Good Natured

TurtlesWaking_3-31-23

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…

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Mink-n-Eggs

With 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

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Make Mine Chocolate

Mopsy is one of Hickory Knolls Discovery Center’s resident rabbits. She helps educate visitors about pet bunnies’ complex care requirements.

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Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Yellow-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

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Signs of Spring

The 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…

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Phenology

Skunk cabbage is northern Illinois’ earliest blooming native wildflower, popping up in late winter in groundwater seeps, springs and fens.

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Rough-legged Hawks

Its ‘poofy pants’ clearly visible, a rough-legged hawk takes off from a weathered perch.

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Kentucky Coffeetrees

The 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…

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Frog Monitor Training

Northern leopard frogs are common throughout our region, but their coloration can make them hard to spot. Learn more about Lithobates pipiens and other local…

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Bald-faced Hornet Nests

Bald-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…

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Snow Flies & Winter Crane Flies

Besides sharing the trait of being active in winter, these insects also share a common ancestor and are members of the insect infraorder Tipulomorpha. The…

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Poison Food Chain

Rodent 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…

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Opossums

Opossums have a minimal ability to store fat and, as a consequence, in winter will often forego their nocturnal nature and forage during daylight hours.

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Every Day Can Be Christmas

Keep an eye open for this seasonal gift, the red-breasted nuthatch. These perky birds use conifers as a source of both food and shelter.

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Osage Oranges

Front and center in this arrangement, osage orange fruit brings bright color, a pleasant scent and a whole lot of history to holiday displays.

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Kane County Badgers

The American badger is ideally suited to its role as fossorial carnivore, or a predator that digs. Its front claws are nearly 2 in. in…

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Owl Ears

The long-eared owl’s namesake “ears” on top of its head are used for camouflage and communication, but not for listening. Its actual ears are located…

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Box Turtles a Lifelong Commitment

Arthur the box turtle has lived as a pet since 1978 but his actual age is unknown.

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Ben Franklin & Turkeys

The wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, was never a candidate for our nation’s symbol, but it did help Benjamin Franklin advance his study of electricity.

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Ravenel’s Stinkhorn

A Ravenel’s stinkhorn grows amid the wood chips at a local playground. These powerful decomposers, it turns out, are mighty stinkin’ strong.

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Scatter-Hoarding Squirrels

Its nose stained from burying nuts in wet soil, a squirrel pauses, and poses, in the midst of its scatter-hoarding activities.

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A Crayfish Volcano?

Topped with a large hole, a crayfish chimney stands tall and volcano like at Ferson Creek Fen in St. Charles. A second, smaller hole, which…

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KCCN Season Is Just Around the Corner

Learning experiences such as this very wet wetlands field trip help participants in the Kane County Certified Naturalist program understand the connections within our local…

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Is That Big Turtle Native, Or Not?

Does 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…

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A Weighty Commitment

TJ the tortoise, at 75 lbs. and still growing, faced homelessness when he outgrew the enclosure at his former residence. He is now “employed” at…

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Ding Dong the Tortoise

Ding Dong, a pet sulcata tortoise, took himself on a little walkabout recently when a gate was accidentally left open. Sulcatas, also known as African…

Taxonomy2_9-30-22

What’s In a Name Part 2

The eastern or common mole, also known as Scalopus aquaticus, does not live in water, though its large front feet do an admirable job of…

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What’s In a Name? As It Turns Out, Plenty!

The 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…

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Viceroy Butterflies, the Monarch’s Mimics

Think 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…

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A Closer Look at Exoskeletons

This 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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