Category: Nature Notes

Butterflies and dragonflies are certainly the most colorful summertime insects here at The Ridges. Many a poem has been composed in honor of these amazing aviators. However, these poems rarely touch on the science behind their life cycle and diet.    

Many children experience the wonder of watching a monarch caterpillar grow and change into a beautiful butterfly. Raising monarch butterflies can be a valuable educational tool for teaching children about lifecycles and metamorphosis. It can even inspire a love and appreciation of butterfly species. However, the practice of rearing monarchs can actually be more harmful than helpful to monarch conservation.   

If you are a wanderer of The Ridges trail systems, particularly in the ridges and swales, you've probably noted the relatively high number of boardwalks (roughly 25 in total), and the recent progress staff and volunteers have made on replacing ones that have shown their age. Much time and effort are invested in maintaining our network of trails and bridges for a multitude of reasons...

“What makes an orchid an orchid?” is a question we hear often at The Ridges Sanctuary. There are several ways to answer it, depending on whether you approach the question through history, biology, or the emotional response these plants seem to inspire.

WisCorps Environmental Educator Placement Natalie Schnackenberg concludes the school year with a touching reflection on her time co-teaching Dragonfly Nature 4k

Walking in the woods is one of my favorite ways to slow down my mind and be present in the moment. With longer daylight hours and signs of new life, May is a wonderful time to go on an afternoon walk. Unique colors are always the first thing to catch my eye. In the winter it may be lichen, in the fall I notice mushrooms, and in the spring it's the new flowers! 

There is specific, restrained electricity in the air at The Ridges Sanctuary during these early weeks of spring. To the casual observer, the forest may still look dormant, but as Land Manager, I see a landscape in a state of high-tension readiness. Rarity, by its very definition, commands our attention—but here, it also commands our awe. At The Ridges, we aren't just protecting a static map of trees and water; we are stewards of a restless, prehistoric, and incredibly rare intersection of life. 

As the days grow longer and the sun feels a little warmer, it’s tempting to believe spring has finally arrived—until winter reminds us otherwise. Even so, the snow is melting quickly, the ground is beginning to thaw, and daytime temperatures are staying above freezing. Signs of the season are already here: water flowing beneath Hidden Brook, frogs calling on warm afternoons, and sandhill cranes returning overhead. Spring is on its way—winter just insists on one last dramatic goodbye.

The forest teaches us many things; we just need to know where to look and how to listen. The winter season brings the lesson of life and allows us to see movement of animals in a way that no other season can. While most animals are elusive and not always seen while hiking, the ground cover of snow allows us to understand activities of active, resident animals in our area through deer beds, middens, scat, and tracks.

Now that the snow is flying, so too are Snowy Owls. This highly mobile species breeds and winters further north than any other owl. Most people encounter them only when the birds have dispersed far south of their arctic breeding range. Indeed, the causes and patterns of their movements are not understood with certainty, though decades of banding, telemetry, and satellite tracking efforts, in conjunction with environmental data, are shedding new light.