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| Looking down onto the native grasses of the peninsula along the French Broad River at Seven Islands State Birding Park. |
French Broad River and is only 20 miles east of Knoxville.
Click here to see a topographical Trail Map.
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| This is the Upper Trail Inner Loop trailhead (see map). We will be making a large counter-clockwise loop around most of the park. |
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| It's a gradual uphill climb to the top of the hill. (refer to the topo map at any time) |
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| I love the smell of the Japanese Honeysuckle, as well as the taste of the nectar. |
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| Sara tasting the nectar. |
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| The beautiful flower of Deptford Pink. Click any photo to enlarge it. |
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| Lots of Daisies along the way. |
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| I like the pattern of the central part of the Daisy flower. (What is the name of that pattern? The answer is in the caption of the next photo) |
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| It was still foggy when we got there, and the dew could be seen on all the spider webs. (The daisy flower pattern is in the form of Fibonacci spirals, the most efficient spacing pattern. For info on Fibonacci spirals, click here.) |
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| The trail now descends toward the river. |
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| Schumpert's Pond is in the background. See the map to find our location. Trail Map |
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| Sara's getting a photo of one of the many spider webs. |
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That's the French Broad River,
which we'll be walking next to, soon.
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At this point we hiked through some woods heading
down toward the Seven Islands Loop Trail and Wayne's Pond.
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| Wayne's Pond off of the Seven Islands Loop Trail. |
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| This trail (off the Loop Trail) took us closer to a rock bluff area. |
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| Some Wild Roses next to the water. |
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| We took another short off-trail to find this view of one of the islands. |
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We watched a Great Blue Heron fly into the trees,
and then Sara spotted this nest!
Click the photo to enlarge it.
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This little island was home to many birds. You can see
another Heron's nest with one of the parents below and to
the right of it.
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| Looks like a species of rust growing on this plant. Rust is a kind of fungus that infects plants.
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| We just got onto the Seclusion Bend Trail and followed the Turkey until it got tired of us. |
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| Nice looking bluff across the river. |
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| Smooth Vetch |
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| Click any photo to enlarge it. |
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| Yarrow |
We walked almost to the end of the peninsula, where we turned
left onto a trail that lead to the Maple Leaf Barn (see map).
Trail Map
We connected up with the Seclusion Bend Trail again
now going north on the winding trail toward the Window Barn.
On the left was this huge field of a small species of Sunflowers.
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| A beautiful Red Clover. |
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| A mass of foam created by Spittlebugs. |
Click here for information about Spittlebugs.
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| The trail takes you to the top of a hill looking east at the River. |
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| Looks like a species of Beardtongue (Penstemon). |
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| I liked the shape of this massive tree. |
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The Window Barn (I'm facing south).
You can see the Kelly Lane Greenway on the right.
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At this point we got back onto the Seven Islands Loop Trail
and headed toward the Bluebird Barn, our starting point.
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| Low Hop Clover |
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| Saw many Buttercups along our walk, today. |
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| Close-up of a Buttercup. |
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| Come back in July to eat some Blackberries. |
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Whether you're a birder or not, if you're ever in the
Knoxville area you must see this fantastic natural area,
the Seven Islands State Birding Park.
Print a map (or find it on your phone) before you go to any
wildlife area so that you can
appreciate the walk without worrying about getting lost.
Knoxville area you must see this fantastic natural area,
the Seven Islands State Birding Park.
Print a map (or find it on your phone) before you go to any
wildlife area so that you can
appreciate the walk without worrying about getting lost.
Get out and explore your surroundings!!
