The Naturalist’s Blog

The Naturalist’s Blog2021-08-08T13:01:25-04:00

Many Shades of Green

November 28th, 2021|

Many Shades of Evergreens Week of November 21 – November 27, 2021 by Bridget Jones, Environmental Educator After the bright colors of fall disappear, the forest landscape in November can seem full of muted browns and grays. However, during a walk last week at Baltimore Woods, a color caught my eye that is more commonly associated with spring than winter. November is a wonderful time to appreciate the many shades of [...]

Beaver Families

November 28th, 2021|

Beaver Families Week of November 28 – December 4, 2021 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator Beavers are incredible ecosystem engineers, and their dams create habitats for a great variety of other living things. By altering the flow of water and allowing beaver ponds to form, they create living space for waterfowl, amphibians, aquatic plants, and more. You may have seen beavers swimming around ponds in the warmer months, but have you [...]

Skeletons of Trees

November 14th, 2021|

Skeletons of Trees Week of November 14 – November 20, 2021 by Melissa Kirby, Environmental Educator While hiking the preserve recently on a glorious sunny day I gazed up at the leafless skeleton of a sumac tree. The contrast between the tree and vibrant blue sky was mesmerizing enough that I stood there for a minute or so. I observed the shaded areas around the branches, trunk, and the red berries [...]

Rituals

November 7th, 2021|

Rituals Week of November 7 - November 13, 2021 by Tom Meier, Program Manager Just behind the Interpretive Center there is a patch of black walnut trees that have produced a mountain of nuts this year. If you venture too close to the trees you may be scolded by a spunky red squirrel who seems determined to stash every nut in the eaves of the pole barn. This ritual is [...]

Meet Your Neighborhood Nature

October 10th, 2021|

Look outside your window and you’ll find there are living beings to meet: plants growing between the sidewalk, lichens on stairs, insects and spiders by the mailbox, squirrels in a tree. Become familiar with these critters as subjects in themselves, make observations about them, maybe even give them a name...and become their neighbor.

Migration at Montezuma

October 3rd, 2021|

Here in Central New York, we are fortunate to have so many different natural areas to explore. These include some very special birding hotspots, such as Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, which is west of Auburn on Route 20. The refuge is carefully managed with the needs of wildlife in mind, and it’s an important stopover refueling site for migrating birds along their spring and fall journeys.

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