A simple whistle, ascending at the end, easy to imitate. It’s the hour when the light departs, converting the trees into silhouettes, and the evening […]
Bridging the distance: two countries and a Cassin’s kingbird
I recognized it right away, that emphatic kiBURR call from the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) on the hill. I was in Rosebud County, Montana with […]
Among the redcedars: finding stillness in the rain-drenched forest
It’s a cool, misty morning in late May at the Ross Creek Cedars, a remnant patch of old-growth forest in the rain-blessed northwestern corner of […]
Waiting for rain: making it through climate change
It’s a dry September morning and the sun rises orange through a thick mass of wildfire smoke. The smell of it is the first thing […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]