Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

For the past few days here in Sudbury, we've been experiencing a warming trend that has been welcomed by us snow weary denizens. On Wednesday we even managed to crack 60 degrees Fahrenheit! However, some people might be skeptical that Mother Nature is luring us back into a false sense of security only to hit us with a surprise Nor'easter or other terrible frozen affliction. Despite those possible outcomes, I'm starting to see signs of creatures and Nature herself releasing the world from its snowy blanket. The most obvious signs have been the melting snow. I've never been more excited to seen ground and dead grass, so much so that I scarcely think that I will be again. Other plants have captured my attention as well. Recently I've been reading parts of two books about trees for my new job that will be starting in a few days up in Saco, Maine. Both books emphasize the importance of identification within the context of recognizing those species by appearance and h...

After dealing with the piles of snow that have graced New England the past fortnight, my girlfriend Alison and I went to check out two Mass Audubon sanctuaries south of Boston. We first toured the Sharon Beals exhibit at the Museum of American Bird Art in Canton, where the exhibit featured the photographers portraits of birds nests from all over the world. We looked at each of the nests lining the walls of the art gallery as they portrayed the many ways birds build nests ranging from the neat weavings of sparrows and thrushes, to the simple depressions of shorebirds, and then to the macabre stick and bone nest of the House Wren ( Troglodytes aedon ). This sometimes horrid, little songbird has the nasty habit of taking over the nests of other songbirds and will even pierce the eggs and kill the chicks inside to secure the nest site for themselves. The nest in the photograph, set on black to show the subtle details that had gone into each nest, was lined with the dessicated remains of th...