Native yellow sunflowers in a field
24
Graphical banner reads: Scavenger Hunt 2023

Scavenger Hunt at Buffalo River State Park

Please note: The official 2023 season is finished. There are no more weekly drawings. However, you are still welcome to enjoy the hunts.

Welcome! You are tasked with finding "items" from these categories:

  • Trees
  • Wildflowers
  • Arthropods
  • Birds
  • Mushrooms & Lichens
  • Signs of wildlife
  • Amphibians & Reptiles

Happy scavenging!

 

 

Note: The icon below shows # of entries at this park for this year.
Banner reads: trees

Leaf: Heart-shaped with jagged teeth. Bees love to make honey from basswood flowers.
Bark: Smooth grayish red when young. Grayish brown with shallow, narrow ridges.
Fruit: Small nutlet under leafy bract.

photos: MnDNR; University of NE-Lincoln

1 / 20

BASSWOOD (LINDEN)

Basswood leaf, tree trunk and fruit

Leaves: Triangular.
Bark: Light gray on young trees and dark gray and rough on older trees.
Fruit: Fluffy, cottony catkins that disperse in wind in May - June.

photos: MnDNR

2 / 20

EASTERN COTTONWOOD

Tree - Eastern Cottonwood

Leaf: 7-9 rounded lobes with deep and shallow notches. Tips large and wavy.
Fruit: Acorn with fringe around cup. These feed many wildlife.
Tree Form: Relatively short trunk with heavy, sprawling branches

photos: MnDNR

3 / 20

BUR OAK

Tree - Bur Oak
Banner reads: Wildflowers

Blooms: June - July
Found: In part-sun to full sun in fields and along wood edges.
Petals: Light to dark pink with 5 rounded petals

photo: Benny Mazur / FlickrCC

4 / 20

WILD ROSE

Pink flower with five petals

Blooms: Jun-Aug
Found: In sunny, sandy fields.
Appearance: 1-3 feet tall. Technically a shrub with woody stems to last through winter.

photo: USFWS

5 / 20

LEAD PLANT

Flower - Lead Plant

Blooms June - Sept. Found in sunny fields. Pink, shaggy petals. Butterflies drink its nectar.

photo: Joshua Mayer/FlickrCC

6 / 20

WILD BERGAMOT

Wild Bergamot
Banner reads: Arthropods

Color: Bright orange with black veins.
Found: Flying around wildflowers.
Fun Fact:
They fly down to Mexico before winter begins.

photo: Peter Miller / Flickr CC

7 / 20

MONARCH BUTTERFLY

Monarch butterfly on a pink flower

Found: Near tall grasses in late summer and fall.
Fun Fact: They are jumping phenoms, leaping 20 times their body length, which equates to a human jumping 120 feet.

photo: Will Brown / WikiMedia CC

8 / 20

GRASSHOPPER

Grasshopper in studio setting

Appearance: 140 species in MN come in a rainbow of colors.
Dragonfly: Bigger and keep wings spread out when resting.
Damselfly: Smaller and close their wings when resting.
Fun Fact: They can fly upside down, backward, and turn 360° on a dime.

photos: John Wright / Flickr CC; Jim Johnson / iNaturalist CC; Wayne Fidler / iNaturalist CC

9 / 20

DRAGONFLIES / DAMSELFLIES

Three photos showing different species of dragonfly
Banner reads: Birds

Appearance: Gray with a white belly. The cap is gray in females and black in males.
Found: In the forest, hopping headfirst down tree trunks.
Listen for: Loud, nasally yammering

photo: Steve Ryan, Wikimedia CC

10 / 20

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH

White-breasted Nuthatch

Appearance: These two woodpeckers are nearly identical with the Downy a little smaller at ~6" and Hairy ~9". The female doesn't have the red mark on head.

Found: In the forest.

Photo: Andrew McKinlay/FlickrCC

11 / 20

DOWNY or HAIRY WOODPECKER

Hairy woodpecker

Appearance:  Blue with a reddish chest and white belly.
Found: Flying fast over prairies.
Fact: Once nearly eliminated from MN, now rebounded as people built nest boxes.

photo: pixabay.com

12 / 20

EASTERN BLUEBIRD

bluebird
Banner reads: Mushrooms and Lichen

Appearance: Orange with yellow edge, shelf-like layers.
Found: On decaying stumps and logs or an injured tree in late summer or fall.
CAUTION: Never eat any mushroom unless knowledgeable.

photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT/WikimediaCC

13 / 20

CHICKEN OF THE WOODS

Orange, layered mushroom

Appearance:  Looks like a leaf of lettuce glued to a tree. It's pale yellow-green with wrinkly, wavy lobes.
Found: On the trunk of broad leafed trees such as maples, oaks, etc. and shrubs.
Fun Fact: Some people use it to dye wool.

photo: Björn S.../WikimediaCC

14 / 20

COMMON GREENSHIELD LICHEN

Green lichen
Banner reads: Human Made

Everybody poops, and sometimes we're lucky enough to find proof on the trail. Rabbit and deer (photo) poop/scat are like rounded pellets. Carnivores often have fur in their droppings.

photo: Kevin Casper / CC0 public domain

15 / 20

WILDLIFE SCAT

pile of deer droppings in grass

Deer hooves (photo) are commonly seen on or near trails. Their hooves make two side-by-side teardrop tracks. Other common prints are from raccoons, rabbits, opossums, and coyotes.

photo: QS Wiki Account, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

16 / 20

ANIMAL FOOTPRINTS

Deer hoof print in dirt

Many animals, such as squirrels, raccoons, owls, bats, weasels, porcupines, songbirds, and others, make their homes inside tree holes. The holes can occur from tree decay or broken branches, or else with the help of woodpeckers. While it's rare to see the occupant, let's assume it's a home for someone.

photo: Lorianne DiSabato / Flickr CC

17 / 20

TREE CAVITY
(possible animal den)

Raccoon in a tree hole
Banner reads: Amphibians and reptiles

Color: Black with 3 yellow lengthwise stripes.
Found: In the brush or sunning themselves on a paved trail.
No need to fear these reptiles who mind their own business.

photo: Christina Butler/Wikimedia CC

18 / 20

COMMON GARTER SNAKE

Garter snake in leaves

Color: Bright green with spots that look like a leopard.
Found: In wet meadows and fields near wetlands or lakeshores.
Listen for: Long, deep snore lasting several seconds and ending with "chuck-chuck-chuck"

photo: Ryan Hodnett / Wikimedia CC

19 / 20

NORTHERN LEOPARD FROG

Northern Leopard Frog

20 / 20

WHAT OTHER INTERESTING THINGS DID YOU FIND?

Fill in the following information to be entered in our weekly drawing for a $25 gift card to Minnesota State Parks, which will be mailed to the winner. Weekly winners are randomly selected from entries to ALL participating parks and trails—only one entry per park each summer. However, you are welcome to participate and enter the drawing at multiple parks' this summer.

Please note: For anyone age 12 and under, please enter adult companion's info.

Your score is