-
Your car’s headlights reflect bright red eyes from a hunchbacked form ambling across the road. The black mask and ringed tail identify it as a raccoon, the “curious nighttime prowler.”
-
You might steal a kiss under its green branches, but in nature, mistletoe is a parasitic plant that attaches to and steals nutrients from trees.
-
Throughout history, owls have established a solid place in storytelling. Today, we appreciate owls for their role in the environment and for their enjoyable calls.
-
While on the road this holiday season, be on the lookout for these roadside dive-bombers: American kestrels.
-
Our most common native evergreen is the eastern red cedar, a cone-shaped juniper with a spicy yuletide aroma. It's prickly, scale-like leaves are quite different from those of spruce, fir, or pine. But it's symmetrical shape and fresh scent make cedar a yuletide choice.
-
Blue jays are relatively large songbirds (about the size of a robin) with blue upperparts and whitish underparts. A blue crest on the head can be raised or lowered depending on the bird’s mood.
-
As you drive country highways, it sometimes seems that hawks are everywhere -- perched on telephone poles and fence posts or circling overhead.
-
If you venture out near the woods after dark, you might hear the high-pitched cry of a flying squirrel.
-
Look around the Mississippi flyway this fall, and you may see the greater or lesser scaup ("SKOPP"). Scaups are diving ducks that can fully submerge and swim underwater for food.
-
November is prime mating season for white-tailed deer. It's not too hard to see deer today, but around 100 years ago they were hard to spot.