Outdoors with Coggin Heeringa

Just as hundreds of Michigan bird species head home and migrate, so do Interlochen summer students, finding a sense of purpose and renewal in their recently developed artistic endeavors.

Coggin Heeringa explores the intricate relationship between sunlight and trees — from shady forests to sun-drenched yards — revealing their remarkable ability to adjust like nature's own blinds.

Oaks gather sunlight to nourish themselves for the coming year. Similarly, Interlochen Public Radio collects and retains resources each summer to sustain its services to the Michigan community.

Georgia O'Keeffe supposedly hated flowers, but she painted many of them. But flowers aren't supposed to be beautiful for humans - they're the reproductive parts of plants.

The hatching eagle symbolizes independence. But anyone who has followed an eagle nest cam knows that newly hatched bald eagles are anything but independent.

The Hermit Thrush and Wood Thrush can be hard to distinguish, but their songs reveal their identities.

Grand Traverse Bay often takes on an ultramarine-like hue, a color created by lapis lazuli stones.

Birds aren't always the most faithful partners, and much like Shakespeare's character, Othello, male cardinals do not take kindly to that.

Antonin Dvorak mixed up his birds in his famous American string quartet.

Listen this week as Coggin explains the curious connection between bees and Igor Stravinsky's Scherzo Fantastique. Hear Outdoors with Coggin Heeringa every Wednesday on Classical IPR.