2025 Calendar Contest
It’s time to enter photos for the 2025 calendar contest. Time is short, please enter today! Friends of Goose Pond 2025 Calendar Photo Contest Highlighting Goose Pond FWA A challenge to creativity and photo skill for photographers of all ages. An opportunity for recognition in a calendar that will broaden awareness of the natural beauty…
Read MoreCritter Corner No. 28 – The American White Pelican by George Sly
Pelicans in Indiana? Surely not. Pelicans live near the ocean, don’t they? If you have visited Goose Pond FWA in the spring or fall, you more than likely know that yes, pelicans do indeed visit our state. But first, let’s clarify the story. In North America there are two endemic species of pelicans. One, the…
Read MoreCritter Corner No. 27 – Dragonflies by George Sly
If asked to do so, we can often identify an ecosystem simply by seeing a photo of one of its iconic animal inhabitants. Example? A polar bear would surely bring thoughts of the tundra to mind. Seeing a Malayan tapir would just as assuredly elicit images of the steamy southeast Asian rainforest. Similarly, the American…
Read MoreCritter Corner No. 26 – Leeches by George Sly
While birds may lay claim to the “star power” at Goose Pond FWA, let’s remind ourselves that there is a whole world of smaller animals, many of which lack a backbone, that are of major ecological importance there. Let us focus on one group of invertebrate animals which most people look at with fear, revulsion,…
Read MoreAnnual Big Sit! at GPFWA – Oct. 13, 2024
Enjoy the spectacular fall bird migration in the company of fellow bird and nature enthusiasts at the Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area. Join DNR, FoGP, and Sassafras Audubon Society during The Big Sit! an international event focused on recording all bird observations at one location over the course of a day. The Big Sit!…
Read MoreCritter Corner No. 25 – The Spiny Softshell Turtle by George Sly
Previous Critter Corner episodes have discussed the common snapping turtle and red-eared slider. Another interesting turtle species documented during the 2010 Biodiversity Survey at Goose Pond FWA is the eastern spiny softshell turtle. Softshell turtles are so-named because their carapace is covered by a thick, leathery skin rather than the large, keratinized scutes (scales) of…
Read MoreAnnual Big Sit at GPFWA – Oct. 07, 2023
Enjoy the spectacular fall bird migration in the company of fellow bird and nature enthusiasts at the Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area. Join DNR during The Big Sit! an international event focused on recording all bird observations at one location over the course of a day. The Big Sit! is a stationary birding opportunity;…
Read MoreAnnual Big Sit at GPFWA – Oct. 09, 2022
Enjoy the spectacular fall bird migration in the company of fellow bird and nature enthusiasts at the Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area. Join DNR during The Big Sit! an international event focused on recording all bird observations at one location over the course of a day. The Big Sit! is a stationary birding opportunity;…
Read More2023 Calendar Contest
It’s time to enter photos for the 2023 calendar contest. Time is short, please enter today! Friends of Goose Pond 2023 Calendar Photo Contest Highlighting Goose Pond FWA A challenge to creativity and photo skill for photographers of all ages. An opportunity for recognition in a calendar that will broaden awareness of the natural beauty…
Read MoreCritter Corner No. 24: The American Carrion Beetle
A recent encounter with the carcass of a white-tailed deer (dead of unknown cause), has left me to ponder the world of the scavenging insects. Necrophila americana (shown above) is a good example. This particular beetle is 0.5 to 0.75 inches in size. It has a yellowish thorax with a dark center. The wings are…
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