Southwest Ohio is home to seven species of woodpeckers. Six of those species—downy and hairy, red-bellied and red-headed, pileated and flicker—are year-round residents, and most of them are common in woods and neighborhoods and at feeders. But the seventh species,…
Honeybees and Bumblebees Prepare for Winter Honeybees (introduced from Europe to North America in the early 17th century) and bumblebees (several species native to southwest Ohio, including common eastern bumblebees, golden northern bumblebees, two-spotted bumblebees, and others) have a lot…
October is a transitional month. With the recent passing of the autumnal equinox, the sun now sits above the horizon for less than half the day. And as autumn marches on, temperatures drop. Together, these changes impose challenges for local…
Tiger swallowtails are among the most recognizable of our local butterflies, maybe second only to monarchs. There are two reasons for this. First, with their large size and prominent pattern, their appearance is pretty unmistakable. And second, tiger swallowtails are…
When you think about flies, you probably don’t think about descriptions like, “tremendous size and leg strength,” “potent saliva laced with neurotoxins,” “think fighter jet,” or “iron maiden death grasp.” Yet all of these phrases appear in postings about a…
In most plants, offspring grow from seeds. Flowers are a plant’s mechanism for producing those seeds. To do so, flowers must fertilize the female reproductive cells (ovules), located within the pistil, with male reproductive cells, contained in pollen produced by…
You may be familiar with the phrase “a snake in the grass,” an unflattering term for a sneaky person. In the CWPD parks, though, you are just as likely to encounter a snake in the bush, or a snake in…
April and May are prime time for woodland wildflowers in Southwest Ohio. Among the dozens of species that bloom through the spring months—spring beauties, bloodroot, Virginia bluebells, trout lilies, May apples, and many others—some of the easiest to recognize are…
Spring is such a beautiful season. Color returns to the landscape, and birdsong fills the air. Even a late dose of winter sometimes just adds to the enchantment. In April 2021, at the peak of redbud flowering, a nighttime storm…
The chatter is unmistakable. All winter long, the woods have been full of American red squirrels, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus. According to Wikipedia, red squirrels are one of three species known as “pine squirrels,” and they are “widely distributed across North America…