The buzz

Birding can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be tricky to get those identifications right.

The yellow-bellied sapsucker is the only woodpecker in the eastern United States that is fully migratory, so their time in northern Illinois can be fleeting. Look for them in the spring and fall as they migrate through our area.

You can define Earth in many ways, but above all else it is home. Here is your chance to learn all about our home planet.

Gardening with your kids can be a great way to make them good stewards of the environment.

Are the birds waking you up before dawn? There's a good reason for their morning concert. 

Meet Michelle Cipiti, an interpretive naturalist at Hidden Oaks Nature Center.

Northern flickers look a little different than most of our local woodpecker species, and we see them on the ground much more than you might expect for a woodpecker.

Several birds are known for their aggressive behavior, but perhaps none as much as the red-winged blackbird, a bird that isn't afraid to pick on creatures much larger than itself. 

Meet Jess McQuown, a program coordinator at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center.

Among rodents, mice, rats, squirrels and chipmunks are all well known. Voles, however, often fly under the radar, either because they aren't known or because they are confused with another species.