Hoot Owl Trail

A self-guided ½ mile easy-to-moderate trail with a nice combination of upland and bottomland terrain.

Below are select wild animal and plant species that may be found on Hoot Owl trail. Because most of the birds and animals that live on the Heard Wildlife Sanctuary have access to the entire preserve, there is no assurance that you will see any or all of the various species during each visit.

Common Name	Scientific Name	When	Where (Location)
Birds
*Downy Woodpecker	Picoides pubescens	Abundant , all year long	Forest
*Red Bellied Woodpecker	Melanerpes carolinus	Abundant , all year long	Forest/Forest Edge
Tufted Titmouse	Baeolophus bicolor	Abundant , all year long	Forest
Carolina Chickadee	Poecile carolinensis	Abundant , all year long	Forest
Carolina Wren	Thryothorus ludovicianus	Abundant , all year long	Forest Edge
*Northern Cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis	Abundant , all year long	Forest Edge
Blue Jay	Cyanocitta cristata	Abundant , all year long	Forest Edge
Eastern Blue Bird	Sialia sialis	Abundant , all year long	Hill top prairie
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	Archilochus colubris	Common in summer	Hill top prairie
Loggerhead Shrike	Lanius ludovicianus	Uncommon in spring and fall, occasionally in summer	Hill top prairie
*Great Horned Owl /Hoot Owl/ Tiger Owl	Bubo virginianus	Rare in summer (at night)	Forest/Forest Edge
Barred Owl	Strix varia	Common in spring, uncommon in winter (at night)	Forest
Red-Shoulder Hawk	Buteo lineatus	Abundant , all year long	Forest
White Crowned Sparrow	Zonotrichia leucophrys	Common in winter, uncommon in spring and fall	Forest Edge
White Throated Sparrow	Zonotrichia albicollis	Abundant in winter and spring, common in fall	Forest Edge
Painted Bunting	Passerina ciris	Abundant in summer, common in spring	Hill top prairie
Indigo Bunting	Passerina cyanea	Abundant in summer, common in spring and fall	Forest Edge
White-eyed Vireo	Vireo griseus	Abundant in summer and spring, common in fall	Forest Edge
Red-eyed Vireo	Vireo olivaceus	Abundant in summer, common in spring	Forest
Mammals
*Armadillo	Dasypus novemcinctus	Common, they have poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell and long claws for digging around the forest floor in search of food.
*Eastern Cottontail	Sylvilagus floridanus	Common, Its habitat includes open grassy areas
*Fox Squirrel	Sciurus niger	Abundant, watch on the trees
White-tailed Deer	Odocoileus virginianus	Occasionally in winter, in open forest stands with little understory vegetation
Raccoon	Procyon lotor	Occasionally around the forest. Tree hollows in old oaks or other trees and rock crevices are preferred by raccoons as sleeping, winter and litter dens.
Reptiles
*Broad-headed Skink	Plestiodon laticeps	Forest areas with abundant leaf litter, especially oak forests.
Five-lined skink	Plestiodon fasciatus	Hilltop area, They prefer moist, partially wooded habitat, They can be found in broken, rocky areas at the edge of their habitat.
Texas spotted whiptail /Spotted Whiptail Lizard	Cnemidophorus gularis	Hilltop area, common on rocky terrain and sandy soil where there is a sparse covering of shrubs and trees.
Northern Fence Lizard /Prairie Lizard	Sceloporus undulatus	Hilltop area,
Copperhead	Agkistrodon contortrix	Un-common, venomous, favors deciduous forest and mixed woodlands. During the winter it hibernates in dens, in limestone crevices,
Prairie Ring-necked Snake	Diadophis punctatus arnyi	Lives in or near prairies and can often be found sunbathing or slithering out in the open, under old logs, rocks, pieces of wood and sheets of tin.
*Rough Green Snake	Opheodrys aestivus	Meadows and woodlands, It is highly arboreal, frequently found climbing in low vegetation, The rough green snake is docile, often allowing close approach by humans, and seldom bites.

Selected Plant Species of Hoot Owl Trail

Common Name	Scientific Name	Comments
Trees
Bur Oak	Quercus macrocarpa	On the Bottomland area, growing up to 100 ft. in height, and is one of the most massive oaks with a trunk diameter of up to 10 ft.; commonly lives to be 200 to 300 years old, and may live up to 400 years old , look for a giant Bur Oak tree located on the floodplain
Black Walnut	Juglans nigra	A large deciduous tree attaining heights of 98–130 ft.
Green Ash	Fraxinus pennsylvanica	Native, a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching 35–75 ft.
Bois D’Arc	Maclura pomifera	A beautiful tree with curved branches, its fruit is a large, spherical, green (4" to 5" in diameter) resembling a green, wrinkled orange. Common names for the fruit are "horse apple" and "hedge apple."
Texas Red Oak	Quercus buckleyi	A threatened species (vulnerable)on the upland area around the hill top, endemic to the southern Great Plains of the United States. Texas red oak usually is 30 to 50 ft. tall. In autumn the leaves turn vivid red and orange.
Cedar Elm	Ulmus crassifolia	A medium-sized to large deciduous tree growing to 75-80 ft. tall with a rounded crown. Leaf fall is late in the year, often in early winter.
Forbs
Green Dragon	Arisaema dracontium	Blooming in April and June, with numerous tiny white flowers crowded onto the 6-inch-long flower stem. Orange-red berries follow.
Trout Lily	Erythronium albidum	Blooming in mid-February and march, a small herbaceous native plant (4-6 inch tall). The white bell-shaped flowers (1-2 in. long) are bent downward. Leaves are green mottled with purple and make an attractive ground cover. Look for them in large groups on the forest floor.
Missouri Violet	Viola missouriensis	Blooming from February to April, Violets are a sign that spring has arrived, White/ Purple flowers,
Wild Petunia	Ruellia humilis	Blooming from April to October, a native plant with purple flower, Some of the species are known or suspected to be poisonous.
Arkansas Yucca	Yucca arkansana	Blooming in May and October, look for this native plant on Hill top prairie. Leaves from the base, sharp pointed, with curly white fibers on the margins. Flower stalk erect, 6-7 ft., grows in gravelly,
Standing Cypress	Ipomopsis rubra	Blooming from May to July, look for them on Hill Top prairie. The stiff stem of this biennial can reach 6 ft. Showy, red flowers. Standing cypress attracts hummingbirds.
Prairie Verbena	Glandularia bipinnatifida	Blooming from March to October, look for this herbaceous native plant on Hill Top prairie. This flowering plant often forms brilliant displays of pink or light purple.
Gay Feather	Liatris spicata	Blooming from July to September, look for them on Hill Top prairie. An erect, slender perennial reaching a height of 3-4 ft. The purple, tufted flower heads are arranged in a long, dense spike blooming from the top down.
Purple Coneflower	Echinacea purpurea	Blooming from April to September, with purple flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Please do not pick flowers or any other plant parts. This will also help you avoid possible contact with poison ivy!

Hoot Owl Trail

Painted Bunting

Indigo Bunting

White-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo