If you take to the water this spring, there’s a good chance you’ll spot a great blue heron, New England’s most recognizable large wading bird. But you might also see one of several other similar species that breed in or […]
Category: The Outside Story
The tale of a lake tsunami
The Outside Story By Decan McCabe The sharpest contrast between rivers and lakes is in water movement. While rivers flow inexorably downhill, lake water movement is more subtle. Anyone who has weathered a storm on a lake, however, can attest […]
The Outside Story: The fascinating metamorphosis of frogs
Frogs have hopped about Earth since before the time of the dinosaurs, and it shows. Celebrated for their amphibious lifestyle and cacophonous choruses, the long arc of frog evolution has yielded other awesome and efficient adaptations in organs from their […]
The Outside Story: For white-throated sparrows, opposites attract
By Jackie Bussjaeger In the wild, finding a suitable mate is no simple matter — and it’s an extra complicated affair for one familiar resident of the woods and underbrush. With its chunky build, boldly striped head, and namesake […]
The Outside Story: Maple sugaring adapts to a changing climate
Boiling maple sap into syrup is a time honored tradition in the Northeast, to the olfactory delight of anyone who has spent time in a steamy sugarhouse while inhaling the sweet maple scent of the season. It used to be […]
The Outside Story: A new invasive is Zigzagging across North America
There’s a new invasive insect zigzagging its way across North America. First reported by citizen scientists in Quebec in 2020, the elm zigzag sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda) has now spread to North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and […]
The Outside Story: The humble acorn: A feast for wildlife
In a big mast year for oak trees, it seems like there’s a constant barrage of acorns thwacking roofs, parked cars, and — sometimes — unsuspecting humans. These falling nuts can seem a nuisance. But when I look closely at […]
The Outside Story: How ebbing snow cover effects plants and animals
When it comes to winter in the North Country, brown is not beautiful. Climate change has brought sudden and extreme fluctuations in weather along with a dramatic decline in the amount of snowfall that blankets the ground. This is especially […]
The Outside Story: A tale of two grosbeaks
Last February, several evening grosbeaks, which we rarely see here, visited our feeder. About the size of robins, the males were yellow with black and white wings, a black tail, and a bright yellow band above the eyes. The […]
The Outside Story: Red velvet mites in winter
Bright red, soft, and velvety … no, I’m not describing a Valentine’s Day decoration, but a red velvet mite. Built like eight-legged, scarlet Beanie Babies, red velvet mites are hard to miss, even though most of them are no bigger […]