Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

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...

Happy Easter all! I was up in Massachusetts this weekend visiting with my family and then the rest of the time with my girlfriend, Alison, and her family. As of this post, I got five year birds for my year listing project (I'm hoping to break 223 species this year) and got some fantastic photos of our escapade as well. My girlfriend works as the coastal waterbird monitor at Allen's Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in South Dartmouth where she monitors and assists with the protection of endangered shorebirds such as Piping Plovers ( Charadrius melodus ) and Least Terns ( Sternula antillarum ). The terns haven't shown up yet, but the plovers have, and they were busy courting and setting up scrapes when we arrived. We participated in a Saturday morning bird walk with several members of the Paskamansett Bird Club on Little Beach and the nearby marshland. As we left, we walked through a small field with nest boxes erected for the bluebirds and returning Tree Swallows ( Tachycineta bico...

A Palm Warbler ( Setophaga palmarum ) feeds among fading Goldenrods ( Solidago spp. ) and New York Asters ( Symphyotrichum spp.). A Song Sparrow ( Melospiza melodia ) plays hide and go seek while giving alarm calls all the while. This Brown Thrasher ( Toxostoma rufum ) proved to be a tough cookie to ID. I thought I was looked at an inverted color jay or even a late cuckoo, but the shape didn't seem right. I've been lucky to see so many this year. A Field Sparrow ( Spizella pusilla ) looks on as I watch it from the trail. Wary, but ubiquitous birds of the fields and meadows on the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed property. A towhee's eye view along one of the trails at SBMWA. The ground is just littered with hickory nuts at this time of year attracting the attention of squirrels and children alike. A recently molted American Wigeon ( Anas americana ) was floating around the pond. It was pointed out to me by my roommate and his girlfriend. Plenti...