

1. White trout lily
2. Snow trillium
3. False rue anemone
4. Purple cress
5. Spring beauty
6. Sharp-lobed hepatica
7. Virginia saxifrage
8. Eastern comma (as well as mourning cloaks and azure butterflies)

A buck died of unknown causes in the forest a coup

A buck died of unknown causes in the forest a couple of months ago. So, we set up a trail camera near it. Pictured here:

Photos 1 and 6: coyote
2-3: Eastern bobcat
4: turkey vulture
5: black vultures
7: white-tailed deer

Thanks to contributions from volunteers, staff, pa

Thanks to contributions from volunteers, staff, partners, and visitors, dozens of new species records were added at Floracliff in 2022. Some of these records were the result of organized efforts to survey sedges, pollinators, birds, aquatic life, and more. Other records came from people noticing the wildlife around them, stopping to take a photo, and sharing it on iNaturalist. All of these efforts help us to learn more about the ecology of Floracliff and improve our stewardship of the land. Pictured here:

1. Perplexing bumblebee (Bombus perplexus): There are very few records of this bee in KY. It is more commonly found to our north and in higher elevations to the east. 📷: Ward Ransdell
2. Kentucky River crayfish (Faxonius juvenilis): A State Imperiled species, this crayfish is only found in a few small streams in Kentucky an Illinois. 📷: Josie Miller
3. Eastern swiftwing (Volucella evecta): This fly is a bumblebee mimic, and it's the first and only iNaturalist record of this species in KY. 📷: Mary Carney
4. Flag-tailed spinyleg (Dromogomphus spoliatus): This is mostly a midwestern dragonfly with KY falling along the eastern edge of its range. 📷: Beverly James
5. Fibrous-root sedge (Carex communis): A few sedges were added in 2022 as a result of our spring program on sedges with OKNP botanists Devin Rodgers & Vanessa Voelker. 📷: Josie Miller
6. Golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera): Observed during a bird walk at Floracliff, the golden-winged warbler is on the State of the Birds Watch List, meaning it is at risk of becoming endangered or threatened. 📷: David Lang
7. Eastern wormsnake (Carphophis amoenus): an elusive snake we had been hoping to find for many years. Found by Ward Ransdell; 📷: Joyce Fry)
8. Aldrichia ehrmanii: A type of bee fly, this is the first and only iNaturalist observation of this species in KY 📷: David Lang
9. Stonecat (Noturus flavus): the 30th fish species documented in Elk Lick Creek. Found by Dan Patrick, Sonia Tozzi, and Mike Compton; 📷: Dan Patrick)
10. Pine tree spur throat grasshopper (Melanoplus punctulatus) - This grasshopper is often overlooked due its camouflage and tendency to live in trees. 📷: Karen Michul

Recent wildlife sightings at the sanctuary: red-ta

Recent wildlife sightings at the sanctuary: red-tailed hawk, Virginia opossum, dark-eyed junco, and an Eastern bluebird taking a drink.

All photos by Floracliff volunteer, Ward Ransdell

Eastern screech owl utilizing a natural cavity in

Eastern screech owl utilizing a natural cavity in an American sycamore tree

📷: Ward Ransdell

Our volunteers say they support Floracliff for a n

Our volunteers say they support Floracliff for a number of reasons—because they love the land, they’re amazed by the biodiversity, and they appreciate experiencing nature alongside other nature-enthusiasts. Floracliff’s stewardship work, community science projects, and programs would not be what they are today without the contributions of our dedicated volunteers. This year, 59 volunteers shared over 3000 hours of their time with us! They removed invasive plants, treated ash trees to protect them from the Emerald Ash Borer, maintained demonstration gardens, cleared trails, repaired infrastructure, inventoried rare plants, documented wildlife, AND led and assisted with numerous programs so we could share the wonders of Floracliff with more people than ever! We are so grateful for their hard work. Here are a few highlights from this year.

When Dr. Mary Wharton established Floracliff as a

When Dr. Mary Wharton established Floracliff as a nature sanctuary 35 years ago, it was her wish that Floracliff be used “to foster understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of nature.” Today, her wishes guide our nature-based programs and they continually inspire new ideas for connecting people to nature through guided hikes, learning opportunities, community science, volunteerism, and more. In 2022, over 1,500 participants joined us in exploring and learning about nature, a new record! New programs included the Bluegrass Land and Nature Symposium and the Creating Art in Nature series. Special thanks to our program volunteers and guest hike leaders who allow us to engage more people year after year. Here are a few highlights from this year's programs.

