Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

"Time's fun when you're having flies." Kermit the Frog Today's #MuscogeeMonday word is "kut" pronounced (GOO-dee), and means "a frog." There are so many different types of amphibians here at #OcmulgeeMounds! Have you had the chance to see them all? ... Check out https://www.nps.gov/ocmu/learn/nature/amphibians.htm to learn about the amphibians found here! Photo: David Byrd

Today is the perfect weather to visit #OcmulgeeMounds! What are your favorite sights and sounds of the park? Don't forget to bring some water for when you hit the trails! ... #findyourpark Logan Thomas

#FloraFriday Monarda punctata (mo-NAR-da punk-TAH-tah) aka: Bee Balm, Dotted Beebalm, Horsemint, Spotted Beebalm, Spotted Horsemint... Monarda punctata is a native herbaceous to the eastern U.S. and typically occurs in full sun areas with dry soil in prairies, sandy areas, rocky woodlands, and coastal plains. So being on the "Fall Line" of middle Georgia makes for the perfect home for this member of the mint family to grow! This perennial plant can grow up to 3 feet tall, and is the perfect place for pollinators to get nectar from!

Last week, members of the Southeast Coast Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Network visited Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park to conduct vegetation monitoring. The I&M Network provides parks with valuable information about their natural resources. Vegetation monitoring helps park staff learn how plant communities are doing and changing over time. While this visit focused on vegetation, the I&M Network also monitors amphibians, landbird communities, groundwater dynamics..., wadeable streams, and weather and climate at Ocmulgee Mounds. The Southeast Coast Network publishes data and reports from Ocmulgee Mounds and other parks on their website. Read the reports and find out more about Inventory and Monitoring at https://www.nps.gov/im/secn/index.htm .

Time for #TriviaTuesday! Many birds enjoy spending time near the wetlands of the park. This one was spotted near the Opelofa Trail not too long ago. Any guesses as to what its name is? Check back in at 5pm to find out the answer! A: Great Blue Heron B: Little Blue Heron C: Reddish Egret... D: Tricolored Heron See more

The Muscogee Nation is a matrilineal society, and we thrive because of our matriarchs. Happy Mother’s Day! #TheMuscogeeNation #TIDE #MothersDay

PRESS RELEASE Release Date: January 25, 2021 Contacts: [email protected] reading

Fluttering back into another week, its #MuscogeeMonday! Today we highlight one of the many beautiful insects you can find here at #OcmulgeeMounds and that is none other than the butterfly! The Muscogee (Creek) word for butterfly is "tvffolupv" and pronounced (dah-foh-LOO-buh).... The butterfly featured in the photo is known as the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). Now, although it has no relation to an actual tiger, it does present some very beautiful stripes along its wings, like those of its namesake. Tiger Swallowtails are one of the most common of eastern butterflies and can be found fluttering over forest and streams, making Ocmulgee the perfect place to live its short 2 week lifespan*. Some of their favorite eating spots include honeysuckle, milkweeds, azaleas, thistles and other urban flowers. Have you had the opportunity to see butterflies around the park? If so, what kind? *Lifespan here only refers to the butterfly stage of the insect. Lifespan from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis can be up to 2 months. David Byrd

It’s Saturday, which means it’s time for another #HikingHighlight! The Southeast Mound, located between the Trading Post and the Bartram Trail, is one of the lesser-known mounds here at the park. Archaeologists believe that it may have been damaged by plowing and erosion. Despite the lack of knowledge about the mound, this trail is a quiet, 1/4th of a mile hike that meanders through woods until it ends at the park road. If you’re looking for a little longer of a hike, it can easily be connected to the Bartram Trail to take you to the visitor center parking lot. #PlotYourPath

For many of our visitors, soaking in the view on top of the Great Temple Mound is one of their highlights of visiting the Park. Yet if not for the hard, dedicated work of the Society for Georgia Archaeology and the Civil Works Administration (CWA) in 1934, the Great Temple Mound may not have remained here for us to enjoy today. Before the 1930s, there was no one protecting the mounds in the Macon Plateau from abuse and urban expansion. Motorcyclists raced up the Great Temple ...Mound, and pot hunters looted the eroded mounds. But in the 1930s, some Macon locals began to fight for the mounds’ preservation; hoping to create a city park and archeology site. They created the Society for Georgia Archaeology, and were successful in preserving the site. 87 years ago today, the CWA began archaeological work on the Great Temple Mound. Workers used shovels to create smooth surfaces to see soil layers and features of the mound easier. From 1933 to 1936, over 800 people worked on the archaeological dig on the Macon Plateau; discovering 2.5 million artifacts. After the dig was completed, the workers reburied the mound so that it would be preserved for future generations to enjoy...including you! Next time that you visit the Great Temple Mound, we encourage you to remember their diligent work to preserve the land and its history as you #RecreateResponsibly. See more

