Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

For us naturalists, the nature bug never really turns off. We're constantly noticing, watching, listening like an owl waiting for a mouse to make a wrong turn in the grass. Things that most people would walk past fascinate us, drive us mad about not knowing what they are, and implore us to learn more about another piece in nature's puzzle. The sun over the past few weeks has been unrelenting and hot. The summer heat isn't unexpected for us here in the Northeast, but this extended period without rain has left us with hills of dry grass and crisp leaves. I've never seen the leaves change color in July. Maples and oaks turning orange and brown not from a decrease in light, but instead recoiling from their provider with wilted leaves, rattling in the wind. Even the A ilanthus  that mark the border of many city streets and sidewalks are wilting in the heat, their leaves yellowing as a lack of rain punishes anything green below the sun. Fortunately not all are sufferi...

Zee-jirp! Zee-jirp! A buzzy whistle rattles the windows outside of the apartment as fog veils the trees in the valley. A little black bird sits in one of the pines, fluffing its throat feathers and glancing around. It has a bright yellow bill and jet fighter wings that let it blast around the eaves and roof like an F-16.  Three weeks ago, when we finally moved into our apartment in Marcellus, Alison and I immediately noticed the starlings nesting under the eaves of our home. The European starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ) isn't a bird that birders admit to enjoying, at least most of the time. For the purists, they are an unwelcome pest that steal nesting sites from other birds in the spring. The rest of the year is spent in roving flocks that roost in city trees and building archways and supports, leaving snowy layers of guano in their wake. While most homeowners would seek to eliminate these birds from the exterior of their homes, I see this as an opportunity to observe th...