Note: This story is the third and final in a series about Lake Helena and getting to know a place in nature over time. In […]
Of bitterns and bank swallows: Lake Helena, part 2
This story is the second in a series about Lake Helena and getting to know a place in nature over time. If you haven’t heard […]
Nature at Lake Helena, part 1: shorebirds to the Arctic
May 15, 2024 A light rain fell during the night, and the west end of Lake Helena is wrapped in a gentle gray fog as […]
A hopeful sign for a bird in decline: helping Montana’s tree swallows
The nest boxes haven’t been up for five minutes, and already a small cloud of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) is swirling around them. A dusky, […]
Learning from starlings: urban ecosystems and weedy species
Nature is all around us, all the time. Wherever we are, we live in an ecosystem. It may be far from pristine. It may be […]
An explosion of voices: listening to the birds and the Huatulco River
It’s a cool morning on the outskirts of Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico. The streetlights are still glowing in the waning darkness, illuminating the road […]
Connection, wonder, and the birds that span a continent
It was June in North Carolina, USA, the humid morning of a day that promised to be hot. The orchard orioles (Icterus spurius) sang sweetly […]
Crossing the wall: from Montana to Oaxaca
Yellow-rumped warblers are among the most common warblers in North America. There are an estimated 170 million of them, small, elegant birds clothed in yellow, […]
A naturalist journey through Kokanee Glacier Park
High in the Rocky Mountains, there’s a vast landscape where the wind sighs over rock and heather. The trees struggle up the steep ridges and […]
A portrait of nature along the Niobrara River
September 28, 2023 It’s a warm, still night in late September along the Niobrara River, flowing east through Nebraska’s sandhills prairie. The moon is nearly […]