Common and sometimes a pest. To avoid contact with people, they browse on woody twigs and grasses from early evening, through the night until morning. They especially love tulips in the spring and white oak acorns in the fall, and anything tasty you want to grow in your garden. You may want to protect your young trees until they grow beyond the reach of hungry deer.

An occasional visitor. Bears are mainly vegetarians, very curious, shy, and easily scared off by loud noises. Given the opportunity, a hungry bear in the springtime will destroy your birdfeeder.

A very persistent and bold nighttime raider that will eat just about anything. Often traveling in family groups.

Bats use high frequency echolocation to navigate and locate insects. A bat scoops insects into its tail membrane and transfers them to its mouth all in the blink of an eye. A bat can eat half it’s weight in mosquitoes every night.

Very territorial with home ranges about the size of a city block. Grey Squirrels prefer deciduous trees over conifers.

Very territorial with home ranges about the size of a city block. Red squirrels prefer conifer trees. These squirrels often bite off cone bearing branches and then come down to the ground to collect the cones.

Two species of chipmunks inhabit our area. Eastern chipmunks have black and white stripes only on their backs. Least chipmunks have similar stripes, but also on their tails. They search the forest floor for seeds and nuts to store for the winter. They live in burrows or woodpiles, and eat mainly fruit in the summer.

An occasional visitor. Often seen in winter lying on an elevated woodland perch on the lookout for a potential meal.

A woodchuck is a large ground squirrel that makes its home underground in burrows, sometimes under your house. They hibernate for seven months of the year.

Very common, very prolific, and are known for eating anything green in the winter above the snow. Woody shrubs, twigs, grasses, small trees and saplings are favorite foods.

Inquisitive, ferocious and elusive predators that are always on the move, running along the shoreline investigating every crevice, looking for an easy meal.

A furry rodent with a rat like tail that swims in the lake. Always found near cattails, which it uses for food and to make its home. The population has a 10 year cycle so you may see many one year and few or none the next. They really do eat themselves out of house and home to the point where they starve to death. Muskrats love to chew on exposed wiring on any watercraft, often causing expensive boat repairs.

This animal hunts small rodents mainly by scent and sound. Often sits upright to observe greater distances.

Can be found on all three lakes, especially sunning themselves on logs and water plants in the warm sunshine.

Snappers can grow to be quite large, up to 75 lbs. You can often see them sticking their heads out of the water for a breath of fresh air and to have a look around. They’re docile in the water, but will lunge at you with jaws wide open on land. Their sharp jaws can deliver a painful bite. Once bitten, they often won’t let go. Turtles can only lunge forward so a quick step to the side will protect you from a bite.

This familiar snake is non-poisonous and harmless. The snake has a dark body with three yellow stripes. It can grow up to 2 feet in length, and seeks out insects, worms, frogs and mice for its meals.

These leaping green frogs with black spots can be found in any moist area, especially near the lakeshore. They begin to sing when the water temperature reaches 68 degrees.

Measuring only 1-¼ inches from nose to tip, these frogs are the first to emerge in late March. The call is like the sound of running your finger over a comb.

Found in marshes or wetlands away from the lakes. These frogs have toe pads that allow them to climb vertical surfaces.

These frogs begin to breed in small ponds in late March or early April, as soon as the water’s edge is ice-free. You can often find these frogs with their “robber’s mask” hiding in your garden looking for insects. Most frogs over winter under the lake ice, but wood frogs can freeze solid in the winter and then miraculously regenerate in the spring.

Different species can only be detected by the variations in their songs. As the temperature rises, the tiny green or grayish frogs become bright green and are very hard to spot in the vegetation.

These toads are usually brown, but sometimes reddish in color, and often have warts on their backs. They live in forests, prairies and near lakeshores.

Green frogs spend their days hidden in cool grasses by the water’s edge. Beginning in June, at nighttime they begin to “croak” loudly.

Mayflies begin hatching from the water in early spring. Given the right conditions, the sheer numbers of bugs with clear wings and two long tails trailing behind them can be astounding. The first hatch is the biggest and most noticed, but the flies don’t all have their timing right and are actually hatching in smaller numbers most of the early summer. Mayflies are an indicator species of the quality of habitat, and their presence confirms that our lakes are in good health. After growing underwater for six to eight years, their above water life lasts only two days. They use chemical signals to locate a mate while flying above the water. The females then touch the water surface depositing up to 1000 eggs that sink down to the lake bottom and start the life cycle over again. Many fall into the water and the fish come to the surface to feast.

These large carnivorous flies search with big eyes, composed of thousands of facets, helping to detect the movement of any nearby bug. They fly up to 30 miles per hour and can stop, back up, and then zip off again. There are mainly four different kinds in this area and they do not bite. Darners show flashy metallic blue and green colors in the bright sunshine.

Look for beetles in quiet water in spring and fall, usually close to the water surface. They lay their antennae on the surface to detect any nearby ripples that may be a potential meal. Their four back legs act as paddles leaving their front legs free to catch anything within reach.

These oblong shaped beetles use light signals like a code of love. Males flash green, yellow or orange while flying and the females flash from the same place hoping that handsome stops by.

These yellow butterflies with tiger like black stripes hatch out of their cocoons in June. Their body temperatures must reach 82 degrees for them to fly properly and in control. Females lay their eggs on birch, cherry and ash trees leaves and then ten days later tiny green caterpillars emerge and begin eating the leaves.

During the day the large insect is out of sight, backed into the sand or a crevice among the rocks on the shore. At night it comes out looking for algae found along the rocks and plants. It is a favorite food of herons and fish.

Wood ticks and deer ticks are common in this area. Check and re-check yourself if you have been in likely tick areas. Deer ticks may carry Lyme disease, an illness that may affect the skin, joints, heart and nervous system.

Biting mosquitoes can carry blood borne diseases, including West Nile. Use insect repellant or cover your skin to protect yourself.

Biting deer flies often circle your head before they attack. Wear a hat sprayed with insect repellant or stand in bright sunshine.

These ¾ inch long insects are usually ankle biters or a full-scale menace if you’re lying out on the ground. Like mosquitoes and deer flies, only the female bites.

These are tiny flies, often found in swarms. They use four sharp teeth to slash the skin.

A woody vine with three leaves often attached to trees or found on the forest floor. Oils in the plant contain a powerful toxic skin irritant. “Leaves of three, let it be.”

A wetland or lakeshore plant with a spike of beautiful purple flowers in the late summer. This hardy plant grows up to eight feet tall, crowds out native vegetation and is highly invasive. Dig out and destroy this plant before it goes to seed.

A fast growing waterweed that forms thick mats on the water surface, making the lake unattractive to fish, wildlife and humans. Always inspect your boat and trailer, and remove any weed fragments that could be transported to or from another body of water.