View the full issue in the Magazine Archive By the third week in May, bird migration is winding down. The resident birds are nesting or even feeding young. It’s time to check several areas where...
Articles & Stories
From the Editor’s Quill, May 2024
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive As I write this, many of us are still anticipating the solar eclipse that is about to occur. For months our family has been planning a trip to Texas to...
My Blue and Black Tale
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive My schoolteacher had explained to us that swallowtail butterfly caterpillars like carrot plants. Since I had a row of carrots in my garden, I thought I’d...
Crying Bird
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Limpkin. Photo © Svetlana Foote|Dreamstime.com. Something moved in the weeds along the shoreline. It was bulky and slow. With a heavy body and long neck...
Wondernose: What animal lives in one of the world’s most inaccessible regions?
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Himalayan tahr. Photo © Ivanka Blazkova|Dreamstime.com. Now you are busy thinking what that inaccessible region might be. Antarctica? Certainly hard to...
The Call of the Loon
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Common Loon on lake in Maine. Photo © Harry Collins|Dreamstime.com. Dusk thickens over the beautiful Maine forest and lake. The sun has set, and the moon...
Variable Stars
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Betelgeuse, the yellow star in the lower left corner, is a pulsating variable star. Aside from their twinkling, stars seem to always shine at a fixed...
In Our Skies, May 2024
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive May 3: Saturn is .8° N of the moon.May 5: Mars is .2° S of the moon.May 9: Mercury is highest in the early morning sky due to its greatest western...
Dandy Dandelions
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Yay, the dandelions are taking over! I thought as I glanced out the window one May day.Actually, I’m not crazy; I’m just kidding. Seriously though, I do...
Virgo
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Virgo is a sprawling constellation that lies high in the southern sky during late spring. This constellation is easy to find thanks to the presence of its...
Tomatoes
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Tomatoes are one of the world's favorite fruits; there are thousands of varieties of tomatoes grown around the world. Yes, they really are fruits, but, as...
To Photograph a Drumming Grouse
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Ruffed Grouse drumming. Photo © Allen Shank. — Allen’s Story — Thump- thump- thump b-b -d-d-d-d-D-D-D-D-d-d-d-d-d. I sat upright in my chair. There on the...
Whoo, Hoo, Hooo’s Home?
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Owls are a fascinating family of birds. Most of them hunt at night and roost in some secluded spot during daylight hours. They are often heard but seldom...
Wondernose: What bird excavates holes by hammering its beak into the soil?
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Oops there, Wondernose. You didn’t listen carefully to my riddle if you think the woodpecker is the answer. Woodpeckers make holes in wood by hammering...
Bluebird Summer
View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Eastern Bluebird. Photo © Steve Byland/Dreamstime.com. One beautiful spring morning, I noticed a pair of bluebirds checking out the wren house on our...