Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

It's amazing how spending a little time outside can revitalize your sense of well being. For me, nothing makes me happier than when I'm birding. Being able to spend time with birds is necessary for my well being as a human being, they speak to my very soul. That said, after spending a week on the Bogue Banks, I knew I needed to start finding hotspots to check out. While the Outer Banks is a prime migratory stopover for shorebirds, getting there can be difficult especially if you haven't gotten a handle on the ferry schedule yet. For my purposes starting out, the closest and easiest to reach was the public beach access at Bogue Inlet in Emerald Isle, NC. Finding the beach access was easy enough, but finding adequate parking was trickier. Like many towns with beachfront property, parking on the sides of roads is prohibited with limited opportunities to find free parking unless you are within proximity of a business district or public beach lot. Initially, the only lot I c...

Before I go any further, I should clarify the title. When I say, "a beginner's guide", I'm not implying that I came upon some ancient knowledge in a dusty attic or buried chest somewhere. Instead, I'm writing this post from the point of view of a beginner who only just recently got a chance to try digiscoping. And from what I experienced this past weekend, it was marvelous. For those not familiar with the activity, digiscoping is the combination of the words "digital" and "scope" and involves photographing or filming something through a scope or other high powered optical device that is farther away and allows for easier observation than a conventional camera could normally be able to take. This is especially useful for birders and other wildlife watchers as it gives them a chance to observe an animal from a distance and to avoid disturbing it in its natural habitat. I started practicing this new wildlife observation trick this weekend at m...

May-apples ( Podophyllum peltatum ) As summer steadily marches towards us, the countryside reminds us about the wonderful variety of wildflowers that flock the roadsides and dazzle the fields and woods. Flowers are a universal sign of nature and of her wonderful spread of colors, forms, and scents that blanket the landscape in the warmer months of the year. Many of the flowers we see along our roadsides and throughout our woods and fields are transplants brought over from Europe and Asia. Some like purple loosestrife ( Lythrum salicaria ) and garlic mustard ( Alliaria petiolata ) are nuisance species that take over areas of habitat that other native plants once thrived in. According to a report published in Ecological Economics , "an estimated 5000 plant species have escaped and now exist in U.S. natural ecosystems, compared with a total of about 17,000 species of native U.S. plants." (Pimental, Zuniga, and Morrison, 2004) This is damaging to many ecosystems found in ...

Some of you might have spotted the pun from the title, but in my opinion, the bird I saw last weekend was spectacular. It started when someone at work had reported a Snowy Owl ( Bubo scandiacus ) within the vicinity of the Rachel Carson NWR along Mile Stretch Road in Biddeford, ME. As I was working that week, I had to wait until Friday before I could go and see the bird. As soon as tasks were over for the day, I sped off to find my first of the year Snowy. To say I got lucky was an understatement because as I arrived along Mile Stretch Road, a large white bird flew up onto the telephone pole in front of me. Immediately, I parked my car on the shoulder and looked up at the chunky mass of white feathers on the pole. No doubt, I was a lucky guy! A female and/or immature Snowy sat, quietly surveying the area below, swiveling its head around to pick up vague visual and audio clues to prey nearby. The reason I thought it could be either one or both female or immature is because of the spar...

Given that it's been chilly these past few days, I wasn't expecting to see any waterfowl or larger birds at Great Meadows in Concord. I arrived around noon and looked over the frozen, cattail-rimmed marsh beyond and missed the clamor of the geese and ducks that had occupied it only a few months earlier. I distinctly remembered seeing American Coots ( Fulica americana ) and a radio tagged Northern Harrier ( Circus cyaneus ) last January, but today would be just as much of a joy when it comes to finding birds. Here are some of the many, many pictures I took while freezing my nips off.  "Can you see me?" Named redpoll for the small red cap found on both sexes. Males have a reddish wash on their breast. "I see you." Two's Company A frozen waste surrounded by cattails Canine tracks of sorts. Perhaps fox or coyote? The coldest lodging in all the land at the moment Some Giant Canada Geese ( Br...