Clik here to view.
Pop Goes the Weasel
Last spring, we had several encounters with a long-tailed weasel that was probably denned up under the guesthouse. Whether it was only a male weasel, a female with young, or both we never knew because...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Those Darn Empids
Keen birders are aware that the best time to identify the five small, look-alike Empidonax flycatchers that breed in Pennsylvania is in May when they are singing and calling during migration. Easier to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wild Parenting
June is a month when I often observe wild parenting during my walks. On the first day of June last year I was halfway down Pit Mound Trail when a doe ran off. Something in the way she moved made me...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Our Fiftieth Anniversary
Fifty years have passed since we first saw our mountaintop home on the Fourth of July weekend. Following directions from a local realtor, my husband Bruce slowly drove our red Volkswagen bus up a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Disappearing Bullbats
Years ago I used to hear the nasal “peents” of bullbats, also known as common nighthawks, as they flew over First Field at dusk on summer evenings. A common nighthawk flying (Photo by Kenneth Cole...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Mystery of Night
Last September fall songbird migration was well underway. Almost every day I encountered a migrant in our yard, our meadow, or our forest. Many of the birds are not as colorful as the males are in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fishy Crows
Fish crows at Great Meadows NWR, Concord, MA. Photo by Tom Murray (CC BY-NC 2.0) “Listen. Those birds don’t sound like crows,” my husband Bruce said, “but they look like crows.” He pointed to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Many-Tongued Mimic
northern mockingbird portrait by Veit (CC BY-ND 2.0) Every winter we have at least one unusual bird visitor. The winter before last it was the northern shrike. Last winter, during the pandemic, most...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Farewell
the big snow: December 17, 2020 After a long, late fall, winter dropped a white shroud more than a foot deep over our mountaintop just in time for our Christmas Bird Count last year. Although I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Appalachian Seasons books get a makeover
I’m pleased to announce that the University of Pittsburgh Press has reissued my four Appalachian books with brand new and beautiful covers featuring the paintings of John James Audubon. They’ve also...
View Article
