February 27, 2015 Bird Tracks A female midland painted turtle, Chrysemys picta marginata, showed up unexpectedly last week in the Hickory Knolls turtle pond, threatening the well-being of the endangered Blanding’s turtles that reside there. I’m not gonna lie, we like to have fun here at the ‘Knolls. Even though the duties can be demanding
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February 27, 2015 Bird Tracks I can still remember my first dobsonfly. The date was July of 2002. The place, Red Oak Nature Center in North Aurora. The insect was contained within a two-quart Tupperware bowl–with holes poked in the lid for ventilation. The woman carrying it clearly was unsettled, her voice quavering as she
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February 27, 2015 Bird Tracks A young painted turtle was one of many creatures discovered by participants in the St. Charles Park District’s Rod N Reel nature camp. It’s been said, on bumper stickers as well as refrigerator magnets, wooden plaques other sources of sage advice, that a bad day of fishing is better than
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February 27, 2015 Bird Tracks Large, green globes of flowers and thick purple stems make great angelica easy to identify. According to the late, great naturalist Dick Young, “The broad, pinnately compound, toothed leaves and large, rounded blossom umbels give angelica an ethereal, hazy, lazy cast…Its angel name fits.” Holy great angelica, Batman! Over the
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June 25, 2015 Fishing Spider A young female fishing spider snacks on an ebony jewelwing damselfly. If you’ve ever traveled with teens or tweens (or me, for that matter) you know that food for the trip is a primary concern. Meals and snacks are planned just as carefully as the route and the restroom stops.
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June 16, 2015 Positive Nature It’s only a short loop, but the path in the Native Plant Garden at the Pottawatomie Community Center can lead to a journey of discovery. When was the last time you got something more than you bargained for … in a good way? I don’t mean to brag but, ahem,
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June 12, 2015 Indigo Pollinators Insect pollinators have been in the news a lot lately and, for the most part, the reports have not been good. Powerful pesticides combined with a lack of suitable habitat and consecutive years of severe weather have taken their toll on these vital organisms. Apis melifera, our familiar yet nonnative
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June 5, 2015 Wood Thrush The wood thrush’s scientific name, Hylocichla mustelina, is derived from the Greek words for woodland, thrush and weasel—the last word perhaps referring to the bird’s reddish brown coloration. Look, and listen, for wood thrushes in habitat that includes mature trees, leaf litter for foraging, and a nearby source of fresh
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May 22, 2015 Bucks Restoration ecologist Jill Voegtle holds Drop Tine and Young Buck, the two deer whose territory battle led to their deaths last fall. The skulls were then transported to another location for the next phase in their processing. Good Natured readers may remember a column that ran, oh, about six months ago.
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May 15, 2015 Hoppers I’m not sure who started the trend, or when. But over the past year or so, primarily on Facebook and other social media, I’ve seen several instances of adults recreating the photos they posed in as children. Some are better than others; in fact there are a few–like the three brothers
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May 7, 2015 Robins Nests Sheltered from the wind and rain, and out of reach of predators, female American robin, Turdus migratorius, incubates her brood atop a custom-built pie plate platform. When we humans build our homes, we want them to be solid, safe and secure. They are our primary means of shelter from the
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May 1, 2015 Volcano Mulching The Super Students from Dorene Tieche’s fourth grade class at Munhall School performed an original skit, Tree Trouble, at last week’s Arbor Day Celebration in St. Charles. The “tree,” center, suffered from mulch that was mounded too high against its bark. In the end, though, arborists rescued the tree from
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April 24, 2015 Click Beetle Ampedus nigricollis is just one of several species of click beetle present in Kane County. The insects belong to the family Elateridae, a name derived from the Greek word elat.r meaning ‘driver, or hurler’, a reference to the beetles’ way of hurling into the air when they click. Did you
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April 10, 2015 Bloodroot The spring break season is upon us! Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard from friends who’ve traveled to Hawaii, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida and Arizona. Thanks to Facebook, I’ve been able to see pictures showing the lush green of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the deep orange and purple of
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April 3, 2015 Polyphemus The large, feathery antennae of this polyphemus moth identify it as a male. These delicate and sensitive structures can detect a single molecule of female moth pheromone from miles away. Let this be a lesson to you all: The next time someone brings you a cocoon and you promise to store
