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

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

YELLOW FLY AGARIC MUSHROOM

Appearance: Yellow cap with white specks.
Found: On the ground under conifers, aspen, or birch.
Fun Fact: Appears in many fairytales.
CAUTION: Never eat mushrooms unless knowledgeable.

photo: Steve Young/P&TC

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 GOLDFINCH

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

photo: Mdf / WikiMedia CC

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

THIRTEEN-LINED GROUND SQUIRREL

Long body with 13 stripes on back. Found scurrying along ground or darting into its underground home.

photo: Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar / 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

GRAY SQUIRREL

Found across Minnesota from woods to urban yards. Build leaf nests in summer.

photo: BirdPhotos.com / WikiMedia CC

QUAKING ASPEN

Leaf: Rounded with saw-tooth edge. Leafstalk is flattened, which allow it to "quake" in the breeze.
Try: If you find a leaf try rolling it by its stem with your fingers to feel the way it moves.
Bark: Greenish-white and smooth upper with black splotches. Base is grayish and furrowed.

photos: MnDNR

WHITE OAK

Leaf: 5-9 finger-like lobes that can be notched deeply or shallow.
Bark: Pale gray with scaly ridges and shallow fissures.
Acorn: light brown and enclosed in a bowl-shaped cap.

photo: MnDNR

AMERICAN ELM

Leaf: Oval with double-edged teeth. Feel rough when rubbed.
Bark: Long trunk that's ashy gray with many furrows/ridges that get deeper with age.
Note: Dutch elm disease killed off many of these trees across the Eastern U.S. in the 1970s and today prevents many from reaching full age.

photos: MnDNR

DRAGONFLIES / DAMSELFLIES

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

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

WHAT OTHER INTERESTING THINGS DID YOU FIND?