Woodpeckers are famous for, well, pecking wood. When you imagine a woodpecker, most likely you picture a black and white bird hammering...

What do you do to protect yourself from the winter cold? You bundle up! Coats, scarfs, hats and gloves all come out of storage. Bison...

Most people know a skunk when they see one, and they will probably go to great lengths to avoid coming into close contact with it. Skunks...

Feeding the birds can be a great way to bond with nature and learn your local birds. One of the most magical things about nature is that...

Canada geese can be found all over Will County. Known for their “V” formations in the sky, their big honking noises and sometimes the...

Pied-billed grebes are part-time residents of Will County. These tiny little birds are smaller than crows. They are mostly brown and do...

Northern short-tailed shrews may look a little like mice, but shrews are not rodents at all. If you look closely, you’ll see these shrews...

For most salamanders, spring is the season to get spruced up and travel to the ponds to find a mate. However, mudpuppies, along with a...

October is bat season! We love bats for Halloween decorations, and we tell spooky stories about them around the campfire. Plus, this is a...

Nature has a way of balancing itself out, and turtles are an example of that. These reptiles are among the slowest creatures roaming the...

The hoary bat is the largest bat in Will County, weighing 1.2 ounces with a wingspan of up to 16 inches. The name “hoary” describes the...

With summer coming to a close and fall on its way, this is the time of year we like to call spider season. Although spiders can be seen...

Butterflies are one of those creatures that always seem to delight us, sparking awe and joy as they flutter by. Butterflies belong to the...

No one likes mosquitoes. They are annoying, and no one is safe from their itchy bites. They are just one of those things we have to put...

Mussels are interesting and important creatures, but they are often overlooked. More than 80 different types of mussels used to live in...

Monarch butterflies are one of the most recognizable butterflies in Illinois. They are larger butterflies with bright orange and black...

A familiar flash of light in your backyard on a summer evening can mean only one thing: lightning bug season. These bugs are a summertime...

Step aside, butterflies. We are going to take a moment to celebrate a lesser-known member of the Lepidoptera family. The big, colorful...

Summer is the best time to see reptiles crawling, swimming and slithering about. There are snakes and lizards and turtles. If you are...

Many of us get excited each spring when our migratory birds return. One of the birds that is most anticipated each year is the Baltimore...