Pheasant populations dependent on weather and habitat
Every time I drive through the valley on Copeland Road I look for pheasants near Farm to Market Road, especially in autumn and winter. Most…
Tag: Animal Adaptations
Flying squirrels glide with ease between trees
A small head poked out of a bird house and it wasn’t a bird or a red squirrel–the large eyes belonged to a flying squirrel.…
Columbian ground squirrels hibernate early
Standing bolt upright on a prominent rock, a Columbian ground squirrel chirps every now and then as I watch from Shorty Peak lookout. The chirps…
Can you imagine having more than two eyes?
Most familiar to us are animals with two eyes. But some animals have more than two eyes–a spider has eight eyes, a lizard three eyes…
When camouflage doesn’t work
While out hiking last week, we spotted this snowshoe hare. With a lack of snow at lower elevations, the snowshoe hare’s white pelage didn’t provide…
Do animals see what we see?
We often assume the world looks the same to everybody, including animals, but it doesn’t. A red tulip isn’t red for everyone. The details on…
Feathers don’t last forever
American goldfinches dart to and from the bird feeder in their drab yellow plumage this time of year. Their vivid yellow plumage won’t come until…
Bobcats: Often all you see are tracks
Snowshoeing near McArthur Lake, I crossed the usual coyote, snowshoe hare and small rodent tracks in the fresh snow. Then as I slowed to navigate…
Nuthatches: The upside-down bird
While woodpeckers search for insects by spiraling up a tree, the nuthatch zig-zags down the trunk head-first. Foraging upside-down may seem unnatural to us but…
How do deer survive winter eating twigs?
A deer munches on the tips of young trees, ripping the leafless twigs from the plants. Surviving the winter on twigs isn’t very nutritious but…
Frogs breathe through skin and swallow with their eyes!
In the spring, I’m always listening for the first robin to sing and the first frog to ribbit. But in the fall, I never know…
Pronghorn fastest land mammal in North America
Capable of bursts of speed greater than 60 miles per hour and sustained speeds of 45 mph, the pronghorn gracefully speeds across the American Plains…
Flying squirrels glide with ease between trees
A small head poked out of a bird house and it wasn’t a bird or a red squirrel–the large eyes belonged to a flying squirrel.…
Columbian ground squirrels hibernate early
Standing bolt upright on a prominent rock, a Columbian ground squirrel chirps every now and then as I watch from Shorty Peak lookout. The chirps…
Can you imagine having more than two eyes?
Most familiar to us are animals with two eyes. But some animals have more than two eyes–a spider has eight eyes, a lizard three eyes…
When camouflage doesn’t work
While out hiking last week, we spotted this snowshoe hare. With a lack of snow at lower elevations, the snowshoe hare’s white pelage didn’t provide…
Do animals see what we see?
We often assume the world looks the same to everybody, including animals, but it doesn’t. A red tulip isn’t red for everyone. The details on…
Feathers don’t last forever
American goldfinches dart to and from the bird feeder in their drab yellow plumage this time of year. Their vivid yellow plumage won’t come until…
Bobcats: Often all you see are tracks
Snowshoeing near McArthur Lake, I crossed the usual coyote, snowshoe hare and small rodent tracks in the fresh snow. Then as I slowed to navigate…
Nuthatches: The upside-down bird
While woodpeckers search for insects by spiraling up a tree, the nuthatch zig-zags down the trunk head-first. Foraging upside-down may seem unnatural to us but…
How do deer survive winter eating twigs?
A deer munches on the tips of young trees, ripping the leafless twigs from the plants. Surviving the winter on twigs isn’t very nutritious but…
Frogs breathe through skin and swallow with their eyes!
In the spring, I’m always listening for the first robin to sing and the first frog to ribbit. But in the fall, I never know…
Pronghorn fastest land mammal in North America
Capable of bursts of speed greater than 60 miles per hour and sustained speeds of 45 mph, the pronghorn gracefully speeds across the American Plains…