Browsing Category "Natural Science"
Ospreys Return
By     |    Mar 27, 2020
Posted in: 41 North Magazine, ASRI, Audubon Society of Rhode Island, Kettle Pond, National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Ninigret, Ocean State Bird Club, Outdoor writing, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    2 Comments

Ospreys Return

Note: This story appeared in the Providence Journal 3/27/20, and in hard copy 3/29/20. All photos by Gary Carlson: ifishinri@aol.com. Used with permission. The human world is in turmoil, but spring is arriving unconcerned. Skunk cabbage is popping its pungent leaves through the marsh. Forsythia is only days away from its sunlight yellow show of flowers. And in the skies, the Ospreys are returning. The males come first, making a […]

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Building Resilience: 41 North Fall 2019
By     |    Dec 21, 2019
Posted in: 41 North Magazine, ASRI, Audubon Society of Rhode Island, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Rhode Island DEM, Rhode Island Sea Grant, RINHS     |    No Comments

Building Resilience: 41 North Fall 2019

Read the latest issue of 41° North here and find out how Rhode Islanders are responding to climate change. Included in this issue are two stories of mine. Enjoy!

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DEM’s Canada Goose Roundup
By     |    Jul 2, 2019
Posted in: ASRI, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Rhode Island DEM, RIDEM, RINHS, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    No Comments

DEM’s Canada Goose Roundup

  It’s a warm June morning as a flotilla of five kayakers makes its way to a pond in Tiverton. They fan out across the diameter and quietly approach a small island. As they approach, a flock of Canada geese break off from their breakfast of sea grass and nervously begin to stir. The guardians stretch their long necks up, trying to assess the situation, making low sounds to each […]

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20 Years of Sorting Life with Rhode Island Natural History Survey
By     |    Jun 6, 2019
Posted in: bees, BioBlitz, Moth Mingle, Narragansett Bay Coyote Study, Natural Science, Ocean State Bird Club, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, Uncategorized, URI     |    3 Comments

20 Years of Sorting Life with Rhode Island Natural History Survey

NOTE: This story originally appeared in RI Central Newspapers 6/6/19. David Gregg, executive director of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey (RINHS) sits under a canopy at a long table sorting ants. There are perhaps a dozen or so that he has recently collected contained in a tiny bottle. He separates them before handing them off to an ant expert who will do the job of telling the difference between […]

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Restoring and Recycling at the John H. Chafee Wildlife Refuge
By     |    Dec 19, 2018
Posted in: National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Outdoor writing, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, URI, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    No Comments

Restoring and Recycling at the John H. Chafee Wildlife Refuge

The temperature along the bank of Narrow River is in the 30’s, and gusts of wind have a way of sneaking under coats, like someone is pouring ice water down the neck. The area seems devoid of life, save for a congregation of gulls gathered around a long black tube that resembles nothing so much as a fire hose. The hose wends its way to a floating craft on the […]

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By Land, Sea, or Air, Napatree is Doing Well
By     |    Dec 14, 2018
Posted in: Natural Science, Outdoor writing, RINHS, Uncategorized, URI, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    No Comments

By Land, Sea, or Air, Napatree is Doing Well

  After the summer crowds have gone and the icy winds begin to lash the sands of Napatree Point Conservation Area in Westerly, the work to care for the beach continues. Two dozen naturalists and scientists make a pilgrimage to the area in order to share the State of Napatree, an extensive document covering one of the most important natural areas in the state. The Watch Hill Conservancy is the […]

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Using Accelerometers to Track Shark Stress
By     |    Jul 9, 2018
Posted in: BioBlitz, Natural Science, Outdoor writing, Rhode Island Sea Grant, RIDEM, RINHS, Sharks, The Nature Conservancy, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, USFW     |    No Comments

Using Accelerometers to Track Shark Stress

  If we catch and release a shark, does that mean it lives happily ever after? Find out when you read my post and watch a very cool film by visiting Untamed Science. And don’t forget to follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/scienceandnatureforapie and on Twitter at @HughMarkey1  

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Evil Spirits? Try Fungi
By     |    Mar 21, 2018
Posted in: Audubon Field Guide to Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Natural Science, Outdoor writing, RINHS, The Nature Conservancy     |    4 Comments

Evil Spirits? Try Fungi

What do you do when you’re being haunted by a recently deceased relative who doesn’t realize they’re dead? Or your camp is being invaded by a six-legged polar bear with a taste for human flesh? Or there’s a human-ish creature pulling a wagon load of disease headed your way? The answer to all is simple: fungi. And ethnomycologist Larry Millman, who spent years in the northern parts of the world […]

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Never Underestimate a Seaweed
By     |    Feb 11, 2018
Posted in: 41 North Magazine, BioBlitz, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Outdoor writing, Rhode Island DEM, Rhode Island Sea Grant, RIDEM, RINHS, URI, URI Coastal Institute, URI Graduate School of Oceanography     |    No Comments

Never Underestimate a Seaweed

Breathe in deeply. Hold it. Aaannd release. Feel better? Thank a seaweed. Yes, a seaweed, because about half of all our oxygen comes from that green or red stuff that so often annoys beach goers in the summertime. Dr. Lindsay Green-Gavrielidis of URI’s Department of Natural Resources sung the praises of the ignominious seaweed in a recent lecture at the Rhode Island Natural History Survey (RINHS). It turns out that […]

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The Secret Life of Bee (Keepers)
By     |    Aug 28, 2017
Posted in: apiculture, bee keeping, bees, Eastern Apicultural Society, Natural Science, Rhode Island DEM, RIDEM, RINHS, Uncategorized, URI, USFW, Writing     |    No Comments

The Secret Life of Bee (Keepers)

Childhood obsessions are pretty common. Some children love a particular line of dolls, trading cards, or teddy bears. As they grow, the obsessions are set aside, sometimes to literally gather dust. In other cases, though, the obsessions simply morph into something new. “When I was little, it was a unicorn obsession, and as I grew older it went from unicorns to something legitimate like bees.” At 26, Azure Giroux’s childhood […]

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