During this unprecedented time, when everything we seem to know is turned upside down, there are still many steadfast harbingers of reality in the natural world. The chorus of Robins and Cardinals still begin at daybreak even if we are…
Anyone who wanders through our parks in April can’t help but notice the emerging spring. As Emerson penned, that the “earth laughs in flowers,” and indeed April is rich with such laughter. Wooded trails are alive with the hues of…
March is one of those months that many would like to bypass. It’s not the depth of winter anymore, and spring seems like it will never arrive. From my perspective, March is the perfect month to revel in the last…
The Audubon Christmas Bird Count season is over and volunteer compilers are busy uploading data. This is the 120th year for the Christmas Bird Counts, and local count circles in our region include Peoria, Chillicothe and Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge.…
As 2019 draws to a close, folks who are birdwatchers tend to avoid cabin fever by getting out and conducting the annual Christmas Bird Counts. This year marks the 120th year of National Audubon’s CBC. As I was preparing information…
As the leaves fall and the forest takes on a slumbering personality, we often don’t think much about the trees until they start leafing out again in the spring. However, winter is a great time to take a new look…
Last month, I discussed a recent study published in Science Magazine concerning the real threat to migratory birds being posed by the increased use of neonicotinoid pesticides. Unfortunately, birders throughout Illinois are still experiencing a lack of birds. I just…
As summer wanes, a September harvest moon rises over the eastern horizon on a beautiful Friday the 13th. The winds have turned, and come from the northwest, bringing in cool breezes. During this time of year, under these conditions, birders…
Herbariums are repositories for plant specimens that botanists have collected, dried, pressed and preserved on archival paper. They contain information on the location where the specimens were collected, the date, the habitat present and any other details the collector thinks…
The warm days of August harken the arrival of many prairie flowers and insects. The ever-majestic Monarch butterfly is a common visitor to the August prairie. An observant visitor will also see the striped caterpillars munching hungrily on several species…
