2+ mon, 3+ week ago  (398+ words) It's always a pleasure to watch the variety of feathered visitors at our backyard birdfeeders year-round, but snowbirds reign as our family's unanimous winter favorite. Who could resist those plump gray songbirds with their showy white bellies and tails? They…...

7+ mon, 4+ week ago  (567+ words) One of the most elusive and mysterious owls of Ohio is the barn owl (Tyto alba). This very large predator, measuring 16 inches long with a wingspan of 3 " feet, has a heart-shaped face, large dark eyes, a white body with tawny…...

5+ mon, 4+ week ago  (890+ words) DONEGAL, Pennsylvania " It is 6: 14 p. m. on a Thursday. You're hiking along the Forbes Trail, nestled deep in the Appalachian Mountains somewhere along the Westmoreland-Somerset County lines. It is 19 minutes until sunset, and you have just over a mile to go, mostly…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago  (291+ words) I came across a headline that read "Discovery of New Salamander Breed." Now that sounded very interesting! We read of new species found in rain forests, but in Ohio? So, I really had to dig out the information on this…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago  (540+ words) YOUNGSTOWN " On Oct. 27, 2018, worshipers gathered at The Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. That Sabbath morning, 11 of those worshipers were fatally shot. It was the deadliest attack on a Jewish community in the history of…...

4+ mon, 2+ week ago  (463+ words) Douglas-Hamilton was known for decades of conservation work, which included pioneering trackers and collaring to protect elephants against poaching and the illegal ivory trade. He died on Monday in Kenya, the statement said. Save the Elephants said he was "instrumental…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago  (313+ words) Animal behaviorists partnering with the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society in Florida traveled to Africa in August to help an endangered white rhino with a life-threatening, parasitic eye infection. Daniel Terblanche, a security manager with Imvelo Safari Lodges, said no…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago  (1457+ words) VIENNA " A county commissioner noted that a study for efforts to regionalize the Mahoning Valley's water systems would require the backing of city governments, as local officials reintroduced the topic Monday afternoon. The 12-person Water Advisory Panel had a special…...

3+ mon, 5+ hour ago  (366+ words) The yellow-billed bird with black button eyes, which can have an 8-foot wingspan and spends much of its life airborne over the ocean, also came with a mystery: Researchers wonder how and why a species known to breed in the…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago  (442+ words) This past fall, my husband and I traveled to Iceland and throughout Scandinavia. And as I do on all our trips, I kept my eyes open for local plantings in containers and gardens. In doing so, I was not too…...