View the full issue in the Magazine Archive So you think this must be a cactus, Wondernose. Cacti are prickly, all right, but I really don’t know how effective they’d be at cleaning a scorched...
Articles & Stories
The Escapade
“Slow and steady wins the race,” I rehearsed to myself for the who-knows-how-many-eth time as I inched my way around the splendid oak. With my chin to the horizon I searched determinedly, hoping to...
From the Editor’s Quill, December 2023
A Week at My Chosen Spot
My Chosen Spot contest Grand Prize winner Immature Red-vented Bulbul. Photo © Samuel Ching. When I saw the announcement in the July Nature Friend about the “My Chosen Spot” contest, I knew I should...
Wondernose: What animal’s name has become a verb meaning “hunt” or “search”?
This kind of thing happens a lot with our language, Wondernose. Take, for instance, the word “balloon.” You know what a balloon is, but can you also tell me what the word “balloon” means when used...
Beavers on the Susquehanna
My Chosen Spot Contest Second Place Winner Beaver swimming. Photo © Mirage3|Dreamstime.com. Hopefully this week I’ll see a beaver, I thought as I sat by the Susquehanna River near a beaver lodge in...
Wonders of the Night
My Chosen Spot Contest First Place Winner A gray rain spattered dismally down on the dripping earth. Forlorn rivulets of water trickled through little gullies in the soil and were lost in the larger...
Water Wonders
My Chosen Spot Contest Honorable Mention The birds of Pennsylvania are a lot different from the birds of New Mexico. Pennsylvania is where this story took place, and New Mexico is where I live.On...
My Chosen Spot
My Chosen Spot Contest Third Place Winner Bobcat. Photo © Hotshotsworldwide|Dreamstime.com. The pond? The tree stand? Some place along the creek which meanders through the wood? So many, many lovely...
Deep Sky Surprises
M78. Photo © Dogwood Ridge. Anxiously I scanned the sky as I stepped outside the door. Supper was over, and I was headed to the barn to do some chores. Darkness was falling across the valley, and...
Andromeda
Andromeda Galaxy, M31. Photo © Shaphan Shank. Andromeda is one of those ideal constellations that is easy to find, and that contains a wide variety of outstanding telescopic targets. The main part...
Photographing Snowflakes—Field Time
When I first opened my copy of Sky Crystals, by Don Komarechka, I was struck by the beauty of the snowflakes, and Mr. Komarechka’s ability to capture that beauty photographically. Furthermore, I was...
Yellow-bellied Bully
I think some birders have feeding stations simply because they enjoy watching for unusual birds or unusual behavior.Recently we had a pair of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers coming to our suet log—one...
From the Editor’s Quill, November 2023
As I write this, no doubt some of you are looking forward to next Saturday when the October 14, 2023, annular solar eclipse takes place. Right now, the prediction is for us to have clouds that day....
A Furry, Flying Find
Southern flying squirrel. Photo © Tony Campbell/Dreamstime.com. For several years, my siblings and I have been setting our live trap, curious as to what we might find. Often the peanut butter has...