The Naturalist’s Blog

Week of December 24, 2023 – December 30, 2023 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator It’s officially wintertime! While my first thoughts about that aren’t always pleasant, like the bitter cold, short days, or the (seemingly) lifeless forest, the solstice on Thursday reminded me that there is plenty of magic to be found in nature this season. That night, I had the opportunity to co-lead our annual Winter Solstice Hike, when [...]

Week of December 17, 2023 – December 23, 2023 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator Have you ever noticed something new while adventuring out in nature, but didn’t have a camera with you to capture an image? Perhaps it was a huge flock of migrating birds, a fox galloping across your path, or a beautiful flower that you’ve never seen before. If you carry a pocket sketchpad and a pencil, you [...]

Week of December 10, 2023 – December 16, 2023 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator I feel like I am never truly prepared for the cold. I have lived in CNY my entire life and I always groan seeing the cold and wet weather forecasts. When I was a kid, I bundled up like a marshmallow to go sledding and make snow angels – however winter was also a time for [...]

Week of December 3, 2023 – December 9, 2023 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator With our coldest temperatures of the season and first measurable snowfall this week, we counted the highest number of birds at our feeders since the start of Project Feederwatch. Baltimore Woods staff and volunteers are recording the birds that visit our feeders for this international citizen science project, which runs from November 1st to April 30th. [...]

Week of November 19, 2023 – November 25, 2023 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator The season following Halloween often gets me thinking more about nighttime nature, from owls gliding softly through the trees to spiders crawling carefully on tree bark. There is a whole world that awakens at night, and experiencing it is a special way to get in touch with your senses. The woods, and even our own backyards [...]

Week of November 12, 2023 – November 18, 2023 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator We just started what is one of my current favorite lessons of the Baltimore Woods Nature in the City Program. When we go into third-grade classrooms for their first of three lessons this school year, we have a giant neon green suitcase that always piques interest in what we are talking about today. Inside that suitcase is a [...]

Week of November 5, 2023 – November 11, 2023 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator Just a little over a week ago, I was enjoying a 75°F walk in the sunshine with a T-shirt on. What a difference compared to this week, when we had our first frost and snowfall! Suddenly, I’m remembering all of the things I need to do before the winter season truly hits us- find my hats, [...]

Week of October 29, 2023 – November 4, 2023 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator Do you remember some of your first experiences observing birds as a kid? For many of us, birds spark our love of nature thanks to their beauty and the ease of observing them. They are truly everywhere, from the coldest tundras to the hottest deserts and busiest cities. Some people fondly remember a “spark bird” or [...]

Week of October 22, 2023 – October 28, 2023 by Tom Meier, Camp Director & Program Manager My camera is driving me nuts. It has this fancy 45-point focus sensor doohickey complete with little red L.E.D. squares and an audible beep when it “thinks” the image is in focus. I was out with our October camp kids earlier this month taking all kinds of wonderful pictures of the campers building [...]