Turtles With Soft Shells? They Do Exist
World Turtle Day is May 23, but there is never a bad time to celebrate these awesome reptiles. Will County is home to familiar species...
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Willy's Wilderness
Willy's Wilderness
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- May 8
- 4 min
Get All the Buzz on This Busy Carpenter Bee
The carpenter bee is so named because they bore, or drill, holes into wood to lay their eggs. They belong to the genus Xylocopa, which...
- May 2
- 4 min
Five Fast Facts About Intimidating Snapping Turtles
As turtles go, snapping turtles look a little scary. For starters, they are big, the biggest turtle we see in northern Illinois by far....
- Apr 18
- 4 min
Muskrat Love: Get To Know This Aquatic Animal
Imagine walking along a river on a beautiful spring day when out of the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of brown, furry head and...
- Apr 4
- 5 min
Five Facts About Bobcats, Illinois' Only Wildcat
The world is home to 40 wildcat species, but only one, the bobcat, lives in Illinois. However, many people aren't aware of its presence,...
- Mar 24
- 2 min
This Fish With a Colorful Name Is Worth Protecting
Redspotted sunfish have little spots speckling their bodies, but the tiny dots do not look very red. In males the spots are orange, and...
- Mar 21
- 4 min
Five Fast Facts About Robins, Our Most Familiar Bird
Robins are among our most familiar birds, and many of us learn to recognize them at a young age. We love them because we know them — what...
- Mar 3
- 4 min
Let's Celebrate the Eastern Milk Snake: An Illinois VIP
Signs of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations can be found all around in March. Shamrocks (or three-leaf clovers), leprechauns and pots of gold...
- Feb 28
- 4 min
Five Fast Facts About Mighty Minks
If you spot a furry, brown animal along the edge of a local waterway, several possibilities may spring to mind. Is it a beaver or a...
- Feb 21
- 3 min
These Yellow-Eyed Ducks Will Catch Your Eye
Common goldeneyes are awesome ducks. They have great colors and patterns and super-cool mating dances and diving moves, and they are...
- Feb 10
- 3 min
Blast From the Past: Rocks Contain Fossils of Ancient Trilobites
If you dig deep enough into the land, eventually you will reach past the soil and hit layers of solid rock. These layers are called...
- Feb 7
- 4 min
Five Fast Facts About Treasured Snowy Owls
Snowy owls are one of those birds that people get excited about. One of the things that makes them so special is their rarity in northern...
- Jan 24
- 3 min
Nuthatches Really Live Up To Their Names
Have you ever seen a bird hopping upside down on a tree? It’s probably a white-breasted nuthatch that you see! Unlike most birds that...
- Jan 10
- 2 min
Elk, Our Deer's Big Cousin, Used to Roam Illinois
In your lifetime, you’ve probably seen a white-tailed deer or two — or maybe even dozens — hanging out on the side of the road or in our...
- Jan 4
- 5 min
Five Fast Facts About Clever and Cunning Red Foxes
Thanks to their distinctive appearance, red foxes aren't easy to confuse with other animals. Although they are quite common, they do a...
- Dec 19, 2022
- 4 min
Short- and Long-eared Owls: Who's Whoooo?
Will County is home to eight of the 19 owl species living in North America. Among those eight species are short-eared owls and long-eared...
- Dec 12, 2022
- 3 min
This Jumping Mouse Mostly Remains Out of Sight
Different animals handle winter in different ways. Some have built up thick winter coats and hide food to get them through the season....
- Nov 29, 2022
- 4 min
Five Fast Facts About Regal, Elegant Sandhill Cranes
Sandhill cranes are the supermodels of the bird world: tall, elegant and eye-catching with their gray plumage and crimson eye patches....
- Nov 18, 2022
- 5 min
Mussels Live Mysterious Lives, But They Are Essential
Mussels live private lives, sunk in streambeds or hidden in the murky bottoms of lakes and ponds, quietly filtering food and cleaning the...
- Nov 10, 2022
- 4 min
Rascally Raccoons Known for Troublemaking Ways
Raccoons are known for their mischievous ways, making them both beloved and bemoaned by the humans they live alongside. These crafty...
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