Stormy Skies
This late astronomical fall and early meteorological winter has felt a little different than last year’s El Niño conditions to say the least. We are seeing and feeling far more typical weather rather than the much above average temperatures the previous season yielded. Here is a picture of Stratford Point from my archives showing a very stormy sky near sunset in the middle of winter with a fair amount of snow on the ground. How much snow are you looking for this season? We may get plenty across the Northeast and Great Lakes, and that is good news for our “Nature at Your Fingertips”...
Read MoreMapping Global Temperature Changes
This is a sobering graphic via the Twitter feed of Ed Hawkins (https://twitter.com/ed_hawkins), Climate scientist at the University of Reading. He said, “When considering changes in global temperature, it’s always important to look at the big picture, rather than obsess over short-term effects” which is why something like the cold and snowy days in the winter are not an indicator of how the planet is feeling. Our lives encompass a very small span of time compared to that of the Earth itself, and we often do not have an appropriate sense of the environmental and climate...
Read MoreGreat Blue Heron
Check out this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) sitting on one of the new reef balls at Stratford Point. I’m glad it found the spot inviting! Yes, new reef balls have been put in place along the north shore to expand on the success of the pilot project, and I will show and tell you more about them in an upcoming post. Now if a Snowy Owl could be sitting on one in the next couple of weeks I would not object… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreFind the Light
The sun is dropping in the sky and the daylight is getting shorter by the day, so let’s get out there to enjoy the sun’s warmth while we can. It certainly is wondrous nonetheless…
Read MoreWoolly Bear Season
Yep, it’s that time again – here’s a Woolly Bear caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella) that I saw crossing the road last week. In this case I think we can say that its goal was definitely to get to the other side. If you have not encountered any of them before the old story goes that more extensive black covering the body means it will be a colder and snowier winter will be for us, and the more brown a caterpillar has the warmer it will be. This one seems like a relatively balanced individual, so maybe we will all end up happy this winter. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation &...
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