Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District November 2, 2012 Wow. The facts blowing around in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy are staggering. The massive weather event took at least 160 human lives in the U.S. and Caribbean, knocked out power
Bird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Fly, Migration
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District September 14, 2012 Driving along Peck Road the other day, a merry band of naturalists spotted a TV dinner on the pavement. Even better, the TV was right next to it! Now, before visions
Bird, Fly, Turkey Vulture
September 7, 2012 Once upon a time Canada geese were just that—geese from Canada. Well, Canada and thereabouts. A denizen of the north, the birds’ appearances in our area were primarily during migration, and their flocks were a sight to behold. I remember one fall, I want to say it was in the mid-1970s, when
Bird, Fly, Sandhill Crane
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District June 8, 2012 I remember the first time I ever saw a Baltimore oriole. I was in the backyard of my grandmother’s house in downstate Atterberry, IL, (which, not so coincidentally, is my mother’s
Baltimore Oriole, Bird, Fly
“Aw, crud.” Those were the words I uttered a few days ago when I stepped outside my office to take the picture for this week’s column. High above our service entrance, at the back of Hickory Knolls, a robin’s nest still sat among the supports of our photovoltaic, or solar energy, panels. My intent this
Bird, Fly, Robin
Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District May 11, 2012 “Mew.” The sound was soft and, at first, easy to overlook. But the longer I spent in the woods, listening as I walked, the more insistent the caller became. “Mew…Meew…Meeeww!” I
Bird, Catbirds, Fly
If you’re like me (and Heaven help you if you are) you may find yourself faced with a daily barrage of questions, mostly self-imposed, on a wide range of topics. Like, for instance, who decided that dandelions are “bad” and need to be killed? How and why did the myth get started that a mother
Bird, Fly, Purple Martin
February 21, 2014 Juncos My friends make fun of me sometimes because, they say, I’m easily amused. I guess I really can’t argue with them, since it seems like there’s rarely a time when I’m not amused—or amazed—by one or another elements of our fantastic natural world. I’ve stayed up until 2 a.m. watching a
Bird, Fly, Junco
Pam’s Perspective Pam Otto is the Manager of Nature Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District So… Last week we talked turkey. Specifically, wild turkeys, Meleagris gallopavo, the birds that are taking the TriCities by storm. And, this week, we’re… Still talking turkeys! We asked, and you responded. Well over two dozen
Bird, Fly, TurkeysPam’s Perspective Pam Otto is the Manager of Nature Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District Remember back a few years ago when folks were all abuzz about bald eagles? The majestic eagle, our nation’s symbol, an animal once on the brink of extinction, was right here, in Kane County! People just
Bird, Fly, Wild Turkeys