Some birds, like juncos, migrate to Illinois for winter. Birds stay warm with extra feathers and need high-fat, high-protein food like suet. You can help by making your own suet feeders with lard, peanut butter, seeds, oats, cornmeal and fruit. Mold the mix into fun shapes and hang it outside. Watch for hungry birds all winter, but remember to remove suet feeders in spring when temperatures warm up.

Maples bring vibrant fall colors and much more. Common species like silver, sugar, and box elder maples vary in size, leaf shape, and use. Sugar maples produce syrup and boast brilliant foliage. Silver maples are common in neighborhoods, while box elders have compound leaves and support forest wildlife. Maple wood is used in everything from sports gear to instruments. These trees are vital to nature and everyday life.

Eastern red bats are furry, red-colored bats that live in trees, not caves. They wrap themselves in a tail “blanket” and hang by one foot to sleep, blending in like leaves. These small, solitary bats hunt insects after sunset and raise pups. In fall, they migrate south in groups called cauldrons and hibernate in leaf piles. Despite spooky myths, they’re helpful, harmless critters perfect to celebrate this Halloween.

“Leaves of three, let it be; leaves of five, let it thrive” helps tell poison ivy from harmless Virginia creeper. Poison ivy has three leaflets and causes rashes; Virginia creeper has five and turns bright red in fall. Poison oak and poison sumac also cause allergic reactions. About 85% of people are allergic to urushiol, the rash-causing oil. Rashes aren’t contagious but can last weeks. Severe cases may need medical care. Never ingest these plants.

Hay and straw look similar but serve different purposes. Hay is green and nutritious, made from grasses or legumes, and used to feed animals. Straw is yellow, hollow, and made from the leftover stalks of cereal crops like wheat; it’s used for bedding, mulch, decoration, and erosion control. Straw lacks nutrients but is fluffy and absorbent. Hay can even catch fire if stored wet, due to heat from microbial activity.

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect from Asia that damages over 100 plant species, including grapevines and maples. Though harmless to humans, it harms trees by feeding on sap and spreading fungus. First seen in the U.S. in 2014, it reached Illinois in 2023. It spreads fast and lays eggs on trees and man-made objects. Residents are urged to learn its life cycle, report sightings, and destroy the insect to help slow its spread.

Bird beaks come in many shapes, each suited to their diet. Cardinals have cone-shaped beaks for cracking seeds, while owls have hooked beaks for tearing meat. Robins and warblers use tweezer-like beaks for insects, and woodpeckers use chisel beaks to dig out bugs. Hummingbirds sip nectar with pipette-like beaks, and ducks strain food from water with colander-like beaks. Beak shape offers clues about what a bird eats and where it lives.

Rainbows form when sunlight hits water and bends, splitting into colors. You can make your own rainbow with a bowl of water, a mirror, and sunlight. Place the mirror in the water at an angle, face it toward the sun, and catch the rainbow on white paper. Sunlight must shine through the water for it to work. Rainbows don’t appear if the sun is blocked. Try changing the water level or mirror to see what happens.