Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

Short post this week as I've been busy with job related things but I'll cover what I did the past few days. I visited my girlfriend over the weekend and helped her out with coastal waterbird monitoring in Westport. I got to see interesting Piping Plover ( Charadrius melodus ) behavior. The male's display flight is moth-like as he drifts over the beach, peeping like mad. I also got my first of the year Snowy Egret ( Egretta thula ), Least Terns ( Sternulla antirillum ), and Ruddy Turnstone ( Arenaria interpres ). I also got good footage of a horseshoe crab ( Limulus polyphemus ) puttering around under the water. It looked like a pancake with legs and a spiky tail, but the way they move kinda creeps me out.   Other than that, I've not done much else. I've been trying to work on some new wood working projects and figure out what's happening next in terms of employment and the future. I have a lot to think about, but hopefully it won't be too ...

Ever seen Ax Men? No, I'm not going to start singing the "Lumberjack Song". But there's a specific tool used in logging to grind stumps and trees down that I thought of when I saw these critters today.   These Black Swallowtail ( Papilio polyxenes ) caterpillars were rescued from the makeshift butterfly house and are now growing in the office. They're currently feeding on Fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare ) and do so with extreme efficiency. They're so cute, especially when you give them a little squeeze so that their little horn appears. This is used to startle predators and prevent them from being eaten. They also produce a smell with it as well, but these little ones seemed a bit small. Later this weekend, I'll have a review of "The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists" by Peter Laufer, PhD. See you all soon!