Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

Snow, thick and sticky, like icing sugar is tumbling from the sky, while reports of thundersnow and blizzard conditions blast through the airwaves and cover the internet in posts about snarled travel and snow days. As I watch the "snowscreen" (it's like a smokescreen, but whiter) outside, my mind imagines what the next few months will bring in terms of adventure and excitement. Soon I won't simply be a northeastern naturalist. In a few more days, I will journey south of the Mason-Dixon to work in North Carolina for the coming spring. On Sunday, I'll be among the longleafs and dogwoods, looking for new places to explore while happily avoiding the snow and ice up north. North Carolina is home to five species that I've wanted to see for a while now, but never had the opportunity up north. Some of these species can be found in the northeast, but are localized and rare and sometimes are in restricted areas that make it difficult to engage with them properly. Othe...

The final round of the first round begins now. Famous northeastern bird artist Louis Aggasiz Fuertes vs. the queen of the Song Sparrows ( Melospiza melodia ), Margaret Morse Nice. But first, a quick side note! The next rounds will be focusing on an important idea advanced by the participants who won in this first round. While it might not be a famous idea like Darwin's finches or Griscom's field work, it has to have had a significant impact on the birding or ornithological world in order to have sway. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up for next week. Anyhoo, back to the contest! Lets get it started! As dapper as his paintings, one can see how he grew to rival the work of Audubon Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927) is one of America's most renowned bird artists behind John James Audubon. He produced thousands of works in his life, usually from fresh specimens he collected himself. An eager practitioner of Coues' Golden Rule (a bird in hand is worth two in the bus...