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Category: Door to Nature

  • Door to Nature: The Great Blue Heron

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    Have you ever heard of a “flying wheelbarrow”? That’s the term I learned when starting my adventures in bird-watching. It refers to the great blue heron, flying with its head and neck tucked into its chest and the two long legs sticking out the other end. The curved neck appears somewhat like the front wheel […]

  • Door to Nature: Spring Birding

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    March is the month when many birds return to Door County. The greater hours of daylight and higher level of the sun cheer us all and change  birds’ activity to beginning to set up a breeding territory and seeking a mate. The blackbird group is one that makes an early appearance – some species often by […]

  • Door to Nature: The Ears and Horns of Owls

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    If you know anything about birds, you’ve probably heard of a great horned owl. But does it really have horns? No. But it does have feather tufts that can stand up and resemble small horns. There are two other species with common names that are a bit unusual: the long-eared owl and the short-eared owl. […]

  • Door to Nature: Winter Seed Pods

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    The thin covering of snow so far this winter is allowing some plants to show their seed structures above the surface. Often they go unnoticed prior to winter because they blend in with the other plants and woodland debris on the ground. The conspicuous remains of many plants are a pleasant reminder of the forthcoming […]

  • Door to Nature: The Well-known Mallard

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    Which duck would you say is the most common – and perhaps the first one you learned to identify as a youngster? I remember, as a child, our family trips to the Milwaukee lakefront to see the wildlife (the birds, not the people), and the mallards were the most numerous of any waterfowl there. At the […]

  • Door to Nature: Rare Winter Bird Visitors

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    I subscribe to several local and statewide bird-observation networks through which members report unusual bird sightings by email. During two days in the middle of December, a very rare bird was reported visiting feeders and a heated bird bath on the south side of Sturgeon Bay. It was a Bullock’s oriole! This species breeds in […]

  • Door to Nature: Bird Beaks

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    How would you survive if you had to pick up everything you wanted to eat by grabbing it with your mouth? For most birds, that’s their way of getting nourishment, so their beak is a vital part of their existence. The size and shape of a beak varies dramatically with each species, depending on what […]

  • Door to Nature: Winter Greenery

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    A friend asked about some low-growing green plants that we saw on a recent walk with our hiking group. This time of year, most of the landscape is brown and seemingly dead, but there’s still a family of small, interesting evergreen plants to watch for: the clubmosses. Most people connect the word “evergreen” with the […]

  • Door to Nature: Spring Comes to the Upland Hardwoods

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    During the past two years, April and May have not been very springlike, with more snow than we expected and very wet, cold weather. In fact, the cherry orchards didn’t bloom until Memorial Day last year — nearly two weeks late. I’ve been living in an upland maple-beech-hemlock climax forest for the past 37 years […]

  • DOOR TO NATURE: Shrikes, The Butcherbirds

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    How would you like to live outside, alone, in all types of weather, and be responsible for finding all of your food without any help? That’s what wild birds must deal with as we enjoy the comforts of our heated homes. Some bird species such as pine siskins and American goldfinches are communal. They dine […]

  • Door to Nature: The Mystery of Migration

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    The total story of migration is complicated, fascinating and frequently quite unbelievable, and it includes many mysteries that scientists and students of ornithology are continually researching. Perhaps a third of all species migrate, amounting to tens of billions of birds. Why would a bird that has spent the winter in the vicinity of the equator […]

  • Door to Nature: Bittersweet Vines with Colorful Fruit

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    The drab landscape colors – now that strong winds have blown most of the colorful leaves off the deciduous trees – might have a few bright spots where bittersweet berries remain on clinging vines. There are two species of these colorful, fruiting vines that grow along fencerows, woodland edges and river banks. American or climbing bittersweet, native […]

  • Door to Nature: Invaders from the North

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    Every autumn, I watch for the winter finch prediction that’s sent to the subscribers of Wisconsin’s email birders’ group. The forecast this year was rather bleak, with not many of the sought-after migrants expected to arrive here this winter. When natural food supplies such as conifer cones and deciduous tree seeds are in short supply […]

  • Door to Nature: Tiny, Colorful Fungi

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    While enjoying a hike with some friends recently, I photographed a seldom-seen mushroom. It’s commonly called the blue-stainer, or Chlorociboria (klor-o-sy-BOR-ee-a) aeruginascens (a-roo-jin-ESS-ens). Most often, all that’s visible is well-decayed pieces of wood with the blue stain in them, but not the actual mushroom. This group of fungi in the Peziza family is usually cup […]

  • Door to Nature: Cavity-Nesting Birds

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    Photography by Roy Lukes Many who enjoy the natural beauty of Door County are birdwatchers, or “birders.” We look for native species and know which territories each bird prefers, but we’re also excited to find unusual migrants.  Having a bluebird trail with 21 nest boxes set in habitats that attract these beautiful creatures causes me […]

  • Door to Nature: Autumn Color and the Virginia Creeper

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    Autumn is the time to enjoy nature’s transition from the greens of summer to the glorious colors of changing leaves on trees and many plants. Sunny days help to increase the vibrant hues. Ash trees are being attacked by the emerald ash borer and may not be on the landscape for too many more years. […]

  • Door to Nature: Poisonous Mushrooms

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    Autumn is the best time to hike the woodland trails in pursuit of wild mushrooms. Once the growing season winds down, that’s when fungi can take advantage of their many sources of food. Mushrooms are like the apples on trees in that they are the “fruit” of the actual plant, whose generic name is mycelium […]

  • Door to Nature: Wild Grape: Kudzu of the North

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    While driving around the county on quiet back roads, I often notice shrubs or trees covered with a dense mat of wild grape leaves. If you’ve ever driven through Tennessee and points south, you would have seen thick vines covering structures, trees and power poles. That vine is kudzu, which was introduced to this country […]

  • Door to Nature: Hairy Cats

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    People enjoying the outdoors, and especially gardeners, may notice a number of hairy cats on the move these days – but many are not hairy, and none are cats. What I’m referring to are caterpillars. The word comes from the Old North French word “catepelose,” meaning “hairy cat.” When we had a large vegetable garden, the […]

  • Door to Nature: The Flashy Red-headed Woodpecker

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    I’ve noticed reports of more red-headed woodpeckers being seen this year in Door County, and that makes me happy. This flashy bird – with its entirely red head extending down its neck, forming a cape – has suffered serious habitat loss during the last 50 years. My friend Deb has a pair that spent the entire […]