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March 20, 2015 Bird Sounds What a difference a couple of weeks make. When I last wrote about walking to work, my musings about nature were punctuated, early and often, by rude recalls back to the present. I slipped and slid, falling tail over teakettle twice during the nearly four-mile adventure before finally arriving, soggy
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March 13, 2015 Honey Bees Have you seen me? This week’s warmup has local honey exiting their hives and letting go a little. Or, actually, a lot. The warmer temperatures we’ve had these past few days really have things flying: Mud, as my dog Joey runs through our very moist yard. Sandhill cranes, high in
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March 5, 2015 Recycling Nature Only a couple of sealed pupal cells remain inside this predated baldfaced hornets’ nest. The rest of the colony’s larvae were consumed by the animal that opened the nest and took advantage of the free, albeit frozen, food. I walked to work the other day. I know, not really earth-shattering
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February 27, 2015 Bird Tracks Good Natured reader Vanessa Quillinan spotted this birdy “snow angel” last year while snowshoeing at Corron Farm in Campton Township. Judging by the size of the wingspan, as well as other clues at the scene, Vanessa guessed that the print was made by a hawk. Anyone who’s ever kept a
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February 20, 2015 Mink Tracks Well furred to guard against the cold, mink paws have five toes and measure from 1 ¼ to 2 in. in length. Mink live where prey animals are plentiful. In the TriCities, their habitat ranges from marshes and streambanks to retention ponds in subdivisions and shopping complexes. Several years ago,
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February 13, 2015 Rabbits and Squirrels Squirrel prints are pictured, left, next to rabbit, right. If you were to draw an outline around the SQuirrel tracks, you’d find them to be SQuare-ish in shape, while rabbit tracks form an approximation of a Y, as in bunnY. If you happen to live on the edge of
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February 6, 2015 Raccoon, Opossum, Skunk Tracks This photo of a raccoon track, submitted by a Good Natured reader, clearly shows the imprint of the five digits on the animal’s left front paw. It also indicates two other things: That tracks will spread as snow melts and refreezes, causing them to appear larger than they
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January 30, 2015 Coyote Fox Dog Tracks Masters of effi ciency, red foxes and coyotes walk in direct register, meaning they place their hind feet directly on top of the prints left by their front feet. This trait means their tracks typically proceed in a straight line. In this photo, taken as a light snow
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January 23, 2015 Tracking Deer Last week’s Good Natured photo showed a typical tracking scenario: a well-used trail in a suburban park. But hidden in plain sight amid all the foot traffic was the track of a white-tailed deer, above. The strategically placed lip balm serves as a guide to relative size. Walking along a
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January 16, 2015 Tracking Puzzel If you get up and out early, you might be lucky enough to follow a single animal’s tracks through pristine snow. However, well-traveled trails are more the norm in our suburban natural areas. Can you spot the wildlife sign amongst these many prints of boots and shoes? We all have
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January 9, 2015 Buttons During the late 1800s and early 1900s, freshwater mussels were used to make buttons. Harvests took place throughout the Midwest, including Illinois and our own Fox River. Annual harvests totaled tens of millions of pounds per year. By 1908 many mussel numbers were severely depleted, and many species were near extinction.
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January 2, 2015 Leftovers If you’ve ever hosted a holiday feast, you know that leftovers are part of the deal. Some go gracefully, packed up in containers and sent home with family or friends. Others take on new identities inside inventive casseroles. A select few might, with the best of intentions, get tossed in the
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December 26, 2014 Starling European starlings molt in fall, replacing old feathers with new ones that have bright white tips. Over time, these ends wear off, and by spring the birds have attained a breeding plumage that is dark and iridescent. Photo supplied by Bob Andrini, Kane County Audubon. Depending on how your holiday season
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December 12, 2014 Otters One of the more common images making its way around Facebook these days depicts a quintessential Santa Claus. With a plate of cookies in one hand and a glass of milk in the other, St. Nick appears just as we followers have always pictured him: twinkling eyes, merry dimples, nose like
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December 5, 2014 Weasels Stealthy and quick, this weasel recently was spotted hunting in the rafters of the garage at Hickory Knolls. Its fur will remain white during winter, then transform to a chocolaty brown with white belly and paws for spring and summer. I guess we all have our Thanksgiving favorites. My brother likes
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