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Woodland Chorus
What is the earliest sign of spring? The motion of worms and insects? The flow of sap in trees and the swelling of buds? Or are there earlier signs in the water? – the tortoises, frogs… Henry David Thoreau, March 7, 1853 I think the sounds of the coming spring are amongst the first things… Read more
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Salamander Candy
Spring is here. Maybe not in its totality of warm days and flowering plants, but there are signs – signs of new life. This week I heard the first dawn chorus in my woods – the songs birds sing, especially in spring, at the first light of day. The lilting notes of the Bluebirds are… Read more
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Northbound
The story of bird migration is the story of promise – a promise to return. ~the movie, Winged Migration A week ago, we had a snow storm that crippled much of the south. Today, the temperatures soared into the 70’s. Less than two weeks ago, I stood in awe as thousands of Snow Geese swirled… Read more
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Images
Several of you have asked about the possibility of buying some of the images you see in this blog. So, I looked around and found a site that offers quality images in a variety of sizes and formats at a reasonable cost. That site is Fine Art America. I really like the fact that they… Read more
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Visit Yellowstone this May
The geysers and hot springs . . . display an exuberance of color and strange motion and energy admirably calculated to surprise and frighten, charm and shake up the least sensitive out of apathy into newness of life . . . You will be brought to a standstill, hushed and awe-stricken before phenomena wholly new… Read more
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The Storm
When snow falls, nature listens. ~Antoinette van Kleeff They all said it was going to be a bad storm. And it started right as predicted, and created havoc on the roads in this area unaccustomed to dealing with it. It snowed much of Wednesday afternoon. Thursday dawned gray and cold, and then it started snowing… Read more
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Trip Report – Pungo
Last week I had another group going to the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. They had been scheduled for the prior week, but the rare coastal snow storm had made it impossible for them to get to Pungo. I headed down the day before to scout the roads that had been so… Read more
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The Long and Short of It
I admire herons, herons of all sorts. They have a stately posture, epitomize patience, and have bright eyes that can stare down anyone. My recent trip to Florida had lots of heron highlights. Here I report on the long and short of it, Great Blue Herons and Green Herons. Standing four feet tall with a… Read more
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More than his Belican
A wonderful bird is the pelican, His bill will hold more than his belican, He can take in his beak Enough food for a week But I’m damned if I see how the helican! ~Dixon Lanier Merritt American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) are always a treat to see. When I first moved to North Carolina… Read more
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Trip Report – a Frozen Mattamuskeet and Pungo
To me, the beautiful and ever-changing patterns formed in lake ice – and in snowflakes, the ice of the sky – are winter’s “bloom,” corresponding to the flowering plants of summer. ~Stephen Hatch I had another trip to North Carolina’s winter wonderland this past weekend. And a wonderland it was…Lake Mattamuskeet was largely frozen, a… Read more
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Roads End Naturalist 