I’m convinced, Hooded Mergansers are simply Wood Ducks that have been corrupted by the Dark Side. Similar in size and sharing a proclivity for nesting in tree cavities, the bill of the hoodie shrivels ...

One of the most attractive birds in the Concho Valley will soon arrive (if they’re not already here) on ponds in San Angelo. If you don’t try to get so close that you startle them, they will present ...

Signs of spring start materializing come mid-February, especially in mild winters like this one. Our first “wildflower,” skunk cabbage, bursts from spring-fed mires. Buds begin to pop on elms and ...

You might not expect to find much of interest in the wildlife department as you're bombing down I-90, but you'd be surprised. Both roads have been quite bountiful over the years, and though I find the ...

Ciara Davis, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, has never seen a hooded merganser in the wild, but she’s gained a real appreciation for the duck. An acrylic painting of a pair of hooded mergansers recently ...

Q: I snapped a photo of a female hooded merganser leading her ducklings in the water. But here’s the strange part: They weren’t all the same species as their mother — some were wood ducks, some were ...

Imagine 10 nearly round white eggs snug in a hollow tree, lined with soft feathers plucked from the mother’s breast. The hen carefully tends the two-inch eggs for about a month until the chicks hatch.

• 600,000 Sandhill cranes gather along the Platte River in central and western Nebraska. Visit www.rowesanctuary.com. • Flocks of common redpolls have descended into Boulder County from the frozen ...

One of the most enjoyable and gratifying aspects of being a naturalist is the opportunity I have to help different people understand the world a little better. On March 9 I received an email from Mary ...

Question: There are large bird houses on the shores of the lake I fish. Are these wood duck houses, and do they really help the duck population? Answer: They are probably wood duck nesting boxes, and ...

Some birds I would write about only in the spring or summer, because that’s the only time they are here. Some species winter here and breed elsewhere. The common merganser is one of those North Idaho ...