Phenology

Have you seen a metro fox or coyote recently?

by Karen Schik

October 29, 2019

If you live in the Twin Cities Metro area and have seen gray fox, red fox or coyotes or their tracks, we could use your help! >>

It's monarch migration season!

by Ellie Rogers

September 6, 2019

Fall brings chances to spot monarch roosts — dozens of butterflies gathering together on their migration south. FMR ecologist Karen Schik found hundreds earlier this week and sent these videos back from a visit to our prairie restoration at Flint Hills Resources in Inver Grove Heights. >>

Fisher spotted at FMR restoration site

by Karen Schik

April 21, 2019

One member of the weasel family, the fisher, is more commonly a denizen of Minnesota's north woods than our metro woodlands. Finding a fisher recently at Spring Lake Park Reserve in Dakota County was a rare treat. >>

Ghost Pipe

September 15, 2018

Ghost pipe looks like a fungi, but is actually a flowering, parasitic woodland plant. Read more

Snapping turtle hatchlings protected from predators

by Ellie Rogers

September 10, 2018

Our wildlife cameras caught baby snapping turtles hatching in peace thanks to our new wildlife nest enclosure at Spring Lake Islands Wildlife Management Area. >>

Nature notes: Turtles on the go under the ice

by Betsy Daub

February 9, 2018

For reasons not yet understood, many turtles stay active under the winter ice. Learn more about their mysterious habits and about a local FMR turtle protection project in this month's Nature Notes. >>

Nature notes: Who goes there?

by Karen Schik

January 5, 2018

What animals traveled through our yards and landscapes under the cover of night or even right under our noses? A primer on reading tracks in the snow. >>