February 14 - February 20 Discover Nature this week as turkey vultures begin arriving to our state. I remember seeing these big birds many times as a child and wondering at the size of them as they circled in the sky. Last year, however, I got an up close look at several of them, when I rounded a turn on one of our many country roads. When you can see them at close range, it is easy to see a small resemblance to a wild turkey, and difficult to imagine how something so grotesque can be so

February 7 - February 13 Discover nature this week as freezing nights and thawing days cause maple sap to flow best. The Maple tree is found throughout Missouri, and its leaf was the inspiration for the Canadian flag. This species varies in its leaf shapes and lobe spaces. School children are best at identifying maple trees, as nearly every Missouri child has at one time pretended the seed pods were helicopters as they spiral down to the ground in the swirling wind. According to the Missouri

January 31 - February 6 Discover nature this week as you witness male American goldfinches molt into their bright breeding plumage. In nature, there are beauties and there are annoyances. Sometimes it is hard to see how a sticky thing like a thistle could be in the same arena as a beauty like the American goldfinch. If you filled your birdfeeders with sunflower seeds, you are likely to see plenty of American goldfinches over winter as they are exclusive seed-eaters and prefer sunflower seeds. If

January 24 - January 30 Discover nature this week as you watch for a lucky glimpse of snowy owls in this last full week of January. If food is scarce in the arctic, you just might see them. Known to be the heaviest and most distinctively marked owl of North America, the wingspan of a snowy owl can reach 4-and-a-half to 5 feet. Young males have dark brown bars that whiten as they age, but the females keep the contrasting dark bars against the bright white base throughout their lives. Normally,

January 17 - January 23 Discover Nature this week as the Bald Eagle population peaks near open water and big rivers throughout Missouri. Our state welcomes record numbers of bald eagles each winter and it has some of the most spectacular viewing areas in all of the lower 48 states because of the many prime wintering locations for the eagles. Some of these areas include Lake of the Ozarks, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, and anywhere along the Mississippi or Missouri rivers, just to name a few.

January 10 - January 16 Discover nature this week as you explore the New Year with a winter hike through the woods. The morning after a new snow is the best time to look for tracks, but a good rain will yield good tracks, too. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the easiest place to look for tracks is where two habitats meet, such as the edge of a field and a wooded area, or at the edge of water. A track's size and shape can help you make a good guess at the size and even

January 3 - January 9 Discover Nature this week as you watch for red-tailed hawks perched along highways, and consider what their presence says about other resident wildlife. Identifying the red-tailed hawk is easy, since the highly-visible rusty-red tail feathers cannot be confused with any other species in Missouri. The red-tailed hawk is a powerful, husky hawk with a wingspan known to reach almost 60 inches wide. Its loud, defiant scream and frequent soaring are familiar to Missourians and

Found across the Eastern and Midwest portion of the United States, the blue jay is a native Missouri songbird. It's a wonderful bird to start with when learning bird identification, especially for children. Jays are conspicuous because of their size and striking color. White patches and black bars highlight the bird's blue wings and tail. And the white underbelly and black necklace on its front are easy to spot as well. A jay also sports a distinct crest on its head. Jays belong to a family of

December 20 - December 26 Discover nature this week and watch for evidence of beavers in your area. Measuring up to four-and-a-half feet long and weighing up to 90 pounds, these animals are classified as the largest rodents in North America. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, they will be feeding on sapling reserves throughout these winter months. The search for beaver pelts was one enticement that led to the exploration and settlement of our nation. In 1763, Pierre Laclede

December 13 - December 19 Discover Nature this week as you learn to identify the Christmas fern in Missouri’s landscape. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Christmas ferns will be most visible on woodland slopes this week. Most ferns are annual in Missouri, though the Christmas fern overwinters and adds color to our winter season. Knowing the anatomy of a plant is the first key to identification. Leaves of ferns range from quite large to very small. The above ground stem