November 22, 2022 Since last week’s bitter cold, it’s warmed up gradually. This afternoon at Missoula’s Greenough Park, it’s actually a few degrees above freezing. […]
A hidden community: mayflies and more in Rattlesnake Creek
November 6, 2022 A light snowfall blanketed Missoula overnight, and this morning my feet are feeling the approach of winter. They’re screaming gradually louder at […]
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 […]
Finding nature near Missoula: walking through fall at Kelly Island
Note: I updated this story slightly in May 2024, and completely redid the accompanying podcast. In part, this was inspired by Lynda Saul, one of […]
Lake Helena and its amazing ducks
October 4, 2022 “This place is like a gadwall factory,” says Mark Mariano. Today I’ve joined Mark, a Butte-based ecologist who works for Rampart Solutions […]
To glimpse an ancient murrelet
September 27, 2022 On September 22, a low-pressure system that had been hovering over the Pacific Ocean off of the California coast swept inland. The […]
Amazed by insects: a day at the Rock Creek Confluence
September 10, 2022 From a distance, this sparse patch of sunflowers looks nondescript. You’d have no idea that it’s the stage for a gripping insect […]
A flood of migration and a harassed peregrine falcon
September 13, 2022 It’s the sort of day when Spokane Bay is covered with birds and anything seems possible. A great blue heron is wading […]
Spokane Bay: mats of algae and hints of migration
September 6, 2022 The sun is high and the afternoon is hot by the time I make it over to Spokane Bay. A lone turkey […]
A silver shimmer on the water: the Gyrinus whirligig beetles
September 6, 2022 They ripple over the water in a shimmery silver school, hundreds of them darting in elegant curves across the smooth surface. The […]