Discover Nature Notes

Most owls are active at night, but short-eared owls and their amazing aerial displays can be seen during daylight hours.  You can find them soaring low to the ground during winter in open fields, grasslands and prairies near woods.  Experience the world of short-eared owls in this week's Discover Nature Note.

Famous for weather forecasting, groundhogs are also excellent homebuilders.

Billions of small organisms make up nature's clean-up crew. Learn more in this week's Discover Nature Note.

Wax on, wax off  may describe the berry side hop performed by Cedar Waxwings.  Learn more about this unique mating ritual in this week's Discover Nature Note.

See how Missouri's hibernators sleep through winter, or parts of it, in this week's Discover Nature Note.

Ever wonder how birds stay warm in the winter.  Find out in this week's Discover Nature Note.

When might some wildlife need a designated flyer? When their food is overripe. Learn more about intoxicated wildlife in this week's Discover Nature Note.

Trees are often identified by their leaves, but that's only one of several categories of distinction. Learn more in this week's Discover Nature Notes.

A lesser known holiday tradition is the Christmas Bird Count. Learn how this annual practice helps keep tabs on bird species and their locations throughout the country in this week's Discover Nature Notes.

Described often as those little brown birds, sparrows are some of the easiest to attract if you want to manage a bird feeder through the winter. Learn more about these easy to please visitors in this week's Discover Nature Notes.