The Great Outdoors Blog

Common Nighthawks: Peent, Boom!

The Great Outdoors | September 3, 2024

By Jackie Scharfenberg, Retired DNR Naturalist, Photo by Gary L. Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

“Peent, peent!” Where is everybody? They said to meet at the forest lake 30 minutes before sunset. We need to catch our supper of flying insects before flocking to head south for the winter. There they are! Read more.

A Summer Mystery: The Hummingbird Clearwing Moth in Wisconsin

The Great Outdoors | July 9, 2024

By Jackie Scharfenberg, Retired DNR Naturalist,  Photo by: Judy Gallagher Read more.

Cheerily, Cheer Up: The American Robin Greets the Day

The Great Outdoors | May 1, 2024

By Jackie Scharfenberg, Retired DNR Naturalist Read more.

Conk-la-ree! Red-winged Blackbirds Return

The Great Outdoors | March 4, 2024

By Jackie Scharfenberg, Naturalist Read more.

Winter Eagles

The Great Outdoors | January 2, 2024

By Jackie Scharfenberg, Forest Naturalist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Read more.

The Striped Skunk: A Noxious Stench

The Great Outdoors | November 2, 2023

By Jackie Scharfenberg, Forest Naturalist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Read more.

The Wisconsin Ice Fishing Expo is Great Family Fun!

The Great Outdoors | September 4, 2023

Debuting December 8-10, 2023 at the Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin Read more.

Witch Hazel: In Search of Late Bloomers

The Great Outdoors | September 1, 2023

By Jackie Scharfenberg, Forest Naturalist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Read more.

Mammoth Moths: Cecropia Moth

The Great Outdoors | July 5, 2023

By Jackie Scharfenberg, Forest Naturalist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Read more.

Wiley Walleyes

The Great Outdoors | May 1, 2023

By Jackie Scharfenberg, Forest Naturalist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Read more.