Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

At the end of this week, I will be traveling to New Jersey for my new internship. I won't tell you where for privacy reasons, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'm excited for two reasons. One is that this experience will sort of be like college in the sense that I have to rely on myself to cook, clean, and learn those life skills I need when I'm truly out on my own. The second reason is, of course, the birds. Over the next few weeks, I'll be reporting the ins and outs of Pennington and other prime birding locations. I'm especially looking forward to spring migration as my location puts me fairly close to the Chesapeake Bay area allowing me access to the legendary waterfowl and shorebird migrations seen there twice a year. I expect the woodlands to be equally impressive with neotropical migrants such as warblers, tanagers, thrushes, and grosbeaks to add to both my year and life lists. While some initial jitters are over and done with, I only hope that ...

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia "Komito was stupefied. After all his wild-goose chases–the days in the sleet in Alaska, the hours in the summer stench of the Salton Sea, the nights among the border swimmers on the Rio Grande–his hunt for the pink-footed goose was over in thirty seconds. The only way he could describe his feelings was to use a word that, until this point, had been alien to his vocabulary. He felt guilty." It's amazing how fast a chase can be over when you're in the right place, at the right time. As Sandy Komito's 1998 Big Year experience illustrates in his search for the Pink-footed Goose ( Anser brachyrhynchos ), this happens every once in a while in the birding world. Now I have my own experience to draw on with regards to a nemesis bird that I've been chasing since the beginning of fall migration last year. As of this Tuesday, I've finally slayed the king of waterfowl (metaphorically of course). After several misadventures with altern...

The name "Sprig" is an old hunters name for the Northern Pintail ( Anas acuta ), a slim duck with a handsome chocolate brown head, white lined neck, and gray body along with a long tail that gives it its namesake. The females are delicately patterned when compared to female Mallards ( A. platyrhynchos ) and are slightly smaller with a gray bill and the same pointed tail.  They were congregating (about 9 birds altogether) on Hager Pond in Marlboro where they not only spend a good part of some winters and migration season, but it was also here that I saw my first Pintail as a young birder. While feeding the ducks after brunch one Sunday, I looked through my trusty Bushnell's to see a female Pintail congregating with the resident Mallards and Canada Geese ( Branta canadensis ). It didn't beg for food like the others, but still stayed close enough to the shore for me to get a good look at her. Picking away at ice and snow. Looking for bread maybe? Wai...

Last week I spent some time in the Mass Audubon gift shop located at Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln and I happened upon something that took me by surprise. Nestled among the bluebird and chickadee nest boxes was something that I had never thought could have existed. I looked along the shelves to find a Downy Woodpecker ( Picoides pubescens ) nest box. This isn't something you see everyday. Additionally, yesterday, I spent part of Valentine's Day with my girlfriend. We browsed the shelves and merchandise of  Russel's Garden Center in Wayland. I saw another example of woodpecker home decor sitting near the plastic recycled bird houses that all "true" environmentalists would buy (either because they lack the requisite carpentry experience or because they feel like they're making a difference). Pardon the crabby response, I just find it annoying that instead of leaving a dead or dying tree standing, people think that buying a recycled nest box ought...

Another quiet Monday and with it raining and cold, I decided to take some pictures of the birds congregating outside on our tube feeder. I counted 10+ Dark-eyed Juncos ( Junco hyemalis ), a couple of Black-capped Chickadees ( Poecile atricapillus ), 4-5 Mourning Doves ( Zenaida macruora ), 2 American Goldfinch ( Spinus tristis ), a Song Sparrow ( Melospiza melodia ) and a Tufted Titmouse ( Baeolophus bicolor ). See if you can spot some in these pictures. Extra points if you can find the Gray Squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis ) as well. A happy group of restauranteers Everyone's having a flap! Some Juncos fluttering in to investigate the offerings Just the center of attention. Again. Now the doves get in on the act There certainly were a lot of doves today. If you look carefully, you can see the goldfinch on the feeder above Mourning Doves are some of my favorites Juncos at attention Om nom nom... Snowbird Finishing up

As clownfish ( Amphiprion ocellaris ), I mean snow storm (of course) Nemo bears down on New England, I'm happily sitting inside waiting for the worst to hit later on. As I sit, I'm trying to think of something to write about. I remember that earlier this week, I was at the library to pick up some books on fiction writing for a story/series I'm doing about mythological sea creatures and beings. As I tend to do when I'm in any institution with a huge collection of books, I wandered into the natural history section and poked around the bird section for a bit. It had dwindled from when I was younger, but I distinctly remember certain books that gave me an insight into the bird world as well as the ways they have inspired humans in science, medicine, mythology, and story craft. I looked over the shelves past the ubiquitous Sibley Guides to a volume I hadn't seen since I was 9 or 10. I picked up a book called "The Reader's Digest Birds of North America" wh...

 The Canvasback ( Aythya valisineria ) has been showing up in Massachusetts over the past few months. They have mainly shown up in traditional spots such as Fresh Pond and Jamaica Pond, but also in others like Plum Island, Acushnet, and Pope John Paul II Park. But even as I search those areas, I always seem to be coming up with nothing. It seems like they either aren't there or I miss them by a few days. The same seemed to be happening when I couldn't find Lincoln's Sparrow ( Melospiza lincolnii ) and Rusty Blackbird ( Euphagus carolinus ) but eventually I did come across them. In the mean time, I'm happy to report that I got to see the King Eider ( Someteria spectabilis ) up near Salt Island off of Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester. While it was a distant speck amongst the Common Eiders ( S. mollisima ) it was associating with. I could barely tell what it was, but the extra black on the back separated this adult male from the more piebald males. Had it been a female ...