Wildlife and Wildflowers

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Pittsburgh Region

• Allegheny Front
  The Allegheny Front periodically offers radio reports on Pennsylvania wildlife
  • The Slimy Hunt for Salamanders in Pennsylvania Creeks (Hellbenders)
  • Woodrats: A Disappearing Sign of Healthy Forests
  • Wildlife Along Pittsburgh's Rivers
  • Bringing Back a Rare Butterfly (regal fritillary)
  • Big Efforts to Save North America's Smallest Turtle (bog turtle)
  • Researchers Track Timber Rattlesnakes
  • Naturalist Journal
• Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania
  The local chapter of the national organization
• Moraine Preservation Fund
  A non-profit, volunteer organization that supports Moraine State Park, developing wildlife restoration projects like Project BATitat, the Osprey and Barn Owl Reintroduction Programs, and the Native Plant & Butterfly Trail.
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Outdoors
  Almost every Sunday in the Sports section, there is a column on "Wildlife" with information about regional species.
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Venomous copperheads inhabit Western Pennsylvania's woodlands, but experts say they pose no cause for panic
  An article from Sunday, June 05, 2011, by Ben Moyer
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Eastern cougar may be declared extinct
  March 3, 2011: After 100 years of not existing as a wild breeding population, federal researchers are proposing that the eastern cougar finally be declared extinct. Of course the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Nittany Lions are alive and well.
• Ruffed Grouse Society
  The ruffed grouse is Pennsylvania's state bird and the Ruffed Grouse Society is headquartered in Coraopolis, PA and consists mainly of grouse and woodcock hunters who support national scientific conservation and management efforts to ensure the future of the species.
• Virtual Nature Trail at Penn State New Kensington
  This site created by biology students includes information about trees, animals, plants and fungi of Western Pennsylvania.
• Wildflowers and Trees of Western Pennsylvania
  This website by Bob Zuberbuhler, a Pittsburgh pediatrician and wildflower enthusiast, includes descriptions and photos of many wildflowers in the area.
• Wings of Wonder
  Wings of Wonder is a partnership between the Three Rivers Habitat Partnership, ASSET, Inc. and Carnegie Science Center that unites the wildlife teams of PPG and Bayer with local schools to study migratory birds and butterflies.

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Pennsylvania

• Common Trees of Pennsylvania
  This is a 70 page booklet in .pdf format from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry.
• Pennsylvania Herp Identification
  Pennsylvania Herpetofaunal Identification is an educational tool for the public on the reptiles and amphibians found throughout Pennsylvania.
  • Frogs & Toads
  • Salamanders
  • Snakes
  • Turtles
  • Fungi: Pennsylvania's Hidden Treasures
    Watch this award-winning documentary from Pennsylvania's Wild Resource Conservation Program on YouTube. It looks at both the ecological and the economic importance of fungi, an under-appreciated but essential part of our ecosystem.
  • Penn State College of Agriculture Publications: Wildlife
    These brochures in .pdf format from the extension service include titles such as "A Homeowner’s Guide to Northeastern Bats and Bat Problems", "Pennsylvania Wildlife 14: Water for Wildlife: Bird Baths and Backyard Ponds".
  • Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: Pennsylvania Fishes
    This state agency has an illustrated directory to Pennsylvania fishes, with biological information about them.
  • Pennsylvania Game Commission
    Go to their section on "Wildlife" for articles about deer, swans, turkey, falcons, elk as well as birding guides.
    • Wildlife Notes
      These are extensive articles about the habits of wildlife in Pennsylvania, including mammals and birds.
  • Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
    Learn about natural species in Pennsylvania.
  • Pennsylvania Wild Resource Conservation Program Keystone Wild!Notes
    This quarterly e-zine is devoted to the non-game wildlife, plants and habitats of Pennsylvania
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  Nearby States

  • Ohio Division of Wildlife
    For detailed information about wild animals in Ohio, many of which are also found in Western Pennsylvania, browse their "publications". Included are pamphlets on local species of birds, fishes, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
    • Species A to Z Guide
    • For Wild Kids
    • Group & Classroom Activities for Parents and Educators
  • Ohio Lepidopterists
    These butterfly specialists offer photos of common Ohio butterflies, which you can also find in Pennsylvania.
    • Butterfly Monitoring
    • Ohio Butterflies
  • Wild New Jersey
    A blog that covers wildlife in the Garden State.

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  Web Sites

  • American Field Guide
    Produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting, American Field Guide has recast outdoors programming content from nearly 30 stations across the country into online videos. You can browse by animals, ecosystems, human history, livelihoods, earth and space, plants, public policy and recreation or you can search and limit by state.
  • Annenberg Learner: Journey North
    Journey North engages K-12 students in a study of wildlife migration and seasonal change across North America. Track the coming of spring through the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, robins, hummingbirds, and other birds and mammals; the budding of plants; changing sunlight; and other natural events.
  • Discover the Forest
    This site from the US Forest Service and the Ad Council has activities for kids for learning about forest animals.
  • Endangered Species Program
    Information from the US Fish & Wildlife Service on endangered species of the United States. Compare the number of endangered species for Pennsylvania (17) with those of California (292) and Hawaii (317)!
  • Humane Society of the U.S.: Urban Wildlife -- Our Wild Neighbors
    This website includes a variety of articles on creating a haven for wildlife in your backyard.
  • Library of Congress: Edible Wild Plants
    This Science Tracer Bullet offers print and online resources for edible wild plants
  • Minnesota Wildflowers
    An informative site maintained by Katy Chayka, MN Master Naturalist Volunteer and native plant enthusiast. The What's Blooming list of plants by month is useful and each plant has photos of flower, leaves and stem and fruit. You can also browse photos by flower color.
  • National Wildlife Federation
    NWF offers a variety of educational and action oriented outdoor adventure programs across the country and around the world.
    • National Wildlife
      A magazine from the National Wildlife Federation. Articles about animals, biodiversity, and ecology in the United States. Offers full text articles from previous issues, including photographs. It also offers an index to past articles (check your local library for past issues not on their website!).
  • North American Mammals
    The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History has an online database of the mammals of North America. You can search the database or find the mammals that are found in your area. It allows you to compile and print out a field guide in .pdf format of mammals that you select.
  • Washington Post: Urban Jungle (Natural History)
    The changing natural world at our doorsteps, a newspaper column by Patterson Clark

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  Mobile Apps

  • Audubon Guides: Mobile Apps
    Great for birdwatching, hiking and exploring the outdoors, guides feature high quality photographs, range maps, animal sounds and and the ability to create your own lifelists and record sightings. They are available for mammals, insects, butterflies, birds, wildflowers, trees, reptiles and amphibians, fungi, etc.