Turtles Waking
As the days get longer and the sunshine gets stronger, aquatic turtles will be rousing from brumation—a cold-blooded creature’s equivalent of hibernation—and rising to the…
Read MoreAs the days get longer and the sunshine gets stronger, aquatic turtles will be rousing from brumation—a cold-blooded creature’s equivalent of hibernation—and rising to the…
Read MoreWith egg-laying season just around the corner, American mink will be out and about, hunting for active waterfowl nests. Good Natured: Mink-n-Eggs March 24, 2023 Next weekend, April 1, the St. Charles Park District will hold its annual Easter Egg Hunt at Pottawatomie Park. Thousands of eggs, hundreds of kids. A sugar-fueled good time will
Read MoreMopsy is one of Hickory Knolls Discovery Center’s resident rabbits. She helps educate visitors about pet bunnies’ complex care requirements.
Read MoreYellow-crowned night herons are listed as endangered in Illinois. Last summer at least one breeding pair nested in Rock Falls, IL, as evidenced by this photo of an immature YCNH taken by Good Natured readers Jan and Dean Zinanni. Good Natured: Yellow-crowned Night Heron March 10, 2023 One of the really great things about life
Read MoreThe calendar says spring is still two weeks away, but nature’s signs are unmistakable. For one, tiger salamanders are on the move, making their annual…
Read MoreIts ‘poofy pants’ clearly visible, a rough-legged hawk takes off from a weathered perch.
Read MoreThe reddish-brown pods of the Kentucky coffeetree contain seeds that were once used as a coffee substitute and, even further back, as food for Ice…
Read MoreNorthern leopard frogs are common throughout our region, but their coloration can make them hard to spot. Learn more about Lithobates pipiens and other local…
Read MoreBald-faced hornet nests, like this large one in St. Charles, are revealed when the leaves fall from the tree. The former residents, a type of…
Read MoreBesides sharing the trait of being active in winter, these insects also share a common ancestor and are members of the insect infraorder Tipulomorpha. The…
Read MoreRodent baits often have unintended consequences, traveling through food chains and accumulating in the bodies of higher-level consumers like this Cooper’s hawk. The bird was…
Read MoreKeep an eye open for this seasonal gift, the red-breasted nuthatch. These perky birds use conifers as a source of both food and shelter.
Read MoreFront and center in this arrangement, osage orange fruit brings bright color, a pleasant scent and a whole lot of history to holiday displays.
Read MoreThe American badger is ideally suited to its role as fossorial carnivore, or a predator that digs. Its front claws are nearly 2 in. in…
Read MoreArthur the box turtle has lived as a pet since 1978 but his actual age is unknown.
Read MoreThe wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, was never a candidate for our nation’s symbol, but it did help Benjamin Franklin advance his study of electricity.
Read MoreA Ravenel’s stinkhorn grows amid the wood chips at a local playground. These powerful decomposers, it turns out, are mighty stinkin’ strong.
Read MoreIts nose stained from burying nuts in wet soil, a squirrel pauses, and poses, in the midst of its scatter-hoarding activities.
Read MoreTopped with a large hole, a crayfish chimney stands tall and volcano like at Ferson Creek Fen in St. Charles. A second, smaller hole, which…
Read MoreLearning experiences such as this very wet wetlands field trip help participants in the Kane County Certified Naturalist program understand the connections within our local…
Read MoreDoes it have a domed carapace? Do its feet lack webs? If so, chances are good you’ve found a turtle in need of rescue. Pictured…
Read MoreTJ the tortoise, at 75 lbs. and still growing, faced homelessness when he outgrew the enclosure at his former residence. He is now “employed” at…
Read MoreDing Dong, a pet sulcata tortoise, took himself on a little walkabout recently when a gate was accidentally left open. Sulcatas, also known as African…
Read MoreThe eastern or common mole, also known as Scalopus aquaticus, does not live in water, though its large front feet do an admirable job of…
Read MoreThe eastern kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, gets its scientific name from its tyrant-like approach to territory defense, which can include defensive strikes at squirrels, crows and…
Read MoreThink you’re seeing monarchs mating? Look again! These two butterflies are viceroys, distinguished from monarchs by the dark line across the hindwing and by a…
Read MoreThis interesting artifact is the cast skin, or exoskeleton, of a dragonfly nymph that has emerged from the water and molted into adulthood. Well, it’s…
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