Looking for love!












FUN FACT!

Of Birds...
The Blackpoll warbler (Dendroica striata) passes through Ohio in May on its trip northward after spending the winter in South America. Other wood warblers log long migrations as well, but the blackpoll is the endurance migratory champ among these tiny birds. Weighing in at ½ oz. and only 5 inches long from bill to tail, this bird clocks in a round trip of a little over 12,000 miles! Approximately 85 hours of that trip is non-stop over the Atlantic!. 

...and Bunnies!
Eastern cottontail females (Sylvilagus) spend only about five minutes per day nursing young. Rabbit moms feed the babies very early in the morning and in the evening, and they will not approach the nest if a predator (you) is nearby. Please don’t move them. They are not orphaned!

 

 

 

 

What’s new at the nature center?

February is the month for love – among wildlife, too – and naturalist Kim Banks has capitalized on that for a new display at the McCoy Nature Center at Hogback Ridge Preserve. Her display is like a personal ad page for birds and animals. Here’s just one example, as “written” by one of our feathered residents in the parks, the downy woodpecker:

“I am seeking a dependable mate with loud drumming skills and his own excavating tools for home building projects. Tolerance of sawdust required. Must enjoy head-banging music.”

Preservation Parks naturalists regularly create new displays in our bird observation room to go along with our permanent wildlife display. Whether it’s about different kinds of evergreens, migrating birds or desirable traits in mates, you’ll always learn something new.