find it hard to believe that I’ve now submitted almost 400 columns to the Times News since I began this venture in 2016.

My hope was to stir some interest in what wonderful and beautiful species we have so close to us here. And, maybe some opportunities for some of us to try to ensure that these species remain for those that follow us on this earth.

I also hoped to maybe offer something new to you each week that maybe you didn’t know before. I want to thank Marta Gouger (editor) for that opportunity and her continued support.

I have ended each calendar year with a final exam to review some of the things I have covered and to see if my “teaching” skills are still there.

Let’s see how you fare on these 20 questions. Good luck and thanks for the feedback I regularly receive. Have a wonderful, healthy and educational 2025.

True/false

1. Snow geese nest in this region.

2. Most of our male summer resident birds lose their brilliant summer plumage about the time they begin their migration south to more tropical areas.

3. The ring around the sun that is visible only during a total eclipse is called the corona.

4. Territoriality by male birds is important in ensuring that enough food will be available for himself, his mate, and his young.

Multiple choice

5. _____ use seed dispersal to ensure that their seeds move away from the “mother” plants and help them establish themselves in new areas.

A. burdock; B. maples; C. beggar’s ticks; D. autumn olive; E. all of these.

6. _____ dominate the September skies over Bake Oven Knob in their annual migration to South America.

A. broad-winged hawks; B. cooper’s hawks; C. red-tailed hawks; D. rough-legged hawks.

7. The chief predator of porcupines that was reintroduced by the Pennsylvania Game Commission is the _____.

A. coyote; B. fisher; C. mink; D. bald eagle.

8. You are familiar with the bullfrog’s croaking along the ponds, but _____ calls on warm summer nights in your backyards with an eerie tropical vocalization.

A. Perry Como; B. a leopard frog; C. a gray tree frog; D. a pickerel frog.

Answers

1. false

2. true

3. true

4. true

5. all of these use seed dispersal

6. broad-winged hawks

7. fishers

8. gray tree frog

ANSWER POOL

green frog, redhead (duck), herring gull, cliff swallow nest, spotted lanternfly, bullfrog, Wile E. Coyote, mountain laurel, dragonfly, killdeer, wood thrush, damselfly, black vulture, turkey vulture, gypsy moths, katydid, dusky grouse, prairie chicken

ANSWER KEY

1. cliff swallow nest

2. black vulture

3. gypsy moths

4. katydid

5. dusky grouse

6. killdeer

7. herring gull

8. redhead (duck)

9. bullfrog

10. wood thrush

11. damselfly

12. mountain laurel