Tag Archive | Nature Story
Peril in the Milkweed Patch: Monarch Caterpillars Under Siege
It is early autumn, and the super generation of monarch butterflies – those destined to live long enough to fly to Mexico — is hatching as caterpillars from barrel-shaped eggs laid meticulously on the underside of milkweed leaves. While the butterflies that laid the eggs will never make the epic journey south, this generation will. […]
The Journey of the Eastern Leaf-Footed Bug
In the dappled sunlight of a late summer morning, my garden became alive with the soft humming of bees and the silent fluttering of butterfly wings sipping nectar from the backyard flowering bushes. Though it was summer, birds still visited the feeders to feast on various seeds. As I sat on my porch watching the […]
Discover the Wonders of Nature Through the Eyes of a Biologist
Did you know that millions of dragonflies migrate each fall? Did you know that shrews traverse their underground tunnels using echolocation? Did you know that some plants need fire to survive? These are some of the fascinating discoveries I reveal about the plants and animals found along the Connetquot River on Long Island in New […]
Have You Ever Seen a Grackle Fish?
During a recent trip to a restaurant on King’s Bay in Crystal River, Florida, I walked out on the dock where boat-tailed grackles were having their dinner too. I watched them strike the water to snatch small baitfish from the water and perch on the posts and railings of the dock where these birds and […]
The Non-Native Beauty
In my daughter’s Maryland spring backyard, I discovered a dainty blue wildflower growing in the shade cast by trees and in the shadow of a wooden fence that borders her property. With scalloped leaves and four petaled flowers, the slender speedwell thrives in the moist soils here. A non-native, this plant traveled from Europe to […]
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