Deer Hunting versus Deer Damage
By     |    Nov 23, 2013
Posted in: Kettle Pond, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Ninigret, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    No Comments

Deer Hunting versus Deer Damage

Note: In 2011, US Fish and Wildlife (USFW) made an unusual proposal: allowing deer hunting in some of the wildlife refuges in Rhode Island.  This story traced some of the process of making that suggestion and putting out word to the public. The cab of the truck rocks along the gravel path of Ninigret Wildlife Refuge in Charlestown. The driver, Refuge Manager Charles Vandemoer, brings the vehicle to an abrupt […]

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Who Needs Darkness?
By     |    Nov 10, 2013
Posted in: Light pollution, RINHS, The City Dark, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Who Needs Darkness?

Note: all photos for this story come from www.thecitydark.com What do we lose when we lose the night? When our skies are lit 24 hours a day, and the stars are no longer visible? Rhode Island Natural History Survey (www.rinhs.org) raised those questions Saturday night on the URI campus as part of a showing of the film “The City Dark”. The event kicked off Rhode Island’s first Natural History week, […]

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Protichneumon Poetry
By     |    Oct 27, 2013
Posted in: Saturday Evening Post, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Protichneumon Poetry

An introduction:           In my usual perambulations around the Markey ranch, I ran across the insect pictured here.  After hours of searching, I had learned the Latin name, Protichneumon Grandis (which is a form of Ichneumon Grandis), but little else. I searched through my two insect guides as well as the Internet to no avail.  Finally, I used EBSCO, an online database provided by libraries as a search engine to […]

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Three Things I Learned at AMC Highlands
By     |    Oct 20, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Three Things I Learned at AMC Highlands

Last weekend, I spent a few days hiking in the Crawford Notch region of New Hampshire, while staying at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s (AMC’s) Highland Center. Here’s what I learned. 1. The Highland Center is a cross between a hiking hut and a hotel. In a really, really good way. Let me be honest here: I don’t vacation often, but when I do, I want a hot shower, clean sheets, […]

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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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Stepping into Prehistoric Rhode Island
By     |    Oct 5, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized     |    2 Comments

Stepping into Prehistoric Rhode Island

Long before any of us were old enough to watch “Jurassic Park”, we were seized with the urge to dig.  At a tender age, our family regaled us with bedtime tales of mighty beasts towering over the landscape.  According to the stories, paleontologists appeared to simply find some exotic locale, dig a hole, and the next thing you know they were posing for pictures beside a bone thicker than their […]

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Puffs of Memory
By     |    Sep 29, 2013
Posted in: Audubon Field Guide to Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Puffs of Memory

  My neighborhood was populated by kids born at the tail end of the boomer years.  The street was filled with modest, ranch-style houses, driveways that were made for a single car, and lights that came on at dusk and told us it was time to get inside for supper.  Each September, a squad of eight to ten of us would assemble at one driveway to make the trek to […]

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The Peace of Wild Things: Veterinarian Dr. Chi Chan
By     |    Sep 22, 2013
Posted in: Dr. Chi Chen, Uncategorized, Wildlife Rehabilitators of Rhode Island, WRARI     |    1 Comment

The Peace of Wild Things: Veterinarian Dr. Chi Chan

Note:  A couple of years ago, I visited the Wildlife Clinic of Rhode Island and spoke with Dr. Chi Chan. In case you didn’t read this in your local paper, the story is reprinted here. -HJM To say the space is cramped would be an understatement. There are, in no particular order, many mice, a toeless turtle, a cormorant, a robin, opossum, several seagulls, a broad winged hawk who may […]

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While Some Count Sheep, Others Count Bats
By     |    Aug 18, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized     |    No Comments

While Some Count Sheep, Others Count Bats

When darkness falls, most people retire to the comfort of their lighted homes. Human bodies are programmed by circadian rhythm to seek rest when night comes, letting the creatures of the darkness – owls, opossums, bats – move through the shadows. We do not follow their comings and goings, and perhaps we do not want to know what they are doing out there. We prefer to let nature’s nocturnals take […]

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“Science and Nature for Whaaahhh??” The story behind the name
By     |    Jul 27, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized     |    No Comments

“Science and Nature for Whaaahhh??” The story behind the name

I write stories about, well, science and nature. While I often interview scientists for my stories, what I write isn’t considered “hard” science. It’s intended for the lay person interested in the ways the natural world weaves in and out of our lives, and about the amazing work scientists are doing that most folks don’t know about. I love doing what I do, and when it came time to come […]

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