Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

Writing has always been a way for me to express what I see in the natural world and to focus things that many don't take the time to appreciate in their busy lives. The past couple of months have piled up without so much as a wink of information as to why I stopped writing. I'm not going to go into depth here, but I don't think that just saying "life happened" is a justified answer either. Last night, I read a blog post by author and serial wanderer, Ken Ilgunas as he lamented not updating his blog and how his uncertainty made him feel inadequate about where his future lay. This experience spoke to me deeply as does all his writing. On the drive down to North Carolina, I listened to his first book, Walden on Wheels about his two and half year journey to become debt free after college during which he traveled across the country, working odd jobs and eventually living in a van for several semesters while in graduate school at Duke. The past seven months have ...

Some of you might have spotted the pun from the title, but in my opinion, the bird I saw last weekend was spectacular. It started when someone at work had reported a Snowy Owl ( Bubo scandiacus ) within the vicinity of the Rachel Carson NWR along Mile Stretch Road in Biddeford, ME. As I was working that week, I had to wait until Friday before I could go and see the bird. As soon as tasks were over for the day, I sped off to find my first of the year Snowy. To say I got lucky was an understatement because as I arrived along Mile Stretch Road, a large white bird flew up onto the telephone pole in front of me. Immediately, I parked my car on the shoulder and looked up at the chunky mass of white feathers on the pole. No doubt, I was a lucky guy! A female and/or immature Snowy sat, quietly surveying the area below, swiveling its head around to pick up vague visual and audio clues to prey nearby. The reason I thought it could be either one or both female or immature is because of the spar...

Hello all. Over the past week, I've been getting settled in up in Saco, ME and I'll be sharing a little bit about what life is like at the moment. I'm living literally 100 feet from Ferry Beach and it is an amazing resource. The beach provides splendid views of the surrounding coastline and represents the longest stretch of sandy beach in Maine! When I headed out yesterday morning to look for some wintering water birds, I didn't expect there to be so much mist. The clouds and cold temperatures had decided to bequeath us with a sprinkle of snow and as a result, the surrounding beach and ocean was veiled in translucent mist. The view south towards Camp Ellis and the jetty. With the spitting snow obscuring the camera lens and binoculars alike, I strained to make out the black, gray, and white blobs bobbing in the surf beyond. Fortunately, the light gave way to dozens of waterfowl and other water birds diving for clams and other molluscs in the surf below. Black ( M...