Medina County Biodiversity Project's Journal

We are grateful for the over 100 members currently involved with and contributing to the Medina County Biodiversity Project! Collectively these members have assisted with the documentation and study of over 2,000 species. This is work that simply cannot be done without the help of citizen scientists like you.

Whether you are a long-standing member or are new to iNaturalist, we encourage you to take a look at the iNaturalist tutorial recently created by staff members at the Medina County Park District. If you are new, the tutorial is here to help you get started. If you have been with the project for awhile, maybe you will learn something new. Either way, we hope that this tool will prove useful for you. We look forward to seeing what amazing things you observe in your Medina County adventures.

The tutorial can be found on the Medina County Park District YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJfwaqI1Ng7SqkpssYMIEQ

It's officially 2020, and while it's cold outside there are still plenty of observations to be made. Do you have bird feeders outside your home? We would love to see what species are visiting your yard.

Do you know how to identify trees and shrubs based on their bark and their buds? If not, there are others who can help you. You don't have to be an expert to post observations to iNaturalist and the Medina County Biodiversity Project. All you need is curiosity and a desire to learn, share, and be a part of something important. So get out there and let us know what you're seeing!

Otherwise known as a day devoted to Dragonflies and Damselflies. On August 25, 2018 from 1-3PM we will be hosting a Dragonfly/Damselfly themed Bioblitz at Letha House Park West in Spencer, Ohio. We are very excited to be holding this event at this park. With habitats ranging from wet meadows to wetlands, fields, to forests, ponds to cold streams -- this park does not disappoint.

One of my favorite finds from Letha House, earlier this summer was the Carolina Saddlebags: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/12777873.

And most recently, this park turned up what appears to be a young, but seemingly healthy population of Mottled Sculpin: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/14795887.

Again, this is one of those parks that just does not disappoint. If Odonata are your thing, we've recently assembled a iNaturalist Guide to Odonata of Medina County Park District which you can see here: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/8221.

And if you find yourself with some freetime on August 25th, even if you are interested in simply taking a walk and enjoying nature with others, join us for the Odo-blitz!

Letha House Park West
5800 Richman Road
Enclosed Shelter
Spencer, OH 44275

Late spring, also known as the season of Warblers and Wildflowers, has finally arrived. The sounds of the woods are shifting to the emphatic chirps and calls of neotropical migrants and the ground is blanketed in a rainbow of color. Even between raindrops, it is hard not to get excited about the many surprises that might be awaiting you just a short hike away!

If flowers are your thing, it isn't too late to join our Spring Native Wildflower Challenge. There are still wildflowers to be found in all of our parks and fun prizes for completion, check the challenge out here: http://medinacountyparks.com/images/Wildflower-Challenge-bro-and-guide-2018-web.pdf .

And if warblers are what get you out of bed at 5:00 AM on a Saturday morning, we still have Audubon Spring Bird Hikes at River Styx Park, Bird Banding at Wolf Creek Environmental Center, and a family-friendly program all about warblers inside at Susan Hambley Nature Center. Information on all of these programs, and more, can be found at: http://medinacountyparks.com/index.php/programs/calendar-events#year=2018&month=5&day=6&view=month .

Regardless of how you happen upon these brilliant signs of spring, we hope that you'll continue to share your sightings with us right here at the Medina County Biodiversity Project!

Happy Birding and Flower-Finding!

The long-anticipated return of Spring is finally upon us! A step outside might lend itself to a glimpse of a Red-winged Blackbird, the sight of an American Crow collecting nest material, the emergence of some of our earliest spring wildflowers like Harbinger-of-Spring, or perhaps the persistent peeping of a Spring Peeper. In some ways this feels behind as it is already April, but then the emphatic chatter of a Carolina Wren outside my window reminds me that nature runs on its own time and everyone out there seems to think that we are right on track.

I recently had the opportunity to experience something that I have to admit that I never have before. We stumbled, purely by accident, upon an area of wetland where hundreds or maybe thousands of Western Chorus Frogs could be seen inflating and deflating their throats as they, appropriately, chorused. At their shockingly small size, a scope was actually necessary to see them, but the sight was worth it. Check the video out on our Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BhHu4FCBSm7/?hl=en&taken-by=medinacountyparks

These signs of spring, large and small, are all around us waiting to be observed. As always, share your Medina County Park District sightings with us! And, if you’re looking to join fellow nature enthusiasts in your explorations, check out our Calendar of Events (https://www.medinacountyparks.com/index.php/programs/calendar-events#year=2018&month=4&day=3&view=month) for upcoming programs like the Woodcock Walk on April 6th or All About Amphibians on April 15th.

Happy Exploring!

As the ground is thawing and the air and water are warming, it is hard not to get a little bit excited for things to come. While this post may seem a little early, it could be a matter of only days before we start to see our earliest Odonata species flying. Common Green Darners have been spotted flying as early as March 21st in previous years.

We are excited to share with you an upcoming opportunity to study Odonata, Dragonflies and Damselflies, with our staff and volunteers! There are currently 78 recorded species of Dragonflies and Damselflies within Medina County, but there are an astonishing nearly 50 species in neighboring counties that remain undocumented here. While it is possible that not every species can be found here, this Bioblitz-style Odonata event will give us the opportunity to see what may quite literally be flying under our radar.

Join us to try to find and record as many Dragonfly and Damselfly species as possible at our Odo-Blitz! held at Letha House Park West from 1:00 - 3:00 PM on Saturday, August 25, 2018.

We hope to see you there!

Additional Information:
Starting May 1, 2018 more information about our program can be found on our website at: https://www.medinacountyparks.com/

To learn more about the Ohio Dragonfly Survey, which we will be reporting our sightings to: https://u.osu.edu/ohioodonatasurvey/

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ohio-dragonfly-survey-ohio-odonata-survey

For a species list for Medina County: https://u.osu.edu/ohioodonatasurvey/records_species_by_county/northeastern-region/medina/

Due to heavy thunderstorms this event has been rescheduled for Saturday, July 29th.

We all know that pollinators play an important role in our food production, but did you know that bumble bees are among our most efficient pollinators? More importantly, unlike honey bees, our bumble bees are native! In fact, there are 21 different species of bumble bees in the eastern United States and nearly all of them have a distribution that places them in portions of Ohio. Although honey bees are not native and our bumble bees are, the two insects share more than just flowers - populations of both insects have been in serious decline the past few years. One species, the rusty patched bumble bee, has the distinction of being the first bumble bee placed on the federal endangered species list. This species was also once common in Ohio. Join us for an important citizen science project as we set out in search of bees and help scientists gather information that will help protect them in the future. Citizen scientists will be photographing species and uploading information to the Ohio Bee Atlas database.

We will meet at Letha House Park in Chatham Township on Saturday, July 29th, at 11am near the shelter on the east side of Richman Road. There will be an ice cream social at the end of the survey, so please let Shelley Tender know if you plan to attend (330-239-4814).

Letha House Park East
5745 Richman Road
Spencer, OH 44275