Wildlife Wednesday 08/26/2026

Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Whooooooo loves owls? Let's learn about the three most frequently seen owl species at TWC! The Great Horned Owl is the largest owl in Ohio and with its enormous yellow eyes, long ear tufts, and deep hooting call it is the classic owl that jumps to mind from storybooks and drawings. Its preferred habitat includes woods interspersed with fields and open areas, as well as swamps, wetlands, meadows, orchards, and agricultural land, making The Wilderness Center and its surrounding area an ideal location for it to call home. The Great Horned Owl is almost strictly nocturnal, with peak activity occurring after dusk and before dawn. This massive powerful owl is at the top of the bird of prey food chain and has no predators. The Barred Owl is a sizable owl with length measurements comparable to those of the Great Horned, but with only half the weight. The Barred Owl has dark black eyes, prominent facial discs, and lacks ear tufts. An extremely vocal owl, its call is described by the mnemonic “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?” Pairs will often perform duets with this song, vocalizing loudly for extended periods of time. The Barred Owl has a delicate and graceful flight style as it swoops through forests and prefers wooded areas over open spaces. While most active at night, the Barred Owl can sometimes be seen during the day roosting on tree branches and inside cavities. The Eastern Screech-owl is Ohio’s smallest and most common owl, occurring in all 88 counties. This small owl is about the size of an American Robin, though double the weight. It has wide yellow eyes, ear tufts, and can come in two color morphs, red or gray. Its vocalization is not actually a screech, but instead a combination of whistles, trills, and whinnies. The Eastern screech-owl is very adaptable and can occupy a wide variety of habitats, including woodlands, suburbs, urban areas, and woodlots. Its diet is more varied than any other North American owl, preying upon rodents, birds, insects, and worms. Be sure to visit us for the Enchanted Forest ! You never know whoooooooo you might encounter! Written by Michelle Leighty, TWC Environmental Education Specialist

Fishers are returning to Ohio! Fishers were once common in Ohio- a native species. However, by the mid-1800s the fisher was extinct in Ohio. A victim of habitat loss, the forests they needed were cleared for agricultural land, and the fur trade. The first confirmed fisher sighting was in 2013. To date ODNR has received more than 40 confirmed fisher sightings across several counties, including Ashtabula, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Harrison, Jefferson, Lake, Mahoning, Trumbull, and Tuscarawas. Most of these sightings were in the last three years. Ohio is benefiting from the expanding fisher populations in our neighboring states. In the 1990’s fishers were re-introduced to Pennsylvania and West Virginia. From these two states fishers have been naturally migrating into Ohio. The forest habitat they depend on has been steadily returning to Ohio – nearly a million acres of forested land has been added to Ohio since 1970. Scientists also believe that Ohio fishers may be reproducing. Their belief is based on the examination of a pregnant female killed on the road. To date, no living young have been confirmed. So, what is a fisher? Fishers are nocturnal, carnivorous, fur-bearing, forest-dwelling mammals. Found only in North America, they are secretive, solitary hunters. They are sometimes referred to as “fisher cats.” However, they are not cats and they don’t eat fish. Fishers belong to the Mustelidae or weasel family. There is no definitive answer to why this animal is called fisher. It’s though that the name fisher is a lost-in-translation corruption of the name given to them by the early French fur-trappers. To them our weasel’s fur looked like the European polecat’s fur that they were familiar with. The French name for polecat is fiche. Over time fiche became fisher. Fishers are the second largest member of the weasel family in North America after the wolverine. They have long, slim bodies, short legs, rounded ears, thick brown to black fur and bushy tails. They have five toes on each foot and unsheathed, retractable claws. Their large feet allow them to move easily across snowpack. They are exceptional tree climbers. Fun fact: They can rotate their back paws almost 180 degrees – this allows them to descend trees headfirst. Not many mammals can do that! With its speed, agility, sharp claws, and teeth fishers are known to be extremely successful land and tree predators. They play an important role as mid-sized predators helping to control rodent populations. However, being opportunistic carnivores, their diet can adapt as needed to include birds, snowshoe hares, squirrels, reptiles, insects, carrion, vegetation and fruit. They are one of the rare animals that will hunt and kill porcupines. Fishers seem to be filling, at least in part, a role left vacant when top-tier predators, wolves for one, disappeared from their native ranges. Because fishers rely on connected, mature forests, protecting fishers also protects critical habitat for many other species – contributing to a healthy biodiversity. Forest ecosystems that include a healthy fisher population are a positive sign of a well-functioning, mature environment. So, fishers returning to Ohio is a very good thing, making our forest ecosystems one species stronger and more resilient. The fisher needs one more thing to succeed and thrive – the dark of night. Light pollution or skyglow can reach hundreds of miles from the urban area creating the pollution. It can reach into areas where fishers live and interfere with their hunting, mating, rearing their young – everything they do during the night. Light pollution is one challenge to the fisher’s success that everyone can do something about. Written by Robin Gill, Astronomy Education Specialist

Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Let's talk about Ohio mice. Most of us are probably all too familiar with a cute but typically unwanted rodent guest, the house mouse. Though still considered a wild animal, the house mouse has adapted so well to living near humans that it is categorized as a synanthrope. Synanthropes benefit from living near human settlements and include animals such as brown rats, cockroaches, pigeons, gulls, geckos, spiders, and centipedes. The house mouse is accustomed to people to the extent that it has even been domesticated as the pet "fancy" mouse and as the laboratory mouse. But Ohio also is home to two species of deer mice, the eastern deer mouse and the white-footed mouse. These species are found in habitats such as fields, woods, forests, and agricultural edges. Deer mice get their name for two main characteristics: their two-toned fur coloration and their high agility. The fur coats are brown to reddish brown on the top of the animal, with stark white on the underside and belly, resembling the pattern of a white-tailed deer. They are athletic and nimble and able to gracefully leap and bound, also similar to a deer. Primarily nocturnal, deer mice are fairly social and will often nest together in groups of ten or more. They communicate through vocalizations, scent marking, grooming, and drumming. The drumming behavior is an alarm signal to other mice and is accomplished by stamping their forelegs on hard surfaces, hollow reeds, and dry leaves. They are omnivores, their diet including nuts, seeds, berries, fruit, insects, fungi, and carrion. They are known to stockpile enormous caches of food, particular seeds and nuts, for consumption during the winter. Be sure to keep your ears open for the drumming sound of a deer mouse in the Enchanted Forest ! Written by Michelle Leighty, TWC Environmental Education Specialist

This is the last in a series of Friday posts leading up to TWC’s Shapley Lecturer presentations being given on Thursday through Saturday, October 1st-3rd. On October 1st-3rd, 2026, The Wilderness Center is honored to host Harlow Shapley Lecturer Dr. Quyen Hart, Ph.D. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research has included binary stars, large galaxy clusters and their environments and active super-massive black holes at the center of galaxies in cluster environments. Dr. Hart is an astronomer, educator, and outreach professional with expertise in science communication and project management. She is currently the Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Science Communications in the Office of Public Outreach (OPO) at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland. STScI is the operational home of the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, along with ever-growing data archives and public outreach. For over 20 years Dr. Hart has been actively involved in formal and informal astronomy education, providing unique learning experiences for people of all ages. Her extensive experience includes working on several projects for NASA’s Universe of Learning, including Girls STEAM Ahead and ViewSpace, and OPO outreach efforts for the Hubble Space Telescope, JWST, and now the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, teaching astronomy and physics classes at the college level, organizing and hosting outreach events, and directing summer STEM camps for middle school children. She is passionate about sharing the wonders of astronomy and science with the general public because she knows that everyone can be a scientist! Dr. Hart’s presentation is titled “Rising Above: How Space Telescopes Rewrite Astronomy.” Her description for this talk is intriguing: “We've always been curious about what lies just beyond our horizons. But to truly explore it, we need to rise above Earth's atmosphere itself, which blurs and even blocks some forms of light. Space telescopes let us see the universe in every type of light there is. The Hubble Space Telescope opened the door, and the James Webb Space Telescope pushed it wide open, peering deeper into the darkness than we thought possible. And soon, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will join them, giving us an even wider view of the universe. How have space telescopes rewritten the astronomy textbooks? In this talk, we'll journey through the universe, uncovering some of the most ground-breaking discoveries made with space telescopes, and the new clues they've found about the origins of stars, planets, black holes, and galaxies.” Pick the lecture date and time that best fits you and join us on October 1st, 2nd, or 3rd for Dr. Hart’s Shapley Lectures . Registration is required. All Shapley Lecture activities are free – (all lectures, Friday evening planetarium show, and star watch.) Whether you’re a lifelong astronomy enthusiast, a student exploring a future in STEM, an educator, or simply someone who has ever looked up and wondered what’s out there, this is an opportunity you won’t want to miss. Written by Robin Gill, Astronomy Education Specialist

