Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Wildlife Spotlight”
Wildlife Spotlight takes a deep dive into individual species or groups of living things you’ll encounter outdoors. Here you’ll find cool facts about exciting wildlife, from wildflowers and grasshoppers to tigers, mushrooms, and whale sharks, and all that falls between.
Do you have a species or group you’d love to learn more about? Let me know on the contact page!
Bees are among the most recognizable, beloved, and sometimes maligned insects that people encounter in their everyday lives. Typically abundant in parks, gardens, and even densely developed areas, buzzing, busy bees are an important part of urban and agricultural ecosystems and a common outdoor acquaintance. Concerns over declining insects worldwide have recently brought bees more into the limelight, getting them …
Whether we find them intimidating or intriguing, people can’t deny some interest in spiders. They’re a part of our lives whether we like it or not, and play a critical role as insect predators in many ecosystems. Beyond that, spiders can be a homeowners’ or gardeners’ best friend for their ability to control potentially harmful insect pests. As someone who …
Everywhere in the world, you’ll find a few backyard wildlife “usual suspects”. These are species that turn up frequently in gardens, backyards or other outdoor spaces and attract attention—both good and bad. This weeks Wildlife Spotlight focuses a major example of such a usual suspect in the Americas: skunks! Given their stinky reputation and widespread presence in suburbs and even …
While December is often a time of chilly temperatures and dormant nature in the Northern hemisphere, it can be the heat of summer down under. In Australia, the years-end holidays are a much more exciting time for naturalists, with insects and migratory birds on the scene. While insects in Europe, Asia, and North America are hidden away from the cold, …
Nature lovers or not, people everywhere can point out a mushroom when they see them. Whether they’re on the forest floor or on a pizza, these distinctive structures are easy to recognize. Folks on my nature walks are quick to call them out as we come across them, but have a lot of questions once we get to chatting. Although …
Hummingbirds are among the most requested topics from readers, with questions like how do I make my own hummingbird nectar? and How do I attract hummingbirds to my yard?. All of that interest is no surprise! These fiery, energetic, and often colorful birds are always an exciting sight during outdoor excursions, and its about time they got more love from …
While I get frequent requests for bird posts, one group of birds has recently been the top. Owls are a fascinating and in some ways mysterious group of raptors that has captured peoples’ cultural imagination for millennia. It’s about time we covered these neat animals on Gulo in Nature! So in this Wildlife Spotlight post, let’s learn some fascinating owl …
Nature is filled with “exceptions to the rule”. Whenever we think we know something about the natural world, we are confronted with oddballs that break the mold. Carnivorous plants do precisely that. Although you may be familiar with the Venus fly-trap made famous by the musical Little Shop of Horrors, there are plenty of other examples of insect-munching plants around …
