Recent Nature Detectives Articles
Mountain Lions – The BIG Cats of Boulder County - Mountain lions are mammals with many names — they are called cougar, puma, or panther in our region. Their scientific name is Puma concolor (concolor = one color). Their coloring is tan-light brown with whitish throat, belly, and inner legs. The tip of the tail, around their nose, and back of their ears are black. […]
Please Pass the Peas! - What’s a Pea? Everyone knows that! It’s a round green thing you stab with a fork or balance on a spoon and eat. But did you know that a pea is also a bean? What? It’s All in the Name Peas and beans are actually like first cousins in the same family. Their family name […]
What’s the Big Deal about Pollination? - It is summertime! Something natural and important is happening everywhere… and you may not even notice. We’re talking about pollination and pollinators- big words and a big deal. Pollination affects everyone and everywhere- not just Boulder County, but the entire planet! Pollination is how flowering plants reproduce, spread, and make new seeds and fruit. Plants […]
Native Plants Wake Up! - Here they come! Have you ever–after a winter night’s sound sleep– poked your head out from under the bedcovers into the morning light? If yes, you can understand the wild seed. After the dark night of winter underground, the tiny plant is now feeling its way out of its seed coat…up through the moist soil…stretching […]
Who lives out there in the Snow? - Winter is here in Boulder County, the temperatures have dropped, and you’re probably wearing boots, a coat, cap, and mittens some days to stay dry and warm. What about the wildlife you see in the winter? What happens to them? What do they do to manage the cold season? Unlike animals like bears, ground squirrels […]
A-maize-ing Corn - Hello Everyone! I’m a corn plant in a corn garden and I’ll be your corn guide for this Nature Detectives pullout! What’s a corn garden? A block of corn plants all growing together in someone’s backyard or an empty lot or at a community center. All corn plants like to grow up together–the more the […]
Hummingbirds Are In a Hurry! - With wings softly whirring, the broad-tailed hummingbird hovered, dipping her narrow bill into the red base of a sugar water feeder. She licked the sweet liquid, flicking her tongue in and out 13 times in just a second! The shrill buzzing of an incoming male broad-tail cut her meal short. Quickly she flew sideways then […]
Black Bear Cubs’ First Year - Cocoa and Ted Are Born in the Den The two black bear cubs were born at the end of January during hibernation. Bear cubs are born amazingly small compared to the adult female bears they snuggle against. Ted and Cocoa each weighed about as much as an orange while their mom was close to 150 […]
Meadow Vole Finds a Home - Meadow vole left the burrow where she was born in early spring. Six inches long and only five weeks old, she was a fully-grown adult. She set off to explore her world, searching through thick grasses until she found a good spot for digging. She dug a shallow burrow under a protective rock near a […]
Bam! Fall Is Ramming Time for Bighorn Sheep - The chilly air smelled like fall, and young Ramekin was confused. During the weeks since he’d joined the band of rams (male sheep), they’d spent their days calmly eating and resting. But that fall day, the mood turned tense. Ramekin saw some of the older rams in staring matches. Even though he was a young […]All Nature Detectives Inserts
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