Roads End Naturalist

Exploring the natural world as we wander at the end of the road

Author: Mike Dunn

  • Blue Grosbeak Nest

    ,

    It is composed of fine dried grasses, which are more carefully arranged towards the interior, and is lined with a few delicate fibrous roots, dried moss, or horse-hair. There are seldom more than four eggs, but two broods are raised in the season. ~John Jame Audubon describing the nest of a Blue Grosbeak, 1844 The Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Predators Lurking Everywhere

    Every kid has a bug period… I never grew out of mine. ~E.O. Wilson After the climbing Copperhead incident over the weekend, I have been looking around more than usual every time I am outside. What I have discovered is that it is a jungle out there! Everywhere I look I see small critters feeding Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Cicada Killer, But Not The Kind You Think

    There is no better high than discovery. ~E.O. Wilson I walked out the front door before heading to bed last night just to see what I might see. The din from form the katydids was almost deafening, punctuated by the loud throaty “gunk” calls of the Green Frogs in the nearby water garden. When I Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Small Wonders

    ,

    Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain. ~Henry David Thoreau The heat this past week has been pretty oppressive. So, I needed to remind myself that, even though there are not groups of Black Bears feeding Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Fourth of July Bearworks

    ,

    May this intelligent animal always have a place. We need to better understand bears. ~Mike McIntosh Hope you had a good holiday weekend. Mine was special in many ways – good food, good friends, and a memorable trip to my favorite place in the East, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. It was a long day Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • When Predators Become Prey

    If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos. ~ E. O. Wilson Although my woods lack the charismatic fauna found in Yellowstone – wolves, elk, grizzlies – there is Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Cope-ing with Night Sounds

    ,

    The spring breeding chorus also provides evening entertainment to re-affirm our connection with nature. ~Encyclopedia of Life on one of the benefits of Gray Treefrogs The rains over the weekend brought out an intense display of night sounds that could be heard through the closed windows and doors. Friends came over for dinner Saturday night Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • The Power of Yellowstone

    Mindful of different ways of being, our awareness as a species shifts – We recognize the soul of the land as our own. ~Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve, unattributed Back from Yellowstone, back from paradise. Thirteen days, some alone, some with my group, some with old friends. Why is it so special? Why do I long Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Beartooth Bound

    The beauty and charm of the wilderness are his for the asking, for the edges of the wilderness lie close beside the beaten roads of the present travel. ~Teddy Roosevelt There is never enough time. Though the days are incredibly long, I still feel the pressure to move, to see more, to drive to another Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Beyond Yellowstone

    The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, with Yellowstone at its core, is one of the largest nearly intact temperate-zone ecosystems on Earth. ~National Park Service Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 primarily to protect the unique geological features of the region including almost half of the world’s active geysers. At that time, natural areas and wildlife Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn