Minnesota Seasons - Falls Creek Scientific and Natural Area


Falls Creek Scientific and Natural Area

County	Washington
GPS	N45 16.574 W92 46.667
Size	136 acres
Habitat	Oak forest, old field, virgin hardwood and white pine forest
Hiking Trails	None

Links	Minnesota DNR

Comments	The sign at this SNA is almost impossible to see when passing on busy Minnesota Highway 95 at 55 miles per hour.

Images	Click on an image for a larger view.



Amphibians

	northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens)


Birds	Louisiana waterthrush (Seiurus motacilla), a Minnesota special concern species, can be found here.

	American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) American robin (Turdus migratorius) black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina) turkey vulture (Cathartes aura)


Insects and Arachnids

	brown daddy-long-legs (Leiobunum ventricosum) eastern boxelder bug (Leptocoris trivittatus) meadow spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius) Pennsylvania firefly (Photuris pennsylvanicus) twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella) widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)


Mammals

	whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)


Plants	Some of the plants that can be seen here, along with those listed below, are drooping trillium (Trillium flexipes), large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora), rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), and kitten-tails (Besseya bullii), a Minnesota threatened species. Look for skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) in early spring in the creek floodplain. Minnesota DNR Plant List

	alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum) American basswood (Tilia americana) American vetch (Vicia americana ssp. americana) bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus var. corniculatus) black medick (Medicago lupulina) bland sweet cicely (Osmorhiza claytonii) boxelder (Acer negundo) Canada moonseed (Menispermum canadense) cleavers (Galium aparine) common burdock (Arctium minus) common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale) common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) common plantain (Plantago major) common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) common strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) coon’s tail (Ceratophyllum demersum) curly dock (Rumex crispus ssp. crispus) dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis) eastern prickly gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati) eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana) eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) field mustard (Brassica rapa) fragrant bedstraw (Galium triflorum) giant chickweed (Myosoton aquaticum) gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa) ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum ssp. triphyllum) kidney-leaved buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus) mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium fontanum ssp. vulgare) northern beech fern (Phegopteris connectilis) northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis) northern red oak (Quercus rubra) pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) paper birch (Betula papyrifera) Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus var. philadelphicus) prairie fleabane (Erigeron strigosus) quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) round-lobed hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa) sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. acuta) silver maple (Acer saccharinum) smooth brome (Bromus inermis) stinging nettle (Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis) tall meadow rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum) tower mustard (Arabis glabra) Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum) western poison ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii) white campion (Silene latifolia ssp. alba) white clover (Trifolium repens) wild ginger (Asarum canadense) wild grape (Vitis riparia) wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) winter vetch (Vicia villosa ssp. villosa) wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia var. bifolia) woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea) yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta)


Visits	06/12/2006