by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2022 | 2022, 04 April, Birds, Contest, Covers, Fish, Herons, Egrets, & Bitterns, Hummingbirds
Great Blue Heron and pumpkinseed sunfish. Artwork © Michael Stauffer. Broad-billed Hummingbirds at cardinal flower. Artwork © Mark Brueggemann, 14.
by Sharon Newswanger | Apr 1, 2022 | 2022, 04 April, Birds, Contest, Let's Take a Hike, Thrushes
Baby American Robin. Artwork © Sharon Newswanger, 15. About the Wild Bird Art Contest A big thanks to each of you who participated. We very much enjoyed seeing your work.Judging the work was quite a challenge. We invited an artist to join us in the decision process....
by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2022 | 2022, 04 April, Contest, From the Editor's Quill, Puzzle, Scavenger Hunt
by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2022 | 2022, 04 April, Birds, Blackbirds, Orioles, Meadowlarks, Owls, Pictures and Poems, Wrens
by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2022 | 2022, 04 April, Birds, Contest, Crows, Jays, & Magpies, Herons, Egrets, & Bitterns, Owls
First Place Winner Great Blue Heron and pumpkinseed sunfish. Artwork © Michael Stauffer. Second Place Winner Blue Jay. Artwork © Lois Tschetter. Third Place Winner Snowy Owl. Artwork © Aneta Koehn. About the Wild Bird Art Contest A big thanks to each of you who...
by Seth Good, 8 | Mar 3, 2022 | Articles & Stories, Birds, Cardinals, Tanagers, & Allies, Nuthatches, Pigeons & Doves, Sparrows, Thrushes, Waterfowl - Geese, Swans, Ducks, Loons, Grebes, Woodpeckers, Wrens
Sunday dawned a beautiful morning. The first birds I saw were cardinals—male and female. There were Chipping, English, and House Sparrows at the feeder. Out the kitchen window I saw a Junco and a Mourning Dove. At the feeder there were now starlings and Brown-headed...
by Kayleen and Rachelle Plank | Mar 3, 2022 | 2022, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Contest, Learning By Doing, Plants & Fungi
STEP 1:Build a simple 24” x 36” x 8” box with a bottom, using sturdy old fence boards. STEP 2:Now you are ready to construct the cottage front. Cut five weathered barn boards to make a cottage front. The finished width should be approximately 34”. The height should be...
by Julian D. Kreider, 9 | Mar 2, 2022 | 2022, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Birds, Contest, Crows, Jays, & Magpies, Hawks, Eagles, & Kites, Sparrows, Thrushes, Woodpeckers, Wrens
Red-tailed Hawk. Photo © Julian Kreider. When I was looking through the September Nature Friend, I saw the Birding with Friends Contest. I thought it would be interesting to try. I decided to make my circle in a brushy place on our six-acre property. I picked Monday,...
by Rebecca Martin, East Earl, PA | Mar 2, 2022 | 2022, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Contest, Mailbox, Mammals
Striped Skunks. Photo © Dreamstime.com. The majestic moon climbs silently over the dark forest and hills, shining its silver light upon the peaceful woodland. Deep inside a hollow log, a night creature stirs and stretches its sleepy limbs. Rising on her padded paws,...
by Kevin Shank | Mar 1, 2022 | 2022, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Contest, From the Editor's Quill
This was a fun issue to compile. To begin with, content came from an assortment of activities that you readers participated in. They included Birding With Friends, Nature Night, Creative Writing Contest, and a “Learning by Doing” going back to a Flower Planter contest...
