During last week’s thaw, before the ground and pond ice melted significantly, I revisited the pond in the Grace Estate Preserve where a beaver had resided over the three years... more
I enjoy having the opportunity to experience all four seasons of the year, and although we don’t always get much of a winter on Long Island, I can usually count on some good days of cross country skiing and snow tracking. This year was an exception, and the snowshoes and skis remained in the porch rafters until early March. Last week, I hauled them down and directly into the car before heading north for some snow time.According to friends in Vermont, I may have caught the best week of snow and sun there was this winter, and enjoyed five days ... 10 Mar 2019 by Staff Writer
Well, March certainly came in like a lion—we’ll see if it leaves like a lamb.This is the month that many consider the “transition” month from winter to spring, yet one needs to look very carefully to see any signs of the latter in the landscape by month’s end. It remains a very wintry scene on Eastern Long Island come April Fool’s Day.It seems that the increasing daylight and slightly warmer temperature cues stir more changes in the members of our local animal kingdom than in our native plants. By month’s end, hibernators such as the Eastern chipmunk and woodchuck will ... 3 Mar 2019 by Staff Writer
Debbie Gates of Springs has been keeping an eye on a pair of mature bald eagles that have been roosting on several osprey nests in Accabonac Harbor this past month. These are most likely five-year-olds that have recently reached breeding age and are scoping out potential nest sites.Debbie sent photos of them perched on one of the osprey platforms at the Nature Conservancy’s Merrill Lake Preserve, and she mentioned that they have also been perched near the natural osprey nest in an oak tree at the south end of Wood Tick Island. I checked on them last Sunday and they ... 24 Feb 2019 by Staff Writer
This past week’s warm weather may have been the impetus for several unusual wildlife sightings. Among them was the woolly bear caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella) seen wandering, surprisingly fast, across my deck. This large (mine was 1.5 inches in length) and conspicuous animal is covered with quarter-inch-long stiff hairs that are colored reddish brown in the middle and black at both ends.This is the larval stage of the Isabella tiger moth, a dull yellow-orange colored adult with a few small black spots scattered across its wings and thorax. It’s not very “tiger-looking.” As with many moths, the goal of the short-lived, ... 18 Feb 2019 by Staff Writer
There’s a Facebook group called “Long Island Wildlife Photography,” administered by Jim Botta, that has many absolutely stunning photographs posted every day. And every so often there’s an unusual post, including a number of photos of otters that have been helpful for my island-wide river otter survey.A post on February 5 by Tina Zito caught my attention, and based on the number of comments it generated, the attention of many others in the group. Tina had managed to photograph a bat flying overhead just after sunset, but while there was still enough light for a decent image. Most of the ... 10 Feb 2019 by Staff Writer
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on Jan 23, 2018