Happy #WildlifeWednesday! With summer officially over and fall beginning, let's bid farewell to an iconic nocturnal animal of summertime, the lightning bug! Lightning bugs are soft-bodied beetles that are also commonly referred to as fireflies. There are more than 2,000 species in the firefly (Lampyridae) family, with about 12 dozen species found in Ohio. Lightning bugs get their name from their ability to flash bright lights in the darkness, like a tiny bolt of lightning. All lightning bugs glow as larvae. They use this glow to warn predators that they do not taste good. The larvae eat snails, slugs, and worms. Lightning bugs produce their light through bioluminescence, light emitted due to a chemical reaction in a living organism. Bioluminescence is nearly 100 percent efficient and little energy is wasted to produce their light. Lightning bugs use their flashes to attract mates, and the light can be yellow, green, or orange in color. Lightning bugs can be seen in Ohio from late May through August, with peak activity occurring June through mid-July. Be sure to visit the Enchanted Forest for a last glimmering peak at a Lightning Bug until next year! Written by Michelle Leighty, TWC Environmental Education Specialist

This is the third in a series of Friday posts leading up to TWC’s Shapley Lecturer presentations being given on Thursday through Saturday, October 1st-3rd. The Wilderness Center is honored to host Harlow Shapley Lecturer Dr. Quyen Hart on October 1-3, 2026. The American Astronomical Society (AAS) Harlow Shapley Visiting Lecturers Program brings distinguished astronomers and astronomy educators to schools and communities across North America to share the wonder of the universe and inspire people to bring science into their lives. The Lecturers Program has been a long-running tradition for the Society. It grew out of AAS’s Visiting Professors Program dating back to 1958 and is named in honor of distinguished astronomer and former AAS President Dr. Harlow Shapley (1885-1972). Harlow Shapley was a farm kid from Missouri and the first in his family to attend college. He had not intended to study astronomy, but after taking his first course he was hooked. He got his undergraduate degree in Astronomy from the University of Missouri and his PhD from Princeton University. He served as director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1921 to 1952. During this time his groundbreaking research transformed our understanding of the size of the Milky Way, identifying the true location of the Sun in our galaxy’s outer disk and not at the center of the galaxy as was believed at the time. Shapley participated in the “Great Debate of 1920” over the nature of “spiral nebulae” – what we now call galaxies – were they a part of the Milky Way or their own “island universes” far outside the Milky Way. This issue and debate helped shape the modern concept of the galaxy and began extragalactic astronomy. Shapley was one of three founding lecturers in the AAS Visiting Professors Program, which received intermittent funding from the National Science Foundation from 1958 to 1971. Upon Shapley’s passing, a private donation from the Perkin Fund – established by Richard Scott Perkin, a close friend of Shapley for more than three decades – enabled AAS to continue the Visiting Professors Program beyond the end of federal support. Now renamed in Shapley’s honor, the Harlow Shapley Visiting Lectures Program honors his legacy by continuing his lifelong mission to bring astronomy to broader communities. Check the Shapley Lecture details, pick the lecture date and time that best fits your interest, and join us on October 1st, 2nd, or 3rd for Dr. Hart’s lecture, Rising Above: How Space Telescopes Rewrite Astronomy. Registration is required. All Shapley Lecture activities are free – all lectures, Friday evening planetarium show, and star watch. Whether you’re a lifelong astronomy enthusiast, a student exploring a future in STEM, an educator, or simply someone who has ever looked up and wondered what’s out there, this is an opportunity you won’t want to miss. Written by Robin Gill, Astronomy Education Specialist

Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Awwwooooo! Yip-yip! What's that sound? It's the howling of Ohio's most musical wild canine species, nicknamed the song dog, but otherwise known as the coyote! The coyote is a medium-sized member of the dog family that is found throughout the state, occurring in all 88 counties. The slender canine has pointy ears and snout and resembles a domestic dog such as a German shepherd or collie. The tail is carried downward at a 45 degree angle as it moves and is bushy with a black tip. Its yellow eyes are a distinguishing feature. Adults weigh an average of 20-40 pounds. The coyote is a highly adaptable and clever animal and can make its home in a variety of habitats, including open spaces, woodlands, agricultural land, suburban parks and golf courses, and large cities. Its ability to use any habitat to its advantage is one reason it is so successful. It is omnivorous, eating mostly rodents, rabbits, birds, deer (typically fawns), fruit, berries, and vegetation. The coyote is described as the most vocal of wild North American mammals, and its scientific name Canis latrans means “barking dog.” The wide assortment of barks, woofs, huffs, whines, yelps, growls, and howls is used for communication, and the iconic group yip-howl song is thought to be part of an elaborate greeting ceremony. Be sure to visit the Enchanted Forest on October 9th and 10th to meet the coyote and even hear a snippet of its song! Written by Michelle Leighty, TWC Environmental Education Specialist 

