Tag: birds

Splendor in the Grass

Written on August 31, 2020.

After traveling 6,000 miles from Argentina, you make a stop in Alden, Illinois. You are a bobolink, one of the most traveled migratory songbirds in the world, and the only male songbird in North America adorned with the colors...

The Birds and the Bees

Written on August 10, 2016.

This is a story about the birds and the bees (and the bats and the bugs). That’s right, it’s a story about plant pollinators. Insects like bees and butterflies, as well as animals such as birds and bats, are responsible...

Bird Migration over the years

Written on February 16, 2015.

Today, most people know that birds migrate by flying south during winter, and then fly north again as the days grow longer and temperatures rise. We also understand that some birds fly great distances each year to move from...

November

Written on November 5, 2013.

November has always been a misfit month to me. Fall colors are giving way to browns and greys. The bright white of the first snow usually waits until December. Sure, there’s Thanksgiving – my favorite holiday – but not until...

Natural Mosquito Control

Written on July 23, 2013.

I read this great article about how native plants can help reduce mosquito populations by attracting more of the critters that eat them! I saw it on the blog for a company based in Idaho called Conservation Seeding & Restoration....

Where, oh where have the hedgerows gone?

Written on February 3, 2013.

The last year or two, I’ve noticed changes to the farm fields I pass on my commute between Harvard and Woodstock each day. The hedgerows are thinning and in some cases, disappearing altogether. As used here, the term hedgerow...