I've been EXTREMELY busy over the last week or so. Something different going on every night - some things new and exciting, maybe I'll share here soon. As a delaying tactic for finishing up my story of Bones in Washington, getting videos made for that trip, and several other things... here's a quick video taken…Read more Something Completely Different…
Bird
Bird Language
Do you talk to the birds around your home? I would imagine probably not - the physical structure of the human larynx is not well suited to the trills and warbles that most songbirds can create with their dual syrinx setup. But even if we can't talk directly to them, most of us certainly appreciate…Read more Bird Language
Silence of Spring: A World Without Wings
Imagine, if you will, an empty meadow. Not just empty in the way humans tend to define it - without crops, buildings, commerce or a parking lot - but empty in the sense of being an ecological ghost town. No buzzing of insects, no chirping of birds. Grasses and wildflowers swaying in the wind, but…Read more Silence of Spring: A World Without Wings
Puffins!
As I'm reminiscing on last summer's trip to Iceland (and working up videos, etc), I'm uncovering some photos that just make me smile. On the cliffs above Reynisfjara, a black sand beach with impressive caves and balsatic columns outside Vik, on Iceland's southern shore, dozens of puffins were nesting. These pudgy little birds were impressively…Read more Puffins!
Arctic Tern
Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) have one of the longest migrations in the world, annually flying from the Arctic to the Antarctic, a distance of over 12,000 miles (19,000 km), AND BACK. As we were told in Iceland, this exertion leaves them perpetually ticked off. At one point during our Iceland summer (2019), we pulled off…Read more Arctic Tern
COVID Camp
Times are strange. Even though a lot of what I like to do is, by its nature, remote - backpacking, canoeing/kayaking, sailing, etc - all these activities became extremely popular as soon as we started getting guidance not to congregate. The bars closed down and the trailheads clogged up. Add to that the challenges of…Read more COVID Camp
Red-Belly Nest
Signs of spring are everywhere right now. Fruit trees are starting to bloom, and the larger hardwoods are budding. Robins are everywhere (though in truth I've seen them all winter - they never really left), and the high school sailing team is back on the water. We've had no snow this winter, and very few…Read more Red-Belly Nest
Cryptochromes and Bird Migration
Spring is here! Around here, the trees are budding, the weather is alternately windy, stormy, and cold - and the birds are returning. Flocks of robins cover the neighbors' lawns, and the ospreys have returned to claim and improve last year's nesting sites. Bird migrations have long been a mystery to us simple humans. We've…Read more Cryptochromes and Bird Migration
Junco Snack Break
Snack break - we're in round two of a two-step snowfall here in the Mid-Atlantic. First was 5 inches of snow worn down by some sleet and freezing rain, and now it's a serious snowfall bringing maybe as much as another 5 inches. We had several birds stock up during the lull. These dark-eyed juncos…Read more Junco Snack Break
Hide and Seek
Standing along the shoreline of a pond turned completely green with floating duckweed, a great blue heron waits patiently. I'm sure it knows what it's looking for.
Wild Turkey Crossing!
Wild Turkey crossing! Had to stop the car for NINETEEN of these little velociraptors to run across the road. Get Out There!
Red-Belly on a Snag
One of our local neighbors hanging out in a stiff breeze. A Red-Bellied Woodpecker. Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott
Spring Rain
I love how a spring rain makes everything look so green. It sets off other colors very nicely! Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott
Sentinel
He looks like a lookout. He'd actually just chased everybody else away from the feeder. But either way, standing his ground against all comers!
On the Prowl
A beautiful redtail hawk, looking for mice, rabbits...maybe squirrels?
Flying Squirrel Outdoors 