History, Natural History & the Arts
Henry Davis Minot was born near Forest Hills (part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston) in 1859, the sixth of seven children of William and Katharine Maria Sedgwick Minot.
He took an early interest in ornithology (the study of birds), recording careful observations, including, at the age of 11, what he believed to be a new species of bird in 1871 (it turned out not to be the case). [Read more…] about Henry Davis Minot’s Adirondack Warbler & ‘Diary of a Bird’
The 29th annual Great Backyard Bird Count is set for February 13 through 16, 2026. Bird and nature lovers everywhere unite in the effort to tally as many of the world’s bird species as possible over four days.
Combined with other bird counts, GBBC results help create a clearer picture of how birds are faring — whether individual species are declining, increasing, or holding steady in the face of habitat loss, climate change, and other threats. [Read more…] about Great Backyard Bird Count Set for February 13-16, 2026
Bird lovers from across Northern New York are invited to celebrate the beauty of birds, nature, and the regional community of Black birders this weekend. In honor of the sixth annual Black Birders Week, the Adirondack Diversity Initiative (ADI) and John Brown Lives! will host a special day of birding at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site near Lake Placid, NY this Saturday, May 31, 2025. [Read more…] about Black Birders Celebration Set for May 31 at John Brown Farm
The black flies emerged early this year in the Adirondacks, but we should expect to be harassed by another brood before Father’s Day. It would be a matter of concern if we weren’t.
According to the latest “Bugs Matter” report from the UK-based conservation charity Buglife, “the number of bug splatters on vehicle license plates in the UK has declined 63% since 2021.” [Read more…] about Insect Declines: ‘The Great and Merciless Thinning’
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Great Lakes Commission (GLC), National Audubon Society’s Great Lakes and New York state programs, and Ducks Unlimited (DU), have announced the start of construction on a wetland enhancement project in the Lakeview Wildlife Management Area (WMA), in the town of Ellisburg, Jefferson County. [Read more…] about Lakeview WMA Wetland Enhancement Project Gets Underway
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