Young birder gets thrill of a lifetime with hawk
Children are never too young to develop an interest in birds. By age three, my daughters could identify towhees and cardinals by sight and...
Scott Shalaway: Looking back to 9/11; nature is the place to be
Ten years ago, in the aftermath of 9/11, I wrote about nature's September highlights. I touched on fall colors, shorter days, cooler nights, and the migration of birds and monarch butterflies
Scott Shalaway: No one has to tell the birds summer is over
On Aug. 25 at a high school football game on Wheeling Island in the Ohio River, a flock of high flying birds distracted my attention from the game. Shortly before sunset, I counted about 50 common nighthawks swirling and feeding above the stadium lights. I watched until they disappeared in the darkening night sky.
Cicada killers are vampires of the insect world
On hot summer days, the pulsing drone of dog day cicadas reminds us that outside temperatures flirt with 90 degrees. It's also fair warning to be on the lookout for a monstrous insect, the cicada killer.
A-maizing corn has been around for centuries
For the next few weeks fresh sweet corn will be available at roadside stands, farmers markets and even grocery stores. When the corn is...
Keep your cat inside to protect it and the birds
Since 1989 I have written several times about domestic cats and the havoc they wreak on native wildlife populations. On July 11 cats made the national "fake" news on John Stewart's The Daily Show.
House wrens can be nasty neighbors
House wrens are extremely territorial and aggressive. While most birds limit their aggression to members of their own species, house wrens are interspecifically antisocial.
Summer is finally here: wildflowers are in bloom
Everyone knows the ox-eye daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum). The flower’s bright yellow central disk is surrounded by white petals. It grows almost anywhere brightening hayfields,...
Belted Kingfishers, easy to identify, hard to forget
I’m not an avid angler. It’s probably because I’m so easily distracted. Dragonflies and damselflies patrol their territories along cattail-lined shorelines. Bullfrogs bellow from...
Thankfully, whip-poor-will’s song is hard to forget
"Whip-poor-will! Whip-poor-will! Whip-poor-will!" The song wakes me at first light. It's why I keep the bedroom windows open.The song of the whip-poor-will is my...
