Outdoors column: Return of the eastern phoebe a sight for sore eyes
Flycatchers are a family of birds that eat insects and cannot live in northern Illinois in winter when their food choices are scarce. But phoebes seem to come back even...
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Outdoors column: Earlier wildflower bloom times point to climate change
Peeking from the soil in my yard on March 26 were green leaves about an inch tall that I hadn’t seen yesterday. They were the leaves of bloodroot, which produces...
Outdoors column: For a new winter activity, try watching gulls
The gulls you see while you’re walking along a lakeshore, a huge river bank or even driving by a landfill, are not always the same species.
Outdoors column: Late arrival of winter weather affects native and wayward birds
Winter has finally gripped us with its snow, ice and below-freezing temperatures. It hit us over the head after we experienced one of the balmiest Decembers on record. On the...
Outdoors column: Bird counts create memories, contribute to science
Red and orange hues streamed across the sky above thousands of cedar trees at dawn as a barred owl called its familiar "who-cooks-for-you-who-cooks-for-you-all" from a distance at the Lost Mound...
Outdoors column: Cold moon shines at December’s end signaling brighter days ahead
I admire a full moon when it's warm outside, but even more so on a cold winter night. The bright orbital shape casts a welcoming light to the Earth as I...
Outdoors column: ‘Tis the season to give back to the Earth
For the past several years, my family and I have cut way back on holiday gift-giving for various reasons, including saving money and reducing waste. We think of that decision...
Outdoors column: Watching red-tailed hawks
I've been seeing more red-tailed hawks out and about these last days of autumn. While driving along a busy road, I've seen one soaring in the air spreading out its...
Outdoors column: November offers a different way to enjoy plants and insects
In spring, summer and fall, outdoor colors surround us — from the butterflies, to the birds, to the flower blossoms and changing hues of leaves. But, when November comes around,...
Outdoors column: Sparrows add color to mid-autumn
To birders, October means most of the colorful, migratory warblers have settled in, or are still heading someplace farther south for winter. Their primary food source, insects, is nearly gone...