March 28, 4014 Canada Geese Remember when Canada geese were a fly-by-night group? Back then, before our resident goose populations took hold, it was big news when these large, majestic birds blew into town. Flying in V-formation, honking and squawking, they’d land by the hundreds on rivers and ponds. People, myself included, would go out
Bird, Fly, Geese
March 21, 2014 Mantids I’m sure we can all relate to the expression, “too much of a good thing.” With St. Patrick’s Day still in recent memory, some of us may regret consuming too much corned beef and cabbage. Or green beer, as the case may be. The excesses of Fat Tuesday aren’t too far
Bug, Insect, Mantid
How good are you at reading signs? I think most of us would agree that red octagons mean stop, yellow diamonds mean caution, and orange signs signal that everyone’s favorite season, road construction, has returned. But have you noticed that other signs too are popping up, right and left? They’re subtle, yet oddly familiar, and
Nature, Season, Spring
“When we try to pick out anything by itself we find that it is bound fast, by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe.” This John Muir quote—one that is in fact often misquoted—has been both a blessing and a curse for all naturalists who have come along since
Bird, Fly, Passenger Pigeon
Who doesn’t love having a ball? Well, my friend Suzi, for one. Not that she’s a stick in the mud. Far from it! But the kind of ball we’re talking about isn’t a fun-filled, action-packed afternoon, nor an evening of delightful revelry. Nope, this sort of ball is Python regius, the ball python. Suzi’s story
Ball Python, Reptile, Snake
February 14, 2014 Tree Cavities “You have a cavity.” For many of us, delivery of this statement evokes feelings of disappointment and maybe even gloom. Our dental hygiene regimen–all that brushing, flossing and rinsing–has somehow failed to keep the grungies from accumulating on our teeth, and now there’s a hole where healthy enamel once held
Cavity, Shelter, Tree
February 7, 2014 Red-Tailed Hawk Remember The Far Side, those classic bits of natural history humor by cartoonist Gary Larson? One in particular showed three hawks in a tree. All had sunglasses on; one even was wearing headphones and clutching a Walkman in his talons. Below, the caption read, “Birds of prey know they’re cool.”
Bird, Fly, Hawk
January 31, 2014 Wolves We used to say it could never happen. As few as 15 years ago, if anyone in our area said, “I think I saw a wolf,” the naturalist community would shake its collective head. “Couldn’t happen,” we’d say. “Not today. Habitat’s gone. Had to be a coyote. Or maybe a wild
Coyote, Mammal, Wolf
January 24, 2014 Bird Feeding Over the years this space has been used to discuss bird feeding dos and don’ts on a number of occasions. But with the winter weather we’re experiencing—with no end in sight, I might add—I figured it couldn’t hurt to revisit the topic once again. Many people have called over the
Bird, Birdseed, Feeding
January 17, 2014 The Bald Eagle I was chatting on the phone with my friend Barb the other night, and we were trying to come up with the names of all the Eagles: Don Henley…Glenn Frey…Joe Walsh…that other guy… What I should’ve suggested—and what would’ve been way easier—is that we try to name all the
Bird, Eagle, Fly