Browsing Category "Natural Science"
Masters of Construction: Bird Nests
By     |    May 18, 2014
Posted in: BioBlitz, Kettle Pond, National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Ninigret, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, Roger Williams Park Zoo, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    No Comments

Masters of Construction: Bird Nests

  Consider this: the average human brain weighs roughly 1300 grams (2.86 pounds). A warbler brain weighs about 513 mg. (.00113 pounds). But while a human must spend untold hours and tens of thousands of dollars in order to learn to build a house, the warbler does so as a natural part of its growth process, and in response Spring’s most basic instinct: the urge to procreate. Granted, the plan […]

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The Buzz on Bees
By     |    May 10, 2014
Posted in: apiculture, bee keeping, bees, BioBlitz, Eastern Apicultural Society, National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Uncategorized, URI, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW, Writing     |    No Comments

The Buzz on Bees

“…the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it.” Winnie the Pooh, by A. A. Milne The yard contains about a dozen white boxes, each standing some four feet tall. A wrangler, whose job it is to move the living contents from one area to the next, approaches the white structure. He uses a tool to puff smoke into the box and then removes the wooden […]

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Touch the Sky: Bird Banding with RI Natural History Survey
By     |    Apr 21, 2014
Posted in: BioBlitz, Kettle Pond, Natural Science, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, URI, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW, Wildlife Rehabilitators of Rhode Island, WRARI, Writing     |    5 Comments

Touch the Sky: Bird Banding with RI Natural History Survey

  For even the most casual birder, spring is an exciting time. The warm temperatures mean the return of birds not seen during the long dreary months of winter. Even feathers of the goldfinch, who lingers all winter, bear a dreary greenish color during the cold months. But that all changes come April. Suddenly, there are songs and brilliant feathers everywhere. Feeders fill with the newly returned, and many people […]

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Wintertime Woody Plant I.D. with Rhode Island Natural History Survey
By     |    Jan 30, 2014
Posted in: BioBlitz, Kettle Pond, Natural Science, RINHS, URI, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    2 Comments

Wintertime Woody Plant I.D. with Rhode Island Natural History Survey

                Who goes tramping through the woods in winter? It’s a time for relaxing by a fire, curling up with a hot beverage, reading. Outdoor events in the toughest month of the year? Surely no one would be foolish enough to even think of attending. Unless, of course, you are part of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey (RINHS). Then fifty of you show up.          The program, held […]

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Tails of the Quick and the Dead
By     |    Dec 7, 2013
Posted in: Natural Science, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Tails of the Quick and the Dead

“I like long walks on the beach, reading poetry, and poking dead things with a stick.” – Source unknown Picture this: you are enjoying a leisurely stroll along one of our magnificent shorelines. Your gaze drifts unhurriedly from the water’s edge to the wrack line, the line of accumulated seaweed that the waves toss up as they roll against the beach. Suddenly, your eyes spot what seems to be a […]

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Raptor Rapture
By     |    Oct 13, 2013
Posted in: Natural Science, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Raptor Rapture

  The pickup truck rolled to a stop by a gate that blocked vehicles from the entrance to Grills Preserve in Westerly. It was afternoon in early autumn, and though it was not yet five o’clock, the shadows had begun to lengthen. John and Vivian Maxson, the team that comprised Born to be Wild Nature Center (BTBW), climbed out of the truck. John reached into the truck bed and grabbed […]

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Dragons and Darners and Damsels, Oh My!
By     |    Jul 27, 2013
Posted in: A Field Guide to Dragonflies and Damselflies of Massachusetts, damselflies, dragonflies, Ginger Brown, Natural Science, RINHS, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Dragons and Darners and Damsels, Oh My!

July 2013 The warm sun is setting over the pond, and it seems like a nice time for your first flight of the day. As a mosquito, you aren’t exactly going to win any popularity contests, but hey, it’s a living. Off you go in search of a tasty treat, hopefully from one of those large creatures wearing floppy hats you see floating on the water in their brightly colored […]

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BioBlitz 2013: The Year of the Flood (Sort of)
By     |    Jun 16, 2013
Posted in: BioBlitz, Central Fall Middle School, frog, Natural Science, RINHS, Roger Williams Park Zoo, snakes, URI     |    No Comments

BioBlitz 2013: The Year of the Flood (Sort of)

“Every great scientific theory starts out by wandering around in the mud and the rain.” David Gregg, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey stood precariously atop a folding chair. Dressed in his trademark bush hat and fly fishing vest, his lanky frame looked out over a crowd of people dressed in waders, fancy foul weather gear, plastic-bag-cheap ponchos, shorts, boots, and sandals. The faces were smiling, but […]

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