Nature's Storytellers

A Blog About Nature in Our DuPage Forest Preserves

Ecologists Shed Light on Issues Facing Oaks

Trail users at Herrick Lake Forest Preserve will soon see more forest through the trees along the southern portion of the preserve’s Green Heron trail.
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Release Your Inner Hippie

Birkenstocks are back in style. Essential oils are all the rage. And “living green” is basically “the new black.”
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Home for the Owl-idays

Thanks to the dedicated staff at the Forest Preserve District’s Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, a now-healthy short-eared owl has made its way back home in the wild in time for the owl-idays. (Sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves with that one! What a hoot!)
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Christmas Traditions

on 12/10/19 10:41 AM By | Dennis Buck | 0 Comments | Insider Locations Take 5
For centuries, many cultures have decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs as symbols of life and renewal. Even so, the Christmas tree is an instantly recognizable symbol of the Christmas holiday itself. 
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Sandhill Cranes Overhead!

What is that loud, bugling call high in the sky? It's sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) on their fall migration!
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Garden Blooms at Mayslake from Worker's Creativity

Mayslake Peabody Estate is now home to a garden that blooms year-round, thanks to creativity, recycling and automotive paint.
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Pelican Reunited with Birds of the Same Feather

An injured American white pelican is back on track to fly south with its feathered friends after being treated at Willowbrook Wildlife Center and released near a flock of pelicans on the Des Plaines River in Will County.
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Scientists Search for Clues to Grassland Bird Habitats

More than a dozen ecologists from local conservation agencies toured the 1,800-acre Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve in Naperville recently to explore and learn more about the high-quality grassland habitat that has been transformed into a birder’s paradise by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.
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Great Horned Owl Returned to its Home at Kline Creek Farm

Duane Marski was walking the grounds of Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago recently when he noticed a large bird walking on a back road near the orchards.
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Enjoy Fall Colors on Tractor-Drawn Wagon Rides

Experience autumn in the preserves on a leisurely tractor-drawn wagon ride at Danada Equestrian Center and St. James Farm.
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Lend a Hand at Volunteer Restoration Workdays

Want to give back to nature or earn community service hours? Help Mother Earth by lending a helping hand at our Volunteer Restoration Workdays. They’re a great way to make new friends, get some fresh air and exercise, and give back to nature.
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Celebrate the Oak with Fun OAKtober Programs

At the forest preserve, we love oaks. So we’re having a month-long celebration of oak trees and the things that make them great.
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A Model of a Thriving 1920s Poultry Operation

Millionaire coal baron Francis Stuyvesant Peabody is well known for his Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, but few know that he also owned a farm on the sprawling grounds of the estate.
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Connect to Nature through Mayslake Collage Classes

A walk in nature and a mixed-media collage class may seem like they have nothing in common, but when the collage class is taught by “The Paper Alchemist,” aka Darien-based artist Laura Lein-Svencner, their similarities become abundantly clear.
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Help Wanted: Pollen Patrol

Summer is a busy time in DuPage County, but many of the area’s busiest residents are so small they almost go unnoticed, even though they’re performing one of the most important jobs on the planet.
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Feeding Habits of Daring Dragonflies

Dragonflies – while the origin of their name is a mystery, it is an appropriate description of these voracious predators. Both the aquatic nymphs and the flying adults are some of the largest and most aggressive insect hunters in the world.
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Restoring More of the Great Prairie

The 358-acre West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve in West Chicago is one of northeastern Illinois’ premier natural areas, containing more than 600 species of native plants and animals.
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Start Your Day with Yoga on the Lawn

Yoga. It’s the oldest new thing around these days and for good reason.
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Unexpected Garden Delights

You expect to encounter native plants and wildlife when you visit DuPage forest preserves, but you don’t expect to find amazing gardens abloom in gorgeous flowers.
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Birds of a Feather

While out birding at Blackwell Forest Preserve the other day, a very curious pair of trail users caught up to me and inquired about all the brown ducks on the water. What species were they? Where were all the mallards?
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