History, Natural History & the Arts
June is National Ocean Month and a great time to learn about New York’s diverse marine life.
New York’s ocean environment stretches three nautical miles from our shores and connects our coastal and estuarian habitats to the depths of the deep-sea that are home to many globally threatened marine animals, including sea turtles, whales, fish, and invertebrates. [Read more…] about Celebrate National Ocean Month This June
Before the mid-eighteenth century, turtles were largely untried as edibles in North America. For considerable time, the turtle was assumed to be poisonous. An infernal creature, a “resident of hell,” it should not be cultivated for food.
But attitudes changed. By the mid-nineteenth century, civic banquets would inevitably offer turtle on the menu. [Read more…] about When Eating Turtle Was All The Rage
Probably everyone has a sound they associate with high summer. For me, nothing says “holy cow, it’s hot” like the drone of cicadas, their song is a miniature buzz saw that cuts across a hot afternoon, undulating a bit and then dropping off near the end of its arc.
Cicadas are stout, ancient-looking bugs with bulgy eyes and clear wings. While the largest species is about three inches long and has a seven-inch wingspan, the ones in our neck of the woods range from 1 to 2.5 inches in length with a wingspan of three inches or so. [Read more…] about The Natural Sounds of NY Summer: Cicadas
You can find wildflowers just about anywhere, at your local park, in your backyard, in fields and forests, and along roadsides. Not only are they nice to look at, but can be food for wildlife, including pollinators. Wildlife may eat the leaves, flowers, seeds or stems. [Read more…] about Discover Wildflowers Right Outside Your Door
Cornell Cooperative Extension has announced a series of three free webinars focused on how identify wild edibles, what parts of the plants are safely edible, when they should be harvested, and how they can be prepared. [Read more…] about NYS Wild Edibles Webinar Series Set
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the start of the 2020 “I BIRD NY” challenges for beginner and experienced birders.
The I BIRD NY program was launched in 2017, to build on the State’s efforts to increase access to New York’s vast natural resources and promote low-cost opportunities to explore the great outdoors and connect with nature. [Read more…] about 2020 “I Bird NY” Challenges Get Underway
Spring is a season when the greatest abundance of natural sounds echo across the landscape. During the day, birds are primarily responsible for the variety of musical calls; however as darkness approaches, especially when the weather is mild, the voices of amphibians produce our most captivating sounds. [Read more…] about What’s That Sound? The Gray Tree Frog
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) have released the 2019 State of the Great Lakes (SOGL) report, which provides an overview of the status and trends of the Great Lakes ecosystem. [Read more…] about 2019 State of the Great Lakes Report Released
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reminded New Yorkers to appreciate wildlife from a safe distance and resist the urge to touch or pick up newborn fawns and other young wildlife.
Human contact with wildlife can carry unintended consequences detrimental to the creatures people intend to help. [Read more…] about Leave Wildlife Alone: If You Care, Leave It There
Many of us avoid close encounters of the eight-legged kind, but if you’ve ever come eye to eye with a spider, you’ve probably noticed they have several more eyes than we do: most have four pairs. What do they do with so many eyes? Well, it depends on the spider. [Read more…] about Spider Vision: Those Eyes Are Watching You