In the western United States, the second largest member of the deer family roams the mountains and meadows. This is the elk, or wapiti as they were known to Native Americans when Europeans first appeared on the continent.
All tagged Informative
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Eastern Tiger Salamander
Salamanders are not creatures that most people see every day. In fact, I would bet that most people rarely see salamanders – and many people never see a salamander in their entire lives. But salamanders are very cool and quite interesting.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Colorful Eastern Fence Lizard
There is a tremendous number of different species of lizards living in the continental United States: more than 150 different species! Every state except Alaska, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island has populations of native lizards.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Elusive American Mink
he American mink is a small mammal that most people never see. They are semi-aquatic creatures, meaning they spend a lot of their time in and around the water. Mink are also mostly nocturnal animals, which also helps explain why most people never see one.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The American Tree Sparrow
Sparrows are often called “little brown birds”, and for good reason. There are lots of different species of sparrows in North America, and many of them are small and brown! If can be very difficult to tell them apart, at least until you know what you are looking for.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Warmouth, the Ever-Hungry Sunfish
Have you ever caught a warmouth while fishing for bluegills or other panfish? Warmouth are found in the Great Lakes states and the Mississippi River basin, and they are common throughout most of the southeastern United States from central Texas east to Florida and the Carolinas.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Tiny Deer Mouse
Everyone has seen a mouse at one time or another, right? Mice are very common rodents, but did you see a deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) or a house mouse (Mus musculus)? A deer mouse has a brown back and a white belly, with white legs and feet.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Unusual Wilson’s Snipe
The Wilson’s Snipe is a strange-looking bird that is about the size of an American robin. It is a chubby, medium-sized shorebird with feathers that are a mottled mixture of brown, tan, cream and white. It’s got a round head and a very short tail, but the weirdest thing about it is its beak.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Limpkin is a Snail Specialist
Visitors to Florida, especially south Florida, are likely to see a very unusual bird walking along the shoreline of local lakes and marshes: the Limpkin. This tall, heron-like wading bird is a mottled brown color overall with white flecks, and it has a long neck with lighter brown-and-white streaking.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Whiskered Channel Catfish
The channel catfish is the most common catfish species in the United States. It inhabits lakes, rivers, streams and ponds. It is easy to identify because it has a fairly large head and has a total of eight whiskers (or barbels) located around its mouth.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Wild Black Bears
At one time, black bears were fairly common throughout most of North America – at least in areas covered with forests. This included every Canadian province and every state (except Hawaii), and even included much of northern Mexico.
Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The American Coot
As kids, we called the strange-looking, all-black ducks that we saw on local lakes “Mud Ducks”. But they were actually American coots. About the size of a small duck, the American coot (Fulica americana) is black or a very dark charcoal gray, with a white bill and a bright red eye.