Perched in a silver maple, a male catbird pauses in between long phrases of song.
House Wrens
Cherished by humans for its delightful songs and perky ways, the house wren has another side to its breeding-season behaviors. Photo by Carol Hamilton
Beautiful Birdsong
Beautiful Songs (with wood thrush photo) and this caption: Often heard but seldom seen, the wood thrush is known for its melodious song of lilting,…
Sharp-dressed Men
Sharp dressed in red and black, male scarlet tanager pauses for his closeup before resuming his foraging activities. Photo by Nikki Dahlin.
Icarus’s Road to Recovery
Sporting bare shafts where feathers once grew, Icarus the red-tailed hawk is in the process of recovering from a near-fatal encounter with a landfill flare. He is under the care of KARE, Kane Area Rehabilitation and Education for Wildlife, a rescue that has treated birds with similar injuries in the past. Good Natured: Icarus’s Road
Peaceable Pollinators
People can observe a wide variety of native bees without fear of being stung. Good Natured: Peaceable Pollinators April 21, 2023 Last week when we explored the life of Colletes, or cellophane bees, we saw how they are some of our area’s most beneficial insects. But there are many, many more. Somewhere between 400 and
Cellophane Bees
Cellophane bee tunnels resemble ant hills, but the hole is larger, about the diameter of a pencil. Here a bee is seen exiting her excavation; a 2 5/8th-in. lip balm tube was used for scale. Good Natured: Cellophane Bees April 14, 2023 The other day I was at Delnor Woods Park in St. Charles, setting
Hosting Purple Martins
As social birds that are aerial insectivores, purple martins require treeless open space around their housing. Good Natured: Hosting Purple Martins April 7, 2023 According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, North America is home to 2,059 species of birds. Of these, 2,058 are pretty self sufficient. Sure, they could do without humans’ constant interference,
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned night herons are listed as endangered in Illinois. Last summer at least one breeding pair nested in Rock Falls, IL, as evidenced by this photo of an immature YCNH taken by Good Natured readers Jan and Dean Zinanni. Good Natured: Yellow-crowned Night Heron March 10, 2023 One of the really great things about life
