The Dusk Squadrons

Balmy weather returned to Missouri earlier this week and with it came the chimney swifts. After wintering in Central and South America, the...

The Devonian Coast

The Devonian Period, 400 to 350 million years ago, sits in the middle of the Paleozoic Era and is known for its vertebrate explosion. Shark...

The Sierra Batholith

Most of Earth's mountain ranges have resulted either from the collision of plates (the Alps, the Himalayas, the Appalachians) or the dev...

The Fish Hawk

Thanks to a ban on DDT, ospreys have made a comeback over the past few decades. Now common along coastal areas of the U.S., these "fis...

Warbler Season

While birding highlights occur throughout the year, seasoned American birders always look forward to late April and early May, the peak of t...

Hiking and your Health

As a physician, I know that aerobic exercise, such as walking, running, biking and swimming, is good for your health. This type of exercise ...

Earthquake Zones

Earthquakes usually occur along the edge of Earth's crustal plates, especially where they collide (India-southern Asia), subduct (the we...

Osage Prairie

When white settlers first reached Missouri, tallgrass prairie covered the northern and western portions of the State. In the northern secti...

The Oxbow

On this 38th annual Earth Day, there will be a good deal of talk about conservation, recycling and global warming. Unfortunately, talk does ...

Grasslands of the Oligocene

While ferns and conifers evolved in the Paleozoic Era and flowering plants appeared by the middle of the Mesozoic, grass is a relative newco...

Shorebirds in the Heartland

Most Americans associate shorebirds with southern beaches, having watched them feed along the tidal zone, running ahead of incoming waves. B...

Backwater Wildlife

Most of our Midwestern reservoirs have a shallow, backwater zone, characterized by flooded timber, marsh and mudflats. Naturalists know tha...

Tribal Man

Man has always been a tribal creature. The earliest humans, like many animals, formed clans for the purposes of hunting and territorial def...

April Wetlands

Mid April is a great time to visit Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, southwest of Columbia. Stretching across the Missouri River Floodplain, ...

The Four Geologic Eras

Geology is a complex and difficult subject, especially for the novice. I recommend that beginners first concentrate on the four major divis...

April Nor'easter

After carving a path of destruction across the southern States, our latest "spring storm" turned toward the northeast yesterday an...

Tectonic Plates

Amateur geologists know that the Earth's crust is a puzzle of tectonic plates and that most of the planet's earthquakes and volcanic...

Spring Crossroads

In mid April, the bird population of Missouri is undergoing a dramatic change. Winter residents, such as white-throated sparrows, dark-eyed...

The Green River Lakes

As the Paleocene gave way to the Eocene, 60 million years ago, a trio of lakes were forming in the intermountain west. Fossil Lake, the sma...

Ponderosa Parklands

Ponderosa pines are common throughout mountainous regions of the western U.S., found primarily in foothill zones, on lower mountain slopes o...

Forest Wildflowers

April is the month of forest wildflowers. The soil is warming, moisture is abundant and the sparse canopy has not yet shaded the forest flo...

Miracles and Nature

On this Christian Holy Day, there has likely been plenty of reference to miracles. But what is a miracle? The word is invoked for an array...

Primates

Primates, the mammalian family of which we are a member, first appeared at the beginning of the Cenozoic Era, some 65 million years ago. Wit...

Spring...Not!

The calendar says it's spring. The grass is green, the flowers are blooming and the trees are leafing out. And it's been in the 70...

Nebraska Sandhills

Representing the largest inland dunefield in the Western Hemi-sphere, the Nebraska Sandhills cover the west-central portion of the State. Vi...

Missouri River Floodplain

Heading north from Kansas City, I-29 rolls across the Glaciated Plain, dropping frequently to cross the many streams that flow westward into...

Adventure

Having a few days off, I plan to head up the Missouri River to visit a few National Wildlife Refuges in Nebraska and South Dakota. While I...