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.…
Tag: Animal Anatomy
Water striders walk on water
While throwing rocks into Boulder Creek, I noticed the insects that look like big mosquitos walking on water in the eddies. I call them water…
Spotted sandpiper teeters along our shorelines
Boundary County has a few shorebirds and one can be found from the shorelines of the Kootenai River to high mountain lakes like West Fork…
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…
What are those big beetles?
Big insects are hard to miss, especially big beetles. This summer I’ve encountered two big beetles I’ve never seen before–the ten lined June beetle and…
Mink: the semiaquatic weasel
When I see a small mammal swimming in the water, there are only a few choices– at least I thought. One animal had me stumped.…
Millipedes don’t really have 1,000 legs
While sweeping the garage last fall, I came across small carcasses that were c-shaped, hollow, white and smaller than a dime. I hadn’t seen any…
Whiskers a sixth sense for mammals
How do seals hunt in murky water? How do cats prowl on moonless nights without bumping into everything? They can’t extend their legs like we…
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…
Water striders walk on water
While throwing rocks into Boulder Creek, I noticed the insects that look like big mosquitos walking on water in the eddies. I call them water…
Spotted sandpiper teeters along our shorelines
Boundary County has a few shorebirds and one can be found from the shorelines of the Kootenai River to high mountain lakes like West Fork…
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…
What are those big beetles?
Big insects are hard to miss, especially big beetles. This summer I’ve encountered two big beetles I’ve never seen before–the ten lined June beetle and…
Mink: the semiaquatic weasel
When I see a small mammal swimming in the water, there are only a few choices– at least I thought. One animal had me stumped.…
Millipedes don’t really have 1,000 legs
While sweeping the garage last fall, I came across small carcasses that were c-shaped, hollow, white and smaller than a dime. I hadn’t seen any…
Whiskers a sixth sense for mammals
How do seals hunt in murky water? How do cats prowl on moonless nights without bumping into everything? They can’t extend their legs like we…
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…