Great blue herons more than excellent fishers
Standing motionless in stagnant water, a great blue heron’s head suddenly reels forward into the water and emerges with a small fish. Great blue herons…
Tag: Nature
Shrews may resemble mice but they are different
Shrews are one of the smallest mammals in North America and the smallest one resides in North Idaho–the pygmy shrew. The pygmy shrew weighs between…
Look for shorter tails on voles and lemmings
Scurrying around underground, in meadows and through leaf litter are several small, furry mammals. Last week, I wrote about the mice found in North Idaho…
Small, furry critters include more than mice
Signs of the smallest mammals are more frequently seen than the animal itself unless you happen to see one scurry across the road. Mice, voles,…
Being green in winter isn’t easy
Compared to the Midwest, the forests of North Idaho are filled with more conifers than deciduous trees. Conifers keep our forests green through winter as…
Stromatolites a window into Earth’s history
Fossils offer a glimpse of what organisms have lived on Earth, such as woolly mammoths and Tyrannosaurus Rex- yet most don’t exist today. Some fossils…
Caching allows early nesting for Clark’s nutcracker
Laying eggs in March would be a risky venture for most birds because of the lack of food available to feed nestlings. But an alpine…
Sweet cottonwood fragrance will announce spring
One day in early spring, the sweet fragrance of cottonwood buds will fill the air. The large pointed buds of black cottonwoods are filled with…
Life under an icy ceiling
Winter brings hardships for many animals–lack of food, deep snow and cold temperatures. For fish sealed from the winter landscape by a ceiling of ice,…
Chickadees utilize various tactics to survive
One of the most loyal visitors to bird feeders are chickadees. No matter what the weather, chickadees quickly dart to a feeder, grab a seed…
More to a fire than flames and ashes
Staring into a campfire, watching the flames flicker and flare until the wood is reduced to glowing red coals can be mesmerizing. The warmth of…
Eurasian collared-doves a relative newcomer to Idaho
When thinking of invasive species, one often thinks of weeds. But some birds also qualify as invasive, most notably European starlings, house finches, English sparrows…
Shrews may resemble mice but they are different
Shrews are one of the smallest mammals in North America and the smallest one resides in North Idaho–the pygmy shrew. The pygmy shrew weighs between…
Look for shorter tails on voles and lemmings
Scurrying around underground, in meadows and through leaf litter are several small, furry mammals. Last week, I wrote about the mice found in North Idaho…
Small, furry critters include more than mice
Signs of the smallest mammals are more frequently seen than the animal itself unless you happen to see one scurry across the road. Mice, voles,…
Being green in winter isn’t easy
Compared to the Midwest, the forests of North Idaho are filled with more conifers than deciduous trees. Conifers keep our forests green through winter as…
Stromatolites a window into Earth’s history
Fossils offer a glimpse of what organisms have lived on Earth, such as woolly mammoths and Tyrannosaurus Rex- yet most don’t exist today. Some fossils…
Caching allows early nesting for Clark’s nutcracker
Laying eggs in March would be a risky venture for most birds because of the lack of food available to feed nestlings. But an alpine…
Sweet cottonwood fragrance will announce spring
One day in early spring, the sweet fragrance of cottonwood buds will fill the air. The large pointed buds of black cottonwoods are filled with…
Life under an icy ceiling
Winter brings hardships for many animals–lack of food, deep snow and cold temperatures. For fish sealed from the winter landscape by a ceiling of ice,…
Chickadees utilize various tactics to survive
One of the most loyal visitors to bird feeders are chickadees. No matter what the weather, chickadees quickly dart to a feeder, grab a seed…
More to a fire than flames and ashes
Staring into a campfire, watching the flames flicker and flare until the wood is reduced to glowing red coals can be mesmerizing. The warmth of…
Eurasian collared-doves a relative newcomer to Idaho
When thinking of invasive species, one often thinks of weeds. But some birds also qualify as invasive, most notably European starlings, house finches, English sparrows…