2021, 04, April

The Good Side of Grackles!

The Good Side of Grackles!

Oh, just look at those grackles! By the hundreds! We didn’t count, but Norman said “250.” They fluttered down from the trees like leaves onto our lawn, then into the garden, and back to the trees...

Birds in Flight

Birds in Flight

The first time I began thinking about freezing bird action was several years ago, while attempting to photograph hummingbirds. No matter how hard I tried to get those wings to freeze, I just...

Western Hydra

Western Hydra

Hydra represented a water snake to the ancient Greeks. Like a snake, this constellation is long, narrow, and squiggly. Hydra is the largest constellation in the sky, its form stretching about 75°...

Camp & Cabin Cookin’

Camp & Cabin Cookin’

Recipes: Almost Pizza, and Farmer Brown Special. Recipes: Buttermilk Pancakes, Dutch Honey, and Oatmeal Cake. Download

Learning About Plantain

Learning About Plantain

I love getting out the binoculars to watch birds at the feeder. I love seeing deer, porcupines, mice, and other animals. I love watching the moon and the stars in their phases and seasons, but of...

Study Guide Puzzles, April 2021

Study Guide Puzzles, April 2021

Download Study Guide PDF Study Guide puzzles reinforce learning from this month's magazine. Download the Study Guide, and print the puzzle pages. Search for the answers in the April 2021 Nature...

My Quest to Find a Drumming Grouse

My Quest to Find a Drumming Grouse

Ruffed Grouse Drumming. Photo © Austin Vinar. The air was still on the crisp April morning. I sat in a blind in a stand of young aspen trees, listening as the American Robins and Hairy Woodpeckers...

Many, Many Mushrooms

Many, Many Mushrooms

“This is the last day of our Nature Friend bird contest; shall we go out again this afternoon?” All photos © Ronald Stine family “Is it still raining?” Lily asked. 2104-NFM-p24-25Download “Just...

Mr. Worm

Mr. Worm

Cecropia caterpillar. Photo © Kcmatt/Dreamstime.com. The rains had been abundant, the heat even more so. Together, the two had made the hum of the lawn mower as familiar as the droning cicadas...

Babies in a Bag

Babies in a Bag

Male Baltimore Oriole perched in a cherry tree looking for bugs in the blossoms. Rosetta McClain Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo © Paulreevesphotography | Dreamstime.com. One sunny autumn...

Meadowlark Music

Meadowlark Music

Meadowlark. Photo © Brian Lasenby/Dreamstime.com The female Eastern Meadowlark heard the clear, sweet whistles of a male meadowlark singing his springtime song from a fence post. She continued...