Along with the crisp mornings and crimson colors that signal summer’s slide into fall, there are changes occurring in the forests that go mostly unnoticed. Among them is the dispersal of fisher kits from their mother’s territory into their own. [Read more…] about Breakup of Fisher Families
Wildlife
Ecological Approaches to Wildlife Virtual Workshops
The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies will host a series of virtual workshops on managing and conserving wildlife in New York State. Over the course of three webinars, they will explore New York State wildlife, their ecological roles, and the threats they face. [Read more…] about Ecological Approaches to Wildlife Virtual Workshops
Black-Capped Chickadees: Our Year Round Residents
As many birds prepare to abandon their summer ranges at this time of year, others are altering their routine to allow them to better survive winter. The regular appearance of numerous, year-round avian residents around homes and camps suggests that the behaviors of these hardy species do not change from one season to another. [Read more…] about Black-Capped Chickadees: Our Year Round Residents
Not All Birds Migrate
This has always been my perception of bird migration in the fall: the days grow short and cool and then, one day, I notice a v-shaped caravan of Canada geese flying southward. Then another and another. Within a few weeks of that first sighting, I hear their melancholy call one final time for the season. Then they, and all the summer birds, are gone.
It’s a mass exodus for warmer climes, over and done in the blink of an eye and long before the snow flies. [Read more…] about Not All Birds Migrate
Birds Of A Feather Are Flocking Together
This time of year is when the foliage begins to turn and when birds are more regularly seen in flocks, rather than individually, as they perch on a wire, forage in a field or fly across a road.
The territorial nature and belligerent behavior exhibited by adults toward neighbors from early spring through the end of the breeding season now fades like the chlorophyll in leaves during the latter weeks of September. Thus, a more gregarious lifestyle develops among the members of the same species and results in the formation of flocks for resting, foraging, traveling, and roosting at night. [Read more…] about Birds Of A Feather Are Flocking Together
DEC Proposes Expanded Deer Hunting for Southern Zone
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a proposal to potentially expand deer hunting opportunities in the Southern Zone in the future. The proposed regulations would create additional bowhunting and muzzleloader hunting opportunities from Dec. 26 through Jan.1, and would only apply to New York’s Southern Zone. [Read more…] about DEC Proposes Expanded Deer Hunting for Southern Zone
250 Acres, More Than A Mile Of Lake George Shoreline Infected With Hemlock Pest
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which confirmed an invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) infestation at Lake George in August, says that the infestation affects nearly 250 acres and 1.5 miles of shoreline on Forest Preserve lands in the towns of Dresden and Fort Ann, Washington County.
The affected hemlocks are located along in the busy Glen Island Campground area of the Narrows, including Glen Island and camping areas on the eastern shoreline. This is the second known infestation of HWA in the Adirondacks; an earlier infestation is believed to have been brought under control at the summit of Prospect Mountain, reached by the Prospect Mountain Veteran Memorial Highway, just outside Lake George Village.
[Read more…] about 250 Acres, More Than A Mile Of Lake George Shoreline Infected With Hemlock Pest
Changes For Opening Day of Northeast Zone Waterfowl Hunting
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is advising waterfowl hunters that hours and sign-in procedures have changed at two Region 6 wildlife management areas (WMAs) to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19.
Hunting hours at Perch River WMA (Jefferson County) and Wilson Hill WMA (St Lawrence County) will be from one-half-hour before sunrise until noon. Hunters must leave the restricted areas by 2 pm. [Read more…] about Changes For Opening Day of Northeast Zone Waterfowl Hunting
Are Brighter Monarchs Better Flyers?
The September before my daughter was born, my husband and I went for our last pre-baby hike around Camel’s Hump in the Green Mountains of Vermont. We stopped for a snack on the ridgeline, and as we sat munching granola bars we were surprised to see a monarch butterfly flap past, battling the turbulence at this higher elevation.
We watched it disappear southwards, then turned to see a second monarch, then another, fly after the first. It felt like we had stumbled on an aerial herd path as we watched half a dozen orange butterflies flutter southwards along the mountain at treetop height. [Read more…] about Are Brighter Monarchs Better Flyers?
New Anthology Considers Rewilding Movement
Rewilding Earth: Best of 2019 (Essex Editions, 2020), edited by John Davis and Susan Morgan, features essays, poems, and art by advocates for the rewilding movement. [Read more…] about New Anthology Considers Rewilding Movement