July 9, 2025, Highwood Creek, Chouteau County, Montana. I hear it as soon as I step out of the car, that resonant, knocking cucucu that […]
How to not find black-billed cuckoos
June 8, 2025, Marias River, north-central Montana, USA. My headlamp lights up the deer trail ahead of me as I pick my way towards the […]
Pileated woodpeckers and reciprocity
This story is the third and final in a series about a pair of pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) along the Clark Fork River near Missoula, […]
Immersed in the spring forest: watching a pileated woodpecker nest
This story is the second in a series about a pair of pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) along the Clark Fork River near Missoula, Montana, USA. […]
Journey to the pileated woodpeckers: earth connection in a critical time
This was going to be a story about pileated woodpeckers. But then historical events intervened, and I couldn’t ignore them. We’ll get to the woodpeckers, […]
The song of the tall dogbane: fibers at the riverbank
It’s an afternoon in late April along the Clark Fork River near Missoula, Montana, USA. The song of the tall dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) isn’t obvious, […]
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 […]
Sandhill cranes and Baird’s sandpipers: Lake Helena part 3
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 […]