Autumn colors on the first day of fall
On the first day of fall it is somewhat difficult to see obvious signs of the season…but they can be found. I photographed these seemingly mid-autumn leaves a couple days ago in an area mostly shaded from the sun. In a few weeks colors like these will be bursting in abundance.
Read MoreNorthern Wheatear season
The Northern Wheatear is undoubtedly one of my favorite North American nesting species despite the fact it is one of the toughest to find in the contiguous United States. I have no real reason for why I love the bird except for the fact that it is so difficult to call it simply a “North American” species and I admire its biology. Two populations nest on the continent with a western group breeding in Alaska and far northwest Canada with an eastern group in north central and northeastern Canada, the former group migrating southeastward across Asia to move to Europe and finally...
Read MoreSouthbound migration moving east
As the front finishes passing through the Mid-Atlantic and New England birds are moving south in moderate numbers in western sections of those regions with heavy migration occurring throughout the Midwest. More will be on the move as the night progresses and tomorrow should be better for areas further east. Enjoy a lovely and cool Sunday morning outside seeing all the new avian arrivals!
Read MoreTimber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) leaving den
For a final Timber Rattlesnake post here’s the third “teenage” individual that we saw, coming upon this one leaving its den. It decided to go back home once it found ferocious humans. I find it endlessly engrossing that some of the wisest early Americans used the rattlesnake as a unique symbol for the burgeoning nation – “a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America” as Benjamin Franklin said. In his infamous “Join, or Die” political cartoon, created during the French and Indian War, Franklin depicted a rattlesnake in eight pieces...
Read MoreThe weather of this slowww spring
Is it spring? How about now? This could turn into an, “are we there yet?!” routine rather quickly if we cannot manage to move the ridge to the East and get a consistent southerly flow soon! I think we all know it was an extremely cold winter for New England and the Mid-Atlantic but here’s more evidence if you needed to be convinced. Temperature departures of that magnitude across such large swaths of the nation are incredible. It’s notable to have a single month more than a few degrees one way or the other, forget three with huge areas 6 to 8 degrees below average and...
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