Behind the scenes
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Searching the Texas brushland for a rare, temperamental plant
ZAPATA COUNTY, Texas – Our truck rumbles down a dirt road, kicking stones and swirling clouds of dust in our wake. Illinois Natural History Survey senior plant ecologist Brenda Molano-Flores, INHS researcher Janice Coons and I drive at a snail’s pace to avoid deep gullies created by flash flooding, a defining feature of this region’s […]
Waiting for the sun to set to find a rare bird
MASON COUNTY, Ill. – When most people are just getting home from their workdays, I’m about to start mine. I am a researcher studying the breeding behavior of the Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus), a cryptic bird that is primarily active after sunset as it forages on the wing for moths. So – for the summer, […]
Rescuing ancient Maya history from the plow
CENTRAL BELIZE – Things have changed since I was last in Belize in 2018, when I excavated the ancestral Maya pilgrimage site Cara Blanca. Thousands of acres of jungle are gone, replaced by fields of corn and sugarcane. Hundreds of ancestral Maya mounds are now exposed in the treeless landscape, covered by soil that is […]
Making meat much more than a meal
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The grills are already fired up as I approach the Meat Science Laboratory on the U. of I. campus. It’s midmorning on a spring day that’s chillier than it should be. Well-worn charcoal and gas grills are stationed in a wide arc on a lawn flecked with violets. In front of each […]
Building a traditional Japanese boat
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Eighteen students in bright blue happi coats gather around a 21-foot traditional Japanese riverboat sitting on the bank of the pond at Japan House at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The narrow, light-colored boat is a simple structure made of thick pine planks. Used primarily for fishing, its low sides curve gracefully […]
Creating an escape room experience
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The instructors and students are gathered around a computer screen behind two temporary rooms constructed just off the lobby of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. I watch with them as they track via webcam the progress of the players in an escape room they have created. The students playing the […]
Building back a tiny piece of prairie
OUTSIDE URBANA, Ill. – Early November may not be an optimal time to visit a tallgrass prairie in central Illinois. But if you know what to look for, as my two guides do, it’s as good a time as any. Despite recent heavy rains, the prairie looks as dry as a skull. Grass and flower […]
Staging a threatening encounter at a blackbird nest
HERON COUNTY PARK, Ill. – It’s early morning, about 6 a.m. A light fog has settled over the marsh. I park my car, step out and double-check my backpack for all the necessary equipment before heading out. After a short walk on a narrow paved path, I veer into the unmarked marsh. Water pools around […]
Exploring the remnants of an ancient forest
EAST OF URBANA, Ill. – At first glance, Trelease Woods looks like any other central Illinois woodland. There’s a well-worn track inside its fenced eastern edge, and the forest floor is littered with twigs and branches. But as I walk along the path with my companions, I notice that some of the trees are bigger […]
Hunting a creature that hunts me
KANKAKEE COUNTY, Ill. – It’s a sweltering summer afternoon. I’m pushing aside tree limbs and crunching leaves to get back to the trap that I baited two hours ago with dry ice to attract ticks. When I get closer, I can see a gossamer mist hovering over a bright white cloth in the dark underbrush. […]
In pursuit of Indiana bats
YELLOWWOOD STATE FOREST, Ind. – An hour before the sun goes down, my colleagues and I arrive at our site: a human-made pond in the middle of the forest. The high-pitched croaking of Cope’s gray treefrogs greets us as we get out of our truck. Surrounded by trees and full of salamanders, these ponds are […]
Taking a cicada road trip
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A tough semester and an even tougher year have just ended. I need a break. I’m fully vaccinated and want to escape the yearlong lockdown. And I’m an entomologist. What do I do? I grab my best friend, also an entomologist, and we hit the road, of course. This is the year […]