Nature Study
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Red-Tail Observation
Our family has been enjoying the Cornell University red-tailed hawk nest-cam this week. We even participated in the contest to name the male red-tail, suggesting “Romulus.” I thought it was pretty great, but…
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Red-tailed Hawk Nest
My husband has challenged us to find a red-tailed hawk nest to observe this spring. So far, we’ve had no luck finding one… till today, when the announcement of a live nest-cam at…
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First day of spring
We went for a walk at our favorite wetland preserve to see what we could see on this first day of spring — at least, according to the calendar. I guess it depends…
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Wood frogs and spring peepers
Just four days after our last walk that introduced the mystery sound, the vernal pool was alive with an almost deafening din of frogs. Most of the racket is from spring peepers, but…
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Prospective Homeowners
We gave my older daughter a chickadee house for her birthday. We hung it on a maple outside the front window and have been enjoying watching the birds check it out. The first…
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Spring Woods
We took a walk to the vernal pool, and this time we saw it coming to life. The surface was alive with little plopping sounds and shivers. There were any number of these…
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First robin, and other matters
Since grade school, robins have meant that spring is here. It seems awfully early, but… I guess spring is here! We went to check on the vernal pool yesterday, and though we didn’t…
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Morning Chorister
The buds on the water maple next door are swollen so that they look, as Younger Daughter says, like raspberries. Up high among them, a cardinal likes to perch around lunchtime and sing…
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The Comstocks of Cornell
We’ve been using the Handbook of Nature Study for science this year, and I’ve grown curious about its author. I decided to read Anna Botsford Comstock’s autobiography, The Comstocks of Cornell. She had…
