Posts Tagged ‘nature’
Wildlife Wednesday 05/22/2024
Whooooo’s ready for our upcoming owl prowl? It’s #WildlifeWednesday and we will highlight the 3 species of owls we are most likely to encounter on our grounds this time of year. The Great Horned Owl is the largest owl in Ohio and with its enormous yellow eyes, long ear tufts, and deep hooting call, it…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 05/15/2024
For today’s #WildlifeWednesday we discuss an invasive plant that is widespread throughout Ohio: garlic mustard. Introduced to North America from Europe in the mid-1800s for its herbal and medicinal characteristics, garlic mustard is now present in nearly every county in the state. It spreads easily in pastures, lawns, floodplains, along roadsides, and in woods and…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 05/08/2024
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! April showers bring May flowers, and one of the most iconic is the mayapple. These woodland plants are widespread throughout the eastern USA and emerge early in the spring, typically growing in large colonies from a single root. They prefer rich moist soil with plenty of organic matter and thrive in full or…
Read MoreRosy Maple Moths
Rosy maple moths can be found from May to August in Ohio. Although classified as a “great silk moth” this moth is the smallest of these great moths. Rosy maple moths depend on maple trees for survival – hence their name. Their preferred host trees include red, sugar, silver, and box elder maples. They aren’t…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 05/01/2024
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! It’s that time of year when white-tailed deer babies start showing up in yards and on lawns. Fawns are born in Ohio between May and July and although they are able to walk at birth, they need to spend several weeks with their mother for food and protection. Mother deer purposely leave their…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 04/24/2024
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Grasshoppers are quite common throughout Ohio and can be seen or heard in a variety of habitats, but it’s not every day that you see one with dashing shades of pink. Meet this stunning, green-striped grasshopper, Chortophaga viridifasciata, found at The Wilderness Center last week. Is there something wrong with this colorful critter?…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 04/17/2024
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! They’re on their way! A truly delightful harbinger of spring is the dazzling appearance of hummingbirds as they return from their wintering grounds in Central America. The most common species of hummingbird in Ohio is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, which is the only hummingbird that breeds in the eastern part of the United States.…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 04/10
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! One of the first spring wildflowers to appear at TWC this spring is cut-leaved toothwort. Also known as pepper root and crow’s toes, this woodland wildflower is part of the family of flowering plants known as mustards. Cut-leaved toothwort is widespread in the eastern United States and also found in Quebec and Ontario…
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…
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