By David Spector
When I see a bald eagle, however, my own experiences resonate more deeply with me than all its history and symbolism. My memories of the bird go back to even before I first saw one. When I started recording bird sightings, this species was high on my wish list of birds to see, and, to increase my chances, I read about its shoreline habitat and distribution.
By Lawrence J. Winship
In the autumn, as our neighbors fill their grain bins with barley, and their cellars with potatoes, I am always amazed at their productivity. What a long, interesting journey we and our food plants have taken.
by Ted Watt
We had been walking quietly along a leaf-strewn woods road in a large and remote forest of sugar maples and white pine. Sue indicated for us to stop as she prepared to launch her cow moose’s mating response call into the air. She held both hands around her mouth and let out a groaning squeal that startled all of us with its volume and pitch.
By Ted Watt
Every October they arrive, with the oranges and crimsons of the sugar maples beginning to fade and the low-bush blueberry leaves flushing scarlet. The greens of summer are mostly gone, replaced by the reds, purples and browns of autumn. One morning I‘ll look out and there they’ll be: one or two northern harriers, previously known as marsh hawks, hunting the blueberry fields. I’m used to seeing their flight over the winter salt marshes out on the coast at Plum Island. Seeing them here in the high Berkshires, however, often feels like a surprise, perhaps because their appearance seems so sudden and short-lived.
By David Spector
I’m looking down to see what’s popping up. Late summer and early fall is mushroom time, when lawn and log, forest and field are often decorated with the reproductive, spore-producing bodies of fungi, or “mushrooms” in the widest sense of the word. These mushrooms come in a fascinating variety of sizes, shapes and colors. Some are deliciously edible — but others are poisonous and sometimes deadly. Mushrooms’ beauty, edibility and potential peril have caught the imagination of naturalists and poets for centuries.
By Elizabeth Farnsworth
Now that summer is behind us, many Valley residents are making plans for trips to warmer climes during the colder months and students are migrating back to college. But we aren’t the only creatures traversing thousands of miles when the seasons change — many insects use migration to their advantage.
By David Spector
Once, many years ago, I approached an oxbow in Hatfield and was dismayed to see what appeared to be plastic monofilament orange fishing line entangling patches of vegetation along its marshy edges. I saw this litter as an eyesore, and I was aware that fishing line can trap birds. Closer inspection, though, changed annoyance and concern to a lesson. The “fishing line” was alive,
By Patty O’Donnell
Often in life we take the little things for granted. But microorganisms, which are among the world’s smallest creatures, are nature’s workhorses. Aquatic ecosystems rely on a diversity of organisms to consume organic matter and filter impurities from water to maintain healthy habitats. Our constructed water purification systems — from aquaria and pond filters to municipal wastewater treatment facilities — make use of many of the same species to keep our water clean and safe.
By Ted Watt
It was a sunny day in mid-May. Our small group of fifth-and-sixth-graders walked quietly along the farm road with our eyes glued to the nesting box on the last tree. The students were uncharacteristically quiet. As we got closer, a female bluebird flew from the entrance hole. Everyone looked excited! When we reached the box I opened the cleanout door and slowly looked inside. There, huddled in the nest, were five baby bluebirds — eyes open and pin feathers bristling on their dark gray skin. I relaxed a little, seeing that the nestlings weren’t old enough to be spooked out of the nest prematurely — they didn’t have enough feathers to fly away.
By David Spector
Lawn mowing gets me thinking. I think about why I mow the lawn; the one-word answer that often comes to me is “wood.” Left alone, most New England soil eventually grows forest. Trees block views, threaten damage from falling branches and trunks, and shade out gardens. If I want open space I need to prevent woody plants from growing. I watch trees move in, ready to take over, both seedlings sprouting in the current year and tiny bonsais that have survived several years of mowing to become gnarled miniatures of the giants that spawned them.
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Hitchcock Center for the Environment
at Hampshire College
845 West Street | Amherst MA 01002 | 413.256.6006 | 413.253.2809 fax