Have you ever thought about soil? How it’s formed, what it’s composed of, where it comes from and what lives within it? Soil is so much more than dirt and mud. In reality, it is a precious medley of minerals, microbes and nutrient-rich organic matter, forming ever so slowly, perhaps ...
I have to confess that I absolutely love the wetlands at the Audubon Community Nature Center. The swamps, ponds, and marshes provide every day opportunities to see wildlife and plants that are hard to find in other places. There are muskrats swimming in the ponds, mink loping across the ...
It looks like it’s finally going to be a grosbeak winter. Back in early November I read forecasts that evening grosbeaks would head south in impressive numbers this winter. If you’re not familiar with evening grosbeaks, you’re in for a treat. These robust irruptive finches are totally unpredictable here in the mid-latitudes. I haven’t seen any at my feeders since 1996. So far this fall I’ve received grosbeak photos from neighbors and readers as far as 300 miles away. For most, it was a bird they had never seen before. Because I now live in North Carolina, I haven’t ...
The scenic and bountiful waterways, forests and fields of the Chautauqua region are what make it a special place to live and visit. Healthy waterways in particular are a vital part of our region’s quality of life and economy. They are sources of recreation, tourism, local industry and ...
It is late fall and Audubon’s bird feeders are starting to see the more activity. Resident birds such as Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals and Black-capped Chickadees are mapping out their winter food locations. Their bright colors a joyous contrast to the drab landscape. Evening Grosbeaks and ...
Every fall I hear about a big buck someone has been tracking and watching for weeks. But when the gun season arrives, that big buck vanishes, only to reappear a few weeks later. Are deer really that smart? Keen senses of smell, vision, and hearing have a lot to do with deer “intelligence.” Deer often sense the presence of hunters long before hunters sense them. But is intelligence or instinct responsible? Actually, it’s natural selection at work. Those individuals, males and females, that are most wary and hyper-vigilant, tend to survive hunting seasons. And thanks to ...
