Bald-faced hornet nests, like this large one in St. Charles, are revealed when the leaves fall from the tree. The former residents, a type of…
Bald-faced Hornet Nests
A Bird Eat Bird World
Ah, spring. What could be more glorious? Flowers are blooming, insects are buzzing, frogs are calling. And the birds? Well they’re doing what birds do…
Eagle Nest
From a distance it looked like a Volkswagen Beetle slung upside down in a tree. An old-style Bug, that is. Dark brown in color. Oh,…
Ground Bees – Part 2
Ground bees, as we saw last week, are some of our area’s most beneficial insects. They provide spring flowers with the much-needed service of pollination.…
Ground Bees – Part 1
The other day I was at Langum Woods in St. Charles, getting ready to work with some wonderful volunteers from Elgin Community College’S Phi Theta…
Robins Nests
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
Duck Eggs
St. Charles Park District Nature News – May 8 I know we weren’t supposed to, but we did it anyway. We counted our eggs before they hatched. To make matters worse, they technically aren’t even “our” eggs. But since they’re in “our” parking lot here at Pottawatomie, several of us on staff have felt a
Nest
Whether you spend a lot of time outdoors, or if you simply remember the old Chiffon margarine commercials from the 1970s, you know that “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” But maybe, just maybe, it’s sometimes okay to give her a helping hand. Last week’s windy weather brought just such an opportunity. It was
Cowbird
Maybe I spent too much time in front of the TV as a kid but, when spring comes, I can’t help but think of Baby Huey. Remember him? Large but lovable, the gi-normous duckling starred in many cartoons during the 1950s and ’60s. Throughout his assorted escapades the sight gag was always the same: giant