Native yellow sunflowers in a field
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Graphical banner reads: Scavenger Hunt 2023

Scavenger Hunt at Lake Shetek State Park

Please note: The official 2023 season is finished. There are no more weekly drawings. However, you are still welcome to enjoy the hunts.

Welcome! You are tasked with finding "items" from these categories:

  • Trees
  • Wildflowers
  • Arthropods
  • Birds
  • Mushrooms & Lichens
  • Signs of wildlife
  • Amphibians & Reptiles

Happy scavenging!

 

 

Note: The icon below shows # of entries at this park for this year.
Banner reads: trees

Leaf: 7-9 rounded lobes with deep and shallow notches. Tips large and wavy.
Fruit: Acorn with fringe around cup. These feed many wildlife.
Tree Form: Relatively short trunk with heavy, sprawling branches

photos: MnDNR

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BUR OAK

Tree - Bur Oak

Leaves: Triangular.
Bark: Light gray on young trees and dark gray and rough on older trees.
Fruit: Fluffy, cottony catkins that disperse in wind in May - June.

photos: MnDNR

2 / 20

EASTERN COTTONWOOD

Tree - Eastern Cottonwood

Leaf: Heart-shaped with jagged teeth. Bees love to make honey from basswood flowers.
Bark: Smooth grayish red when young. Grayish brown with shallow, narrow ridges.
Fruit: Small nutlet under leafy bract.

photos: MnDNR; University of NE-Lincoln

3 / 20

BASSWOOD (LINDEN)

Basswood leaf, tree trunk and fruit
Banner reads: Wildflowers

Blooms: July - August
Found: In sunny fields.
Petals: Droopy yellow petals surround a brownish center.

photo: Bobby Duehring / P&TC photo contest

4 / 20

GRAY-HEADED CONEFLOWER

Flower - Gray Head Coneflower

Blooms: June - October
Found: Sunny fields, along roads or lakeshores.
Petals: Cheery yellow petals swirl around a black center.

photo: Luke Lawreszuk / Sprayedout.com

5 / 20

BLACK-EYED SUSAN

Flower - black-Eyed Susan

Blooms: June - August
Commonly Found: Along shores and wood edges.
Petal Color: Pink or white.
Fun Fact: Monarchs lay their eggs solely on milkweed.

photo: USFWS

6 / 20

COMMON MILKWEED

flower with big green leaves and pink petals
Banner reads: Arthropods

Color: Bright orange with black veins.
Found: Flying around wildflowers.
Fun Fact:
They fly down to Mexico before winter begins.

photo: Peter Miller / Flickr CC

7 / 20

MONARCH BUTTERFLY

Monarch butterfly on a pink flower

Found: Near tall grasses in late summer and fall.
Fun Fact: They are jumping phenoms, leaping 20 times their body length, which equates to a human jumping 120 feet.

photo: Will Brown / WikiMedia CC

8 / 20

GRASSHOPPER

Grasshopper in studio setting

Appearance: One of the largest insects in MN with lacy wings.
Molted Shells: As they grow, they leave behind hollow shells attached to tree trunks.
Fun Fact: Their humming can be louder than a lawn mower and is mostly heard in the afternoon. They do not bite and are gentle bugs.

photo: piqsels.com & Ryan Hodnett/WikiMedia CC

9 / 20

CICADA

Cicada
Banner reads: Birds

Appearance: Large bird with long legs, neck, and bill.
Found: Wading along shorelines or flying low over water.

photo: Alpinekid / Wikimedia CC

10 / 20

GREAT BLUE HERON

Tall gray bird with sharp yellow bill

Appearance: MN's smallest bird at only 3 inches. Only male has red throat.
Found: At forest edges, meadows and along streams.
Fun Fact: Their wings flap so fast it creates a humming sound.

photo: Michael Janke/FlickrCC

11 / 20

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Appearance: Largest woodpecker in MN, about the size of a crow. Red crest.
Found: In the forest, perched on tree trunks where they hammer holes in search of insects to eat.

photo: Will Stenberg / P&TC photo contest

12 / 20

PILEATED WOODPECKER

Bird with red head clinging to tree
Banner reads: Mushrooms and Lichen

Blooms: June - September
Found: In shady forests under pine needles.
Petals: Ghostly white.
Fun Fact: Technically, this is a flower, but it doesn't need the sun to grow and relies on underground fungi.

photo: Checkermallow / FlickrCC

13 / 20

GHOST PIPES

Flower - Ghost Pipe

Appearance:  Looks like a leaf of lettuce glued to a tree. It's pale yellow-green with wrinkly, wavy lobes.
Found: On the trunk of broad leafed trees such as maples, oaks, etc. and shrubs.
Fun Fact: Some people use it to dye wool.

photo: Björn S.../WikimediaCC

14 / 20

COMMON GREENSHIELD LICHEN

Green lichen
Banner reads: Human Made

Deer hooves (photo) are commonly seen on or near trails. Their hooves make two side-by-side teardrop tracks. Other common prints are from raccoons, rabbits, opossums, and coyotes.

photo: QS Wiki Account, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

15 / 20

ANIMAL FOOTPRINTS

Deer hoof print in dirt

Everybody poops, and sometimes we're lucky enough to find proof on the trail. Rabbit and deer (photo) poop/scat are like rounded pellets. Carnivores often have fur in their droppings.

photo: Kevin Casper / CC0 public domain

16 / 20

WILDLIFE SCAT

pile of deer droppings in grass
Banner reads: Amphibians and reptiles

There are about 130 species of fishes found naturally in Minnesota. The most common ones to swim near shore and under docks are sunfish (photo). Seeing any fish will earn you points for this item.

photo: Joe Mabel, CC via Wikimedia

17 / 20

FISH

Sunfish swimming in rocky bottom lake
Banner reads: Human Made
photo: Courtesy of Friends of Lake Shetek State Park

18 / 20

LAKE SHETEK MONUMENT

Pillar shaped stone monument in a grassy area
photo: Courtesy of Friends of Lake Shetek State Park

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LAKE SHETEK BEACH HOUSE

Stone wall with wooden building in background

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WHAT OTHER INTERESTING THINGS DID YOU FIND?

Fill in the following information to be entered in our weekly drawing for a $25 gift card to Minnesota State Parks, which will be mailed to the winner. Weekly winners are randomly selected from entries to ALL participating parks and trails—only one entry per park each summer. However, you are welcome to participate and enter the drawing at multiple parks' this summer.

Please note: For anyone age 12 and under, please enter adult companion's info.

 

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