Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

Just what is "geocaching"? It's one of those new outdoor hobbies that has sprung up in the 21st century alongside flying remote controlled drones or bow hunting Asian carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix ) from a speeding motorboat. Well perhaps it isn't as crazy as the last one, but it does involve searching for Tupperware containers in the woods containing a logbook and small tradeable objects that can only be located by using a GPS unit. That's the basic gist of it anyway. I first learned how to geocache while working as an intern at the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association in Pennington, NJ. My fellow teacher naturalists would go out with local girl scout groups on our 930 acre property to look for the various caches which could range from the size of a shoebox to a test tube or even smaller. I've even seen some artificial caches that are modeled to look like rocks, pine cones, and even a golf ball. After using the GPS unit to get close to the cac

This Saturday past, I participated in my very first Christmas Bird Count with my girlfriend Alison, and was excited to get many photos of some of the birds we spied. Our first stop was to a local woman's farm in Dartmouth. We helped out by covering ground that had yet to be covered by the owners, a mother and son team with a tenacity for birding and listing. Mystery moss growing on many of the trees above. I would like to know what it might be... A late female Eastern Towhee ( Pipilo erythrothalmus ) hiding out in some briars near some old farming equipment. Milkweed ( Asclepias spp. ) was a common sight throughout the property. Their importance is paramount not only in healthy meadow ecology, but also to that of the Monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ). Despite looking wet, this Woolly Bear Caterpillar ( Pyrrharctica isabella ) might yet survive to become a moth in the spring. As prevalent as another bird with "house" in its name, these western finc

This past weekend was very birdy days for me. I've seen some pretty cool things this weekend and I'm so excited to share them. I assisted with a winter bird walk at the Watershed today. We had several people participate and were at varying skill levels when it came to birding. We started at the front of the main office and worked our way towards the back hedgerows. As we walked, we paused to notice the robins and waxwings feeding fervently on the berry-covered trees. We didn't stay long as the cold was bone-chilling and so we moved along at a fair clip to keep up our body heat. And wouldn't you know it, it would be a great morning despite the cold and my lack of gloves. As we entered the meadow east of the main office, we watched and listened for singing White-throated Sparrows ( Zonotrichia albicollis ). It was around this time that we noticed the Turkey Vultures ( Cathartes aura ) flapping low over the field. They were doing so because the thermals they needed to