In part 1 of “invisible birds” I described one of the often-heard-but-rarely-seen species I’ve encountered during my breeding bird atlas work, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. In keeping with the theme of yellow body parts, let me introduce the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria…
There’s a good piece in the current (Jul-Aug) issue of Audubon Magazine on the chronic White-tailed Deer overpopulation problem. Ted Williams points out what is obvious to most wildlife ecologists: that deer populations are allowed to grow until they destroy…
You rely a lot on your ears when doing bird surveys, especially in the summertime. Thick foliage obstructs views, females are tending nests or young, and unless they are singing from an exposed perch, males may be hard to locate…
I came across this attractive land snail while doing some gardening. I was curious, as usual. For me, it doesn’t seem right not to know and understand the creatures sharing my property. And while I don’t want to become too…
Aydin at Snail’s Tails passed me my first meme – the book meme. I’ve seen this circulating among a lot of blogs I read, so I thought I might get tagged sooner or later. Total number of books I own/owned:…
Kady has issues. What most of them are, beyond her being a lazy diva, are unknown to us. When she is displeased about something, she decides it is not worth her time and energy to go down to the basement…
As a kid, I used to find caterpillars and raise them to adulthood. Nowadays, I don’t even see many caterpillars. Gone are the days, or so it seems, when every tomato plant had to be monitored for sphinx moth larva…
Some years I don’t catch many Tennessee Warblers (Vermivora peregrina), but this year seemed to be a good year for them. Their populations surge and wane with outbreaks of spruce budworms (Choristoneura fumiferana) on their northern nesting grounds. The budworms…
When you do field work in an urban area, you come across a lot of trash, most mundane, some startling, and some kinda funny. Yes, indeedy, this eating utensil was in fact at the intersection of two trails. The amusement…