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Wildlife Watch by Marian Harman – September 2018

August and September are bird migration months, and we are sad to see them go. Most of our hawks leave us mid-September when wind conditions are right, as do our hummingbirds, warblers and many others. Sometimes we wish that we could follow along as they make the journey, and now we can. In 2013, Judy … Read more

Wildlife Watch by Marian Harman – August 2018

Are the critters getting smarter, or am I getting dumber? This year, the squirrels and chipmunks have been besting us at every turn. It is sometimes comforting to think that humans are smarter than other animals, but if I ever believed that, I no longer do. As some of you know, my husband and I … Read more

In the news

Every trail a vista to share – Lowell Sun With rakes and clippers, Bill Harman and his team of volunteers keep Westford’s paths clear so all can enjoy. WESTFORD — Bill Harman walked along a neatly carved path through the woods, occasionally pausing halfway through a sentence to crouch and pick up a stray wrapper … Read more

Wildlife Watch by Marian Harman – July 2018

Do you enjoy feeding and watching our most beautiful birds the ruby-throated hummingbird? I have been reading a book with my book club titled The Fastest Things on Wings by Terry Masear. She is a Hollywood-based wildlife rehabilitator who works only with hummingbirds. In her fifteen-year career as a hummingbird rehabber, rescuing thousands of hummingbirds, … Read more

Ravens are making a comeback

May 2016 Wildlife Watch

by Marian Harman

Image of raven feeding nestlings.
Raven feeding nestlings. Photo courtesy of Doug Pederson.
Ravens are making a comeback in eastern New England, specifically in Nashua, NH and Westford. This spring, and for the past few years, ravens have been nesting under an overhang at the Lowe’s store in Nashua, and in the Westford Highway Department’s salt storage shed. This is great news for a bird that had not been seen here since the early 1900’s. At one time, ravens were quite common in the northeast, and were even considered pests. But, with the clearing of forests and increased agriculture, they were extirpated here. There were none left here by the 1920’s. In the late 1990’s the first confirmed nesting of ravens in Massachusetts was reported from central Massachusetts. It seems that ravens are now expanding into eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Just in the past few years, ravens have once again begun to nest in our area.

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