View the October 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Bull elk. Photo © Dreamstime.com. The elk are still bugling. Brown and brook trout are spawning. Wild ginseng is ready for harvest. Check local laws....
Exploring Nature
Exploring Nature, May 2022
Ruffed Grouse eggs hatch in Virginia in late May. You may see them cross a forest road, if you drive through their habitat.May is peak migration for shorebirds at Cape May, New Jersey.The spring...
Exploring Nature, April 2022
In April and May, wildebeest herds move northwest to central Serengeti. They follow the new grass growth.April and May are times to hunt morel mushrooms in the mid-South and Midwest.Check vernal...
Exploring Nature, March 2022
Snow trillium. Photo © Kevin Shank. Snow trilliums bloom mid-March to early April. This trillium was photographed near Franklin, West Virginia, March 21.Sharp-tailed Grouse are displaying on...
Exploring Nature, February 2022
Go out in February and early March and check wet-weather ponds. You might spy spotted or tiger salamanders laying their eggs. Look at night with a strong flashlight.Overseed food plots in...
Exploring Nature, January 2022
By mid-January, the wintering eagle population peaks in Virginia.Look at snowflake designs under a microscope.Bucks are shedding their antlers.January and February are the most popular months to...
Exploring Nature, December 2021
December through March is an especially good time to watch for Northern lights.Christmas Bird Counts are occurring this month.Make bird treats, and maintain feeding stations.Plan for and provide...
Exploring Nature, November 2021
Monarch butterfly migration photo © Javarman/Dreamstime.com. Saw-whet Owls are being banded during migration.Harvest season for ginseng runs through December 31. Obey local laws.Bobwhite Quail live...
Exploring Nature, October 2021
Photo ©Kevin Shank The Shenandoah Valley and surrounding mountains will likely be ablaze in peak fall foliage color the second or third weekend.October is the peak migration time for hawks,...
Exploring Nature, September 2021
Beautiful autumn foliage is coming to the New England states.Blue-winged Teal are long-distance migrants; therefore, one of the first to migrate south. By September, large flocks are arriving in...
Exploring Nature, Summer
Children in Iceland rescue young puffins at night that are attracted to town lights, and release them at coast in the morning.Watch for noctilucent clouds through August.Salmon are running in Alaska...
Exploring Nature, Summer
Photo © Kevin Shank. The Great Migration of Wildebeests are at the banks of the Grumeti River. Here they pass through crocodile-infested water.Black-light for moths.Sugar for moths. Add yeast to...
Exploring Nature, Spring
Photo © Kevin Shank Skunk cabbage is in bloom late winter and early spring.Woodcocks begin doing their courtship displays.Mid-to-late March grizzlies come out of hibernation.400,000-600,000 Sandhill...
