Doe Branch Park
Trail Review
Little Elm, TX
Reviewing Doe Branch Park in Little Elm, Tx
Doe Branch Park is a hidden gem located at the very back of Paloma Creek South. A true nature park, unmaintained by humans, this park once had visible paths and signage but nature has since taken over. If you are looking for a secluded hike and to connect with nature this is the park for you.
Amira’s Review
This weekend we were limited on time so we decided to hike by our house at Doe Branch Park in Paloma Creek. We started out early Saturday, at 8am since we only had 3 hours to hike, I had to get ready for a baby shower that started at 1pm. Paul on the other hand could shower or not shower, throw on a cap and be ready to go( huge eye roll inserted) but the ladies need the TIME.
The day was humid and muggy and already in the 80’s at 8am, welcome to the dreaded summer Texas weather.
This location is one of my favorites in the fall and winter. The foliage is so overgrown and dense in the spring and summer, but usually it’s a pretty nice hike with a gorgeous mix of forest and lake.
As we trek along I am appalled at the amount of trash accumulated. Mattresses, paint cans, beer cans, you name it it’s been thrown out there. I see a project cleanup effort in the near future.
The birds were not out “birding” much today and I’ll admit I was a little bored at first, and decided to stop focusing on just the birds and really take in my surroundings. Once I changed my mindset I found some interesting things along the way. One being this odd foam on the plants here and there. Upon getting home and researching I found that is was spit from a spittle bug.
Interesting Fact Time: spittle bugs are the nymphs of froghoppers. Spittle bugs feed on plant fluids; these little bugs have incredibly strong pumping muscles and have to pump up to 300 times their body weight daily to survive! Imagine if humans had to do this…gulp. With that amount of liquid the waste has to go somewhere, hence the little “spit shelters” on the plants. Makes an excellent hideout from predators as well. So, when you come across this foam know a little spittle bug is inside.
Further on we go and finally we see some birds. I managed to get a couple shots of a blue jay, white throated sparrow and the Osprey in flight! The shot is huge for me because it is the first time I’ve caught any bird in flight, with any sort of detail.
What I didn’t know about the Osprey:
Their populations declined dramatically between 1950-1970 due to the chemical DDT getting into the water streams. The females would lay eggs so fragile they would crack under the weight of the parents. (heartbreaking) DDT was banned in 1972 and they have since bounced back. Woot woot!!
My mushroom obsession is not over, I did take a shot of a mushroom on a tree but still doing my nerd research on that.
Something to consider on our next hike, bring bug spray! The mosquitoes are out in full force. All in all it was a good hike and I saw some interesting things but Paul had the ultimate experience on this outing!
Paul’s Review
I don’t know the back story on this location and why it lost funding, but when you pull in, you will see it needs a lot of love and become a dumping ground for people. You might actually have second thoughts of going down the trails, but once you get on the trails you won’t regret it.
I am not the best story teller (yet) but I’d like to share my experience I had at Doe Branch Park.
We were heading down the south east side of the trail…. Heading south if that helps when looking at the satellite view…
Our actual bird sightings and ability to photograph was limited, but there was a nonstop ruckus from crows that we could hear up the trail… upon getting to the area, there was a small sound of a few screeches that definitely were not crow.
Like a nosey neighbor trying to peak and see what was going, we just couldn’t see what the commotion was all about.. Amira could see that I just wanted to know what the fuss was all about, it wasn’t about capturing the moment at this point, like a child, I just wanted to know.
She said go find out … 3 foot high grass, mixed with vines and downed limbs, every step of the way… I jumped off trail and started my way through the terrain. Ha, I was in ninja stealth mode from the start watching every step and as the crows screeching slowed so did my steps, when there calls were loud I walked and pushed through faster…
Finally coming up to the destination of all of the commotion, I still wasn’t able to see what was going on, but at that moment a Red-tailed Hawk flew out of the tree, giving an ear piercing screech of its own. It was awesome and I just stood their in awe, but the crows were still going crazy and I still couldn’t see why, I took the last 10 steps to the tree, looked up and was staring at the backend of a Barred Owl at that moment he turned and looked directly at me staring up at him and him staring down at me…
His eyes were in disbelief that there was just a human standing right there and I too was looking in disbelief that there was a barred owl just right there…. He immediately took flight and so did I. I’m not sure where he was off to, but I was running back to the trail to share this incredible encounter with Amira.
I know, this is one of those “had to be there, to appreciate it” moments and trying to articulate how awesome this whole encounter was may fall flat. However, I am sure many people have incredible stories and encounters that nobody else will understand and this is what makes being out in nature so darn cool.
The only lesson learned here is to grab the camera, heck grab my phone… something to document “hopefully” future encounters like this one.
I highly recommend checking out these trails and agree with Amira… the place needs cleaned up. I am not sure of the politics or reason it’s not being funded, but something needs to change.
