We had a reddish sparrow sized bird at the feeder the other day. Once again I had to look closely to determine if it was a purple finch or a house finch. It had a reddish breast and forehead with brown wings, and a light underside with noticeable brown stripes. Those are the markings of a house finch.

House and Purple Finches

Hosted by Chuck Lura, a biology professor at Dakota College in Bottineau. Chuck has a broad knowledge of “Natural North Dakota” and loves sharing that knowledge with others. Since 2005, he has written a weekly column, “Naturalist at Large,” for the Lake Metigoshe Mirror. His columns also appear under “The Naturalist” in several other weekly newspapers across North Dakota. 

Natural North Dakota is supported by NDSU Central Grasslands Research Extension Center and Dakota College at Bottineau, and by the members of Prairie Public. Thanks to Sunny 101.9 in Bottineau for their recording services. 

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News

If the pasque flowers are not in bloom near you, they will be soon. And there are other wildflowers as well, including Draba and prairie smoke. Beauty often comes in small packages, and the spring wildflowers will help brighten your day.

Seeing spring wildflowers in North Dakota

One of the common signs of spring is when we look up at the trees and see something different up there. The trees must be leafing out! Spring is officially here! But much of what we see up there is more likely flowers.

Trees are declaring spring

Both grasslands and birds are rapidly decreasing in Canada — less than 15% of the native grasslands remain. To address the issue, Birds Canada has developed the Bird-Friendliness Index.

Saving native grasslands and grassland birds

If you like to watch falling stars, this next month or so is a good time to see them. The Lyrids meteor shower will start soon, and it overlaps with the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. Between the two, the show will run to the end of May.

Lyrids and Eta Aquarids Meteor Showers

Shortly after beginning their journey down the Missouri River in April of 1805 after spending the winter at Fort Mandan, Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journal about an animal that Captain Clark had recently observed: “Captain Clark walked on shore today and informed on his return, that passing through the prairie he had seen an animal that precisely resembled the burrowing squirrel, accept in point of size, it being only about one third as large as the squirrel, and that it also burrows.”

House and Purple Finches

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