Spring has arrived, and the Arboretum is starting to flower and leaf out. But spring has also brought a couple of non-traditional signs to the Arboretum. Burned patches of ground, plumes of smoke —...

With a funky tune in the background, a plump, long-beaked brown bird treads daintily, bobbing its body back and forth while keeping its head perfectly stable and keeping up with the beat. You might have...

The city of Northfield recently published a press release confirming that emerald ash borers have started to infest Northfield ash trees (see northfieldmn.gov). This is bad news for the campus arboretum,...

The Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) is the heaviest-flying native bird in North America and has an average wingspan of 185 to 250 centimeters. Due to their size, they require around a 100-yard runway...

For the majority of the long, frigid, Minnesota winter, Lyman Lakes and the Cannon River freeze over, and layers of snow cover the frozen lake. As a result, it may seem like the lakes are dormant and...

Flip through an older bird guide and you might find yourself at a loss, even if you are well-versed in birding. “A Pigeon Hawk? What is that?” You would know that it’s probably a bird of prey —...

The Spike Mussel (Elliptio dilatata) is a rather unique mussel. Besides its odd name of “Lady Finger,” not many species of mussels have a spike on their shell that can grow up to 12.7 centimeters....

Although commonly known for their famous appearance in the movie “The Killer Shrews,” short-tailed and long-tailed shrews are not dangerous… to humans. With their thirty-two razor-sharp teeth and...

Carleton’s Arb houses a plethora of species. It is difficult — impossible really — to determine all of the species that inhabit the Arb. Many have been observed, but despite intensive searching,...

As a senior at Carleton, it's hard to believe that my first time ever cross-country skiing in the Arb was just last week. I’m not sure why it took me so long to try it out, especially as someone who...