Starting just about now, the landscape begins to change dramatically from week to week. You walk the same trails, but new things emerge and appear. The spring season is a naturalist’s crunch time – there is so much to learn in such a short span. That little plant you walk by week ...
Many biologists have a love/hate relationship with brown-headed cowbirds. We love their ecological and behavioral ingenuity, but we hate the impact they have on a variety of native nesting song birds. Cowbirds are stealthy nesters — they lay their eggs in other birds’ nests. Biologists call such species brood parasites. It’s why I often get questions about small adult birds feeding much larger chicks. Understandably, readers want an explanation. The mysterious larger chicks are undoubtedly young brown-headed cowbirds. The smaller adult feeds the young cowbird because ...
One of the things that I find fascinating is how little we know about how nature works. To be sure, there is a lot of information out there that we do know, but so much more is unknown. Some things are pretty basic. Many people know that a food chain consists of a plant that gets energy ...
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just flip a switch on some new high-tech invention and … voila! … no more algae or weeds in Chautauqua Lake. Unfortunately, no such quick and easy “fix” yet exists. As we all know by now, excessive nutrient and sediment loading to the lake are ...
There are some animals that are familiar and often seen. Canada Geese, White-tailed Deer, squirrels, just to name a few. Other animals are more secretive; more leery of human presence. They almost seem like myths. One of these animals is the Fisher (Martes pennant). Despite often being ...
If you’re new to identifying birds, you might want to begin with waterfowl. They are large, conspicuously marked in breeding plumage, and relatively easy to spot. Though songbird migration peaks in May, early spring is a great time to learn ducks and other waterfowl. Binoculars and a field guide are the essential tools. To find waterfowl, visit lakes, ponds, flooded meadows, and rivers, especially near dams. Sometimes even roadside ditches attract a surprising array of visitors. These are the habitats ducks frequent as they head north in spring. First, watch how a duck behaves ...
