Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge

This is a good time to visit our local National Wildlife Refuges.  They were established to protect migratory birds that overwinter in our area, and on October 1 major portions of each refuge will be closed until May 1 to leave the birds undisturbed.  We visited Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in the spring just before trails were due to reopen, and wanted to make sure we came back to see what we had missed.  

Convergent ladybug on common tansy. Photo by Jasper.

Stink bug. Photo by Jasper.

Way off in the distance, we saw a couple of pied-billed grebes...

...and a muskrat!  

This doorway looks like it would open into Narnia, but it opens to the part of the trail which is closed in fall and winter.

Skipper butterfly on common tansy.

Jasper caught a lot of grasshoppers.

Red-tailed hawk.

Woolly mullein.

Male blue-eyed darner dragonfly.

Pearly everlasting.

Rose hips.