Wildlife Watch

Where Have All the Fireflies Gone? Do you remember running around on the lawn at dusk, catching fireflies in a jar, looking at them with wonder, and then releasing them? Are these nostalgic summer childhood memories a thing of the past? Will our children and grandchildren have a chance to make these same memories? There … Read more

Spring Migration For ardent birdwatchers, nothing can be more exciting than seeing the first spring migrants. First to come in February are the blackbirds, red-winged blackbirds, grackles and cowbirds. Next the phoebes arrive in March, first seen here on March 29. In April we say good-by to the northbound juncos, last seen here on April … Read more

Spring Pools Spring has sprung in a way typical of New England: on and off rain, alternating warm and cold days, occasional spits of snow. This is the time of year that amphibians most love. On rainy nights at the end of March or early April that are 40 degrees or above, frogs and salamanders … Read more

Happy Spring? Lately, I’ve been having fun writing poetry, mostly about my walks. They are “prose poems”, they have no rhyme and no meter. In this free form, I can just concentrate on describing my senses and emotions as a “stream of consciousness”. If you write poetry, or want to try it in any form, … Read more

Winter has finally arrived. When the snow flies so do the birds, arriving at our feeders in larger numbers. We get many different little brown birds that on quick inspection we may lump together as “sparrows”. But on closer inspection, we see that they are house sparrows, female house finches, Carolina wrens, fox sparrows, song … Read more