The last orchid of the season is now in bloom. So far we have only found a couple plants up in the parking lot. They are flagged so you can find them. Remember these are very small orchids. We will keep our eyes out for more!

For more information on this orchid, click here for last year’s post.

We all know that summer is the time for tasty berries. Blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries just to name a few. Well for wildlife other than us humans, fall is also a veritable buffet when it comes to ripe berries. Many of these berries will persist far into the winter ensure a food source for birds and other animals during lean times. Let’s take a look at some of them!

Spicebush is my favorite native shrub. This guy has 3 season appeal. It is the first native shrub to bloom in the spring and when it does, the branches are filled with light green flowers. They are small, but when view from a distance the plant looks like it is covered in a green mist. Once it leafs out, the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly can lay her eggs on it, and some of the coolest caterpillars you will see can be found wrapped up in the leaves. Oh, and the leaves when crushed have a very pleasant smell; many people find them to have a lemony scent. Finally come fall, these shrubs will be filled with bright red berries. They often don’t last long as these are a favorite with many birds. People can use these berries too, I have read. After seeding and drying the berries, they can be crushed into a powder and used as a substitute for Allspice.

This picture shows the rose hip broken open to reveal not seeds but achenes. Pronounced “uh-keen”, all it means is that there is one seed inside of it and it does not split open when it is ripe. A sunflower seed is another example of an achene. To clarify, each whitish looking portion is an achene.

These are the fruits of Arrowwood Viburnum. As you can see, they are attached to reddish colored stems making for a very colorful display. I cannot find any specific information on this species of viburnum. However, there may be some similarities with the Maple-leaf Viburnum mentioned earlier.

Virginia Creeper, an often misunderstood plant has some of the most beautiful, and early, fall color. (It is often mistaken for Poison Oak, a plant that does not even grow in Ohio!) The leaves turn a vibrant red then drop to the ground leaving behind bright pink stems with blue-black berries behind. High in fat, Eastman says these berries will often persist into the winter. Good news for our resident birds that need to keep up their energy when it is cold. Eastman goes on to say that Woodpeckers are a frequent diner at Virginia Creeper.

Last but not least, is every one’s favorite…Poison Ivy! We humans tend to think of this as “bad” plant, just because some of us have an allergic reaction to the oils found in the plant. (Now I know that some of you are VERY allergic and that is different.) But, the wildlife value of this plant is quite high. Poison Ivy berries very often persist into the winter providing a much needed source of food for songbirds. During last year’s Christmas Bird Count, I saw a large flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers chowing down on these berries. As a matter of fact, our “leader” in the group took us to this spot, specifically because of the abundance of PI. Over 60 species of birds have been documented to consume the berries. Also of note, when looking at the Wildlife Habitat Values chart on USDA Plant, we see that PI makes up 10-25% of the diet of large mammals. If I still haven’t convinced you that this is a “nice” plant to have around, just remember that it too is a green plant and it makes that nice gas called Oxygen to help you breath!

What a great month September is. Gorgeous, bright, clear blue skies, warm afternoons…what more could one want? This is such a great time of year to experience nature. There are still lots of flowers blooming, insects singing, birds flocking together, and the eagerly awaited fall colors are just starting to come alive. Every week on my drive into and from work, I notice another tree turning some beautiful shade of red, orange, or yellow.  Today while walking along the boardwalk, I noticed the bottom of this maple tree is getting a head start.

Where ever you are this month, find some nature to enjoy!

Thanks to our new fall intern for putting together this week’s list. Most of these flowers were new for her, so she used her trusty Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide to key them out.

Crooked-stem Aster
Flat-topped Aster
Cardinal Flower
Great Blue Lobelia
Obedient Plant
Prairie Dock
Thin-leaved Coneflower
Orange Coneflower
Cup Plant
Whorled Rosinweed
Rosinweed
Jumpseed
Jewelweed (both)
White Snakeroot
Purple Coneflower
Nodding Smartweed
Arrow-leaved and Halberd-leaved Tearthumb
Buttonbush
Ironweed
Swamp Beggar Ticks
Blue Mistflower
False Nettle
Garden Phlox
Queen Ann’s Lace
Boneset
Turtlehead
Sneezeweed
Water Horehound

We took our new fall intern for a nature walk the other day. We walked through the woods up to the prairie. Our prairie is planted on part of the preserve not open to the public, although we occationally take off-trail walks to these areas. While there are not a whole lot of forbs (plants that are not grasses) up there, there is enought stuff to keep it interesting.

