Site Discussions

It’s encouraging to know that young people like Breton are helping to promote and enhance the health of northern forests and their complex ecosystems. A new generation of good stewardship to ensure the woodlands are thriving in the future.

Great resource - very well done!  You have inspired me to put away the mower next summer.  I’ll do a lawn meadow with a pathway through it.

Thank you for this excellent and informative article.

Pitch Pine is my absolute favorite tree, hands down. In Connecticut there is a park, Pitch Pines Park, unfortunately it’s a forest in transition and the deciduous trees are winning the battle. Some very large PP in there(16”+ dia.), but only a few and not a sapling anywhere I could find. Sad.

Yesterday (8/31) I was a bit startled by a 4 ft. black racer I saw disappearing beneath the sofa in my living room. I captured it and released it in the yard.

I recently saw a video of a garter snake birthing and had some questions based on one person’s comment:  The unborn babies are carried in the sac and wonder if the sac has a high calcium content as if it were related to the biology of an egg. 

The mother stays with the babies for a few days - what is her role?  Does she do anything to support early feeding skills? 

Finally, I read it is possible to sex the babies - how does one tell male from female?

One surprise for me: I lifted a tarp from some manure compost and found a garter twined with a milk snake. They looked happy enough to be gathering the same source of heat, as far as I could tell!

We have noticed a symbiotic relationship between crows and squirrels.

We have a tree where squirrels have come to feed.  When a hawk enters the area an entire murder of crows will head to the tree and set up a perimeter.  If the hawk closes, one or two will break off to chase it away while the others remain.

Also, one young squirrel once dilly dallied in the middle of the street.  A single crow strafed him repeatedly from the middle of the street toward the sidewalk until the squirrel was safe.

In very early spring, we had 3 turkeys around every day. Then 2 of them disappeared and haven’t seen them since. However, one has stayed around and is here every day. I think she has claimed it as her home. Originally thought it was a male and called it “Tom” but have since been corrected and changed her name to Tomasina. It’s August and I am already worrying about how she will get through the winter. I don’t want to feed her but will if necessary. I live in northern MA. Please advise. Thank you.
Dorothy

Do raccoons have a dominate and non dominant hand the way most people do or is the way they use their hands not refined enough to need it?

I found this page while searching for info on Indian Pipe. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing it just a few times in my life, but after 34 years of living where I do now, in my rural location in southwestern Indiana, yesterday was the first time I’ve ever found Indian Pipe in my woodland, which I’ve often explored over the years. What a stunning, wonderful, exciting thing to come upon! My smallish woodland is completely deciduous trees. I’ve marked the spot and will visit it every day to watch and photograph the changes.

Thank you, you answered a lot of my questions.  I found one of the short tailed shrews dead this morning on my walk and it seemed as if it just dropped dead for no reason.

Hi Libby,

The bird had pretty well tired itself out trying to shake the mussel off and I was able to drift along the shore and scoop it with my kayak paddle.

Once I had it, I just pried the mussel open with a pocket knife.

Hi Libby, great question. My understanding is that the kingfisher was exhausted and quite easy to simply pick up. I have forwarded your other question to Mr. Kelly and perhaps he’ll provide an answer. Thanks for the questions.

Thank you so much for such an interesting article on Eastern Elk in the United States. One of my research topics is the deer painted in Albert Bierstadt’s “Gosnold at Cuttyunk, 1602” (1858). That deer looks Elk or Red Deer in its shape of antlers, but the place is in the vicinity of New Bedford, Mass. I wonder if Elk or Red Deer actually inhabited in New England in the early 17th century. Since I am not a biologist, but literature scholar, It’s very difficult for me to judge it. Thanks.

Not having seen the earlier reference, how did Rich Kelly catch the Kingfisher?  And how did he release the muscle from its death grasp?

We have had our hummingbird moth for 3 years in a row.  He loves all of my phlox.  He shows up in the evening while I’m watering my flowers. Have taken dozens of pictures because most people have never seen one.

I enjoyed reading about Lucienne and the important work she is doing.  Growing up as a white kid in a small city, I loved a large nearby park that gave me a touch of the natural world.  Later on, hiking and family camping trips introduced me to much more and helped me to develop a lifelong love of the outdoors.  Lucienne is making a big difference in the lives of the kids she is working with.

I saw the primrose moth for the first time this week.  I love wildflowers and have a ‘garden’ of primrose in the side yard. I am astounded at the specification of this moth and flower. It is thrilling!

I’m very happy to see this excellent article in Northern Woodlands and hope that Lucienne Nicholson has nothing but success in her important work.

Excellent article! Good for her! Having grown up in a mixed community in NJ and been a Girl Scout many years ago, it never dawned on me until very recently that people of color did not feel welcome in outdoor places. She has brought it home beautifully and without rancor. I will think differently now.Thank you for publishing this!