Category: Parks

With the return of songbird nesting season, it’s time for cowbirds to get busy! But not everybody will be happy about that. Cowbirds are a native species, but their reputation is as invaders who displace other more “desirable” birds. The…

Ohio is home to something like 100 species of dragonflies, and to a large extent, they are creatures of summer. Both the abundance and the diversity of dragonflies peak in June and July. But a few species stretch those seasonal…

For most of us, the word “marsupial” brings to mind kangaroos and koalas—animals we might describe as cute, or even charismatic. But those adjectives probably are applied less often to our one local marsupial, the Virginia opossum, Dildelphis virginiana. With…

Sycamore trees are easy to spot on the landscape. Sycamores thrive in well-drained riparian (streamside) soils, and from the air they are conspicuous as large white sentinels marking the paths of creeks and rivers. On the ground, even in summer…

Southwest Ohio is home to seven species of woodpeckers. Six of those species—downy and hairy, red-bellied and red-headed, pileated and flicker—are year-round residents, and most of them are common in woods and neighborhoods and at feeders. But the seventh species,…

Perfect for birthday parties, graduation parties, family reunions and more, large group shelters are available in eight of the Centerville-Washington Park District community parks. Reservations for the 2023 calendar year may be made beginning at noon on Tuesday, January 3.  …

Honeybees and Bumblebees Prepare for Winter Honeybees (introduced from Europe to North America in the early 17th century) and bumblebees (several species native to southwest Ohio, including common eastern bumblebees, golden northern bumblebees, two-spotted bumblebees, and others) have a lot…

October is a transitional month. With the recent passing of the autumnal equinox, the sun now sits above the horizon for less than half the day. And as autumn marches on, temperatures drop. Together, these changes impose challenges for local…

Tiger swallowtails are among the most recognizable of our local butterflies, maybe second only to monarchs. There are two reasons for this. First, with their large size and prominent pattern, their appearance is pretty unmistakable. And second, tiger swallowtails are…

When you think about flies, you probably don’t think about descriptions like, “tremendous size and leg strength,” “potent saliva laced with neurotoxins,” “think fighter jet,” or “iron maiden death grasp.” Yet all of these phrases appear in postings about a…