From the Field

Sara Johnson points to a federally endangered Zapata bladderpod specimen growing in the field

Searching the Texas brushland for a rare, temperamental plant

Aug 18, 2022 9:45 am

INHS plant ecologist Sara Johnson describes driving and trekking through the south Texas heat in search of the federally endangered Zapata bladderpod, Physaria thamnophila. This rare plant, a member of the mustard family, is found in only two counties in the United States.

60+ years of monitoring large river fishes in Illinois

Aug 11, 2022 9:00 am

For Outdoor Illinois Journal, INHS scientists Andrya Whitten, Jason DeBoer, and Jim Lamer describe how INHS has been monitoring large-river fishes in Illinois, tracking changes in the Illinois River fish community, water quality and habitat, since 1957.

Roundpod primrose-willow (Ludwigia sphaerocarpa). Photo by Paul Marcum

Botanists discover plant not seen in Illinois for more than 160 years

Aug 1, 2022 9:30 am

The roundpod primrose-willow had not been seen in Illinois in more than 160 years, until INHS botanists Paul Marcum, Eric Ulaszek, and David Ketzner surveyed a tract of Pope County that had been purchased by the Illinois Audubon Society in 2019 and 2020.

“It was the highlight of my career in Illinois,” said Marcum. “It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Silvery salamander

Jul 11, 2022 2:15 pm

In a video produced by Outdoor Illinois, INHS aquatic ecologist/herpetologist Andrew Kuhns describes his work in conservation and transportation compliance. He provides an overview of a project, funded by a State Wildlife Grant, to study the population demographics of the Illinois-endangered silvery salamander. Watch the team set up a drift fence to intercept salamanders migrating to their breeding pond. After collecting information, which will aid researchers in assessing population sizes, growth of individuals, and reproduction, the salamanders are released to the breeding pond.

A 4-day old whip-poor-will chick. Like their parents, developing chicks have cryptic coloration that allows them to go unseen on the ground.

Waiting for the sun to set to find a rare bird

Jun 30, 2022 8:00 am

When most people are just getting home from their workdays, I’m about to start mine. I am a researcher studying the breeding behavior of the Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus), a cryptic bird that is primarily active after sunset as it forages on the wing for moths. So – for the summer, at least – I also am nocturnal.

A celebration of the turtles at Nachusa Grasslands

May 21, 2022 8:00 am

Nachusa Grasslands provides important habitat for five different turtle species—the midland painted turtle, common snapping turtle, eastern spiny softshell, ornate box turtle, and Blanding’s turtle. Learn about these cool creatures with this post by INHS Population and Community Ecology Lab doctoral student Devin Edmonds!

Bird banding for conservation

May 14, 2022 8:00 am

The Phillips Tract Migratory Bird Banding Station in Urbana, Illinois, is up and running for the spring season!

What’s the deal with bats and coronavirus?

May 4, 2022 11:00 am

In Outdoor Magazine, INHS bat biologist Tara C. Hohoff writes about how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated negative impressions about bats and shares ways we can support bats in Illinois.

Blue and green-winted teal and northern pintail seen on the Illinois River during an aerial waterfowl inventory over Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge in Havana.

Counting ducks from 500 feet above

Dec 21, 2021 8:15 am

Josh Osborn has a unique job. The Navy veteran turned ecologist leads the waterfowl aerial inventories from the Illinois Natural History Survey's Forbes Biological Station in Havana. Taking to the skies every autumn and spring during migration seasons, Osborn makes regular educated estimates of the number and types of birds flocking along 212 miles of the Illinois River and 214 miles of the Mississippi River.

Building back a tiny piece of prairie

Nov 15, 2021 8:30 am

Fred Delcomyn and James Ellis are the authors of “A Backyard Prairie,” a book about a 3-acre swath of prairie that Fred and Nancy Delcomyn began installing near their home.

Exploring the remnants of an ancient forest

Sep 2, 2021 7:45 am

Get a glimpse of Trelease Woods and Brownfield Woods—two ancient 60-acre forests preserved by the University of Illinois for teaching and research purposes—in this behind the scenes feature!

Hunting a creature that hunts me

Aug 20, 2021 8:15 am

INHS vector ecologist Holly Tuten describes her work at "tick ground zero," investigating Heartland virus in Illinois ticks.

IRBS has record-breaking Asian carp harvest

Jul 12, 2021 8:00 am

The Illinois River Biological Station’s (IRBS) Upper Mississippi River Asian carp removal crew partnered with commercial fishermen to remove a record-breaking 87,500 pounds of silver, bighead, and grass carp from the Mississippi River as part of their annual intensive Asian carp harvest.

American paddlefish

Jun 18, 2021 9:00 am

Learn about the American paddlefish—also called the spoonbill, spoonbill cat, shovelnose cat, and boneless cat—from the INHS Great Rivers Field Station!

Catching bats for conservation

May 18, 2021 8:45 am

Go behind the scenes with a team of INHS mammalogists as they survey and study bats roosting in a Missouri mine, endangered Indiana bats filling the twilight sky above them.

Bowfin

Apr 16, 2021 8:00 am

Learn about bowfin, a prehistoric fish with a native range spanning much of eastern North America, from the INHS Great Rivers Field Station!

Channel Catfish

Mar 26, 2021 8:00 am

Learn about the channel catfish, also known as the spotted catfish, fiddler, lady cat, chucklehead catfish, willow cat, and even blue cat, from the INHS Great Rivers Field Station!

The last turtle in the prairie

Mar 10, 2021 4:15 pm

Devin Edmonds studied a few of the last Ornate Box Turtle strongholds in Illinois. The baby turtle in the photo is one of only a handful of hatchlings he found in three years of searching.

Asian carp species

Feb 25, 2021 12:00 pm

“Asian carp” is the collective term that refers to bighead carp, silver carp, black carp, and grass carp. These invasive species were originally brought into the United States for aquaculture in the 1960s and 1970s, but through flooding, legal releases, and illegal releases, they have become established in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers and beyond.

Illinois Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey (CAPS)

Feb 22, 2021 9:00 am

Kelly A. Estes serves as state survey coordinator of the Illinois Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey (CAPS) with the Illinois Natural History Survey. Kelly recently answered a few questions regarding her work on agricultural pests.

Five reasons to love bats

Oct 30, 2020 9:00 am

Surveying Illinois bridges for bats

Oct 30, 2020 8:30 am

The Natural Resources Studies Annex main genetics lab

The Annex apparition

Oct 30, 2020 8:00 am

A dirty baby doll found in the DuPage River in Illinois

Baby doll heads, bizarre bottles, and other river booty

Oct 30, 2020 8:00 am

Bat hands

Oct 27, 2020 9:00 am

green vegetation grows on either side of a narrow elevated wooden path

Finding one elusive bird

Oct 16, 2020 8:15 am

a Kirtlands snake rests atop an artificial cover object

Unearthing a fossorial snake

Oct 12, 2020 12:30 pm

larval lone star ticks with key for scale

It's the season for larval lone star ticks!

Aug 27, 2020 8:00 am

Investigating mosquito insecticide resistance in Illinois

Aug 20, 2020 9:00 am

Gathering data to save a rare turtle

Aug 13, 2020 9:00 am

Two weeks each month from May to October INHS scientists visit Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area to monitor the wetlands' turtles. They are particularly interested in the endangered Blanding’s turtle.