Sheryl DeVore

Peeking from the soil in my yard on March 26 were green leaves about an inch tall that I hadn’t seen yesterday. They were the leaves of bloodroot, which produces white, multi-petaled flowers close …

Walking along a trail in a northern Illinois woodlands, I noticed the silhouette of our earliest arriving migratory flycatcher.

A loon floats in Bluff Lake on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Antioch. Loons are most often seen in the Chain O’ Lakes in late March and early April as they migrate north. About a dozen were spotted in Bluff Lake this morning. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

For three decades, David Johnson has guided nature lovers in early spring to northern Illinois lakes to hear the eerie yodeling of hundreds of common loons.

Both green-winged teal (pictured) and blue-winged teal have many fans in Illinois, as hunters enjoy the challenge of trying to bag both species. Biologists studying both species have developed favor for the ducks, too. (Photo courtesy of Ducks Unlimited)

Wild hyacinths were already blooming in the middle of May at both Wright Woods and Reed Turner Woodland. As a group, they created lilting, white patterns that seemed to connect one oak tree to anot…

Captive-reared piping plovers are making history as they guard two separate nests with eggs in Waukegan and Chicago.

A summer wetland landscape scene is only complete if a great egret is standing on the edge of the water. Its bright white plumage and elegant S-curved neck belie its loud croaking call.