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Great Egret!
First I’ve seen this year.The word “preen” seems have been first used to describe bird behavior. *** Trump’s political hatchet Barr has kept the Mueller report from the eyes of democracy so far. But here are 50 points of the public record on Trump’s deals with, funding by, and working with, Russian oligarchs/autocrats who have…
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Spring Beauty
For many people this is, I realize, appealing. But let’s look beyond the lurid gaudiness to the more subtle spring ephemerals down on the forest floor. Like bloodroot.And spring beauties.And trout lilies. (Plus some mayapple.) All on the grounds of the Morris Arboretum or nearby Wissahickon Valley Park.
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Wright On Sparrows
The big book of little brown jobs is here at last. The enviably erudite Rick Wright has written a very readable reference guide to the LBJs, sparrow division. It’s not a field guide: the hardcover large format precludes that. (I presume a paperback will follow; there’s also an ebook version, but you know those are…
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Poetry Month
For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart is lifted of woes And sky-dances with all the crows. With sincerest apologizes to William Wordsworth this National Poetry Month…
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Stink Cabbage
Some skunk cabbage, so called because of the smell, which attracts flies. Flies being some of the earliest pollinators in spring. The mottled curvilinear part is the spathe, a sheath-like bract that encloses the spadix. Unfortunately off the path, so couldn’t get closer. Through the magic of the internet, however, you can take a closer…
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Red-Spotted Newts
The Eastern Red-spotted Newt. A.K.A. Eastern Newt. Notophthalmus viridescens. This is the aquatic adult stage. When they’re younger, they have a terrestrial stage. On land, the “red efts” are startlingly orange-red colored, walking “don’t eat me!” signs (being toxic to most predators). These spotted newts can live more than a dozen years. This seems to…
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Raptor Wednesday
The neighborhood American Kestrels are all over the place lately. Here’s the female perching on a roof fence nearer to Falcon Crest — a new name for the apartment — than usual.The building behind her — four little row houses away — is where you will typically find her, perching on the various roof pipes…
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When Doves Sit
Mourning Doves: one of our earliest local — that is, non-migratory — nesters. Their rudimentary stick nests can be tucked into trees or your windowsill. Here’s another pair on our fire escape recently. One or two has been showing up there or on the roofline a lot lately. (These were photographed though window and screen.)There’s…
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Northern Water Snake
Nedordia sipedon sipedon are fairly melanistic in our neck of the woods.The species, with four subspecies in the east, is highly variable in coloration and patterning, but these dark ones are the only versions I’ve seen.There is some lighter coloring and markings on their underside, as these chins suggests.They can get up to five feet…
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Snake Book
Snakes of the Eastern United States by Whit Gibbons is an excellent addition to the natural history bookshelf. It’s sumptuously well-illustrated by many photographers. Here’s the skinny on our snakes: there are 63 species of snakes native in the eastern US. There’s a serious north-south gradient: Maine has 10 native species (one of which, the…
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Backyard and Beyond 