RIM LICHENS

Appearance: Pale white-green-yellow with waxy surface. Inner area forms cup-like bodies with yellowish centers.
Found: Forms like a crust on rocks.

photo: PJason Hollinger/WikimediaCC

ARTIST'S CONK

Appearance: Semi-circle with brown top and pure white underside.
Found: On tree trunks of hardwood trees and some conifers.
CAUTION: Never eat any mushroom unless knowledgeable.

photos: Cyndy Sims Parr/FlickrCC
George Chernilevsky/Public domain

CHICKEN OF THE WOODS

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

EASTERN KINGBIRD

Appearance: Blackish above and white below. White tip on tail. Short, straight bill.
Found: In open places along forest edges or water.

photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren/WikiMediaCC

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

COMMON YELLOWTHROAT

Appearance: The male looks like the masked bandit of the bird world with its black mask on yellow body. Female doesn't have a mask.
Found: Secretive birds flit in the brush near marshes or wetlands.
Listen for: Cheerful song of "witchity-witchity-witchity-witchity"

photo: Dan Pancamo /Wikimedia CC

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

PAINTED TURTLE

Color: Red-orange bottom shell (appears painted on) and black-olive upper shell. Yellow stripes on neck.
Found: On logs in lakes.

These rather adorable reptiles are docile and have no teeth.

photo: Steven Katovich / Bugwood.org CC

SKINK

Size: 5-8 inches.
Color: Shiny black, brown, or green with stripes.
Found: Along stream banks or grasslands and rocky areas.
MN has 3 species of skink, that look similar

photo: Pixahive

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

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

BLAZING STAR

Blooms: July - September
Found: In prairies, open woods, along roads.
Petals: Feathery pink flowers with grasslike leaves grow in clumps in prairies.

photo: Angela C / Pixabay

GRAY SQUIRREL

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

photo: BirdPhotos.com / WikiMedia CC

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

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

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

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

GRASSHOPPER

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

MOSQUITO

Bzzzzz...thwap! Lucky you--you found a mosquito. At least you can check it off the list, even if, like most people, you weren't happy to find it.

photo: James Gathany / Flickr CC

MONARCH BUTTERFLY

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

WHAT OTHER INTERESTING THINGS DID YOU FIND?