Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

Sciurus Hudsonicus, Hudson Bay Squirrel, Chickaree Red Squirrel This third installment in my series, Encounters with Audubon's Mammals features a personal favorite of mine: the American Red Squirrel ( Tamiascurius hudsonicus ). About a month ago, my girlfriend Alison and I visited Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, NY to watch the bird feeders. It was calming to sit and watch birds both small and not so small flit about on a bitter winter day. While the flocks of finches and other seed eaters jostled for control of the sunflower seeds above, beneath the feeders were two mammals that usually cause much trouble whenever they appear near feeders. I am of course talking about squirrels. In my first post, I mentioned how I kept seeing black squirrels all over Syracuse and how in certain parts of America, they just happen to be commonplace. In most parts of Central New York, seeing a black squirrel is practically guaranteed. The American Red Squirrel is a New World...

Today was a busy day. Firstly being John James Audubon's birthday (over 229 years ago), I felt I needed to pay a proper tribute to a man that inspired not only myself, but many others to get to know the natural world a bit better. It was also an important work day for volunteers to come out and help with maintenance projects on the property where I work (and live for the time being). In order to escape the slew of volunteers that were to descend, I decided to head out to a local birding hotspot to try and find some spring migrants. The night before, I looked up Norristown Farm Park and Evansburg State Park and eventually decided to travel to the former because it was slightly closer and seemed to have a more diverse range of habitats than the State Park. As I arrived I heard the clear chipping notes of a Chipping Sparrow ( Spizella passerina ) in a nearby spruce. His rufous crown and dark eyeline were immediately noticeable as he continued to chatter away as I got together my bag a...

As promised last week, I will start the competition known as the Babe Ruth of Ornithology, the tournament designed to weed out the best contributor to ornithological history and practice in the modern era. The first round competitors this week are John James Audubon and Sir Peter Scott. Both greats in within their own time, they pioneered completely different campaigns for bird awareness with Scott focusing solely on waterfowl (and by extension wetlands as well) and Audubon being known for painting a good majority of the bird species found in North America. Below are two brief bios on both contestants which I will tabulate into which has more good points than the other. Any undesirable features that might be looked down upon by today's birding public will garner negative pointage. Thus, those with more good points (worth one point each) will win the round and move on. If however, there is a tie, I will institute a random sudden death challenge which will vary dependent on circums...