Dogbane thrives up there and I found a couple of beautiful dogbane beetles. They are smooth and shining and metallic red and green. You can view a photo of one here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/88126. There is also quite a bit of common milkweed growing, although mainly on one end. I was hoping to find a monarch cat or two, but instead found several milkweed tussock moth cats.

These guys tend to be gregarious especially in their early instars. They can be quite numerous too, defoliating stands of milkweed. I brought a couple down to the public side of the preserve. There is a nice common milkweed at the top of the driveway. Look for them as you come in.

Also very common on the milkweed are milkweed bugs. Did you know that all bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs? True Bugs are a group of insects that have piercing sucking mouth parts. Many of them have an “x” shape on their back because of the way the wings fold together. Take a look at these guys. You can also see one that is not mature yet. Its wings are not fully formed.

There are always lots of spiders hanging around. Here is a beautiful yellow crab spider. He (she?) is quite conspicuous on his green leaf, but what if he (she?) were on a yellow flower?

Speaking of yellow flowers, there is a pretty sunflower (Helianthus) that of course attracts a plethora of interesting critters.

Can you find the critter in this photo?

Look carefully! There is a small caterpillar resting vertically along the top center petal. This should be a Common Pug, a very common cat on composite flowers, often having just the right color to camouflage itself.

This flower has a crab spider and two beetles on it. I was really hoping to see the spider eat one of the beetles but it wasn’t interested. The beetles had started out a little higher up on the flower and walked towards the spider. They got close enough that the spider was touching them with a couple of legs, but nothing happened. Lucky beetles.

This one had a beetle, crab spider, and a native bee on it, all at the same time! Sorry the bee isn’t in focus, I could either get the bee clearly or the other critters, not all of them. A different flower had a well camouflaged assassin bug on it, but I just could get  decent photo of it. But you can see how many animals take advantage of these flowers. Some are eating the flower, some are getting pollen and nectar, and others are lying in wait for those animals just mentioned. This would have been a great place to see a praying mantis.

The dominant grass in the prairie is big bluestem. It’s flowering right now and looks really pretty. The other name for this grass is turkeyfoot. Can you see why?

It was a nice day for a walk and we saw a lot of cool stuff!

There has been a correction made to the Autumn Discovery Walk dates. The corrected date is Oct. 28. It is NOT the 27th as that day is for the Halloween program. When you click on the link for the Programs Page, everything should be correct now. Update your calendars!

Yesterday we had some slightly older kids…

So, where’s the kitty?

Chicken nuggets don’t taste like chicken.

Now that I’m warmed up to snakes, it’s pretty cool.

Squirrels love to fly.

Did we find whatever that’s called?

Nothing affects me until I’m asleep.

So here is a brief glimpse into our world. We do a lot of programming with children. Here are some things that we hear. Enjoy!

Look! A kitty!

Nature is cool and gross.

Look! a kitty!

Don’t poke the millipede.

Look! A kitty!

You can taste a daddy long-legs. It tastes like watermelon.

Look! A kitty!

Fly eggs are like 3 feet tall.

Look! A kitty!

I hope I turn into an aphid tomorrow!

Look! A kitty!

Rule #1: Don’t poop or pee on nature.

Look! A kitty!

I don’t think he has a future. (in reference to a dead beaver.)

Look! A kitty!

That looks like a kangaroo, only smaller and foxier. (said while looking at a fox)

Look! A kitty!

…but the monkey bars don’t hold onto us!

Look! A monkey!

This time of year it’s the most interesting place to be walking. This is because near the water is where there is the most sun and consequently, the most flowers and the most insects, etc. I can always find something new to see in these areas. So this walk is partly from yesterday afternoon and this morning.  I found more stuff this morning I think because of the wonderfully cool temperatures. What a relief! Anyway, lets start with yesterday afternoon…

As I walked onto the boardwalk I noticed that the swamp milkweed was still blooming. I gaze intently at the closest plant looking for any signs of monarch caterpillars. (We don’t tend to get caterpillars or adults until August.) Sure enough that familiar pattern of black and yellow jumps out at me. Upon closer inspection, I see that there were two caterpillars, but one of them has succumbed to disease or parasitism or some other calamity. The live one however, is busily munching away.

There are a couple more milkweed plants just a few feet away. Sure enough, I found a third caterpillar. This one is quite small. How did I find such a small caterpillar? I look for his frass (poop) of course! Often that is the best way to find caterpillars. I find it especially helpful when I’m searching for the ever elusive tobacco hornworms on my tomato plants!

Here is the frass…

New flowers in bloom!

Turtlehead
Indian Tobacco
False Pimpernel
Ditch Stonecrop
Cardinal Flower
Great Blue Lobelia
Goldenrod spp.