In honor of today’s presidential inauguration, learn about inaugurations of the past through histories, museum objects, and stories found in national parks acro...ss the country. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/inauguration/stories.htm Find information about the 59th Presidential Inauguration at https://www.nps.gov/subjec/inauguration/plan-your-visit.htm Image: Field of Flags on the National Mall. National Mall and Memorial Parks

Today’s #TriviaTuesday spotlights an animal that loves meandering through the woods and fields of the park: white-tailed deer! While visitors to Ocmulgee Mounds have seen these graceful animals at all times of the day, white-tailed deer are most active at dawn and dusk. Here’s your quiz: what is the technical term for animals most active at those times of day? Check back in at 5pm to find out the answer! A) Diurnal B) Crepuscular C) Nocturnal... D) Matutinal See more

As we wrap up #BatWeek, we hope that you have learned some interesting facts about bats in general and about species that live in Ocmulgee Mounds. While awareness of bats is a big aspect of #BatWeek, conservation is an equally important part of it. Did you know that approximately 24% of bats around the world are listed as critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable? Many bat species have decreased populations due to factors such as habitat loss, wind turbines, roost dist...urbances, and a disease called White-Nose-Syndrome. The good news is that you can help improve the fate of bats in your area! Bat boxes, like this one pictured below from Ocmulgee Mounds, are a great way to not only help provide homes for bats, but can also help bring down the number of insects like mosquitoes in your backyard! Check out the link for more info on how to build or buy a bat house. #FindYourPark #ebikes https://www.batcon.org/about-bats/bat-houses/

Join us tomorrow from 10:00-1:00 for our association’s pop up shop! We will have junior ranger booklets and bark rangers available! Please remember there are no restroom available at the park right now. The park grounds are open from 8:00-5:00 daily.

#BatWeek Highlight: Bats can live impressively long lives in the wild. Many bat species can live over ten years, and one bat species has been recorded to live up to 30 years in the wild! Tri-colored bats (Perimyotis subflavus), one of the species documented in Ocmulgee Mounds, can live up to 15 years. They get their name from the multi-hued fur; which is dark gray at the base, brown-yellow in the middle, and a red tint at the tips. They are one of the first bat species to hibernate (typically September or October) and the last to emerge in the springtime (late April or early May). They tend to hibernate in caves or mines in the wintertime. #FindYourPark #ebikes Photo Credit: GA DNR

#BatWeek Highlight: Bats come in all shapes and sizes; ranging from the inch-long bumblebee bat to the flying fox that has a wingspan of up to six feet! One bat spotted in Ocmulgee Mounds is the Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) that is 3.4 inches long, and weighs only 8-14 grams the equivalent of four stacked pennies! This small bat is one species that is solely forest-dwelling, and doesn’t live in caves during the winter like many other bat species. #FindYourPark #ebikes Photo Credit: GA DNR

It's #WildlifeWednesday! Today we're featuring the downy woodpecker. Extremely similar in appearance to the hairy woodpecker, you can use the size of their beaks to distinguish between the two. The downy's beak is shorter than the length of its head, while the hairy's beak is about the same length of its head. The bird featured in this picture is a female, which we know because the males have a red patch on the back of their head that the females lack. The adult downy is the ...smallest of the North American woodpeckers. Like most woodpeckers, the downy uses its beak to dig into trees in search of insects for the bird to eat. Because of its small size, it can also land on smaller branches to access food where other larger woodpeckers wouldn't be able to. As the season gets colder, though, the downy will rely more on burrowing into tree trunks than foraging on smaller branches and shrubs because insects will start using trunks as shelter against the coming cold. See more

