Ospreys

I know ospreys are more and more common here but I still get a thrill when I see one. They are one of the environmental success stories from my youth. I didn't see one until I was well into adulthood and I think I saw my first one in Florida...

This osprey platform was built by the utility company after several nesting attempts atop the bare utility pole ended badly for the ospreys. For the first year ospreys visited and perched there but it wasn't until this year that they actually have showed some nest building interest beyond a few random sticks.

Not far from where this bird was perched I could see another one.

Can you see the osprey? It is the black dot on top of the pole and yes, that is what it looked like from where I was standing. I have learned to look for a second bird nearby the first and they are often on a pole so I zoomed in on this one...

And this is what I saw...

and this....

Later on I headed to a different spot where I knew I would probably see multiple birds nesting. The Centerville River is a popular osprey hang out and sure enough....

I saw this pair (the second one is hidden in this picture but is behind the first)

This pair....and I especially love this pair because the homeowner has obviously gone to some lengths to keep them off...

And this one was a loner for the moment though there were other birds in the air. There were 2 other nests along the river as well, both with birds but I would have had to go on private property to photograph them so I left it for another time...

Catching up and Planning for Summer

I know it may seem I've disappeared for a bit but I am busy planning my summer art and nature class schedule. There will be watercolor painting for adults and teens, nature sketching for families and adults and late afternoon nature walks for families. I will also be offering some private and semi private drawing and watercolor lessons.

Last weekend I sprained my ankle which took me off the trails for a bit but hopefully I'll be back on my feet very soon. It has given me time to do some planning, however, so that is good.

I also gave a talk yesterday to a local garden club and it was so much fun. I had been very nervous but everyone asked so many wonderful questions that it was great. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and now I feel maybe I could do more of these for local groups.

Anyway, that is what I've been up to. I will hopefully have some more fun things to post about what is going on outside very soon.

Wintergreen or Teaberry

This familiar little plant is an evergreen, also called a wintergreen since it stays green all year. It has bright red berries each fall and a few may manage to last until the spring. The berries and leaves are eaten by many animals and birds and also often used by people to make tea or even chew as a sort of gum.

The scientific name for this little plant that is very common in our woodlands is Gaultheria procumbens but you will most likely hear it referred to as Checkerberry, Teaberry or just plain old Wintergreen. If you pick a leaf and break it you will get a great whiff of wintergreen and if you cover a few tablespoons of fresh leaves with boiling water and let steep for about 10 or 15 minutes you will have a delightful tea. You can also chew the leaves like a gum to sweeten your breath if you like. The berries won't harm you but are sort of waxy, at least to my taste. In the spring these plants will have new leaves and will put forth small white bell like blossoms.

Of Milkweed Dreams...

I came across this lovely sight the other day while walking around a pond in early morning light. Isn't it lovely? Soon the seeds will be blown and spread about but for this one brief moment they were a moment of perfection in the sun...

Of Woodpeckers and Beetles....

If you walk around in the woods much you know there are holes everywhere. There are holes in the ground, holes in trees and holes in rotten logs. There are holes in leaves and holes in tree bark.

Holes that have a sharp, well defined edge or that are perfectly round are most likely made by insects, especially beetles of various kinds.

Rougher edged holes like these are most often made by birds, primarily woodpeckers though other birds will peck away at wood and bark as well. Often the holes start out as insect holes and are made larger by the birds poking at them as they look for food.

And then there are the bigger holes like these that make an old tree sort of an apartment house for birds, mice and squirrels....bigger holes may house raccoons and owls. When in doubt, keep your eye on some of these holes to see who might use them. Often that will differ from summer to winter but most likely they are offering shelter to at least one of not more birds or animals.

Sketching Moon Snails

Lately I've been noticing lots of moon snail shells on the beach. Most of these seem to have been poached and eaten by sea gulls, their glistening shells left behind. These snails are found on almost all Cape Cod beaches and come in two types, the northern moon snail and the shark's eye moon snail.

The ones I find most often seem to be the northern variety. When you find a shark's eye moon snail, you know it because it has a very distinctive "eye" marking. Anyway, many mollusks such as snails and clams are around all winter but buried pretty deeply or are farther out to sea to avoid all the pounding of winter waves and to avoid being exposed to winter cold. Finding their fresh shells on the beach means they are back for the season. It also means the gulls are pretty happy to have some fresh meat, if the numbers of shells on the jetties and in the parking lot are any indication....

It's still a bit cold to draw outdoors but shells are easy to bring indoors and drawing shells is great practice, both for the eye and the hand. I have been keeping nature journals for many years and all of them are full of shell drawings.

One of the things that makes drawing shells such good practice is that if you get their shape wrong, it is really easy to tell. And getting their shapes right is much harder than you might think...

While poking around looking at moon snail information on the internet this afternoon I came across this information about moon snails of the world. Seriously, take a look. I think you'll be amazed by how many there are....

Vernal Pools

It's that time of year again when frogs sound like ducks and the spotted salamanders are ready and waiting for a rainy night to travel to....

their favorite vernal pools.

I wrote about vernal pools for my Nature's Ways column this week so check out The Register or the Cape Codder to read it on Friday. You can also learn more about vernal pools at the Mass Fish and Wildlife website.

Vernal pools are the first really active places to find spring springing along. They can be very small or quite large but they are often just like this one, surrounded by bushes and brambles, muddy and shallow. At night they are quite noisy. Listen for the wood frogs in and amongst all those noisy, high pitched peepers. They really do sound more like ducks than frogs...