Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

As I was driving home from work this evening, exhausted and glad to be done, I saw a bird flying over my car. It was large with long, black wings, a thick bill, and a wedged tail. It soared and looped on wide wings seeming to test each breath of air, each bank, each twist, as it lazily, yet masterfully trailed my car before disappearing behind the trees along Harris Road. I was being trailed by a raven. This seemed unusual given the time of year. Ravens are birds associated with Norse mythology, birds of the frozen north and mysterious ones at that. While New York is home to four species of corvids (which is the collective name for members of the crow and jay family). One species you are going to see in Central New York in the summer months are the mild-mannered families of American crows ( Corvus brachyrhynchos ) that hop from branch to limb while you walk down a trail or speed past along the road. The parents watching warily, cawwing warnings to their children to get out of the w...

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...

Mayapples ( Podophyllum peltatum ) When you're out for a walk in the woods, little details can sometimes be lost in the majesty of the trees towering overhead, while summer birdsong rings through the foliage. While the woods are some of my favorite places to hike and bird in, this time of year offers me a chance to see one of my favorite organisms. Plants have the uber important role in most ecosystems as the chief providers of shelter, food, and most importantly, oxygen. According to North Carolina State University's Tree Facts page , a single tree can take in up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, cementing their value as invaluable converters of this greenhouse gas into an important breathable one. However, the plants I was admiring were not the trees, but a ground level plant grows in what looks like a shrunken and out of place colony of palm trees.  The May-apple is a common woodland plant that starts to appear in the Northeast in early May and continues t...

When most people see birds of prey, it's usually from a distance as they soar overhead or as we pass them on the highway, perched high on a branch waiting for their next meal. Since they are wild animals, generally they aren't too keen to stay close when they are suddenly encountered by a surprised human. A few seconds of acknowledged exchange before flushing off to the safety of the woods. On those rare occasions where they will stay still enough for one to observe them up close, they watch us with those wild eyes that distrust anything that approaches too directly. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to photograph a young red-tailed hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis ) sitting on a telephone wire in Concord, Massachusetts. The bird eyed me warily as snapped some photos, but never moved. One could interpret it as stoic pride, but at risk of anthropomorphizing my subject, it seemed more likely that it didn't want to move from it's chosen hunting post. On Sunday, Alison an...

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...

The sun is slowly rising over the nearby hills before I leave for work. Outside on the street, cars drive by regularly, but with little fanfare. In the spruces by our new apartment window, starlings jeer and chatter, while a squirrel hops towards a leafless tree, seeking shelter in its branches. As of this weekend, Alison and I will have been in our new apartment in Marcellus for about three weeks and we are loving every minute of it. The most noticeable feature of this small town is how quiet it is. Such quiet is palpable and greatly welcomed and calms our souls from the bustle and anarchy present along James Street. Clearly, we are well suited to the quiet small town life we were accustomed to back home in Massachusetts. Instead of hearing the wail of sirens and muffled arguments of neighbors, we now hear the gentle hum of a town clearly content with a comforting touch and small scale commerce. On weekends, the church bells ring at noon and six o' clock, while people walk and...

Wow, we haven't had a leap day like this for nearly four years huh? All joking aside, Alison and I did have a lovely pseudo-Sunday walk at Green Lakes State Park in Fayetteville, NY. I say pseudo-Sunday because today was my second day off from work after working this Sunday. It also felt like a Sunday because of the feeling of a quieter, yet inevitable drag towards the work week ahead. Despite the looming threat of productivity in a professional setting merely hours away, we still managed to get about an hour's walk in before Alison had to go to work herself. As of the time of writing, she's still at work. :( As we departed into the 40 degree breeze, the outside air seemed intent on reminding us that despite some of the previous days spring-like temperatures, it was still in fact February outside. Regardless, I was eager to show Alison Green Lakes claim to fame; the water itself. As we walked down the trail, blue-green hues rose from the depths, their color enhanced s...