The northern cardinal is Illinois’ state bird, known for the male’s bright red color and both sexes’ crests. Found only east of the Rockies, cardinals sing year-round, with females often singing on nests. They mate for life, build layered nests, and eat seeds, fruit, and insects. Cardinals defend territory even against their reflection and can live up to three years, sometimes much longer. Several states share the cardinal as their state bird.

Owls don’t chew their food well and sometimes swallow their prey whole. Similar to a hairball, what cannot be digested, like fur and bones, forms into a pellet that the owl spits up typically once a day. Owl pellets are dark in color and turn gray as they dry and are often mistaken for poop. They can be found on the ground under roosting spots. The larger the bird, the bigger the pellet. Be sure to use gloves when handling or examining.

Detritivores are animals that eat dead or decaying plants and animals, helping nature recycle. Earthworms, millipedes and slugs are common detritivores that improve soil health by breaking down waste into nutrients. Without them, dead matter would pile up and plants would struggle to grow. You can help by composting at home. Visit Plum Creek Nature Center’s Compost Trail to learn more.

Chipmunks and 13-lined ground squirrels are both rodents that look alike, but differ in stripe patterns, habitat, and hibernation. Chipmunks have five wide stripes, live near woods, and store food. Ground squirrels have 13 narrow stripes, prefer grassy areas, and truly hibernate without storing food. Both are active by day and omnivores. In Illinois, chipmunks are easier to tell apart from tree squirrels like the eastern gray squirrel and eastern fox squirrel.

Queen snakes are nonvenomous, water-loving snakes found in Will County. They’re gray, brown or green with yellow belly stripes and mainly eat recently molted crayfish. These snakes are rarely aggressive but may release a smelly fluid if caught. Named from their Latin name Regina, queen snakes give birth to live young and can often be seen basking near rivers, streams, or ponds.

During the fall, chipmunks are busy prepping for winter by gathering food, bulking up and building burrows. These diurnal omnivores use cheek pouches to store food and live in an underground system of tunnels. Rather than hibernating, they fall into deep sleep and wake to eat stored food. They’re born tiny and helpless, grow fast, and live just 2 to 3 years. A group is called a scurry, babies are kits, and adults are bucks (males) or does (females).

More than 3,000 different kinds of walking sticks live in the world, with the common walking stick being the most reported. A walking stick's eggs can be housed by ants and take a few months before a baby walking stick, or nymph, emerges. During their molting process, walking sticks have regenerative properties to regrow any legs it has lost. They have adapted for survival by using camouflage, being active at night, and by altering their rigidness to feel like a stick when fe

Northern water snakes live in and near water across Illinois. They grow 2 to 4 feet long, with females being larger than males. These carnivores eat fish, frogs, birds, and more, swallowing prey while they are still alive. Northern water snakes are non-venomous and are active by day in spring and fall and at night in summer. They have rough, keeled scales with banded backs. and can give birth to live young - up to 100 babies per litter. Though harmless, they may bite if threa