I’m often tempted to peek at the eggs inside a phoebe’s nest when the parents leave it to forage for food. I’ve picked up a fallen robin’s egg shell and admired its delicate color and smoothness. I’ve marveled at the […]
Category: The Outside Story
Column, The Outside Story
Bring in the bird feeders – and other ways to avoid bear-human conflict
Bring in the bird feeders – and other ways to avoid bear-human conflict It is a question I face each year as March winds into April: when to take down the bird feeder. Our avian feeding station is basic: a […]
The Outside Story
Owls on the nest
By Anna Morris Among the very earliest signs of spring are the strange caterwauls of the barred owls that haunt our woods: “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” Their hooted conversations, thrown back and forth through forests […]
Column, The Outside Story
The unsung music of birds
By Kenrick Vezina With spring creeping closer, our year-round avian residents such as cardinals and titmice are already raising their voices. But there’s more than one way to make music, and birds have evolved means for using everything at their […]
Column, The Outside Story
Return of the ospreys
By Meghan McCarthy McPhaul On my commute to the Northern Woodlands offices in Lyme, New Hampshire, I pass a long-established osprey nest, perched atop a very tall electric tower next to Route 302. This location offers the ospreys a view […]
Column, The Outside Story
Hibernation: Surviving winter by simply chilling out
By Doug Facey Mammals and birds are endotherms, which means they generate their own body heat through relatively high metabolic rates. That high metabolism requires energy, which these animals garner from food. We typically think of endotherms as warm-blooded; however, […]
The Outside Story
Winter survival: Keeping the heat
To survive the cold of winter, some animals take advantage of protected habitats, such as wooded areas or under a blanket of insulating snow. Ruffed grouse, for example, fly into piles of loose snow and create roosting cavities to rest […]
Column, The Outside Story
Musical fish in New England? Meet the burbot
By Doug Facey In the midst of winter, the ice-covered lakes of New England seem quiet. It may, however, be a bit noisy below the ice. Winter into early spring is the spawning season for burbot, when males produce sounds […]
Column, The Outside Story
Winter wonders: Icicles, Snow doughnuts and hair ice
By Susan Shea A few winters ago, I snowshoed along a trail that led below a series of cliffs with rows of huge, hanging icicles. These icicles were up to 40 feet long, with colors ranging from blue-green to yellowish-brown. […]
Column, The Outside Story
Pigeons in love
By Anna Morris Humans often ascribe traits that we admire to other animals. We treasure a dog’s loyalty, revere an eagle’s power, and applaud a dolphin’s intellect. We hold these creatures in high esteem, whether they are spotted rarely in […]