#BatWeek Highlight: The majority of bat species, including all the species found in the state of Georgia, eat insects as their mainstay. In fact, one insect-eating bat can consume 2,000 to 6,000 insects in a single night! Bats are incredibly helpful in not only keeping the volume of insects down, but more specifically they aid humans by keeping insect pests from food crops and forests. This saves people billions of each dollars every year. One insect-eating bat species is the Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus). Hoary Bats are strong, agile flyers, reaching up to 13mph in flight. They get their name from the silver tint on their dark fur, giving them a frosted, or hoary, appearance. #FindYourPark #ebikes Photo Credit: GA DNR

#BatWeek Highlight: Bats aren’t blind! Believe it or not, some bat species have better eyesight than humans. While some bats use their eyesight to hunt at night, the majority use echolocation to find prey; emitting high-pitched sounds that bounce off objects in their path like trees, buildings, food sources, or other bats. One bat that uses echolocation is the Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis). They can use both broadband and narrow band frequencies, pinpointing prey five to ten meters away. On average, they can eat an insect every thirty seconds! #FindYourPark #ebikes Photo Credit: ISU Bat Center

Happy National Pumpkin Day! Pumpkins are a winter squash which originated in Mexico. The oldest pumpkin seeds found were in Mexico dating back to 7,500 B.C. American Indians in Georgia starting growing corn, beans, and squash around 500 A.D. #NationalPumpkinDay

#BatWeek Highlight: Bats live almost everywhere on Earth except the most extreme desert and polar regions. One perfect example of how adaptable bats can be is the Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus). This bat can live in practically any habitat from meadows to forests to mountains to lowland deserts. Its range is from northern Canada all the way down to the southern tip of Mexico. This bat species has certainly learned the art of flexibility! #FindYourPark #ebikes Photo Credit: GA DNR

#BatWeek Highlight: Bats are the only mammal that can truly fly, compared to some mammals that can glide. While some bat species can be incredibly fast, one bat species that enjoys taking life at a slower pace is the Silver-Haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans). This bat tends to be solitary, thriving in forested areas in Canada and the United States. While it is known for being a slow flyer, it is still very agile and can maneuver in pitch-darkness with ease. #FindYourPark #ebikes Photo Credit: GA DNR

Welcome to (Nananananana) #BatWeek! Bat Week is an international, annual celebration to promote awareness for bat conservation. Did you know that there are more than 1,400 species of bats in the world? That’s almost 20% of all mammal species! Tomorrow through next Saturday, we will be posting various facts about these fascinating animals and highlighting bat species that have been spotted in Ocmulgee Mounds. Has anyone seen any bats in the Park recently? #FindYourPark #ebikes Photo Credit: Bat Week

We will be back on the patio Saturday, 10/24, from 10am-1pm with Ocmulgee Mounds merchandise and gift items. Check out our Ocmulgee t-shirts and hats, books,... jewelry, toys and so much more. All while supporting the park. You can also shop online at https://www.ocmulgeemounds.org/store. Current Ocmulgee Mounds Association members get a 20% (10% books) discount at the store, so remember to bring your membership card. Don't worry if you can't find it, just let us know. Not a member? We would love to have you join us as we support Ocmulgee's programs, events, and more: https://www.ocmulgeemounds.org/memberships

Twice a year (February 22 and October 22), the sunrise lined up with the doorway of the Earth Lodge and illuminated the widest and highest spot on the 1000 year old floor. The chief's seat would have practically glowed with the solar attention. We do not know why these two dates were important to the people (perhaps harvest and planting?), but obviously integral enough to connect the doorway of the massive ceremonial chamber. This light pattern no longer occurs because there is a forest of trees where the sun rises.

Hey Ocmulgee friends and visitors, on behalf of the Natural Resource team, we would like to present to you a new series, #WhatsInYourWildPlaces, where we will share with you the things we encounter in the field, that you might not get to see when you come to visit the park. Nestled within a city, its often hard to remember that the wild things are just in your backyard. Follow along to see some of creatures you might not have known share this sacred land in Macon, Ga. For tod...ay's feature: During their mating season, or rut, bucks mark their territory by rubbing their antlers on trees and scraping at the dirt with their hooves. Early in the rut bucks will also spar with each other, as seen in this timelapse from one of the park's trail cameras. As the rut progresses these night-time fights become more intense. The display of aggression is one way that a buck stands out to potential mates! #findyourpark