Explore Your Community Park

The creek at a nearby Community Park.

Great biodiversity is as close as your city park.
Most people think that in order to see beautiful wildflowers,
trees, and wild animals you have to visit a State or National Park,
but all you have to do is drive to your Community Park.
Just about every town has one.  You'll be amazed at what you can
 find.  Here are some examples of the many different kinds of 
plants, animals, and fungi you might see at your park.

Hopefully your park has a stream, maybe a creek or a river, that 

you can walk by, and even walk in.

If you have a creek you will have turtles, like these Pond Sliders.
Click here for a video.

The green slimy stuff is an algae called Spirogyra.
Pick some up and feel it...smell it...it's not harmful.

Notice the bubbles in the photo above.  The algae is turning CO2 into a food source called carbohydrates.  The algae's green chloroplasts 
split the water (H2O) molecules, separating the Hs and the Os.  

The Hs (hydrogens) combine with the CO2 to make carbohydrates (C6H12O6),

and the Os (oxygens) pair-up to make O2, oxygen gas, the bubbles that you see.

Of course it takes energy to do this, and sunlight provides that energy.  

If this, photosynthesis, didn't happen, you and I would not be here!

When you go to the park wear sandals so that you can actually
get in the creek and walk around...if you wish.

There will be thousands of aquatic Snails
crawling on the creek bottom, along with
Crawdads (or do you call them Crayfish?).

Video of Crawdads and Minnows

These casings were made by aquatic insect larvae
called Caddisfly larvae.  
The adult stage is a winged insect that looks very much like moths.
Click here to see some crazy caddisfly larvae architecture.

Turn a rock over and you might get lucky enough to see
another insect in its larval stage, like this tiny Stonefly larva.
Click here for information.

One of the largest birds you'll ever see is this Great Blue Heron.
Information about Herons

If you want to learn more about birds click here.

You may see a shell like this one next to the creek.  A Dragonfly
  crawled out of its shell, beginning its new life as a flying insect
leaving its aquatic life behind.

Dragonflies are one of my favorite animals to watch near a creek,
They are fantastic flying animals.

The wind blew its wings forward.

This one's smiling!    ha  

Click any photo to enlarge it and get a better look.

Always be aware of Poison Ivy, which can be growing 

along the creek or even up a tree trunk like this one.

You'll always see at least one tree with Poison Ivy
growing up its trunk.  Be aware.  Their oil causes
a rash on most people.

Each leaf has 3 leaflets and, at this time of the year, will have 
light colored berries.  Do not touch any part of the plant.
When in doubt, "Leaflets three...let it be."

Poison Ivy fruit

Also, if you know that you have touched poison ivy, try not to touch

anyone else, because you might get the oil on them, giving them

the rash.   Even if you are not allergic to poison ivy, please try not to

 touch the plant, because you will have the oil on you, spreading the

 oil to others, who are allergic.

Tiger Swallowtails
 Click here  to see a video of these butterflies!

Most parks have this plant called Poke  or Pokeweed growing 

along the woods.  Be aware...all parts of this plant are 

poisonous if eaten!!  (It's not poisonous to the touch.)

To learn more about Poke or Pokeweed, click here.

This plant, Knotweed, has a long row of tiny white flowers.
(This plant is also called Jumpseed)

A bug enjoying the nectar from the Knotweed flower.
Click here for more information.
Click any photo to enlarge it.

Ebony Spleenwort 
This common fern grows all over KY. 

Click here for information about the June Bug.

The June Bug, above, is at least twice as big as the 
Japanese Beetle (next photo).

Click here for information about this Japanese Beetle.
Many people want to call these insects June Bugs, but they are not.
Click here to read about the problem with common names!

At this time of the year in this area you will 

always see Sour Grass, aka Yellow Wood Sorrel

The leaves and flowers of this Yellow Wood Sorrel can be eaten.
They have a lemony flavor and thus, Sour Grass.

Notice how each leaflet is heart-shaped.

(Clover leaflets are not heart-shaped.)

When you go to the park you may find different kinds of fungi, including mushrooms, puffballs and boletes.

There is such a variety of mushrooms that can be seen
at your park, if you just walk slowly and look around.

This fungus is a Blue Mushroom called Lactarius indigo.  
[With scientific words the first part (genus) is capitalized, but
the second part (species) is never capitalized.]

This fungus is called a Bolete.  
Mushrooms, like the blue one, have gills under their cap;
 boletes, like this yellow one, have pores (holes), instead of gills.

Puffballs
When you (or a raindrop) touch this fungus, a puff of
spores erupts out of the hole in the top, which spreads its spores
throughout the woods.

Giant Puffball (4-30 inches across!)
This giant fungus gets to be the size of a soccer ball or bigger .  Unlike other puffballs, this one does not have a hole in the top for spores to fly out of.  But, when you kick it, you'll get an explosion of 'smoke' or spores. 

Here's a fungus, a Chanterelle, that's supposed to be
pretty tasty, but don't eat fungi unless you're an expert
at identifying them.

What an unusual pattern on the cap of this mushroom. 
Click the photo to enlarge it.

