Get Out!

Fun things to do and great places to discover nature.

• November is time to clean, fill, and hang up bird feeders. Black oil sunflowerseed is best.
• In December, listen for owls singing their love songs at night. Great horned owls call “Hoo, hoo-oo, hoooo.” Barred owls call, “Who cooks foryou? Who cooks for you all?”
• Milkweed pods open in November. Collect the fluffy seeds and spread them in sunny areas. If you’re lucky, the seeds will sprout, and monarch butterflies will visit them next summer.
• Head to the woods for a scavenger hunt. Can you spot these things: a red leaf, a bird’s nest, a knobby acorn, a fat mushroom, a wild animal track?
• Take a hike along a frozen stream, and keep an eye out for playful otters sliding on the ice.

Looking for more ways to have fun outside? Find out about Discover Nature programs in your area at mdc.mo.gov/events.

Critter Corner

American Wigeon

Now through April, look for this duck tipping up its tail to dabble shallow water for plants and bugs. Wigeons also tend to swim near ducks that dive for fish and bottom-feeding critters. Sometimes, wigeons will snatch food from divers’ bills as soon as they surface. For this, people call wigeons “poachers.” Boy wigeons have white foreheads and green eye stripes. Girl wigeons have gray bills, dark eye spots, and rusty sides. Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/field-guide.