Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

This past week has certainly been telling me that spring is on the way with my earliest sighting of an Eastern Phoebe ( Sayornis phoebe ) ever last Sunday, to seeing a Red-winged Blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus ) and a Common Grackle ( Quiscalus quiscula ) at Cumberland Farms in Middleboro, and all the songbirds I've been hearing around the house too, it seems a sure sign that winter is coming to an end. Now when it comes to weather prediction and seasonal changes, the last thing I rely on is the perceived advice of a rodent. For those of you who don't know, I have a passionate disdain for woodchucks ( Marmota monax ) as they have made life difficult for the chickens by living under their shed and stealing their feed (which now costs $16 per bag making me even less happy to share the bounty with them). According to the rodent's forecast this year it would be the paradoxical claim of "six more weeks of winter" even though if the thing hadn't seen its shadow, it...

As I left the house at a little after three today to go look for a Northern Shrike ( Lanius excubitor ) that had been reported at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord, I had mixed feelings over whether I would find it or not. Instead I came across a complete surprise. A sign of spring for some perhaps, but when seen in the middle of February, an Eastern Phoebe ( Sayornis phoebe ) is not the first thing that springs to mind. It is an especially strange sight to see after a snowstorm as well, but nonetheless, the photos do not lie. As I travel to Newton and Assabet River NWR tomorrow in search of more year list birds, I will think about this phoebe and how early it is. Could it possibly mean an early spring for us? Only time will tell.

It's my 100th post on here! Woohoo! Apologies for not having posted until the middle of the month, but I have been hard at work getting a summer job, carving owls, and trying to to freeze while being outside. I suppose the best place to start would be to inform you all how I'm doing on my year list. As of today, I have 75 species and have about 33% of the species that I saw last year! Last year I saw about 226 species and am hoping to either meet or exceed that number. I look forward to migration and dread the "warbler neck", but to meet the goal, it must be done! With all the Snowy Owls ( Bubo scandiacus ) puttering around I've managed to get five this year already and am more or less done with them. I wanted to find a Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ) that had been reported in Sachuest Point NWR in Rhode Island, but it didn't show. I had hoped for a Short-eared ( Asio flammeus ) or a Long-eared ( A. otus ) at some point, but so far they've evaded me as well. ...