My World

Welcome to my submission for the second edition of that's My World and welcome to Wood Lake Nature Center.

Wood Lake is like a small oasis in the middle of a suburban metropolitan area. Located in Richfield, MN, which is a southern suburb of Minneapolis, the Wood Lake Nature Center sits on 150 acres of natural habitat.

At Wood Lake's Interpretive Center naturalist answer questions from the approximately 72,000 visitors that they get in a year. They also provide educational programs for both kids and adults.
Wood Lake also has many events through out the year. Many of these events are centered around a holiday or season. Outdoor events are often held at the small amphitheater that is located outside the Interpretive Center.

The main reason that I like to visit Wood Lake is because of the wildlife. I usually begin right outside the back of the Interpretive Center. This are is open and is filled with natural Minnesota plants and wild flowers.

This prairie type of habitat attracts many different types of insects such as grasshoppers and butterflies. This least skipper is drinking nectar from a wildflower.

It is also great habitat for dragonflies, like this common green darner. Dragonflies are predators and are always on the hunt for other insects.

All of the bugs that are around attract insect eating birds. Barn swallows, like the one above, frequently nest under the eves of the Interpretive Center. The vast number of insects around help them be more successful in raising their families. Tree swallows are also prevalent during the warm months but they prefer the larger open fields on the west side of the park.

The park is not all open field. There are wooded areas, with trails running through them, all around the Nature Center.

These wooded areas are good places to see warblers and other types of passerines that live in wooded habitat. Palm warblers, above, are usually found near the ground looking for insects.

Orange-crowned warblers find their prey higher up in the trees. I often see them scouring the branches for bugs living on them.

Yellow-rumped warblers are usually the most common warbler around. They frequently hunt by catching insects in the air.

Birds are not the only wildlife in the woods. I have seen squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, muskrat, fox and deer inside the park.

At the center of the Nature Center is Wood Lake. Wood Lake is a shallow lake that runs most of the length of the park. Several of the paths cross over the lake either by bridge or by boardwalk. This helps visitors to get a better look at this wetland habitat and all of the wildlife living in it.

Ducks are the most common wildlife on the lake. Wood duck boxes have been placed through out the park to promote nesting by these colorful ducks.

Hooded mergansers often compete with the wood ducks for the nesting boxes. Females are usually around through out the summer, often giving visitors a treat when they bring their young out on to the lake.

The male hoodies are usually only around during the breeding season. Once the females have legged the eggs the males head off and leave the females to incubate the eggs and care for the young.

There is also life living under the water, algae, and lilly pads. Fish swim in the lake as do many insects. Frogs and snakes live in the water and around the shore of the lake. Logs floating in the lake become islands where turtles go to sun themselves and increase their body temperature.

I hope that you enjoyed my virtual tour of Wood Lake Nature Center and that if you ever get the chance, you decide to pay them a visit. If you would like more information please check out their website.