Education
Total Solar Eclipse (April 8, 2024)
The long awaited total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, is almost here. The path of totality, where the Sun’s light is totally blocked by the Moon, through Ohio is 200 miles long and 115 miles wide. If you’re anywhere within this path, you will see the total eclipse. Those outside this path will see…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 04/03/2024
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Peent! It’s the time of year for American Woodcocks to display! The courtship flights and rituals can be observed in fields, pastures, forest openings, and other clearings at dawn and dusk during the spring. Affectionately nicknamed the “timberdoodle,” the American Woodcock is a plump round shorebird that lives in forest thickets, probing moist…
Read MoreAmerican Bullfrogs
The American Bullfrog is native to every state east of the Mississippi River. They are nocturnal and the largest true frog found in North America. They can be up to 8 inches long and weigh over a pound. Even their tadpoles are large, some reaching up to almost 7 inches long. The croaking of a bullfrog is a familiar…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 03/27/24
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Our trails at TWC are currently bursting with Virginia springbeauties! These small pink and white flowers are native to the eastern United States and Canada, and can be found in a variety of habitats including forests, woodlands, meadows, ravines, parks, and lawns. The perennial plants grow from underground tubers, giving them the nickname…
Read MoreMarch 2024 Full Worm Moon
March’s full Worm Moon, the first full Moon of spring, occurs at 3:00AM EDT on March 25, 2024. To our eyes the Moon will look full and round the nights of March 24, 25 and 26. Traditionally it’s called the Worm Moon because March is when the ground begins to thaw, and earthworms begin to wiggle up…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 03/20/24
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! The first native spring wildflower to bloom in Ohio is skunk cabbage. Its flower structures are thermogenic (able to produce heat) and will emerge even through snow and ice! The spathe, or hood, is the first part of the flower to appear from the ground and has a distinctive color combination of purple,…
Read MoreYucca Moth
While many may think of moths as the butterfly’s ugly cousin, a small boring insect flying around their porch lights at night, they are anything but. Ohio has over 3,000 species of moth. Most of them are nocturnal, many are colorful, some are large, and all are important members of their ecosystem. One of these moths is…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 03/13/24
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! You may have noticed more large dark birds circling and soaring in the sky overhead lately. While some Turkey Vultures stay in Ohio all year, most migrate for the winter, traveling to the southern USA and even as far as South America. While often associated with death and decay, the Turkey Vulture is…
Read MoreLeo the Lion
Leo, the Lion, is one of the 12 zodiacal constellations that mark the apparent path of the Sun and planets through the sky and it’s one of the first constellations of spring. In fact, when you see his head poking above the eastern horizon in early February you know spring isn’t far off. Leo is one of…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 03/06/24
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! The Sandhill Crane is a tall elegant bird with a heavy body, soaring 6-foot wingspan, red crown of feathers on its head, and a fluffy bustle of gray plumage at its back end. This graceful long-necked avian has a loud rolling trumpet-like vocalization that can be heard for miles. Mated pairs will engage…
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