Roads End Naturalist

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

Category: Natural History

  • The Show

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    Watching huge flocks of Snow Geese swirl down from the sky, amid a cacophony of honking, is a little like standing inside a snow globe. ~Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/snow_goose/lifehistory When I saw this quote, I said, yup, they nailed it. On almost any day from mid-December through early February, you have a good chance Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • The View From Up There

    …for many of us the world would be a poorer place without bears. We keep bears because they are a part of nature and because of what they do for the human mind, body, and soul. ~Steve Herrero I have seen several bears in trees this winter, even a couple with my groups, which is Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Season of the Swan

    …this harsh sound softened and modulated by distance, and issuing from the immense void above, assumes a supernatural character of tone and impression, that excites, the first time heard, a strangely peculiar feeling. ~Dr. Sharpless, 1844, on the sound made by Tundra Swans during flight It is a magical sound, that first haunting note of Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Snipe Hunt

     If alarmed it squats for concealment…;the longitudinal stripes on its back and head so closely resemble prostrate stems of dead grass that the bird is difficult to distinguish. ~Arthur Cleveland Bent, 1927 People often react with a bit of disbelief when I mention seeking snipe. After all, many have heard of the proverbial prank called Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Changing Weather

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    Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin My group last weekend certainly experienced most of these types of weather, something not that uncommon on an eastern North Carolina winter outing. I always Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Sunset Sky

    The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson I had a group tour the first few days of 2015, so I went down to Pungo on New Year’s Day to scout things out. It was a cold and beautiful afternoon. The usual groups of Tundra Swans dotted the fields and there Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Counting Birds

    We can never have enough of nature. ~Henry David Thoreau For me, I suppose that quote could be altered to, I can never have enough of winter wildlife in eastern North Carolina. Okay, not as poetic for sure, but true nonetheless. Why else would I (and 6 other bird nerds and friends) spend all day Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • The Tree Fox

    The Fox of Carolina is gray…When hunted, they make a sorry Chace, because they run up Trees, when pursued. ~John Lawson, 1709 On almost every visit to Mattamuskeet NWR these past few months, I have seen one or more Gray Foxes. I am guessing they had a den somewhere along Wildlife Drive and the adults, Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • December Scenes

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    If we can somehow retain places where we can always sense the mystery of the unknown, our lives will be richer. ~Sigurd F. Olson Wildlife refuges, parks, open spaces – these are the special places I love. And we are lucky here in North Carolina to have an incredible variety of public lands to enjoy. Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn

  • Refuge Magic

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    I do not understand how anyone can live without some small place of enchantment to turn to. ~Marjorie Kinnan Rawling For me, that place of enchantment in my home state is Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge…more specifically, the Pungo Unit of that refuge. I had a trip this past week with a couple of friends Read more…

    Written by

    Mike Dunn