Stories by Patty Wetli

Dragonflies are on the move, turning up in swarms during feeding frenzies as they begin migrating south for the winter. “It’s the most exciting time of the year if you love dragonflies,” said Cindy Crosby, a dragonfly monitor.

Brookfield Zoo Chicago is one of only a few zoos in the U.S. to have successfully bred and birthed pangolins. The newest pup arrived July 25, according to zoo officials.

After a dramatic announcement two months ago that Riot Fest would be relocating to suburban Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium, the music festival has pulled an about-face and will be returning to Douglass Park Sept. 20-22, pending Park District approval, the Chicago Park District announced Wednesday.

The streaming service has still offered no explanation for the more than one-hour delay in dropping Tuesday night’s episode of “Hard Knocks.” 

Prepare to get all nostalgic for the extremely recent past.

The Democratic National Convention doesn’t get underway until Aug. 19, but the traffic headaches have already started with first of many street closures and parking restrictions.

The Perseid meteor shower is back for its annual sky show, with peak viewing Sunday night into Monday morning.

The piping plover hatchling is prepping for their first migration south.

One man has died after being rescued from Lake Michigan near the Adler Planetarium on Wednesday, according to Chicago police officials.

Lincoln Park Zoo has been increasing its profile as a caretaker of plants and trees as much as animals, and it now has official accreditation as a botanic garden to show for it.

Registration opens Saturday for the two-day festival set for Sept. 14-15. 

Chicago received 9,000 reports of tree emergencies following July’s tornadoes, and a whopping 6,500 of those involved entire trees felled.

While parts of the U.S. experienced record-breaking heat, July in Chicago was actually slightly cooler than normal.

After analyzing data from a community science project on urban milkweed patches, Field Museum researchers have identified common milkweed as the species most attractive to monarch butterflies. 

An eruption of solar particles is headed toward Earth and the impact could be strong enough to make the aurora borealis visible in the lower Midwest, including northern Illinois, through Thursday.

A male Grevy’s zebra foal arrived July 27, Brookfield Zoo announced. The newcomer is already off and running.

The not-so-little one — measuring 5 feet and weighing 105 pounds — arrived Wednesday night, the first beluga born at Shedd since 2020.

Something appears to be lurking in the water at Lincoln Park’s North Pond, and some swear it’s an alligator.

If the Bally’s hotel and casino on the Chicago River aren’t built with birds in mind, the question isn’t whether birds will die in collisions but how many. “It could rival the carnage at McCormick Place,” one advocate said.

After confirming several black bear sightings in southern Illinois in recent weeks, wildlife officials issued a reminder to residents in northern Illinois that furry guests might also pay a visit here.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $4.3 billion in funding Monday as part of its Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, and Illinois was a big winner, nabbing $430 million.

Several other areas also suffered damage from straight-line winds, according to the National Weather Service.

Say hello to Nagamo (Na-GA-mo), the sole surviving piping plover hatchling at Montrose Beach.

Chicago’s trees bore the brunt of damage caused by back-to-back storms July 14-15, which spawned a total of five tornadoes in the city.

Butterfly sculptures have landed at nearly 20 parks across Chicago as part of the ongoing Flight of the Butterflies exhibit that kicked off this spring.

The tally could continue to rise as survey crews are still in the field investigating damage at numerous additional sites across the region.