Wildlife Research, Monitoring & Mentoring
A vastly diverse and ecologically vital group of insects, the moths (most of the members in the order Lepidoptera) have also emerged as one of the most popular subjects for amateur nature study. There are good reasons for this: moths can be incredibly beautiful, and...
Black skimmers began nesting in Massachusetts in 1985, but always in low numbers (fewer than seven pairs). They first nested on Martha's Vineyard (MV) in 2010 at Norton Point beach in Edgartown; however, they failed to fledge chicks that year. When a few pairs...
Natural Neighbors participants are making great strides in increasing native plant diversity on their property and providing essential sources of water and cover in year two of the program. We have 180 individuals and neighbors enrolled in the program! They all have...
How can we promote the well-being and safety of pets and wildlife? Moral and philosophical debate surrounds the issue of outdoor cats because they are known to hunt wildlife. A common justification of cat owners is that hunting is a natural instinct or behavior for...
There is virtually no end to the list of strange life histories insects have evolved. I came across a good example as I tended a moth sheet (a white sheet illuminated by black-light bulbs, used to attract nocturnal insects) during our Long Point Wildlife Refuge...
To be successful at hunting or fishing, the saying goes, you need to learn to think like your prey. The same is true of insect study: by learning to imagine the world from an insect's perspective, you greatly increase your chances of finding something interesting to...
Flies - the order Diptera - are an incredibly diverse group, and they've evolved an astonishing array of bizarre life histories. I recently encountered an example of one of the stranger things the world of Diptera has to offer: the bot fly Cephenemyia phobifer. A...
Birds do not perceive glass the same way that humans do. At a young age, we develop visual cues from repeated interactions with the clear surface, this helps us to detect the glass and avoid bumping into it, well, most of the time. To birds, glass is not detectable...
Friday, May 20, is both Endangered Species Day and World Bee Day. What could be a more appropriate topic for that dual celebration than an endangered bee? Walsh's Anthophora (Anthophora walshii), a rare species throughout the Northeast, is listed as "Endangered"...
Spring is a time of year when many of us focus on clearing out the old to prepare for the new. If you've watched or read anything by Marie Kondo, you've probably learned some pointers on clearing clutter and simplifying your life to cultivate more satisfaction and...
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