Mar 31, 2022
When Ryan Brady initiated a spring raptor count at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center (NGLVC) while a student at Northland College in 1999, his ornithology professor, Dick Verch, had never documented a golden eagle near Ashland, WI.
The first bird Ryan spotted, on the very first day, showed the slightly V-shaped...
Mar 24, 2022
The recent storm encased twigs and buds in ice. But destruction could have been worse. A cold winter meant that plants were still dormant. A late spring ice storm would be much more destructive to tender new growth. As it turns out, winter dormancy may have saved some dinosaurs when the asteroid hit, while spring...
Mar 17, 2022
“Isn’t it beautiful?” I exclaimed over and over this past week as sunlight glinted off the ice-covered trees. After a weekend storm, up to half-an-inch of ice now coats everything.
Of course, it’s a terrible beauty that has wrought destruction on our forests, created deadly challenges for wildlife, and become a...
Mar 10, 2022
Three-year-olds say poop a lot because they have it on their minds. Well, naturalists are no different. Poop is an essential part of food chains, animal tracks, and even scientific research! This week I spotted bird poop doing something funny, and in the course of researching it discovered that the conventional...
Mar 3, 2022
Adaptations are key to any animals’ survival, and each species is adapted to its own habitat. This is readily apparent in the fates of two different birds spotted in the Northwoods this winter. An out-of-place yellow-rumped warbler was impressive because of how long she survived in the cold against all odds, without...