Native Nectar for Queen Bumble Bees
Waves of Warblers
Attracting Bluebirds without Boxes
Hungry Bears on the Move
Sky Dancing
Fox Kits Being Born
Corvids a-Courtin’
Phenology Notes: Witnessing The Seasons of our Wild World
Wild Reads: We Took to The Woods
Our first book in the series is: We Took to the Woods by Louise Dickinson Rich. This lovely memoir of life in a remote backcountry settlement in the Rangeley, Maine area is absolutely charming. The book was published in 1942, and I read it in 1999. It resonated with my roots as a multi-generational Mainer, and a woman of the woods.
Winterberry: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
It's "the most wonderful time of the year" to spot the scarlet-red berries of our native holly. After a snowstorm, Winterberry is like a decorative red ribbon on a beautifully wrapped package, just waiting to be opened. When snow transforms the landscape into a winter wonderland, the bright red berries literally announce their place in the world - nature's Christmas ornaments! The berries of this shrub are like winter jewels for bluebirds, grosbeaks, waxwings, cardinals, robins, and other birds seeking much-needed nourishment throughout winter.
Where Have All the Whip-poor-wills Gone?
Last summer about this time of year my family and I were camped in a far corner of a local campground, up against a recently harvested woodlot. One evening, we were sitting around the campfire when we heard the distinctive song of a Whip-poor-will coming from the logged area. We were thrilled! You see, it's become rare to hear a Whip-poor-will, and that's why we were so excited to hear one around the campfire.
Eastern Whip-poor-will populations have declined 60% over the past 45 years. Why Have Their Numbers Dwindled So Much?
The Wonder of Wild Bees (Super-pollinators Part 1)
Pollinators are in significant decline due to a combination of factors including loss of habitat, disease, parasites, and environmental contaminants. However, honey bees have received most of the attention. Our domesticated honey bees pollinate many of our crops and provide valuable honey, but they are not native here. They were brought over from Europe about four hundred years ago and their numbers are vast (almost 3 million hives in the U.S. alone). We have over 4,000 species of native bees in North America that have co-evolved with our native plants over millions of years, many of which are experiencing catastrophic declines.
Saving Songbirds Starts with Your Morning Coffee
Wildlife Habitat Design in A Wounded World
In today’s blog, we’ll explore what “ecosystem health” really means, review the biggest stressors acting on our wildlife populations today, and then I’ll offer some simple things you can do right now to help restore health and ecological integrity to the ecosystem right outside your own back door – and the front door, too!
“Intelligent Tinkering” - How to Boost Biodiversity at Home (Leopold’s Wise Words Part 2)
A Top Threat to Biodiversity: Invasive Plants
Plants are the basis for terrestrial habitats that support our wildlife. To conserve wildlife, we must first conserve native plants. Non-native plants don't serve a functional ecological role in our landscapes and have minimal wildlife value, in general. In fact, invasive non-native plants negatively impact wildlife habitat in a variety of ways, some of which we are just now beginning to understand.