Natural History in Monroe St. Clair and Randolph Counties Illinois
The Waders of August, Part 2: Lesser Known Members of the Heron Family
By August flocks of herons and egrets can be spotted at ponds and wetlands, along waterways, and even field drainage ditches. The often seen and graceful “fish cranes” and “white fish cranes” – Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets – are among the common wading birds we see. Lesser know members of the heron family, […]
Colorful Baltimore Orioles & Bird Population Trends
Baltimore Orioles are one of the most stunningly beautiful birds that spend their summers in our area. Their striking orange and black coloration is how they got their common name. When discovered by early English colonists along the Atlantic seaboard, they named the bird for the heraldic flag colors of the first Baron of […]
An Area Natural Treasure, Salt Lick Point is Perfect Spot for a Relaxing Hike
The Village of Valmeyer’s Salt Lick Point Land and Water Reserve is one of our area’s premier natural treasures and stands as testimony to the creative power of collaborative cooperation between government, citizens and non-profit organizations to protect our natural areas. After the Flood of 1993 devastated the original town of Valmeyer, the village decided […]
Bats: Nighttime Bug Busters
Bats are among the most overlooked and misunderstood yet common mammals of Monroe County. They are easily overlooked because they are creatures of the night. They are misunderstood because of conflicted European mythological hogwash, treating them as “Batman- heroic” on the one hand, and “Dracula-like-loathsome” on the other. Not all the world sees bats in […]
Raccoons: Clever? Tricksters? Cute? ADAPTIVE
Raccoons, clever and cute, mischievous and tricksterish, have literally changed their lifestyles along with the rest of America. There are more raccoons living in Illinois and Monroe County today than there were in pre- and early-Euro-American settlement times and most now live in suburban and urban settings. Raccoons owe their success to their adaptability and […]
Wonderful Pelicans…
“A wonderful bird is the pelican, His bill will hold more than his belican. He can take in his beak Food enough for a week. But I’m damned if I see how the helican.” Dixon Lanier Merritt A postcard sent by a Florida-vacationing reader inspired Merritt, then an editor at Nashville’s daily paper The […]
Plant Names Offer Clues to Past Uses and Beliefs
The names of many of our bluff lands plants offer their own archeological record of cultural pasts. Rather than rock hammers, small brushes, transects, and sieves, the archeology of words needs a tool kit that begins with a dictionary. Nouns – names of things – can tell as much about the namers as what they […]
Wild Turkeys: Bellwether Birds of Healthy Habitats
Wild turkeys are a magnificent bellwether bird, proof positive that our bluff land forests afford healthy and sustainable habitats for a variety of wildlife. Wild turkeys (Meleagrus gallopavo), the largest game bird in North America, have long held a special place in the natural world for peoples of our continent. Many Native American tribes considered […]
“Green Chaos” of Natural Landscapes or Monoculture of Invasive Plants?
Writer John Fowles spent a portion of his childhood in rural England when his family moved from a London suburb to escape World War II blitzkrieg attacks on the city. His memory of life in the country, particularly life in a setting with woodlands, was, he later wrote, “Slinking off into trees was always slinking […]
The Waders of August
Pools of water along the Mississippi River floodway and bottomlands – pacing summer’s decline with a steadily reducing size – often host large congregations of wading birds. A late-summer leisurely drive along Levee Road offers viewing of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of herons and egrets. Adult birds, many still sporting worn remnants of once fine nuptial […]