Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

The sun was already out by the time I arrived at the beach. A warm breeze wafted over the greenbrier ( Smilax rotundifolia ) tangles along the shores of Bogue Banks while a sweet perfume of nectar hung gently in the air near the shrubs where towhees and mockingbirds hid chattering. I sniffed the air; if only I could fully smell it. Having a cold really puts a damper on experiencing the outdoors especially when breathing is kinda of important for one's survival. Wrinkling my nose and blinking sun-sore eyes, I scoured the nearby bushes for any signs of butterflies that had been moving through the past few days. Initially, nothing moved. Perhaps I had come too early or maybe it was too breezy for these colorful insects. I glanced over the beach and noticed a squadron of brown pelicans ( Pelecanus occidentalis ) and infantry of laughing gulls ( Leucophaeus atricilla ) bombarding a school of fish in the surf zone. Over and over, I saw feathery missiles diving in the crystal blue wat...

As fall draws closer, migration is in full swing with birds, dragonflies, and butterflies traveling hundreds of miles to reach wintering grounds along the coast, towards the interior, or even further south towards Mexico and South America. At the Trinity Center, some of our most noticeable migrants are yellow-bellied sapsuckers, cloudless sulphur butterflies and,  green darner dragonflies . Animal migration is triggered by several factors including seasonal changes, food availability, and reproductive needs. During this time of year, I keep my eyes peeled to look out for these incredible travelers, allowing me to catch a glimpse of an important event in Nature’s calendar. Sapsucker and bluebird at Stony Brook-Millstone Preserve in Pennington, NJ. Photo by me.  Yellow-bellied sapsuckers ( Sphyrapicus varius ) are common winter residents to the pine forests of coastal North Carolina. While their name is certainly creative, they don’t exactly suck sap. As a member of t...

All puns aside, this is a post about the Whiskered Tern ( Chlidonias hybridus ) (sort of) and my visit to Cape May on Sunday. After working all last week and seeing report after report of this Code 5 Whiskered Tern at the state park at Cape May Point, I made the 2 1/2 hour journey from Horsham to Cape May and started my quest for the tern. After arriving at 10:45am and asking around at the hawkwatch platform, I was dismayed to find out that it had been visiting regularly in the afternoon instead. Despite this setback, I decided to comb the park for some year birds instead. I didn't have to wait long as I secured two Little Blue Herons ( Egretta caerulea ) and a Pied-billed Grebe ( Podilymbus podiceps ) on Bunker Pond, as well as a Blue-winged Teal ( Anas discors ) on the nearby ponds. The skies and bushes were filled with the sounds of nature. Overhead migrating raptors like Ospreys ( Pandion haliaetus ), an immature Bald Eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ), and soaring Turkey Vultu...

Apologies for not having posted for the past few weeks, but camp takes up a lot of time and energy during the week. So instead of a long winded explanation of my exploits over the past few weeks, I thought I'd treat you all to my photos of the flowers, shrubs, and trees I've seen over the past few weeks. I hope you enjoy them. A bumblebee ( Bombus spp. ) feeds on an Echinacea purpurea in my girlfriend's parent's garden. A presumed Dun Skipper ( Euphyes bimacula ) feeds on nectar from one of the many E. purpurea in the garden. Another close up of the skipper as it feeds on nectar using its proboscis. A Great Spangled Fritillary ( Speyeria cybele ) feeds on nectar as a bumblebee ( Bombus spp. ) intrudes. An impressive mode of feeding indeed. A presumed American Lady ( Vanessa virginiensis ) rests on a small E. purpurea . A damaged skipper rests on the petals of E. purprurea . A Day-Lily ( Hemerocallis spp. ) grows in the rough sec...

The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists by Peter Laufer, Ph. D. is an amazing ride through the world of butterfly obsessive people both good and bad and the intentions associated with that obsession. This books origins are as surprising as the content within as it begins with a chance meeting and comment by the author at a press conference about a recent book he wrote on the Bush war in Iraq. When asked about what his next book would be about, he jokingly replies: "...my next book...is going to be about butterflies and flowers." The response from the audience was predictably panto, but who was to know the journey it would take him on. Soon Laufer would encounter Jane and Jerry (Gerry?) Foulds who ran the Nicaragua-based butterfly preserve called Nicaragua Butterfly Reserva and introduced him to the astounding array of behaviors and colors associated with the native butterflies of this exotic land. As he g...