Trumpeter Swans return With a wingspan of over 7 feet and weighing close to 30 pounds, the Trumpeter Swan is considered the largest native waterfowl species in North America. It is a bird that once nested across the upper United…
A world of wounds September has gone down in history for its record-breaking warmth. Locally, it has turned out to be one of the driest as well. Each month we hear we broke a record, and collectively each year seems…
The Big Sit! It’s the world’s most sedentary birding event — The Big Sit! This worldwide event is hosted by Bird Watcher’s Digest and founded by the New Haven (Conn.) Birder’s Club. It takes place all over the world the…
Singing Woods is growing! On May 24, 2017, the Peoria Park District acquired a 9-acre parcel of woodlands. It was part of an estate that was home to the Raistrick family for a couple of generations. After the death of…
A Complex Housing Market At the Peoria Park District’s Tawny Oaks Field Station, we are working hard to enhance the area for nesting birds. I feel like a new landlord; hanging out the “tenant wanted” sign and hoping for full…
What we fear It was a sickening site, lying on the side of the road — the freshly dead body of a black rat snake. Tire tracks coming off the pavement, onto the road shoulder to hit the snake, then…
Planning for Pollinators Bumblebees buzzing amongst the white clover on the front lawn is a childhood memory that many of us share. Today, children have another memory that will follow them into adulthood. They hear the scientific data that warn…
Spring cleaning Who would have thought that we would be seeing February days with sustained 60+ degree temperatures! While spring seems to want to make an early start, I have a feeling that we will still see more of old-man…
January 20, 2017, a date that will go down in… you decide! As I write, there is a soon-to-be-inaugurated, new President leaving Blair House and traveling to St John’s Church for a morning church service. The service is closed to…
Winter Wings Winter has finally tightened its grip on Central Illinois. Crisp air and frozen ground define the landscape that was home to warm breezes and green growth not so long ago. In the shift of the seasons, nature also…
