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

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

The Project FeederWatch season will be wrapping up

The Project FeederWatch season will be wrapping up at the end of April. So far, our volunteers have documented 32 species at the Trail’s End feeding station through weekly counts. We were excited to add three of those this past week:

1-2) yellow-throated warbler, an early spring migrant who has recently returned to our area
3-4) pine warblers
5) male purple finch
6) female purple finches

All photos by Ward Ransdell

Calling all community scientists! The City Nature

iNaturalist is an online community of naturalists

White trout lilies have been blooming this week th

Recent trail camera highlights: 1) Wild turkey 2)

Recent trail camera highlights:

1) Wild turkey
2) Coyote
3) Eastern bobcat
4) American robin
5) Eastern bobcat
6) Striped skunk

Today’s views of Elk Lick Creek

Today’s views of Elk Lick Creek

We are 2.5 months into the Project FeederWatch cou

We are 2.5 months into the Project FeederWatch count season, and so far our volunteers have contributed weekly observations of 24 bird species using the Trail’s End feeding station. These observations are useful for understanding winter bird populations as well as recording behavioral interactions between the birds. Here are a few highlights:

1. blue jay with peanut
2. titmouse
3. white-breasted nuthatch with bark butter
4. Carolina wren
5. yellow-bellied sapsucker
6. American goldfinches
7. song sparrow
8. red-bellied woodpecker
9. Carolina chickadee

All photos by Ward Ransdell

#projectfeederwatch

A few recent trail camera highlights from the top

A few recent trail camera highlights from the top of Elk Lick Falls:

1) eastern screech owl
2) wild Turkey
3) eastern bobcat
4) white-tailed deer
5) coyote

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