Nature

For those of us who aren’t great with binoculars or whose eyes don’t pick up on subtle details, Cooper’s and sharp-shins look practically identical. And big changes now are coming to bird identities.

The Will County Forest Preserve District approved its 2025 budget, including a reduction of property taxes by 27% while still funding capital improvements.

The lingering warmth this fall has led to an extended kinglet-sighting season. Typically seen in northern Illinois in October, both golden-crowned and ruby-crowned kinglets are still popping up in numerous parks and preserves.

Their great numbers can be attributed to their reputation as beneficial insects, because they consume large quantities of garden and crop pests.

Kane County Certified Naturalists is a year-long program designed for adults who want to learn more about the natural history of our great county, and also find out about ways to put that knowledge to good use.

When they’re not creating tiny works of functional art, female potter wasps also function as pollinators. They are one of many reasons why it’s important to “leave the leaves” through the cold months.

Turkey vultures are notoriously wary, and spook at the slightest hint of something amiss.

The cormorant is a creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky bird that's a familiar sight along the Fox River as well as select marshes and assorted neighborhood retention ponds.

Friends of the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge will celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week with two upcoming events, one Sunday.

As swifts come down from points north – Wisconsin, Michigan and southern Canada – they congregate in huge numbers in prominent chimneys throughout our area.

The Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves in Will and Grundy counties has received $99,439.56 from the state of Illinois for a program aimed at removing invasive species at local sites.

Now that we know better, we can do better when it comes to our wild neighbors.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County is throwing a Pelican Party on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon. Live pelican presentations are scheduled.

The Nature Conservancy held its annual Autumn on the Prairie on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, at the Nachusa Grasslands near Franklin Grove.

Spoiler alert: In this thriller of a turtle rescue, the turtle lives happily ever after. Watch the video.

Why don't we see one of our longest-lived butterflies in summertime?

It won’t be too much longer before we start getting calls at Good Natured World Headquarters about the sounds of a species hitting its next phase of development.

As familiar as the insect's raspy two- or three-note sound is, few people know what a katydid actually looks like.

A tale of two birds leaves photographer momentarily confused.

Singing may sound like fun, but the responsibilities that come with it add up to a lot of hard work for birds.

The Healthy Forests, Wetlands, and Prairies Act would require Illinois to establish a grant program for local governments to restore degraded forests and prairies. State Senator Rachel Ventura from Joliet sponsored the bill.

Walking across Michigan granite outcrops, amid the lush ferns and beneath the mixed hardwood and conifer canopy, I might just as well have landed on another planet.

The Will County Forest District Board voted Aug. 8 to acquire 57-acres at cost of $1,037,400 to grow the forest preserve in Channahon.

A spruce tree that has stood outside Woodstock City Hall for decades will be cut down on Sunday.

It’s been said by more than one starry-eyed romantic on more than one occasion that love makes the world go ’round.

Just like human babies, insect babies – also known as larvae – sometimes bear little resemblance to the adults they become.

Kane County has a variety of family-friendly events to do before school begins, such as painting at Color Me Mine, visiting Primrose Farm and more.

This year, we seem to have an explosion of earwigs – primitive little creatures many find "creepy."

The Nature Foundation of Will County presented a $33,400 donation check to the Forest Preserve at the District to be used for a variety of programs and projects.

Central Illinois offers learning adventures described as “field trips for grown-ups.”

Batavia Plain Dirt Gardeners club will hold its garden walk featuring seven gardens from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 13.

Lured in by the promise of a meal, the small arthropods bump into the trigger hairs – and pop! The would-be consumers are instead consumed.

Here's how to handle red-winged blackbird season, including stopping any dive-bombing should you encroach on the birds' territory.

Five weeks after their emergence, we find ourselves in the final two weeks of a once-in-seventeen-years-phenomenon in northern Illinois.

Temperatures in the 90s didn't stop area residents and wildlife from enjoying the outdoors on Saturday, June 22, 2024.

Seventeen years he’d waited for his one time to shine, and here he was in a cicada desert far away from millions of potential girlfriends.

Ever tried basswood honey? It tastes just like the blossoms smell. Before the flowers are gone, drink in the sweet smell of basswood in bloom.

Morton Arboretum in Lisle gives Joliet a $216,519 grant to expand tree inventory.

A delicate creature discovers better living through chemistry and spurs.

Native trees, a beaver dam, building blocks and coloring station are some of the new interactive displays at the Crystal Lake Park District Nature Center, freshly open after its five-month closure for construction of the new exhibits.

Sharing the story of Poly Pupa, who had a helping human hand, prompted a second mystery for a curious naturalist.

Joliet, Lockport park districts will feature cicada-themed activities.

Sally Wieclaw of New Lenox was named 2023 Volunteer of the Year during the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s annual banquet in April.

You’ve probably seen the mature form of a rat-tailed maggot without even realizing it. You likely mistook the hover fly, a prolific pollinator, for a bee.

Eastern phoebes seem to have a natural ability to make people happy.

“It’s not like they come out of the ground and you hear this gigantic, deafening sound. They need time to complete their life cycle," said Nancy Kuhajda, program coordinator at the University of Illinois Extension in Will County, in describing the emergence of cicadas.

D'Arcy GMC sponsored a sapling giveaway at Saturday's Slammers game with help of the Channahon Little League team.

Warm weather season means more time spent outdoors. It is also time for ticks to be out more and everywhere. Changes in climate are leading to an increase in the ticks and the potential for unwanted diseases.

Don’t feel left out if you’re not seeing cicadas in your area. You still can participate in a community science project.

Join a naturalist on a morning walk in the woods to search for feathers. Expect to see migratory birds and summer residents returning home on a Mother's Day program Sunday, May 12.