With nice weather, many individuals enjoy seeing wildlife in their natural habitats while going on walks or hikes.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Interpretive Naturalist and Educator Anne Riordan says that there are many animals that people may not see though. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio that there’s just as much variety in wildlife in and around the water as in the wooded areas.

“We, earlier in the year saw a lot of the bluegill spawning, and now we are finding just lots and lots of teeny tiny little fishes. Lots of dragonfly and damselfly larva, like we talked about starting in the water. Lots of tadpoles of bullfrog, and leopard frog and cricket frog. When you are walking around you can hear the cricket frogs, you can hear the tree frogs.”

Riordan mentions that there are also painted box turtles that live in the lake at Springbrook State Park. She adds that there are several kinds of fish, both big and small in the lake, and that all the smaller animals in the water help support the larger animals by being a food source for them.