Although the other members of my family enjoy a range of outdoor activities when we travel together, I like to spend more time birding than they do. I especially enjoy staking out a spot where I can spend some quality time with my camera early in the morning.

You don't have to look far to find some pretty amazing courtship rituals.

Dakar is home base for my daughter Jane, a UI junior majoring in Global Studies who is studying in Senegal for the academic year. So that’s where our family’s two-week visit with her over the recent holidays began, and where I had my first opportunity to see African birds.

Why would a blackbird attack a deer? Why would a green heron drop a crabapple into a pond and fish it out again? Find out in this week's episode, as the author looks back at some puzzling observations from 2015.

At the University of Illinois' Allerton Park and Conference Center, a carefully regulated deer hunting program has enabled native plants to return and enlists hunters to contribute their time and expertise in the care of the facility.