Photo credits: Ward Ransdell, Dan Patrick, Josie Miller, Laura Mentor

A few spot have opened up in today’s free Golden

We’re seeing more fungi on the forest floor than

We’re seeing more fungi on the forest floor than we have in a long time. Here are a few observations from today:

1. Snow fungus - Tremella fuciformis, a jelly fungus
2. Common puffball - Lycoperdon perlatum
3. Gibellula sp., a parasitic fungus of arachnids
4. Tylopilus badiceps, a bolete
5. Russula sp.
6. Lactifluus sp.
7. Amanita sp.

Scenes from our last creek walk. Volunteer Natural

Floracliff is home to at least 70 different butter

Floracliff is home to at least 70 different butterflies, representing five different families. With their long legs, they are not as effective at pollinating plants as our bees are, but they do inadvertently pollinate them while nectaring. You can support butterflies by providing a variety of hostplants (for their caterpillars) and nectar plants (for the adults). Pictured here:

1) zebra swallowtail on common milkweed (hostplant is pawpaw)
2) pipevine on bee balm (hostplants are pipevine and Virginia snakeroot)
3) cloudless sulphur on purple coneflower (hostplant is wild senna)
4) juniper hairstreak on common milkweed (hostplant is eastern red cedar)
5) white-m hairstreak on snakeroot (hostplants are native oaks and basswood)
6) question mark on snakeroot (hostplants are elms, hackberries, and nettles)
7) great spangled fritillary nectaring on fleabane and butterfly milkweed (hostplants are violets)
8. monarch and silvery checkerspot on common milkweed (milkweeds are the hostplant of the monarch; many aster family plants are the hostplants of the silvery checkerspot)
9) Horace’s duskywing on bee balm (hostplants are native oaks)
10) Zebulon skipper on elephant’s foot (hostplant is purple top grass)

Photo credits:
David Lang: 1
Beverly James: 2-4, 6-10
Greg Doyle: 5

Today is the start of National Pollinator Week, so

Today is the start of National Pollinator Week, so we’ll be featuring some of Floracliff’s hard-working pollinators over the next few days, starting with our bumble bees. Staff and volunteers have documented five different bumblebees at Floracliff. While bumblebees are generalist pollinators (meaning they forage on a variety of plants), many of our native plants depend on them for pollination. Bumble bees are able to perform “buzz pollination” by holding onto a flower and vibrating their wing muscles to release pollen. Floracliff’s bumble bees pictured here:

1-2: American bumble bee, imperiled in Kentucky
3-4: Black-and-gold bumble bee
5-6: Brown-belted bumble bee
7-8: Common eastern bumble bee
9: Two-spotted bumble bee

Photo credits (all taken at Floracliff):
David Lang - 1, 9
Ward Ransdell - 4, 6, 8
Beverly James - 2, 7
Josie Miller - 3
Colby Grant- 5

We are thrilled to host Kentucky artist, Teresa Ko

Did you know that Floracliff is home to some of th

Standing snags in our forest provide important hab

Standing snags in our forest provide important habitat for cavity nesting birds. Observed this week at Floracliff - Carolina chickadees and red-bellied woodpecker. All photos by Volunteer Ward Ransdell

Today is the day – Kentucky Gives Day! The Kent

Final results for the 4-day City Nature Challenge

Final results for the 4-day City Nature Challenge bioblitz will be coming soon. In the meantime, here are some of our favorite observations from Floracliff during the event. This includes contributions from visitors, volunteers, and staff, with help from our partners at @kentucky_nature_preserves who led programs on moths, aquatic diversity, and herps to find and document Floracliff’s wildlife:

1. golden-winged x blue-winged warbler - this was the first iNaturalist observation of this hybrid in Kentucky and a new record for Floracliff (David Lang)
2. stone cat - a new fish record for Elk Lick Creek, bringing the total to 30 species for the creek (Dan Patrick)
3. pale veined isturgia moth - a new moth record for Floracliff (Beverly James)
4. Yellow-throated warbler - what a beauty! (David Lang)
5. Black and gold bumble bee on dwarf larkspur - this is one of the less common bumble bees we have at Floracliff (Ward Ransdell)
6. a young visitor with an American toad, affectionately named “Marvin” (Amy DiCarlantonio)
7. Fantail darter eggs - if you look closely, you can see their eyes! (Amy DiCarlantonio)
8. Eastern tiger swallowtail on Ohio buckeye - we love seeing which pollinators visit our flora (David Lang)
9. Mayapple - the most commonly observed plant at Floracliff during the Challenge (Josie Miller)
10. Eastern milksnakes - not one, but two snakes! (Ward Ransdell)

@citnatchallenge
#citynaturechallenge

During the City Nature Challenge, these mother blu

During the City Nature Challenge, these mother bluebirds were staying busy at Floracliff. Volunteer Ward Ransdell observed the Eastern bluebirds feeding their nestlings a variety of insects. Can you tell what they are feeding their young?

The City Nature Challenge starts on Friday! There

The spring wildflower display at Floracliff is at

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