Easter Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) are one of the more common venomous snakes in America and are responsible for the most snakebites from any venomous snake in the country. The beautiful although a bit menacing-looking copperhead has a distinctive hourglass pattern.
Angel wing aka airplane wing is a deformity that affects the carpal or wrist joint of growing waterfowl like ducks and geese, causing the wing feathers to stick out sideways instead of lying flat against the body. This can also affect domestic fowl but this article focuses more on wild species.
Winter is a tough season for birds. Food is scarce, temperatures drop, and daylight hours shrink. Yet many birds stay right where they are and survive just fine. They do this through a mix of physical adaptations and behavior changes.
The spring peeper, Pseudacris crucifer, a tiny chorus frog, lives throughout the eastern United States and Canada. They are one of the first signs that winter is ending. On warm evenings in late winter and early spring, wetlands come alive with high-pitched peeping that can carry for long distance.
The northern saw whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a tiny bird that ranges over much of North America, so your chances are good that one might live near you. Their breeding range includes southern Alaska, most of Canada, and areas of the northern and western United States.
Saw-whet owls are curious birds, allowing humans to come quite close before flying away. Today we are talking all about the saw whet owl, tips for finding them in nature and ways you can help them.
Kidnapping is an unfortunate event when humans steal baby wild animals from their natural homes. Sometimes people kidnap wildlife because they think they are helping or rescuing the baby. Often humans kidnap wildlife because they want an exotic pet.
The purpose of this article is to help both wildlife rehabilitators and people who care about wildlife to learn about wildlife kidnapping and make good decisions to help wild babies.
The sandhill crane is a large and magnificent bird that is found in wetlands in the central United States. They spend their breeding season in Wisconsin’s wetlands and are a common sight even in urban areas.
At one point Sandhill crane populations had dwindled so low they were near extinction. Aldo Leopold and other Wisconsin environmentalists were instrumental in publicizing their plight.
These birds are best known for their graceful dance-like movements, which they perform during courtship rituals and their very vocal conversations.
Benjamin Franklin was right about one thing. The turkey would have made a great national bird.
Wild Turkeys are large, plump birds with long legs. You often see them walking in fields or on the edges of wooded areas. The distinctive gobble and beautiful tail plumage on the male make them easy to identify.
I will be the first person to tell you that helping wildlife is a good thing. However, there is a right way to go about helping your wild neighbors.
Wildlife has a harder time finding food in winter and dealing with the cold and snow. In addition, humans have often destroyed habitat and resources that allow them to forage throughout the year.
Coming out at night (and not just on Halloween) they hunt for flying insects. Bats are unique animals. They are the only mammals to actually fly.
Bats are the subject of myth and lore but what is the truth about these fascinating animals. This article will cover some basic facts about bats and take a close-up look at several species in Kentucky.
Sadly birds collide with windows far too often. Audubon estimates that one billion are killed every year. These bird strikes are the second leading cause of death for birds. Outside domestic cats are the first.
These numbers include endangered species as well as backyard favorites like the hummingbird.
As we construct more buildings to meet the needs of humans we make the air space more perilous to birds. Making accommodations in our construction can help save the lives of many birds.
Are you one of those people who halts traffic to help a turtle cross the road? Stops to say a prayer and check the pouch for babies of a possum killed on the road? Tries to find the nest of a baby bird.
I’m so glad you care about wildlife! Thank you for all you do. At Fox Run Environmental Education Center we appreciate our finders.
For those of you with a passion to help wildlife one simple way is to put a wildlife rescue kit in your car. The things in this kit will help you to safely catch and move a wild animal so that you can transport them to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
When we think of jellyfish we often think of trips to the ocean. I remember a trip to Jamaica when I was young where I was stung by a jellyfish and had to go to the doctor. Jellyfish are common along saltwater beaches and may even disrupt swimming.
Freshwater jellyfish are not as well known however they are a real thing.
In spring and summer, people sometimes find baby birds that are outside of their nest. While some of them may be orphaned and really need our help, this is not always the case.
In this article, we want to discuss how to tell if a baby bird needs intervention and how we can care for baby birds in a responsible way.
Kentucky has 33 native snakes of which only four are venomous. Snakes are very beneficial to the environment. They eat rodents and help to lower disease spread by these animals.
This article will talk about snakes’ physical features, introduce you to a few of the cool Kentucky species, discuss snake rehabilitation, and what to do if you are bitten by a snake.
Near the coastline of one of the east’s favorite vacation spots lies one of the largest aquatic animal sanctuaries on the East Coast. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island witnessed an influx of “patients” over the course of the last few weeks, most recently after Georgia and other surrounding states lifted quarantine restrictions in early May.
Kentucky is home to many species of waterfowl. Both ducks and geese spend much of there time in Kentucky.
Forty-three species of waterfowl make Kentucky home for at least part of the year. We will talk about some of the more common ones you may see locally.
Read further to learn about some common species and what you can do to improve habitat, feeding wild ducks and geese.
