Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Jerry Deboer highlights local places for great sites.
Generally my passion and enjoyment of the outdoors sets me apart from the mainstream. While conversations so often drift towards politics, investing or football, I’m the guy that would much rather be talking about snakes, birds or kayaking. Yet, there are times when we find common ground. The conversation starts like this, “Hey Jerry, I heard you know a lot about birds!” I respond, “Well, I wouldn’t say a lot, but yeah, I enjoy seeing them, learning about them, and photographing them.” They’d come back with, “Wow, that’s cool. Hey, I saw a hawk the other day on the side of the road. I couldn’t believe how big it was! At first I thought it was an eagle! Man, it was really neat!” They are called birds of prey or raptors because they must …
42.818167
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Cliffside Park
7415 Michna Rd, Racine, WI
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Thursday, August 18, 2011
Nature columnist, Jerry Deboer, offers up his favorite spots to help teach kids about the outdoors.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Jerry DeBoer
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Thursday, August 18, 2011
Enjoying the outdoors with children is one of the most enjoyable things to do as a naturalist. I love to watch their eyes open wide when they get their first glimpses of fascinating plants and animals they thought existed only within the confines of a PBS documentary. Though we don’t have the lions, tigers or elephants, there’s an engaging world to be explored in Racine County. To spend a day outside with children it’s best to scale down our perspective, both in terms of what we might see, where we should go and how far we should walk. Let the children set the pace; encourage them to explore and take an interest in what they find. Help them look beneath the leaves, the rocks and the logs to uncover hidden treasures and teach them the …
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Columnist, Jerry DeBoer, talks about the bond between critters and kids.
It was a late October afternoon as I stood at one of the public viewing areas at Horicon Marsh near Waupun, Wisconsin. People were gathering in anticipation of an evening flight of Canada geese. I turned to check the eastern sky and saw a flock of birds in the distance. They were not geese but blackbirds and the flock was massive, easily numbering in the tens of thousands. It didn’t matter to me at all that they weren’t geese. The flock moved like a flowing river, perhaps two hundred yards wide, fifty yards high and a half-mile long. It was an amazing sight. Nearby, a boy of perhaps 10-years-old saw them too. His jaw dropped and it took him a few seconds to catch his breath. In utter amazement he tugged on his dad’s jacket and pointed at …
Thursday, June 23, 2011
For the brown-headed cowbird, a bird common in our area, there isn’t anything hard at all about nesting season.
For nesting birds, this is the busiest time of year: establishing territories, finding a mate, nest building, defending their territory, egg laying, incubating, and feeding and protecting the young until they are on their own. Depending on species, this annual chore lasts anywhere from four weeks to five months. For the brown-headed cowbird, a bird common in our area, there isn’t anything hard at all about nesting season. They don’t establish a territory, they don’t build a nest, they don’t incubate, and they have other birds feed and raise their young! How did they pull that off? The reason lies in the association cowbirds had with the American bison. Bison thrived in the vast grasslands ranging from the Rocky Mountains to the …
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Why the return of the Sandhill Crane, of course.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Jerry DeBoer
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
When I first heard the loud rattling call of birds, I imagined for a second that I had been thrown back to a time when giant prehistoric beasts walked the earth. When I began to hear the sound of distant booming drums, I envisioned warriors dancing and chanting around a fire. The realization that the booming sound itself was emanating from a rusty old Honda Civic playing some obnoxious tunes reminded me again that it was 2011. I had been out observing the spring migration of waterfowl when I heard the calls of not a few, but many Sandhill Cranes. Because the call of a Sandhill Crane can easily travel more than a mile if the conditions are right, it took me some time to find them. I do not know how high a crane must fly for their expansive …
Friday, March 4, 2011
Jerry DeBoer makes the case for saving wetlands.
You’re on a three thousand mile road trip and find yourself in a remote area. A gas station with a large sign reads, LAST GAS FOR 300 MILES. You fill up while doing the calculation and realize that you can make it with a couple gallons to spare. Your concern escalates 300 miles later as your fuel gauge shows less than a quarter tank. Cresting a hill you spot a cluster of buildings in the distance and breathe a sigh of relief. You made it! Doing a double take you suddenly realize things just took a turn for the worst. Broken windows and a caved in roof convince you the station has been abandoned and you have no choice but to keep going. Your engine begins to sputter 50 miles later. Coasting to a stop, you pull to the side of the road. Fear …
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Sometimes you don't realize when something may be leaving.
Have you ever found yourself wondering, “I wonder what ever happened to...?” For me it was a man and his monstrous black dog that regularly walked past our house a few times a week when I was a kid on West High Street. We nicknamed the dog Bear for obvious reasons. That dog would have out weighed me by 3 times. Despite its size, the dog was a gentle giant, and we looked forward to visiting with them. One day, I realized I had not seen them for a while, and to this day I don’t know what ever happened to them. So while on a birding outing along the Racine lakeshore, after seeing a single pair of Black Ducks, I started reminiscing about the days when I would have seen thirty or forty. I couldn’t help but ask... I wonder what ever happened to…
Mr Birdfree Fire Gel
4:18 am on Friday, June 24, 2011
Please see this report on Bird Free Fire Gel on the BBC - it's the safe, 'green' and 100% effective way to protect assets, people and birds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imEVQ9ljkv0 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/04/23/fire-gel-on-buildings-has-pigeons-in-a-flap-115875-23080193/ more ›