If you ever have the opportunity (and permits) to dissect an abandoned bird nest, you’ll discover that female birds are ingenious architects of solid, well-insulated, camouflaged homes for their eggs. They’re able to do it without practice or instruction, using found objects like rootlets, feathers, twigs and mosses, explains Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences Nathaniel T. Wheelwright.

If you want to make your own natural history observations, The Naturalist’s Notebook (Storey Publishing, 2017) by Wheelwright and Research Associate in Biology Bernd Heinrich, provides guidance and a systematic format, with 100 percent of royalties going to conservation and environmental education.

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