Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

This morning I had the great fortune of spotting not only a life bird, but also getting a fairly rare bird for Massachusetts. The bird I'm referring to is the Cackling Goose ( Branta hutchinsii ), but upon looking at the two photos below, you probably have noticed something unusual about the appearance of these birds. For all intents and purposes, a Cackling Goose appears to be a dead ringer for a munchkin-sized Canada Goose ( B. canadensis ) and to the uninitiated, it could be mistaken for a "baby" Canada Goose. However, we birders know that what a baby goose looks like with its fuzzy yellowish down, peeping voice, and angry, protective parents so to be seeing a "baby" goose at this time of year would be completely unexpected. The Cackling Goose was for a long time considered to be a high Arctic breeding race of Canada Goose in northwestern Canada and Alaska. They themselves can be split into three or four races as well and include the Taverner's, ...

It will be two more weeks until my time in Pennsylvania ends, but before that arrives, I've been actively trying to add more species to my year list in an attempt to beat my year birding record from last year (223 spp.) With the addition of two American Coots ( Fulica americana ) this afternoon during a visit to Peace Valley Park in Doylestown, I now have 211 species on the list thus far. While I'm confident I can beat my record from last year, the nail biting finish is fast approaching and I can only hope that the sea ducks, LBJs, and auks I need, manifest themselves before December ends. Still it's been an amazing year and I've been clicking away whenever I get the chance (both in terms of photography and blogging). I decided to walk around Lake Galena (the main attraction in Peace Valley Park) today for two reasons. This past week I've been using a pedometer app to track how far I walk during the day at work and for the most part, I get about 10,000 steps a day...

As I come to know this small corner of Pennsylvania over the next two months or so, I decided last weekend that enough was enough and that while my iPhone could try with all its might to take good photos, it didn't actually compare to a good digital camera. So last Saturday, I returned from a nearby Best Buy with a Canon Power Shot SX510 and started shooting. While my first and foremost love of the natural world is rooted in bird life, I tried to take some photos of other things to get a feel for the landscape as well. Ultimately though, I took mainly bird photos and that's what I'll be sharing here. I got the chance to visit Peace Valley Park in New Britain, PA for a third time this past weekend. The main reason for my visit was to try and seek out a Red-headed Woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ) that had been spotted near Angler's Pier on the NW side of Galena Lake. As bad luck would have it, the bird didn't appear before me, so I took photos of other, m...

Things are heating up at Wargo Pond this week. The frogs are out, the sunfish are starting to make their nests, and the geese are angrier than ever. When most people tend to think of Canada Geese ( Branta canadensis ) they think of the aggressive pooping birds that ruin any grassy area they accumulate in. When I think of Canada Geese, I think of the calls of a passing flock that are so pleasing to hear on a crisp fall day, their neat black stockinged heads and necks, and their devotion to their mates, young, and territory. These are some of the prime reasons they are one of my favorite birds. Being a fan of waterfowl in general, the late spring and early summer is one of the best times to witness waterfowl behavior. Being very common throughout North America, Canada Geese are very easy to observe when it comes to mating rituals and defensive behavior. Just today, I saw several behaviors detailed in the "Stokes Guide to Bird Behavior Vol 1". (Originally titled "A Guid...

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...