February 26, 2016 American Coots You just gotta love a coot. An American coot, that is. American coots are water birds that many folks would classify as ducks. They do, after all, look an awful lot like dark-colored ducks – from a distance. But if you take the time to observe more closely, you’ll notice
American Coot, Bird, FlyFebruary 19, 2016 Red Winged Blackbirds Every year about this time, people start getting itchy for spring. With the weather warming up, they look for signs that winter’s winding down: a swollen leaf bud, a green sprout, a red, red robin bob, bob bobbin’ along. But as we learned last week, robins aren’t the sure
Bird, Fly, Red-winged black birdFebruary 12, 2016 Robins can do well in the Tri-Cities during winter When we receive an email with a question about any sort of nature-related phenomenon, I usually think something along the lines of, “Yippee! Someone’s paying attention to something besides their tablet, smart phone or television.” I write a response and life goes on.
Birds, Fly, RobinsFebruary 5, 2016 The Big Snake Recently I received an email from a Good-Natured reader who lives in Batavia. As I recall, we were corresponding about a seasonal topic–owls, I believe–but then she asked a summertime question that, even in the midst of winter, still seems to be on many people’s minds: What ever happened
Big Snake, Reptile, SnakeJanuary 29, 2016 Connect the Dots-Creating a Paradise for Coyotes When was the last time you played Connect the Dots? I remember Grandma Erickson giving me a book of those kid-friendly puzzles, and spending hours under her dining room table–the best place to play, when you’re four–trying to find the “1,” then the “2,” and
Animal, Coyote, MammalJanuary 22, 2016 Owls of Kane County Thursday night I heard something I haven’t heard in several weeks: The who-huh-who-whoo-whoo of our nocturnal neighbor, the great horned owl. Although they hooted and hollered their way through most of the late fall, their courtship period, lately I hadn’t heard much from the Bubos—my nickname for the
Bird, Fly, Kane County, OwlJanuary 15, 2016 Screech Owls Last week in this space we took a look at the life and times of Strix varia, the barred owl. Although still considered a rare species in Kane County, it seems to be increasing its range throughout our area. Thanks to those who responded to our request for sightings, we
Bird, Fly, Owl, Screen OwlJanuary 8, 2016 Barred owls likely are here to stay Who doesn’t love a nice surprise? A batch of homemade peppermint bark, fragrant and tasty, pops up on your desk. A five-dollar bill, wet but still perfectly good, wondrously appears inside the washing machine. A barred owl, uncommon in our area, shows up in a
Barred Owl, Bird, Fly, OwlJanuary 1, 2016 Looking ahead to a shiny new year Any way you look at it, the holidays are a shiny time of year. Twinkling decorations shimmer in yards and windows; nights—some of them, anyway—are clear and starry; and this past Christmas, for the first time in 38 years, we were treated to a full
Holidays, New Year, SeasonDecember 25, 2015 The Cedar Waxwings Crapulence. It’s a word you don’t hear very often but one that, especially at this festive time of year, is particularly appropriate. Crapulence means to become sick from overindulgence in food and drink. Over the years I’ve had my share of crapulent escapades, especially at functions with buffets. (Helloo
Bird, Cedar Waxwings, Fly