Browsing Category "Natural Science"
Fly like an Eagle: The Surge of an American Icon

Fly like an Eagle: The Surge of an American Icon

Note one: Unlike my other stories, none of the photos here were taken by me. I have noted sources of each. Note two: This story originally appeared in the Winter 2015 edition of the Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s Report. Along the Seekonk River, the wind sweeps bitterly cold air into the cloudy day. If it was chilly and breezy inland, it’s downright windy and freezing here. This is an […]

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FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES Part Two of Two

FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES Part Two of Two

Last week, we covered bird feeder topics including choosing a feeder, what seeds work, and where feeders should be placed. If you missed it, check the archives. And don’t forget to follow SaNfaP on Facebook! 4. BREAD IS NOT GOOD FOOD FOR BIRDS. Sorry, but it’s true. Bread comes with several problems: it gets moldy, which is not good for birds at all. Second, like bread for humans, it’s really […]

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FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES: Part one of two

FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES: Part one of two

Science and Nature for a Pie is on Facebook! Click the “Follow” button  for photos, facts, and other goodies. http://facebook.com/scienceandnatureforapie . Local winters can seem like a photo of a parade from a century past: long lines of gray, slightly out of focus, and vaguely depressing. Leaves are long gone, flowers are a memory. Is there any life outdoors in winter? The answer is yes. One of the best ways […]

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Which hawk is that? Ocean State Bird Club workshop says behavior may hold key

Which hawk is that? Ocean State Bird Club workshop says behavior may hold key

At 65 mph, the car is zipping too quickly down route 95 to observe much, and overcast skies obscure most color. The car passes beneath a light pole. At the top, a bird roughly the size and shape of a football perches, eyes fixed on the grass below. There’s a black line, a “belly band”, across its middle. Nearby is an open patch of grass. Is it a pigeon? A […]

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REMOVING DAMS TO RESTORE NATURE

REMOVING DAMS TO RESTORE NATURE

It seemed like the right move at the time. Big factories like textile mills in the 18th and 19th centuries needed power, and when there was no such thing as electricity, there was one major source: water. Use the power at hand to make a factory generate products. Build a factory by a river. Dam the river, turn it, shape it, bend it to the needs and turn that enormous […]

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What Lies Beneath: URI Surveys Rhode Island Waters

What Lies Beneath: URI Surveys Rhode Island Waters

  Note: SaNfaP is on Facebook! Go to facebook.com/scienceandnatureforapie and click on “Follow” to receive pictures, facts, and more about the natural world. Then suggest that your friends do the same. They’ll thank you.  -HM It takes Captain Tom Puckett a moment to decide on the most unusual fish he’s brought aboard the URI research vessel Cap’n Bert. Tall, lanky, and sporting curly gray hair, Puckett has been responsible for […]

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Hatching a New Group: Ocean State Bird Club

Hatching a New Group: Ocean State Bird Club

It’s dusk. A dirt parking lot (well, more like a clearing of dirt) retains a few cars, and further back there is a small circle of people sporting binoculars. They wear the full palette of the bird watcher’s color wheel: khaki, tattered khaki, dirty khaki, spanking new khaki, and new khaki stressed to look old. (We are nothing if not consistent.) A bearded young man in the circle speaks to […]

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Turtles from the Dust:  Endangered Terrapins in Rhode Island

Turtles from the Dust: Endangered Terrapins in Rhode Island

The sand is fine grained and the sun is hot. Hundred Acre Cove in Barrington is just a few hundred yards away, but at the moment, there isn’t a shred of the cool breezes usually associated with being by the water. There are only scrub pines, weedy grasses, and dust. Lots of dust. Charlotte Sornborger carries a basket containing an empty green and white striped Newport Creamery plastic tub. She […]

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The Mid-Summer Moth Mingle

The Mid-Summer Moth Mingle

Note: “Science and Nature for a Pie” is now on Facebook! Like the page for regular updates on new stories, photos, and other discussions about the wonders of the outdoor world! www.facebook.com/scienceandnatureforapie . If moths and butterflies thought like human children, they would be embroiled in a never-ending case of sibling rivalry. “Why do the butterflies get all the attention?” the moths would moan. “People never even notice us!” The […]

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What is a Gall, after All?

What is a Gall, after All?

Note: “Science and Nature for a Pie” is now on Facebook!  Stop by and “like” the page for ongoing stories, photos, and discussions about the great outdoors! https://www.facebook.com/scienceandnatureforapie “You have some gall saying that to me!” “Man, that guy galls me!” It’s difficult to determine precisely how common these expressions still are, but most will recognize the idea that having “gall” or to “gall” someone is not a good thing. […]

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