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

Scavenger Hunt at Casey Jones State Trail

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
  • Human-made

Happy scavenging!

 

 

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

Leaves: 7-9 leaflets per stem.
Bark: Dark brown tinged with red; strongly ridged.
Note: An invasive insect known as the emerald ash borer is spreading across the state and killing off many ash trees.

photos: MnDNR

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GREEN ASH

Tree - Green Ash

Leaves: Same shape as all maples (think Canada flag) but very jagged with deep notches.
Bark: Smooth when young, becomes shaggy with age.
Found: In floodplains and can withstand seasonal floods.

photo: MnDNR

2 / 20

SILVER MAPLE

Tree - Silver Maple

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

3 / 20

EASTERN COTTONWOOD

Tree - Eastern Cottonwood
Banner reads: Wildflowers

Blooms: June - August
Found: In sunny fields and rocky areas.
Petals: Tiny purple with orangish tips, packed around a gray cone.

photos: Pixabay

4 / 20

PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER

Flowers in field with pink frilly petals

Blooms: July-Sept.
Found: In sunny areas.
Petals: Branching clusters with small, yellow flowers
Note: MN has 17 types of goldenrod that look similar with small yellow flowers.

photo: Elfosium / Wikimedia CC

5 / 20

GOLDENROD

Flower - Goldenrod

Blooms: June - August
Commonly Found: Along shores and wood edges.
Petal Color: Pink or white.
Fun Fact: Monarchs lay their eggs solely on milkweed.

photo: USFWS

6 / 20

COMMON MILKWEED

flower with big green leaves and pink petals
Banner reads: Arthropods

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

7 / 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

8 / 20

DRAGONFLIES / DAMSELFLIES

Three photos showing different species of dragonfly

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

9 / 20

SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY

yellow butterfly
Banner reads: Birds

Appearance: Red-orange belly and black-gray top.

Found: Hopping on ground looking for worms to pull up and eat, or perched in trees signing.

photo: Mdf / WikiMedia CC

10 / 20

AMERICAN ROBIN

Robin

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

photo: Mdf / WikiMedia CC

11 / 20

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH

American Goldfinch

Appearance: Reddish tail. Body comes in variety of colors from brown to mostly white
Found: Perching high or soaring over fields.

12 / 20

RED-TAILED HAWK

Red Tailed Hawk
Banner reads: Mushrooms and Lichen

It forms like a crust on rocks.
Appearance: Pale white-green-yellow with a waxy surface. The inner area forms cup-like bodies with yellowish centers.

photo: PJason Hollinger/WikimediaCC

13 / 20

RIM LICHENS

Green lichen on a rock

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 & courtesy of Gitchi-Gami Trail Association

14 / 20

ELEGANT SUNBURST LICHEN

orange lichen growing on rock
Banner reads: Human Made

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

15 / 20

TREE CAVITY
(possible animal den)

Raccoon in a tree hole

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

16 / 20

WILDLIFE SCAT

pile of deer droppings in grass
Banner reads: Human Made
photo: Courtesy of Friends of the Casey Jones Trail

17 / 20

BICYCLE FIX-IT STATION

Red bike fix-it station along a trail with silos
photo: Courtesy of Friends of the Casey Jones Trail

18 / 20

TRAIL SIGN

Painted sign for the Casey Jones State Trail
photo: Courtesy of Friends of the Casey Jones Trail

19 / 20

TRAIL BRIDGE

Wooden bridge with grassy area in distance

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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.

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