Explore with Willy

The American coot is far from one of the most well-known waterfowl out there, but winter is when its presence really becomes known. An American coot. (Photo via Shutterstock) American coots are dark, duck-like birds that are about 15 inches long. Read the five facts below to get more familiar with this adorable waterfowl.    Not a duck Although American coots look like ducks, they are part of a group a marsh birds called rails. The rail family is diverse and consists of many

Coyotes are an important part of the ecosystem, and their presence across Illinois is beneficial. Their main ecosystem role is keeping the population of small mammals like rodents and rabbits in check.

The white-naped crane lives far from the United States, but it might remind you of our local crane species.

With their shades of pink, purple, yellow and white, spring wildflowers usually get the credit for bringing the most color to the preserves. And while their bright colors are beautiful, the autumn season is full of color too! After the leaves start to fall, those colors are not as bright and may be more subtle, but they bring no less beauty to the preserve.  (Photo by Glenn P. Knoblock) In fact, this is one of the best times of year to get outside and count the colors! While

Ever since the first hunter-gatherers sat beside a buzzing log and got a whiff of a sweet honey coming from within, humans have been managing and keeping honeybees. Beehives in winter. (Photo via Shutterstock) The honeybee got its common name from its scientific name, which is Apis mellifera . In Latin, Apis means “bee,” and mellifera means “honey-bearing.” Who’s in the hive?  A beehive consists of three types of bees: queens, workers and drones. The first and most important

Do you feel inspired by the leaves changing color all around you? Let’s make a leaf lantern!

Ways to predict the weather are passed down from generation to generation. Let’s talk about some of these common weather predictions to see if any of them have merit.

Most of us go out of our way to avoid piles of animal poop on the ground, but dung beetles are right at home in all that manure.  And it's lucky for us that they are because these insects do some important work in there.

Coyotes and other canids like to roam, and African painted dogs can cover huge amounts of territory in their range.