North Woods Naturalist
Contributor(s):
Chel Anderson
Chel Anderson is a botanist and plant ecologist. She lives in the Hovland area and keeps close tabs on daily changes happening in the great outdoors. She shares her insights with WTIP listeners every Tuesday during the AM and PM Community Calendar programs. Subscribe to our North Woods Naturalist podcast.
Arts, cultural and history features on WTIP are made possible in part by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Check out other programs and features funded in part with support from the Heritage Fund.
Featured On:
Podcast:
Subscribe What's On:
Black bear birth success -- brown fat
-True hibernators and especially black bears, are giving birth this time of year. They have a special feature that helps them birth in winter.
Calm and melodious pine grosbeaks, back for winter
-Unlike their raucous evening grosbeak relatives, pine grosbeaks are calm, melodious and are generally better mannered.
Bobcats are back in the neighborhood
-The Arrowhead has three large cats, and one of them seems to be more apparent this winter.
A look at the end of the natural year
-We’re coming to the end of the year, and there are plenty of changes and activities to look for when we’re out on winter walks.
American mink -- one of our busiest weasels
-There’s a very busy member of the weasel family that populates our lakeshores and streams.
What our local drought conditions mean to the Arrowhead
-This year, particularly the last few months have been dry in Northern Minnesota. Dry to the point of drought.
Fascinating flying squirrels
-They’re small, secretive, soft and they can fly – or at least glide a good distance. Jay Andersen of WTIP North Shore Community Radio spoke to local naturalist Chel Anderson about no
Autumn willows -- keeping their winter pom-poms
-The woods and wetlands are full of willow species. One of them keeps its catkins well into winter – and that’s a good way to identify them.
The story of Lake Superior herring
-When Scandinavian immigrants came to the north shore, they brought with them remembrances of herring fishing in the oceans.
Evening grosbeaks -- are numbers declining or is it a cycle?
-For years evening grosbeaks have been common at local birdfeeders. Not so much recently. Is the decline just a cycle or a major change for these colorful birds?
