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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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Old Nests
The nesting season is already upon us, especially for such early nesters as owls, some raptors, doves. So, here’s one last look at some of the previous year’s nest. These have all made it through the winter, in one form or another. Above, the rough pottery suggests American Robins, who line the inside of their…
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Wood Frogs
A year ago on April 1st, 2018, we heard Wood Frogs and saw their spawn floating here. It takes about a week for their eggs to rise up from below, where they’re laid. This year, on March 30th, we heard the frogs and saw them both mating and egg-laying for the first time. Male Wood…
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At the end of the bath…
And so our saga comes to an end. I had walked around a corner and there was this Red-tailed Hawk on the edge of the water. A large weeping willow was near by, so I used it as cover to get a bit closer. I got this look. It wasn’t as if the bird didn’t…
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Raptor Wednesday
There’s no mistaking the white head and tail of a mature Bald Eagle. The white-black-white pattern is visible from quite a distance. This is better practice, though. This is another Bald Eagle, but a young’s, without the white head and tail feathers yet.But what’s this? A Common Raven, one that seems to be missing the…
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How To Bathe, Part 5
Grooming.Never forget your surroundings.Air dry. Part 4. Part 3. Part 2. Part 1.
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Plane, Crows
You know I spend a lot of time in Green-Wood Cemetery, which is virtually right next door. But what you may not know is that the cemetery archives are a fascinating trove of material about those interred there. Recently, I had the privilege of looking over some of the material with archivist Helena St. James-Rotwang.…
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More Spring
Red maple flowers. Eastern Phoebe.These are wind pollinated trees, so early spring emergence isn’t predicated on insects.An early arriving migrant, this bird is dependent on insects.Speaking of which, beetles and flies are emerging.A millipede in a leafy liverwort. Interesting similarity of shape…And here’s a frog-sex teaser. There’s some amplexus in the water…
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Backyard and Beyond 