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In August, the Sharon Audubon Center launched a new way to track birds, thanks to Audubon’s Migratory Bird Initiative, a grant from the William T. Wharton Trust, and the willing hands of volunteers from Drake Real Estate Partners.
Green frogs hide from the sun under duckweed in a frog pond at the Sharon Audubon Center. Photo by Alison Robey
When I tell people that I study ecological modeling for a living, the typical response is a wide-eyed stare and some variation of the question, “What on earth is that?”
Assuming most people don’t want to hear about differential equations and population dynamics, I’ve developed an abbreviated response: “Math about plants.”
Hearing a cacophonous sound from inside your chimney this summer? While I can’t promise it’s not a poltergeist, I can offer an alternative explanation: Chimney swifts.
Robert Marra of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station discusssed four tree diseases with a Norfolk audience on Saturday, July 16. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan
NORFOLK — Robert Marra of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) told an audience that genetic engineering might prove a better strategy than creating hybrids in restoring American chestnuts. Marra, a forest pathologist at CAES, spoke to a group of about 50 people at Great Mountain Forest in Norfolk on Saturday, July 16.
Connecticut is 60% forested, the 12th most forested state in the country, but it’s becoming a forest of largely mature trees. And that’s a problem because it contributes to a biodiversity crisis.
We think that someone’s cat killed the bluebird family early this spring. A pair of bluebirds overwintered in one of our nesting boxes, enduring cold and surviving on berries and suet until spring. Staking their claim in the off season appeared to give them a head start and competitive advantage.
Tilly Strauss had the foresight to order her baby chicks ahead of time. They arrived by mail a week or so ago and are now getting stronger in a little box in her living room. Photo by Tilly Strauss
This week’s Nature’s Notebook column includes information and observations from several area nature experts.
Ramps are here!
Jody Bronson, Forest Manager for the Great Mountain Forest in Norfolk and Falls Village, suggests that, “Foraging for ramps is a great spring tonic.
Pricked into the border of the 230-foot-long Bayeaux Tapestry, right before the coronation of the English King Harold and above the upturned heads and pointing arms of his retainers, is the Latin inscription “Isti Mirant Stella” (“These men wonder at the star”) and the unmistakable image of a blazing comet.
Migratory waterfowl are returning to the Northwest Corner, a herald of the arrival of spring weather. Look for wood ducks, such as this lone male. Photo by Michael Moschen
Previews of spring have been unveiling themselves through the steady arrival of migratory waterfowl species, particularly ducks, that are moving northward toward Canada and Alaska to breed.
This week’s Nature’s Notebook was compiled from contributions from several nature experts. Look for a report on the return of waterfowl, from Sharon Audubon, in our issue of April 2.
Great Mountain Forest
Jody Bronson, forest manager for the Great Mountain Forest in Norfolk and Falls Village says:
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