Discover Nature Notes

Watch for these aerial diners and flyers this summer while enjoying your favorite ball team at play. Discover Nighthawks in action and raising young in this Discover Nature Note.

To mark the Independence Day holiday, we are celebrating red, white, and blue in nature. It's surprising how often these colors appear and where. You can see patriotic colors on display in the wild, watch a video, and learn more in this Discover Nature Note.

They can leap at heights that in humans would allow us to high jump the Gateway Arch and pull G forces more than 80 times a diving fighter pilot or ascending astronaut. Spittlebugs create their own protective bubble to grow up in as nymphs. Discover more about their superpowers in this Discover Nature Note.

Beavers are ecological engineering marvels. Their constructions create communities where other wildlife travel, rest, and feed. See who shows up when beavers build a dam, and learn more about them in this Discover Nature Note.

While the steadfast tortoise wins his race with the hare, when it comes to contests with automobiles, turtles always lose. Discover more about turtles in this Discover Nature Note.

Forests are energy factories! Discover what's blooming and who's moving in Missouri forests this spring in this Discover Nature Note.

There are thousands of ferns with creative names and healthy features. You can now officially go "gaga" over them with a newer genus of 19 plants named after Lady Gaga, inspired by a Grammy costume and DNA sequencing. Discover the resurrection fern. It comes back to life, has been to space, and is used medicinally. Learn more in this Discover Nature Notes blog.

You've likely seen them along the water, perching perfectly still with long legs and an "S" shaped neck. You may have seen them quickly snag a fish. Yet, few people have seen where they nest and have young. Herons build nests in colonies, usually high up in mature sycamore trees along streams. Look for several large nests grouped in a single tree. This time of year, you will see them flying around as they build, repair, and protect the nests. Learn more about herons and their hood in this Discover Nature Note.

Discover how wildlife beat the Survivor odds when the Wheel of Fortune spins into a new season and puts them in Jeopardy in this Discover Nature Note.

Check out the flight signals waterfowl use so you can snap that camera ready takeoff shot in this Discover Nature Note.