This Week in the Woods

This week in the woods, we’ve observed a number of resident birds, as well as a loon that we hope has moved on to open coastal waters. Northern cardinals were uncommon in the Upper…

This week in the woods, the past year’s fruit and this coming year’s catkins persist on speckled alders, making these diminutive trees stand out. All alder species share the woody,…

This Week in the Woods, we came across a pileated woodpecker excavation, with large vertical, rectangular holes typical for this species. The blond wood and layering of woodchips over this…

This week in the woods, an eastern chipmunk paused with an acorn and retreated into its winter burrow beneath some tree roots in Fairlee, Vermont. This foraging trip was likely among the…

This week in the woods, we can take a closer look at some vacated nests, now more visible among the bare branches and withered greenery. We found this red-eyed vireo nest in Lyme, New…

This week in the woods, we start with where we can find some lingering green. When many other species’ leaves have browned or fallen away, striped wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata)…

This week in the woods, the landscape shows its skeleton, and we can see the true ridgeline beneath the now-leafless hardwoods. Also more apparent during the beginning of this bare month are…

This week in the woods, a white pine snag with much of its bole rotted away displayed some of its branch rings in three dimensions. In lumber, we would see these conical features in cross…

This week in the woods, river otter families may be moving to new areas to hunt. Every year at this time, we find at least one family of otters (mother and this year’s young) in the same…

This week in the woods, we stumbled upon several yellow birch logs completely engulfed in the fruiting bodies of turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) a polypore fungus that commonly grows on the…

This week in the woods, Editor Meghan McCarthy McPhaul encountered this garter snake making its way across a field, perhaps on its way to winter lodging. The snakes typically move into…

This week in the woods, late season caterpillars are making their fuzzy way across the ground in search of the perfect cocoon site. To help them on their way, they use “prolegs,”…

This week in the woods, we saw several Andrena bees, most likely peaceful miner bees (Andrena placata) heavily loaded with late-blooming aster pollen. These solitary bees are notable for the…

This week in the woods, we’ve been noticing the abundance of brightly colored berries and other fruit. The Northern Woodlands biweekly What in the Woods is That? quiz features six types…

This week in the woods, adult loons have begun their pre-migration partial molt. If you look closely at this adult bird, photographed from a respectful zoom lens distance in Strafford,…

This week in the woods, we’ve noticed a lot of aerial feeding activity above fields and wetlands along the Connecticut and Ompompanoosuc rivers, all sites within about 20 miles of the…

This week in the woods, common nighthawks are migrating down the Connecticut River corridor, and if you look up at twilight, you may catch a glimpse of them performing acrobatic dives and…

This Week in the Woods, Associate Editor Meghan McCarthy McPhaul discovered this snake skin in a woodpile. Snakes typically shed their skins several times a year, depending on such factors as…

This week in the woods, we observed an American robin chick making its first wobbly flight from the nest, which started off well but ended with a crash landing on the lawn. (The young bird was…

This Week in the Woods, as we move into late summer, there’s a lot less singing in the woods but we’re still hearing hermit thrushes, red-eyed vireos, and winter wrens. We’re…