Native Plant Month: Trilliums
by Christy Rybka Trilliums are a group of wildflowers that belong to the Liliaceae family and can be identified by their three petals, three sepals, and three leaves. It’s easy…
Busy Bees in Kentucky
by Christy Rybka As winter comes to an end and spring is on its way, it is almost time for the bees to return! Worldwide, there are over 20,000 species…
Killdeers
by Jacob Crider Following our recent prescribed burns at Creasey Mahan, Killdeers (Charadrius vociferus) have been setting up shop and calling conspicuously throughout the open areas of the preserve. A…
Eastern Screech Owl
by Jacob Crider This past weekend at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve, we held our 16th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count. The count was wonderful, and over the weekend we documented 34…
Brown Creepers
by Jacob Crider During winter, songbirds are highly active and must feed throughout the day to survive the harsh, cold, and wet conditions until breeding season. This can leave them…
Southern Two-lined Salamanders
by Jacob Crider Warm January rains and plenty of snowmelt leads to great conditions for many native amphibians species here in Kentucky. While the majority of our reptiles are mostly…
Golden-crowned Kinglet
by Jacob Crider Out of all of the songbirds that migrate south to Kentucky, the smallest and arguably most hyperactive is the Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa). These colorful little birds…
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
by Jacob Crider Unique amongst the other species of Woodpeckers in our region, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus various) are a common winter visitor at CMNP. These medium-sized Woodpeckers are our only…
Cracked Cap Polypore
by Jacob Crider The Cracked Cap Polypore (Phellinus robinae) is a species of bracket fungus that grows almost exclusively on Black Locust trees (Robinia psuedoacacia). They are so adept at…
Song Sparrows
by Jacob Crider Wintertime in Kentucky is a great time to look for the many species of sparrow that inhabit our meadows, shrublands, farms, and wetlands. The abundance of seeds…