Wonderfull Earth

A barred owl in winter What's that sound coming from your moonlit backyard on these winter nights? This time of year, normally-elusive owls are making themselves known as they try to attract a mate in time for their winter nesting season. Unlike many birds, who breed in the spring and summer, owls (along with animals like wolves, beavers, lynx and squirrels) are looking for love during these long, cold nights - accompanied by hoots and howls galore. Many owls begin their courtships in late January, and if you listen carefully after sundown, you might hear their mating calls from a nearby tree or telephone pole. Five owl species regularly breed in Wisconsin, and a few others have been spotted around the state, yet their nocturnal habits, sparse distributions, and early (and chilly!) nesting periods combine to make sightings awfully scanty. From screech owls to the great horned owl, now is the time to hear or spot these cloaked crooners. One common owl th...

No matter what holidays you celebrate, this is the season to enjoy your family, keep the kids busy on those days off, and spend time outdoors before winter  reeeally  hits. Looking for ideas? There is a lot going on around town these days! Or, if you'd rather cozy up around your own house or yard, there are plenty of fun activities you can do with your friends and family. Read on for ideas... Out and About Beyond the Edge of the Sea and Seaworthy @ the UW Ebling Library and Story Time at the UW Geology Museum .   Check out this traveling exhibit featuring the magnificent watercolors of deep-sea expeditionary illustrator Karen Jacobsen (Art and Science Exhibitions on display until January 31, 2012), and stop by the Geology Museum on Thursday, 12/15 at 10:30am for their family Story Time! Winter Solstice Celebration @ the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. Celebrate the longest night of the year with a nighttime winter hike under the stars, feed winter bird neighb...

"Snow is a gift to the tracker: a blank page upon which nature writes its stories." Paul Tappenden Dear Reader, Freshly fallen snow is the perfect blank slate on which the stories of nature can be written. Whether it be loop-de-loops around the yard, impact craters in nearby snowbanks, or trails leading to treasure troves and food stores, kids, adults and animals alike are tempted by a layer of fresh, clean snow, just asking to be tracked upon. So with all this in mind, we hope this issue of Nature Net News inspires you to go out and trailblaze your own set of tracks! Enjoy! Kathe, Sarah & Brenna The Folks at Nature Net Did You Know..... There are many different types of tracking in addition to finding footprints. For example, Large Scale Sign, used by the United States Search and Rescue Task Force , involves reading the landscape for traces of activity and habitation, such as resources an animal needs (food, water or bedding), signs of animal dens, or the presence o...