Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

Writing has always been a way for me to express what I see in the natural world and to focus things that many don't take the time to appreciate in their busy lives. The past couple of months have piled up without so much as a wink of information as to why I stopped writing. I'm not going to go into depth here, but I don't think that just saying "life happened" is a justified answer either. Last night, I read a blog post by author and serial wanderer, Ken Ilgunas as he lamented not updating his blog and how his uncertainty made him feel inadequate about where his future lay. This experience spoke to me deeply as does all his writing. On the drive down to North Carolina, I listened to his first book, Walden on Wheels about his two and half year journey to become debt free after college during which he traveled across the country, working odd jobs and eventually living in a van for several semesters while in graduate school at Duke. The past seven months have ...

Sciurus Hudsonicus, Hudson Bay Squirrel, Chickaree Red Squirrel This third installment in my series, Encounters with Audubon's Mammals features a personal favorite of mine: the American Red Squirrel ( Tamiascurius hudsonicus ). About a month ago, my girlfriend Alison and I visited Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, NY to watch the bird feeders. It was calming to sit and watch birds both small and not so small flit about on a bitter winter day. While the flocks of finches and other seed eaters jostled for control of the sunflower seeds above, beneath the feeders were two mammals that usually cause much trouble whenever they appear near feeders. I am of course talking about squirrels. In my first post, I mentioned how I kept seeing black squirrels all over Syracuse and how in certain parts of America, they just happen to be commonplace. In most parts of Central New York, seeing a black squirrel is practically guaranteed. The American Red Squirrel is a New World...

As crazy as it sounds, the Inner Harbour of Lake Onondaga in Syracuse has been graced with an unusual winter visitor in recent weeks. While the usual reports of Glaucous ( Larus hyperboreus ) or Iceland Gulls ( L. glaucoides ) swirled about on the listservs, few surprses seemed likely. That all changed to sudden pandemonium, as local birders erupted online with talk of an American White Pelican ( Pelecanus erythrorhynchos ) spotted on Lake Onondaga in mid January! Alison and I were lucky enough to see this rare visitor (and a possible first for the county in winter) yesterday, before heading up to watch the feeders at Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville. After spotting some local birders watching a culvert under the bridge supporting Spencer Street, we were rewarded with an excellent view of this huge white bird. As we watched it emerge from the culvert, its massive pouched bill swelled and shivered. It didn't seem to mind the 20 degree weather as we shivered ourselve...

Fox Sparrows ( Passerella iliaca ) are big birds both structurally and in terms of how little I get to see them. I got to see one briefly in a tangle of twigs and leaves while I was walking the trails of Beaver Lake this afternoon. I was partially trying to get away from the city for a bit, while also trying to figure out what to write about. As I wandered, I wondered and as I wondered, I worried. I worried about not consistently updating my blog twice a month and what that would mean for my two regular readers (three if I'm lucky!) I worried about my writing skills not improving and that I might not be getting anywhere. After a worryingly indeterminate amount of time, I noticed I was just was walking along a trail towards god knows where so I doubled back and headed up the Bog Trail. At a little over half a mile, the trail snaked into a boardwalk that headed out over a maple bog and out along the pond. As I walked along, I could hear the jingling calls of White-throated Sparrows...