Blog

With colder weather comes changing landscapes and spectacular fall color. Head out to your favorite Metro Park and marvel at the vibrant reds, warming yellows and fiery oranges that blanket …Read More

Autumn takes your breath away with its fabulous canvas of changing colors, but it also takes the blooms away. Those wonderful flowers that delight the eye throughout summer fade away …Read More

KATIE BENNETT, Clear Creek Naturalist Fall in Ohio welcomes cooler temperatures, a painted landscape and significant activity among our avian friends. The changing weather, a safe place to rest and …Read More

From bald eagles to salamanders to foxes, you’ll find abounding wildlife at your Metro Parks. SEE MORE TIM TALKS VIDEOS Tell us your story

CARRIE MORROW, Assistant Resource Manager Central Ohio birders know that Metro Parks are fantastic for birding adventures. Visitors may be looking to add to their life list or just love …Read More

Butterfly Garden at Scioto Audubon Metro Park Quarter-acre butterfly garden off Maier Place Swallowtails, monarchs, skippers, cabbage whites, bumble bees and honeybees Garden and adjacent prairie filled with milkweed, butterfly …Read More

Annette Boose, Otterbein University and Andrew Boose, Metro Parks Aquatic Ecologist Over millions of years animals have evolved to blend into their surroundings. This is called camouflage and it helps …Read More

BRUCE SIMPSON, Blendon Woods Naturalist Spring is my favorite time for bird watching. As the lakes and river thaw, many waterfowl fly north and some of the seed-eating birds migrate …Read More

Scott Felker, Three Creeks Naturalist After what seems like the winter that lasted for forever, spring is finally here and so are the wildflowers. That means it’s time to search …Read More

BRANDON NOVOTNY, Park Ranger Prairie Oaks Spring brings a deluge of baby animals to our Metro Parks, as birds and wildlife nest and raise their offspring. Coming upon any animal …Read More

BRUCE SIMPSON, Blendon Woods Naturalist Turkeys are now common at Blendon Woods, but it wasn’t always that way. One morning around 15 years ago, as I walked along the Brookside …Read More

CAMERON SVOBODA, Naturalist Blacklick Woods Insects may be small, but they make up the majority of animal life. Whether or not we like them, we need them. Insects pollinate a …Read More

CODY BERKEBILE, Blacklick Woods Naturalist Harbingers of spring can be slow in coming for most of us. Toward the end of a cold and snowy winter, many of us are …Read More

DUSTIN DAVIS, Greenways Ranger While the recent frigid weather has probably kept most of us indoors, waterfowl travel from afar to reach Ohio. Every winter, our waterways become an oasis …Read More

HIGHBANKS METRO PARK (Naturalist Craig Biegler) A pair of eagles started nesting along the Olentangy River at Highbanks in 2010. Since then, they have raised about 15 eaglets. It takes four …Read More

JILL SNYDER, Highbanks Naturalist Most of us are familiar with cartoon images of a beaver building a dam. Beavers are often portrayed with big buckteeth, cutting down trees, piling up …Read More

JEN ROSA, Naturalist Prairie Oaks It’s commonly believed that owls are nocturnal, but barred owls and short-eared owls prove to be exceptions. They tend to be active during the day, …Read More

ANDREA KRAVA, Naturalist Blendon Woods Osage orange trees aren’t native to Ohio, but they arrived here in large numbers in the 1800s, mostly brought by settlers. They grow thick trunks …Read More

ALLISON SHAW, Naturalist Sharon Woods The eastern wahoo, an often-overlooked tree, is a beautiful find in autumn. It grows up to 20-feet-high and you will notice its bright red fruit …Read More

BRANDON NOVOTNY, Ranger Prairie Oaks November marks an exciting time in Metro Parks, just as a yearly tradition is taking place. The white-tail deer rut is in full swing and …Read More