Trees, Bees & Blizzards
Land Steward Jean Wiedenheft has had a busy couple of days in the aftermath of our blizzard. She reports in below: Thursday, near the banks of Indian Creek, I watched the wind tear the top…
Critters
Winter at the Nature Center
Photo by Duane Cooley It always surprises me how many people think we close up and go home for the winter. Not even CLOSE! The wildlife around here (and no, I’m not talking about the…
Why did the salamander cross the road?
To get to his winter habitat, of course. Jean got a call from a beekeeper in Springville about a band (or maelstrom, if you prefer) of tiger salamanders crossing the road near her home. Salamanders…
Sneaky
This hognose snake was taking a nice, quiet nap in the warm midday sun…until we came along. He woke up kinda grouchy! Lucky for us, he just looks fierce. Hey...I was sleeping! Do you mind??
A Nighttime Hunt
Senior Naturalist and Education Facilitator Jan Aiels recently took some families on a nighttime adventure. Here’s her account: Hot, humid nights are perfect for nighttime adventure in the woods hunting the big game of high…
No, not THAT newt
Jean has been out and about again…this time on the hunt for salamanders! Getting the traps ready Last year, Margaret asked a question I had never even thought about. Why don’t we see salamanders here?…
Sure Signs of Spring
Two sure signs of spring here today. The first came when I got out of my car this morning and started across the parking lot towards the barn. Birds were chirping away when I heard…
Critter Cam
Jean took the Flip Cam out to the apiary to check in on our bees. Take a look! Indian Creek Nature Center Apiary in February
What Happens When We Don’t Have Winter?
We’ve been getting lots of calls from people wondering how this unusually warm winter is going to affect their trees and plants. Will we have sap for maple syrup? What if my trees bud and…
Hawk(eye) Season
A Cedar Rapids resident brought us these spectacular photos taken in her yard of a young red-tailed hawk. She brought them to us for identification, thinking the hawk was too large to be a red-tail…