Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District May 31, 2013 To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, you can’t fool all the people all the time, but if you want to gross ’em out, every time, you only have to mention one word. Ticks.
Bugs, Insects, TicksPam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District May 3, 2013 “Long live the king! Dutch folks everywhere cheered this past week as their much-beloved Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne to her son, Willem-Alexander. He became the Netherlands’ first king in more
Bird, Fly, Kinglet
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District April 26, 2013 “Sweet, sweet, sweet…blah blah blah yada yada.” “Sweet, sweet, sweet…blah blah blah yada yada.” “Sweet, sweet, sweet…blah blah blah yada yada.” Sound familiar? No, it’s not the talk of some crazed
Bird, Fly, Song Sparrow
Pam’s Perspective C:\Users\selm\Desktop\P1010348.JPG From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District April 19, 2013 “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Gosh, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to start a column with a famous opening
Amphibian, Salamanders, Sallies
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District April 12, 2013 Let’s face it, fruit flies have an image problem. Some are serious agricultural pests (remember California’s infamous medfly infestation?) and others, namely the Drosophilidae, are known primarily for the way they
Fruit Fly, Goldenrod Gall Fly, Pests
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District April 5, 2013 “Kill-deer!” “Kill-deer! Kill-deer! Kill-deer!” Yep, there’s no doubt. The killdeer have returned. These medium-sized birds, members of the plover family, are famous for their namesake call – and for their propensity
Bird, Fly, Kildeer
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District March 29, 2013 Last Saturday, hundreds of wee ones descended on Pottawatomie Park in St. Charles with a singular goal in mind: Find as many brightly colored, ovoid-shaped objects as possible, split them open
Flower, Skunk Cabbage, Spring
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District March 15, 2013 Any handyman will tell you, having the right tools will make a job go a heck of a lot easier. Birds, I’ll bet, would say the same thing. A hawk’s beak
Bird, Cross Bills, Fly
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District March 8, 2013 After a week of winter weather, what could be more welcome than some signs of spring? The forecast calls for rain—not snow—and the clocks are changing tonight, so right off the
Nature, Season, Spring
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District March 1, 2013 Driving to work the other day, I saw a familiar sight: hundreds of Canada geese scattered across the frozen athletic fields of James O. Breen Community Park in St. Charles. Like
Birds, Flocks, Fly