This is the second in a series of Friday posts leading up to TWC’s Shapley Lecturer presentations being given on Thursday through Saturday, October 1-3. Our Shapley Lecturer’s presentation topic is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. See TWC’s webpage for more information and to register. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully launched on August 30, 2026, and is speeding on its way to its final orbit. The telescope is named in honor of Dr. Nancy Grace Roman. She was born in 1925 and showed an interest in science and math at an early age. Her curiosity about astronomy was sparked by her mother who took her out at night to view the constellations and northern lights. Between the 5 th and 6 th grade she gathered her friends into an astronomy club to study the constellations, and by the time she was in the 7 th grade, she decided she was going to be an astronomer. She went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in astronomy from Swarthmore College in 1946 and her doctorate in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1949. As a woman astronomer Dr. Roman faced many challenges throughout her career. Many discouraged her from going into astronomy- she was told women should not, could not, be scientists. And after achieving her PhD and working in the field she struggled with its male dominance and the roles perceived as appropriate for women. After graduating from Chicago, Dr. Roman stayed on as a postdoc and eventually became an assistant professor – the first woman on the University of Chicago’s astronomy faculty. She spent six years in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Yerkes Observatory. Her research, including observations of the star AG Draconis, helped launch her groundbreaking career. Her work began an era of understanding the structure of the Milky Way and it laid the foundation for the field of galactic and dynamical evolution. But despite the significance of her research Dr. Roman faced sexism and wage inequality. And she knew that because she was a woman, she would never receive tenure at the university. So, in 1954 she left academia and moved to the Naval Research Laboratory to work in the new field of radio astronomy. While there she became head of the microwave spectroscopy section. During this time astronomers had to build their own equipment. Here she learned to see as an engineer and gained an understanding of instrumentation – experience that would be necessary in her next job. In 1959 Dr. Roman learned about a job opening at a brand-new agency called NASA. She applied for the job and became NASA’s first female executive and first Chief of Astronomy and Relativity. Her job was to manage astronomy-related programs and grants. And during her time there she oversaw the launch of multiple orbiting observatories. But the one that made her legendary was the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr. Roman was a born leader. She brought together astronomers and engineers to design a telescope that delivered on the science the astronomers wanted, and the NASA engineers could build. She worked with NASA officials to approve the project and with congressional leaders to approve the funding. Dr. Roman was involved in every crucial decision concerning Hubble from where it would be built to the size of its instruments. She had unwavering commitment to the Hubble mission. It was this tenacity that led to her nickname “Mother of Hubble.” Her work was foundational in establishing NASA’s program of space-based astronomical observatories. Of NASA, Dr Roman said she found the environment there welcoming and that she felt accepted as a scientist in her job. “Í felt that the team treated me as one of the team without a problem.” Dr. Roman retired from NASA in 1979. But she never stopped working. She spent her time consulting, teaching, and she never stopped advocating for women entering the sciences. When announcing the name of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope NASA said, “It is therefore with great pleasure that we dedicate NASA's next major space observatory tasked with increasing our understanding of dark energy, the universe, and our place in it, to Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, the pioneer of modern space-based astronomy who made such telescopes a reality.” Whether you're a lifelong astronomy enthusiast, a student exploring a future in STEM, an educator, or simply someone who has ever looked up and wondered what's out there, this is an opportunity you won't want to miss. Find details for the Shapley Lecture and register to join us. Written by Robin Gill, Astronomy Education Specialist

It’s a bird... It’s a plane... It’s Suuuppperman. Wait...no, it’s a squirrel! A flying squirrel?! There are 4 species of squirrel that live in Ohio: the fox squirrel, Eastern gray squirrel, American red squirrel, and Southern flying squirrel. The flying squirrel is the most common and abundant, though is the most rarely seen due to it being entirely nocturnal and living high in the tree canopy. Flying squirrels do not actually fly, but glide from great heights with the help of a membrane called a patagium. They get a running start along a branch or will propel themselves from a stationary position, then as they are airborne will spread their limbs out into the shape of an X, extending the patagium. They are graceful while gliding and are able to maneuver with great accuracy. Southern flying squirrels are very social and will forage and “fly” together in large groups. They will also den together in the winter, partially for warmth in numbers. They make their nests deep in natural tree cavities and woodpecker holes, and also occasionally build nests from twigs and leaves. Their diet consists of nuts, fruit, fungi, insects, bird eggs, and flowers. They will also visit bird feeders for seeds at night. A trail camera focused on a bird feeder is a great way to monitor flying squirrel activity in your own yard. The flying squirrel is just one of many interesting nocturnal characters visitors can meet at our upcoming Enchanted Forest event. Learn even more about these adorable yet elusive creatures, and if you listen closely you may even get to hear the flying squirrel rap! Written by Michelle Leighty, TWC Environmental Education Specialist