June 8, 2026, Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico. It rained hard all morning and a good part of the afternoon as the skirts of Tropical […]
Hidden world in the aspens: getting to know voles and more
July 30, 2023 “We know where all the birds are. We don’t know where all the mammals are,” Cody Lane tells me. We’re walking through […]
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 […]
Getting to know Washington’s spiders
April 27, 2023 If you hate spiders, I have bad news for you: the world is full of them. In the state of Washington alone, […]
Earth Song: birds, wolves, and the power of singing
For most of us, song is something that permeates our lives on a daily basis. We find it on the radio, in concerts, in ads, […]
Frigid survival: how American white pelicans overwinter in the cold
They’re like a flurry of snow in the Montana summer. American white pelicans: massive white birds with chunky orange bills and black wingtips. On the […]
A porcupine wandering through the frozen-dessert section
November 18, 2018 was a windy day in Helena, Montana. At the Sevenmile Creek restoration site, the Russian-olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) branches danced in the breeze, […]
Well-hidden wanderers: searching for Montana’s long-eared owls
February 2, 2023 New snow fell two days ago, and it still covers the dense Russian-olive limbs on this sunny morning. We’re standing just inside […]
Hope for a dammed stream: watching Rattlesnake Creek change
November 1, 2022 It’s probably the last mild day before winter hits. Among the golden cottonwoods, Rattlesnake Creek is the very image of an idyllic […]
Building trust with prairie dogs
July 6, 2022 The burrowing owl watched me from the fencepost, then glanced away, eyes half-closed. Its mate was perching on the ground nearby, next […]