The email came in sometime in May of this year. A colleague in Northern Illinois contacted me with a wild bird concern. A woman had found a dead bird in her yard for a second day in a row and was wondering if something was wrong that she had not heard about.  I gave the standard answer:...

You feel it, don't you? Sunrise coming later, sunset earlier, and the roller rink of acorns underfoot. The change of seasons is well underway. And just as you are pulling out your flannel shirts, wool socks, and warm gloves the trees and shrubs are also pulling out their fall wardrobe. The...

Have you placed mesh material in your garden or around the outside of your home? Mesh, whether made from metal or plastic, or natural fibers, can be incredibly useful because it allows air, water, and plants to penetrate while keeping out larger objects. Some folks use it to keep birds off their...

As the summer progressed and the news filled with increased extreme weather events came across our screens, it became even harder to ignore the impacts of climate change on our lives. Especially when those impacts hit hard at home from...

It was early on a hot September morning that I turned into Goose Lake Prairie. I had arrived too early for a program and thought I would spend a few minutes in the picnic area listening to those sweet early morning sounds of nature. And then there it was — an unfamiliar, subtle sound — a...

There's a social media meme that says, “There is no better karate instructor than a spider web in the face.” I don’t know about the karate skills, but nothing makes you swat, rub and dance quite like walking into a web. Just imagine how an insect feels. Growing up in the woods, I have walked...

We call anything an animal leaves behind a sign. It could be a broken branch, a footprint, a scrape on the ground or tree, a nest or other home, their own fur, or even animal parts from their last meal. Of all the signs scattered for our inquiry as to what or why, the scat is my favorite and a...

As we transition to fall here in Illinois, you may see smoke in the air or see the grasslands or forests burning.  These could be signs of a prescribed fire being conducted intentionally to manage our natural ecosystems.  The use of prescribed fire is increasing throughout Illinois....

My family and I recently traveled out of state to drop my oldest daughter off at a summer college program. We were taking this opportunity to do some camping and exploring of the public lands in the upper Midwest. As we traveled down a forest-lined highway en route to our planned...

Vacuous dark eyes, scaly rat tail, 50 pointy teeth, and oh, that hiss! What is not to love about the opossum? North America’s only native marsupial gets little respect and often scares homeowners who stumble upon this nocturnal visitor snacking below the birdfeeder, rummaging through unsealed...