by Kevin Shank | Mar 1, 2022 | 2022, 03 March, Contest, From the Editor's Quill, Puzzle, Scavenger Hunt
by Marcia Schrock, 15 | Mar 1, 2022 | 2022, 03 March, Articles & Stories, Birds, Cardinals, Tanagers, & Allies, Chickadees & Titmice, Crows, Jays, & Magpies, Finches, Crossbills, & Grosbeaks, Hawks, Eagles, & Kites, Kinglets, Nuthatches, The Birders' Trail, Thrushes, Vultures, Woodpeckers
As I went about my morning work on November 17, the lovely day beckoned me outdoors. Why not do the Nature Friend bird circle project today? The thought niggled at the back of my mind. Why not? So it was that I launched into a day of bird watching.A flock of black...
by Kevin Shank | Feb 23, 2022
The spring bird migration is underway. Birders know the delight in a fallout of warbler s in their brightly-colored breeding plumage flitting here and there, looking for insects among the newly-emerging leaf canopy of the forest. And to all you non-birders, well, you...
by Eugene Martin | Feb 8, 2022 | 2022, 02 February, Articles & Stories, Birds, Chickadees & Titmice, Contest, Finches, Crossbills, & Grosbeaks, Hawks, Eagles, & Kites, Vireos
Sharp-shinned Hawk. Photo © Kevin Shank. Slowly I walked down beside the row of trees—binoculars, field guide, pen, and paper in my hand, drinking in the beauty of the predawn morning. A killdeer called even before I got to my secluded little circle beside the placid...
by Janice Troyer | Feb 8, 2022 | 2022, 02 February, Articles & Stories, Contest, Crustaceans & Mollusks, Saltwater, Water Life
It was morning on the seashore. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, sending a warm glow over the dozens of little waves at its feet. The sea gulls were already calling and swooping over the sand and water.From his tight little crevice in between two rocks about...
by Freeman J. Martin, 9 | Feb 8, 2022 | Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Constellations, Contest, Meteors, Nature Nugget
In August, Dad decided to take the family to Cherry Springs Park in Pennsylvania, which has the darkest night sky east of the Mississippi River. We ventured out with food, binoculars, tents, our telescope, and a borrowed one.When we got to our destination, we were...
by Swena Newswanger, 15 | Feb 8, 2022 | 2022, 02 February, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Contest, Meteors
Here in upstate New York, autumn was long and beautiful. This is December already, and some days are warm enough that even the bees decide to fly. But the other night something else was flying which aroused my interest and required me to lose some sleep.After making...
by Kevin Shank | Feb 7, 2022
I’d like to see a unique memory game compiled—sets of related pairs instead of identical pairs. I envision creativity combined with excellent photography to provide an exciting and educational dimension to a Nature Pairs Memory Game.By pairs, I mean two pictures that...
by Kevin Shank | Feb 2, 2022
Some like flowers, some like trees,Some like beetles, some like bees,Some like birds, some like bugs,Some like animals, but none like slugs. So here are the rules. Choose a body of water—it can be a lake, a pond, a stream, a swamp—and write a fun story about your...
by Kevin Shank | Feb 1, 2022 | 2022, 02 February, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Insects & Arachnids, Mailbox
by Kevin Shank | Feb 1, 2022 | 2022, 02 February, Articles & Stories, Contest, From the Editor's Quill
Snow is gently falling outside my window tonight as I write this. I enjoy seeing snow fall in the glow of a yard light after dark. It makes a fun backdrop for sipping hot chocolate and munching a fresh homemade doughnut. But that was a while ago. Now I’m back to my...
by Kenneth Gingerich, 11 | Feb 1, 2022 | Articles & Stories, Birds, Contest, Herons, Egrets, & Bitterns, Warblers
Hooded Warbler. Artwork © Kenneth Gingerich. The sun had not yet risen when my brother Jesse and I neared the circle. Suddenly a Green Heron flew out of the cattails. Desperately we ran with long strides toward our circle. It was a hopeless case, but we could try. It...
by Kevin Shank | Mar 31, 2021 | 2021, 05, May Story Contest, Contest, Learning By Doing, Plants & Fungi, Study Guide, The Photo Focus
by Kevin Shank | Mar 30, 2021 | 2021, 03, March, Birds, Caption This, Contest
