News Filed Under Natural Resources

“Rockin’ robin, tweet-tweedle-lee-dee!” You sang that sentence as you read it, didn’t you?

Shortly after Emily Duggar bought property in Madison County to build a house near Canton, she realized there were beavers on a creek that ran through the back of the property.

“We saw evidence that beavers were taking down trees and gnawing on trees,” Duggar said. “We could see they were building a dam, and they’ve since built two more dams. The water is rising,” she said. “We haven’t had any flooding yet, but we’ve heard that some people who live in the neighborhoods behind our property have flooding from the creek.”

If you hear a bird call that sounds like a fast, high pitched “chick-a-dee-dee-dee,” you can confidently say it’s coming from a Carolina chickadee– they get their name from this distinctive call.

BILOXI -- Are you an avid fisherman, a fish enthusiast (such as a teacher), or simply interested in learning more about Mississippi’s coastal biodiversity? If so, the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center has a course just for you this fall.

Every Mississippian is familiar with the northern mockingbird. In 1944, it became the official bird of Mississippi.

While scientists know bats eat mosquitoes, the insect makes up only part of their diet. So the question is: Do bats significantly lower mosquito numbers?

What do turkey, water, willow, swamp chestnut, and white all have in common? If you guessed they’re all native oak trees in Mississippi, you’d be a winner!

BILOXI, Miss. -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality awarded Mississippi State University $800,000 to begin a three-year project to establish the Mississippi Sound Estuary Program and facilitate future conservation and restoration projects from Escatawpa to the Pearl River.

“Coo-OO-oo-woo!” With their rather sorrowful call, the mourning dove sings one of the most recognizable songs.

Snakes, like other wildlife, need a suitable place to live and enough food to eat. If the area around your home checks these boxes, they may take up residence there. These tips can help reduce the chances of a surprise encounter with a snake around you house.

BILOXI, Miss. -- On April 21, beachgoers in Orange Beach, Ala., were enjoying a pleasant day of sun, sand and surf when they witnessed an incredible event they’ll never forget.

A deceased female great hammerhead shark, the largest of the three hammerhead species occurring in the Gulf of Mexico, suddenly washed ashore.

Have you ever noticed the small birds hopping around parking lots scrounging for food and wondered what kind they were? There’s a good chance they were house sparrows. 

Technology allows Jeremy Jack to implement management practices on Silent Shade Planting Co. in Belzoni that were impossible 15 years ago, and water use efficiency is just one way his operation has improved.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Managers of forestland that was damaged or destroyed during the March 24 tornado outbreak in Mississippi now face questions about the short- and long-term future of their property.

Timber loss was recorded in six of the state’s counties after aerial surveys conducted by the Mississippi Forestry Commission estimated more than $13 million in losses on 23,155 acres, of which 9,281 acres were on nonindustrial private forestland. Storms also battered Enviva’s wood pellet production plant in Amory, suspending operations there.

Agriculture is the world’s single largest consumer of fresh water, making the water shortages expected over the next 10 years in at least 40 states -- Mississippi included -- critically important.

EGYPT, Miss. -- On hot days, Robert Thompson’s beef cows used to retreat to a cluster of trees in the middle of his pasture for shade.

The 24-head herd will have to cool down elsewhere now as two towering brush and limb piles have replaced the resting area. Clearing a new place for the cows is one of many tasks facing Thompson after an EF-3 tornado chewed through the 18-acre grazing area in Monroe County during a March 25 severe weather outbreak.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – A Mississippi State University Extension Service specialist has joined a national collaborative founded to guide climate change research.

Everyone loves Ruby-throated hummingbirds! I have fond memories of watching these hummingbirds visit the many feeders my grandparents put out each year. You probably have a similar story! Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures, with their bold-colored feathers and fast-fluttering wings.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When planting loblolly pine trees on well-drained soils, landowners should heed two basic rules: Don’t do it during a freeze, and make sure to plant roots and seedlings deep.

To increase the chance of survival on well-drained soils, some Southern regeneration foresters suggest planting loblolly pine in a deep hole with the root collar several inches below the soil surface.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi in the springtime has to be the prettiest place on Earth; flowers are blooming, hardwood trees are budding and flowering, songbirds are singing, and wild turkeys are mating. This is a special time and my favorite time of year.