By Jack MacRae The nighthawks are dining. They appear at dusk in our October skies, swooping, darting and snatching bugs in their big mouths. As neotropical migrants, nighthawks are on their way to Argentina where they’ll hang with the gauchos for the winter. Common nighthawks are slim, medium sized birds with big black eyes, long wings and short legs. Their … Read more
By Art Malm, FOTFR Board Member Maybe the first question asked by almost anyone considering dam removal is “what will it look like?”. There aren’t many people left in the Fox Valley who remember what the Fox looked like before the dams were built. Doubtful their grandparents did either. The best way to know what … Read more
By Gary Swick It’s back-to-school season for Friends of the Fox River (FOFR) and our team of educators is geared up to teach more than two thousand students how to collect water quality data in their schools’ local streams. Our “Watershed Watchdogs” education program is composed of lessons in traditional topics like local geography, natural … Read more
By Jack MacRae 20th century scientific research into Kindchenschema showed that humans consider baby animals as inherently cute. It has something to do with the size and proportion of their facial features. I think this idea is especially valid with new born northern red belly snakes. I mean, OMG, they’re totes adorbs. When they emerge from … Read more
Get your holiday shopping done early with a beer in your hand, without an internet connection. The ceremony of gift giving is very important in many cultures as a demonstration of respect. According to author Gary Chapman in his book “The Five Love Languages” gift giving is also essential in intimate relationships. In our local … Read more
By Jack MacRae and Gary Mechanic Rolling in the River Their name might make them sound like they’re Mick Jagger groupies, but common stonerollers are actually local minnows named for their nest construction technique. Beginning in the first several weeks of spring as Fox River tributaries warm into the 50-degree range, and continuing into mid-summer, … Read more
There are currently 14 species of map turtles, all found only in North America. Two species of map turtle are found in the secluded, slow moving backwaters of the Fox River; the northern map turtle Graptemys geographica, and the false map turtle Graptemys pseudogeographica. Superficially similar to others of their genus (sleek, cute and relatively small), map turtles … Read more
By Gary Swick, President Our personal friends are different to us than other people we pass in traffic, store aisles, or on the bike trail. What makes friends special to us is our understanding of them. This higher level of understanding usually comes from something we have in common. Until we become aware of this … Read more
My Gmail automatically adds the following below my signature: “Spreading the Peace with the Planet Virus”. Things such as bacteria, viruses, and fungus usually don’t bring about positive, or warm and fuzzy feelings. But these organisms are essential for ecosystem operation. Bacteria grab nitrogen from the atmosphere for soil fertility. Fungus growing on your wood … Read more
By Kyla Jacobsen, FOFR Board Member Years ago, people settled and communities grew up along rivers. People and animals had access to water and it was an easy way to transport goods by rafts or floats down the river. There were no dams back in those days and it allowed adequate fish passage, goods passage … Read more
