A Great Egret fishes along a shallow waterway. A Brown Pelican dives missle-like into the ocean for a morning meal. Yellow-rumped Warblers hop from branch to branch on a Spanish moss-covered Live Oak tree. We’re birding on the Georgia coast. Taking a break from the Connecticut winter, we recently spent some time on St. Simons […]
Suddenly, my wife points to what she describes as a shadow passing through the yard. We point our flashlight to a large White Pine at the side of my brothers’ house. As we flash the light up into the tree, a Barred Owl’s two large, round eyes are peering directly back at us. We’re calling […]
The more we use our senses, all of them, in our natural environments, the more we’ll discover and enjoy our experiences. The sights, sounds and smells in our yard are both reminders of plant and wildlife life cycles and indicators of seasons coming and going. The visual impact of a sunrise or sunset, whether subtle […]
An unfamiliar bird calls from the top of a Sugar Maple; loudly buzzing Bumble Bees swarm a patch of Ragusa Roses; a Cooper’s Hawk lands and hops under some hollys, looking up, to see if there might be a potential meal hiding within the leaves. We are Backyard Voyagers. Everyday as I look out on […]
We spot it, about an eighth of an inch long, motionless on the narrow green leaf. The white, yellow and black rings make it easy to identify, even at this size. It’s what we’ve anxiously been waiting to see since last fall. A Monarch Butterfly caterpillar is on one of our two Swamp Milkweed plants. […]
I remember the song “Feed The Birds” from the movie Mary Poppins. An old woman, covered with pigeons, is feeding bread to the birds from a park bench. Not as healthy for them as natural seeds and berries, but they eat it voraciously. I’d rather Seed The Birds. We’ve created a backyard that entices all […]
She arrived toward the end of June, later than most years, as we were waiting for friends to arrive. At the edge of the woods, over a rock ledge she appeared, stopping at the top to survey her surroundings. There are not many creatures more prehistoric-looking than a full-grown Snapping Turtle. Just about every year […]