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...

It's important to take time to slow down even when you're a naturalist. Life can rev you up so quickly, so efficiently, that even in your daily routine, you might fail to notice a new spiderweb forming on a nearby window or the chewed remains of a walnut left by a squirrel on the front step. Recently, I have been looking to flowers to help buoy my mood. Alison has left for Nevada and although it's only been a week since I've seen her, the absence she left is palpable. I am alone and feel it as well. In an effort to try and motivate myself and brighten up the apartment where we have lived for the past four months, I bought a bouquet of sunflowers. I love sunflowers. Alison loves sunflowers too. They did an excellent job for a few days, but now their bulbous yellow crowns are drooping and fruit flies have taken up residence on their hairy stalks. As I write this, one is perched gingerly on the underside of one stalk, vibrating every time my fingers strike a key. I tho...

It's always wonderful to find a place where you can relax outside. After having lived in central New York for just over a year, I finally feel like I've found a natural area I can call my own. When I lived in Massachusetts, my sacred place was a bend in the Sudbury River along a trail on Heard's Conservation Land in Wayland. After a half mile walk through mowed fields and old farm hedges, I reached the edge of the thicket. The gnarled trail was often muddy due to its proximity to the nearby marsh and in the late summer, it was bordered by goldenrod, vetch, and asters. Sudbury River, Wayland, MA in 2014 As you continued along the trail, tree roots provided chances to trip and ensnare sandals, while low hanging branches gently brushed the top of my head. Occasionally, an overzealous one would batter me in the face as well, but after navigating this gauntlet, you would be met with a wonderful view. The river is old. Lazily it travels along the marshy edges, while red-w...

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...

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...

*The opinions and statements made in this blog are entirely of my own opinion and do not reflect or represent the views of Drumlin Farm or Mass Audubon.   So it's happened again. I've spent a busy two and a half weeks working at camp once more and I have to say, I'm loving every minute of it. Today was the start of a new session and the day just flew by. It was amazing how well planned and coordinated a day like this could be. This week is a craft oriented week and the kids had a very nice first day getting to know the property and settling in for a week of day camp. I have been a camp counselor on and off over the past six years and this year am working as a coordinator for one of the three mini camps at Drumlin Farm. As you have probably guessed from the title, I work at Wolbach Farm which is located in Sudbury and is also the home of the Sudbury Valley Trustees. It's a lovely spot off of Route 27 and boasts a half mile loop trail in the woods on the property. The...

While I haven't gotten out much this week due to my schedule, I just wanted to take the time to share some great photos I've taken recently around the Watershed Preserve in Pennington, NJ. So far I've listed 40 species where I'm staying and I'm am so excited for spring migration! I hope you enjoy what the wilds of New Jersey have to offer. An inquisitive Carolina Chickadee ( Poecile carolinensis ) peeks upward. A male Red-bellied Woodpecker ( Melanerpes carolinus ) in mid hop as it scales a snag. A Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler ( Setophaga coronata ) skips around the branches looking for running sap and fleeting insects A female Downy Woodpecker ( Picoides pubescens ) drinks sap drizzling from a tree trunk. Bluebird houses abound on the property. They might be used by docile bluebirds and Tree Swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ), or by the more aggressive House Wren ( Troglodytes aedon ). Canada Geese ( Branta canadensis ) and Ring-...