The Chipmunk Cluck
Over the years I have occasionally heard that clucking sound in the Turtle Mountain forest. It sounds as if it were the call of a bird. I had heard th...
Natural North Dakota
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About
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.
Milkweeds
I have been noticing the milkweed pods in the road ditches and elsewhere this fall. The mature pods with those wind dispersed seeds seem to catch our ...
Draconids and Orionids Meteor Showers
You may want to check for clear skies the evenings of October 6-10. That is because the Draconids Meteor Shower will be putting on its annual show. It...
The Sounds of Fall
Fall is officially here. Labor Day is in the rearview mirror, school has started, and of course the equinox occurred on the 22nd. With the coming of f...
Dakota Skipper Butterfly
I recently read a study about the Dakota skipper. The Dakota skipper is a small butterfly, with a wingspan of around one inch. Coloration is variable ...
White Snakeroot
Have you ever heard of milk sickness? It is caused by consuming contaminated milk containing a toxin from the white snakeroot plant (Ageratina altissi...
It's not sap, it's honeydew!
I have heard a few complaints on all the tree sap that has dripped on cars this summer. My car is usually parked under the canopy of some ash, aspen, ...
Touch-Me-Not
I recently noticed some Impatiens growing amongst some cattails in Turtle Mountain. It is always a treat to see this interesting plant, also known as ...
Shrews
I recently noticed something small and dead lying on the hiking and biking trail at Lake Metigoshe. It was obviously a small mammal, grayish brown, wi...
Baltimore Oriole
A friend recently told me all about the Baltimore orioles they had been observing, complete with a cell phone picture of the oriole feeding on a half ...