Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

While I was on my way to Parker River on Monday, I paid a visit to Heard's Pond in Wayland, MA. Other than the gulls and solitary Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor ), what caught my eye initially was a female Common Merganser ( Mergus merganser ) swimming in the unfrozen section of the pond. My eye was then drawn to the left with a large flock of Mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) and some mingling American Black Ducks ( A. rubripes ). But near those birds was a duck I was surprised to see. What appeared to be a female Northern Shoveler ( A. clypeata ) has been causing me confusion ever since. After consulting Sibley, Nat Geo, and online sources, I'm fairly convinced that it is either female or an immature bird. Only fairly convinced however... There's part of me that wonders if it could be a hybrid too. But that seems a stretch. If anyone has a clue about what it might be, please comment below. Update: After emailing a former colleague of mine, he's confirmed to me t...

While my parent's were visiting me this weekend, the subject turned to the sickle-winged birds that skate over the pond on thin air, twittering as they go. I am of course referring to Tree Swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ), one of the earliest swallows to return to the Eastern Seaboard come March and April. This came up again after I pointed out some Chimney Swifts ( Chaetura pelagica ) shooting around in the skies above Labertville, NJ. I remember my dad asking, "What is the difference between swifts, swallows, and martins then?" It was an appropriate question. They look fairly similar and can be mistaken for one another if the viewer is inexperienced. Swallows and martins are a diversely colored family of 83 species that range over much of the globe. The most common is the circumpolar Barn Swallow ( Hirundo rustica ) that nests over much of the Northern Hemisphere and likewise winters over much of the Southern Hemisphere. Generally the name "swallow" is ...

Earlier in the week, I briefly discussed the concept of a "nemesis bird" and stated that I hadn't yet determined if I had one due to the bewildering and ever changing status of the birds I've been seeking over the past few months. For a while this summer, it was the Black-bellied Whistling Duck ( Dendrocygna autumnalis ) at GMNWR before it turned over to the last few weeks of September when I was absolutely obsessed with warblers. After getting six species: Northern Waterthrush ( Parkesia novaboracensis ), Tennessee ( Oreothlypis peregrina ), Nashville ( Oreothlypis ruficapilla ), Magnolia ( Setophaga magnolia ), Blackpoll ( Setophaga striata ), and Black-throated Blue Warbler ( Setophaga carulescens ), I started concentrating on the small, weedy fields and community gardens near me for Lincoln's Sparrow ( Melospiza lincolnii ). After getting a Lincoln's at Lincoln Meadows (ironic) in Sudbury, I looked at my remaining list. Where could I go that would get me m...