NOTES FROM ABOVE THE TREE LINE
ROCK PTARMIGAN
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Ten Birds to Notice in the Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies are large enough to make a bird list feel ridiculous. A mountain can hold forests, rivers, cliffs, and alpine slopes in one view, while the birds move through each place on their own…
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FROM THE FIELD
Campground Family Successfully Brings Entire House Camping
A family of four completed a difficult residential transfer Friday after successfully moving nearly every function of their suburban home into Campsite 22.
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FROM THE FIELD
10 Trail Cameras for Discovering Which Raccoon Has Been Using Your Yard
Something is happening in your yard at 2:13 every morning. The garbage lid is crooked. The bird feeder is empty. One tomato has been…
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FROM THE FIELD
Turkey Vultures Are Doing Everyone a Favor
A Turkey Vulture is difficult to market. The head is bare and red. The diet is dead animals. When overheated, it may defecate on…
Latest Stories
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Area Owl Has Known About You for Some Time
A barred owl perched above a local hiking trail confirmed Thursday that it had been aware of passing…
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12 Completely Normal Forest Sounds That Will Ruin Your Evening
The woods become a different place after dark. During the day, a noise in the brush is probably…
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12 Camping Chairs for Sitting Down After Walking Somewhere to Sit Down
The great outdoors contains mountains, lakes, forests, deserts, and several million square miles of places where a human…
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The Driftless Area: The Part of the Midwest the Glaciers Somehow Missed
Drive across much of the upper Midwest and the landscape can feel broadly legible. Rolling farmland.
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Local Scout Self-Demotes to Webelos Scout, Says He Wasn’t Prepared
A 13-year-old Scout asked troop leaders Sunday to reverse several years of advancement and return him to Webelos…
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12 Trees You Keep Calling a Pine Tree
There is a common tree-identification system in North America. If it has needles, call it a pine tree.
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Quaking Aspen Is One Giant Tree Pretending to Be a Forest
The first problem is the word **tree**. You walk into an aspen grove and see hundreds or thousands…
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Local Beaver Project Now Six Months Ahead of Municipal Infrastructure Work
A beaver working without an engineering consultant, procurement schedule, traffic-control plan, or visible public-hearing process completed a functioning…
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10 Water Filters for People Suddenly Very Interested in Protozoa
There is a particular moment in backpacking when a clear mountain stream stops looking like water and starts…
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The Wolverine: 40 Pounds of Absolutely Not
The wolverine has a branding problem. Its name has been assigned to a comic-book character, sports teams, armored…
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Local Raccoon Insists Cooler Was Already Open
A raccoon questioned in connection with an overnight cooler breach denied responsibility Monday, maintaining that the container was…
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11 National Parks Where the Parking Lot Is Now the First Hike
The national park trip begins with a photograph. A canyon. A lake. A waterfall. A granite wall. A…
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