Birds of a feather flock together at Metro Parks
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
Flap your wings at these butterfly and insect havens
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
A Multitude of Magnificent Mimics
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
Winging their way to a forest near you…
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
April showers bring May flowers…
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
Baby animals are busting out in Metro Parks
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
Turkeys at Blendon Woods now common, but it wasn’t always this way
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
Insects employ clever ways of coping with winter cold
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
Harbingers of spring
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
Migrating birds turn frozen parks into a winter oasis
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
Eagles make their homes in Metro Parks
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
Beaver tales
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
Daytime Owls
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
The fruit that looks like a monkey brain
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
You can’t miss the vibrant red wahoo
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
If you get in a rut, try a little headbanging
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
Five species I’ve never seen at Blacklick Woods
CODY BERKEBILE, Naturalist Blacklick Woods One of the best parts about being a naturalist is the opportunity to continually learn about and see new things. Working at Blacklick Woods for …Read More
We’re Buckeyes because…
CODY BERKEBILE Blacklick Woods Naturalist Now that football season is here, Ohioans turn their focus to The Ohio State Buckeyes. Living in Columbus, it is impossible to ignore the barrage of …Read More
How to grow a butterfly
It’s that time of year when monarch butterflies begin their magical migration south to the mountains of Mexico, where they’ll spend the winter. I’ve been seeing monarch butterflies in the …Read More
World Snake Day: Celebrating Memaw and snakes around the globe
July 16 marks World Snake Day, a time to celebrate snakes and the vital roles they play in the ecosystem. The Metro Parks have several different snakes, including Memaw, a …Read More