SPLIT GILL

Appearance: Clusters of white, fan-shaped caps with fuzzy tops and gills under.
Found: On stumps, logs, and sticks of dead hardwood, especially oak.
Fun Fact: One of the most common mushrooms on the planet.
CAUTION: Never eat any mushroom unless knowledgeable.

photo: Mark Lingl/P&TC Contest

LIPSTICK POWDERHORN LICHEN

Appearance: Red tips on a green stalk that are about 1 inch tall.
Found: On dead wood and often at the bases of trees.

photo: bjoerns/WikimediaCC

ELEGANT SUNBURST LICHEN

Appearance: Rich red-orange rosettes with radiating fingerlike lobes.
Found: Common on rocky shores. Found on every continent except Australia.
Fun Fact: Thrives under bird perches where it absorbs nitrogen from poop.

photo: Björn S.../WikimediaCC

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH

Appearance: Brilliant yellow with black wings and cap.
Found: In areas with thistle plants and usually in small flocks.

photo: Mdf / WikiMedia CC

BALD EAGLE

Appearance: White head that turns white by age 4-5.
Found: Soaring high overhead or perched near top of white pine trees near water.
Fact: A conservation success story--nearing extinction by the 1970s, it rebounded after a ban on DDT pesticides.

AMERICAN CROW

Appearance: All-black bird with a loud call.
Found: Around open areas near patches of woods.
Fun Fact: They are one of the most intelligent birds and live up to 20 years in large, extended families.

photo: Dick Daniels/Carolina Birds

AMERICAN TOAD

Color: Brown, olive green, or reddish.
Found: Near water or moist areas.
Toads are amphibians that start life as tadpoles and then emerge onto dry land as tiny toadlets about the length of a fingernail.

photo: National Park Service

NORTHERN LEOPARD FROG

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

COMMON GARTER SNAKE

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

BUTTERFLY WEED

Blooms June - September
Found: In the sun, dry fields, and prairies.
Petals: Flat-topped clusters with up to 25 orange flowers.

photo: Eric Hunt / Wikimedia CC

BLACK-EYED SUSAN

Blooms: June - October
Found: Sunny fields, along roads or lakeshores.
Petals: Cheery yellow petals swirl around a black center.

photo: Luke Lawreszuk / Sprayedout.com

COLUMBINE

Blooms: May - July
Found: On cliffs and forest edges.
Petals: Red/pink with club-like petals.
Fun Fact: Hummingbirds drink nectar from this flower.

photo: Jelieta Walinski/P&TC photo contest

RED SQUIRREL

A cute little critter with a loud bark/chatter. The white ring around its eye only adds to the cuteness.

photo: Pixabay

BEAVER (lodge or chew marks)

Lodges (Beaver homes): Look in shallow water for mounds of sticks. Beavers made these by chewing, carrying and placing each stick in place with mud. The entrance is underwater.
Chew Marks: Beavers gnaw on trees to fell them and use them in building dams. The marks are unique to beavers and one of the best signs of beaver presence.

[photos: Kyle T. Ford/P&TC photo contest; Keith William/FlickrCC]

WHITETAIL DEER

One of the largest mammals in MN yet camouflaged and stealthy. Sleeps in different spot each night. Only males grow antlers.

photos: Justin Pruden / P&TC photo contest

BUR OAK

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

RED CEDAR (Juniper)

Needle: scale-like and green with sharp point.
Bark: Reddish-brown, peeling off in vertical shred-like strips.
Pinecone: Blueish berries are actually cones, which are used to flavor gin.

BITTERNUT HICKORY

Leaf: 7-11 narrow leaflets with pointed tips and fine-toothed edge.
Bark: Light gray-brown, smooth when young, then lightly textured shallow and narrow fissures with age.
Fruit: Round nut is too bitter to eat but used in smoking foods.

photos: MnDNR

SPIDERWEB

Often invisible until the sun hits it just right. Spiders create these fantastic contraptions to catch prey. The silk is made in glands on the spider's abdomen. Many spiders will eat their own web each day and rebuild a new one the next day.

photo: Aaron Kostko/P&TC Photo Contest

LADYBUGS (Ladybird Beetles)

Size & Shape: Most common ones are the non-native species (shown in photo) that are reddish with black spots. Minnesota is home to 50+ species of rare ladybugs.

photos: Dominik Stodulski/Wikimedia CC & Larah McElroy/FlickrCC

SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY

Color: Yellow with black outline or black with yellow marks.
Shape: Large wings with a set of tails at the end.
Found: Among wildflowers and along rivers, creeks and fields.
Fun Fact: In addition to eating flower nectar they also eat dead animals, dung and urine.

photos: James St. John/WikimediaCC

WHAT OTHER INTERESTING THINGS DID YOU FIND?