Anytime you see a mushroom, remember that you are
looking at its reproductive structure.  Its mycelium, the main body of
the fungus is in the soil (or dead tree trunk) absorbing nutrients.

When things die, like this tree, their nutrients need to be recycled back into the ecosystem.  These shelf fungi are decomposing this dead tree, taking some nutrients for themselves and returning some to the soil for future plants to use.

You may be lucky enough to see chrysalids (you can also say

 chrysalises), which are the stage between the caterpillar and 

the butterfly...the pupal stage.

I saw this chrysalis of the Variegated Fritillary butterfly
hanging on the stem of a shrub.

It's hard to believe that a caterpillar made this structure.
I'm amazed at this ability!!

Unbelievable!
Click here for information about this butterfly,
and here to see it come out of its chrysalis!!!

You'll probably see many kinds of spiders at the park!  
In this area, only the black widow and the brown recluse
 are poisonous to us, and you probably won't see them;  
they like to hide from us.
  Search google images to see what these two species look like.

 There are many species of spiders at the park, and

most of them are harmless, like this one.

This Garden Spider is not poisonous, 
but it is very large and scary!

I must point out that all spiders 'bite'!!  We say bite, but they don't really bite.  They stab you with their fangs and inject their digestive juices into you, but not all  spiders are harmful to you!  

   

As I said earlier, only two species in this area have poisonous venom;  the rest of the spiders are not poisonous to us.

This spider is waiting on this Dayflower, for a nectar-loving species, 
such as a butterfly or moth.  

Beware of the thorns of the Thistle plant.

A Broad-headed Skink is a kind of lizard. 
Click here for information.

Don't be scared of this insect, the Dog Day Cicada,
but don't pick it up, either.  It's not poisonous, but its
proboscis is like a hypodermic needle, and hurts.

Please remember that this is NOT a locust !

Locusts are a kind of grasshopper, which this is not!

 Cicadas rub their abdominal plates together 
to make the loud buzzing sounds of Fall.
Click here   to see a video of a "buzzing" cicada.

A very common flowering plant called Phlox.  

You'll most likely see some Ash trees with
their distinctive seeds and compound leaves.

Another very common tree is the Sycamore, with its
bark flaking off, revealing its white tissue underneath.
They seem to grow more near creeks and rivers.

The Tulip Tree is Kentucky's state tree.

It's aka Yellow Poplar  or even Tulip Poplar, but this tree is really 

not a poplar!  Notice it's unusual 4-lobed leaf...very distinctive.

One of the many species of Goldenrod, KY's state flower.

A Sumac shrub with its colorful fruit.

A great place to walk at parks is the edge of the mowed grass,
where many flowers and insects can be found. 
You can see the Goldenrod.

This is KY's state butterfly, called a Viceroy butterfly.

Learn more about the Viceroy here.

Viceroys look a lot like Monarchs, but Monarch's do not have 
a line running across their bottom wings like Viceroys do.

Compare this Monarch with the Viceroy, above.
Monarch Information

A beautiful Northern Hairstreak butterfly. (~ 1 inch)
Click here to identify butterflies.

Passion Flower and its fruit.

This is an extremely unique flower!
Click here to learn more about this plant.
Click any photo to enlarge it.

The very colorful Trumpet Vine.
Click here for information.

The bubbly froth of Spittlebug larvae.
Click  here  to see a short video.
 Click here for information about this species.

I found this Tobacco Worm (caterpillar) with little white
cocoons all over its back.  I took it home and put it in a terrarium
to see what would come out of the cocoons.

After a few days I observed a tiny wasp emerge from one of
the cocoons.  Very creepy!  So, what's going on?
Sometimes a Brachonid wasp will inject its eggs inside of a caterpillar.  The eggs will hatch and the larvae will begin
 consuming the viscera of the caterpillar.  Then, the larvae 
bore through the skin and construct their cocoons...
hatch out...and fly away, in search of another caterpillar.

One of the most beautiful butterflies around, The Gulf Fritillary.

I was really hesitant to get near this Hornet, which are
the largest of the wasps.  Look at that stinger!

A Hummingbird Moth hovering and feeding.
Most people assume this is a hummingbird, but it's a moth.
Click here for information.

Video of a hummingbird moth 

in search of nectar.

Male moss plants on the left and females on the right.
If you get down close to the moss plants you'll notice that 
some of them have little green florets and some don't.  
If they have them, then they are the males.
Click  here  to learn about the life cycle of mosses.

And one of my favorite flowers, because of its simple beauty,
is the Mistflower.   Click here for information.

The most common bird that you'll see
at the community park will probably be the Robin.

 

Other common birds (that you can google) are cardinals, blue jays, mourning doves, grackles, and sparrows.  Observe the many different kinds of birds, and, over time, learn their names as well as their behaviors.  In my opinion the best site for bird ID is All About Birds.

Everyone's favorite park inhabitant...the Gray Squirrel.
Click here for info.

There are so many different kinds of plants, animals, and fungi to see at your city park;  you will be amazed!  
Take your family, a friend, or just go by 
yourself and enjoy a walk.

Get out and explore your surroundings!