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

Scavenger Hunt at Split Rock Lighthouse 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: oval to triangular shaped with jagged teeth.
Bark: Thin, papery; becomes pure white with age, marked by black pores; peels off into thin sheets.
Fun Fact: Bark historically used to make canoes and wigwams by Ojibwe peoples.

photos: MnDNR

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PAPER BIRCH

Tree - Paper Birch

Needles: Flat and scale-like and have aromatic scent.
Bark: Gray to reddish brown, separating in long, vertical shreddy strips.
Found: In moist, rocky places.

photo: MnDNR

2 / 20

WHITE CEDAR

Tree - White Cedar

Needles: Lay flat on twig and each needle is flat, soft and blunt-tipped.
Bark: Smoothish gray with horizontal ridges.
Smell: When needles are broken they give off a smell that reminds many people of Christmas.

photos: MnDNR

3 / 20

BALSAM FIR

balsam fir branch and trunk
Banner reads: Wildflowers

Blooms: June - September Plant is 1-3 feet tall.
Found: In sunny, wet ditches and shores.
Petals: Flowers are on spikes 2-5 inches tall. They attract bumblebees and other important pollinators.

photo: Andrew C / Wikimedia CC

4 / 20

BLUE VERVAIN

Flower - BlueVervain

Blooms: June - August
Found: Wood edges and along lakeshores.
Petals: A spike of pink flowers.
Fun Fact: Famous for being one of the first flowers to appear after a wildfire.

photo: George Chernilevsky / Wikimedia CC

5 / 20

FIREWEED

Flower - Fireweed

Blooms: July - September
Found: In sunny spots along shores.
Petals:Pink to purple flowers.

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JOE-PYE WEED

Flower - Joe Pye Weed
Banner reads: Arthropods

There are many types of caterpillars roaming around in Minnesota parks. They may be fuzzy, stripy, or plain, and each will transform into a moth or butterfly. The ones here are the Tussock Moth (top left), the Woolybear (bottom left), and the Monarch, which can be found on milkweed plants.

photo: Lisa Filter/P&TC; 1sock / FlickrCC; Maria L. Evans / Wikimedia CC

7 / 20

CATERPILLARS

Three caterpillars

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

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: Back cap and chin.
Found: Year-round residents of MN forests and common visitor to bird-feeders.
Fun Fact: A friendly bird that has been known to eat seeds from human hands.

photo: Minette Layne / Wikimedia Commons

10 / 20

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE

small bird with black head

Appearance: Bright orange with black.
Found: High in treetops of open woods. They have a loud, rich, whistling song.

photo: TonyCastro/Wikimedia CC & Kelly Colgan Aza/Flickr CC

11 / 20

BALTIMORE ORIOLE

Bright orange bird with black stripes

Males: Red eye and green crest.
Females: Brown with crest and white eye ring.
Found: In quiet backwaters or ponds.

photo: Rick Leche - Photography

12 / 20

WOOD DUCK

pair of wood ducks
Banner reads: Mushrooms and Lichen

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

13 / 20

COMMON GREENSHIELD LICHEN

Green lichen

Appearance: Bright orange-red like a cooked lobster

Found: Early summer to late fall after rain on the forest floor.

Fun fact: This is actually a parasitic fungus that grows on another mushroom (usually milkcap mushrooms) and turns red.

CAUTION: Never eat any mushroom unless knowledgeable.

photo (combined): © Erlon Bailey CC BY-SA & Jason Hollinger CC-BY

14 / 20

LOBSTER MUSHROOM

Bright orange mushroom
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

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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

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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

There are two tree frog species in MN, which look similar. Both are about 1 inch. They change colors in seconds to match their surroundings, varying from greens to grays.

photo: Richard Crook / Flickr cc & Fredlyfish4, CC 4.0 via Wikimedia

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TREEFROG (GRAY OR COPE'S GRAY)

Treefrog

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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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