Late April often finds me planting bare-root saplings at our old farm where we’re converting a hay field into prime wildlife habitat. On my knees scraping soil back into a hole I saw a flash of blue high in the nearby hedgerow. Was this a new floater in my aging eyes? Turning my head I… Read more

Let’s test your wildlife knowledge: what is the heaviest arthropod on Earth? Too obscure for you? Ok, what is the longest crustacean out of roughly forty thousand different species in the world? Still not sure? Well, I’m certain every reader will know which creature has the biggest financial impact on Maine’s economy. That’s right; it’s… Read more

Mallard (John Berry photo) Yes, a duck loved me – and I loved her. In fact it was four ducks and I loved all of them. They were mallards, beautiful birds and quite friendly. The love affair took place many years ago when I was around eight years old. For Easter our parents brought home… Read more

Buttonbush with Viceroy butterfly (Leslie R Ramey photo) Many of you have an interest in attracting a variety of wildlife to your yards, and you also want to add color and texture to your landscaping in an environmentally sound manner. People are increasingly aware that using exotic imported plants can cause problems for our local… Read more

Photo by Marc Quebec, iStock After living in England for many years, a country with a reputation for underwhelming dining choices, our move to Maine offered great promise for mouthwatering foods. Succulent tiny shrimp, clams for the digging, scallops, lobster, moose if I was lucky, trout and blueberries all landed on my Maine dining plate…. Read more

When harsh winter cold grips the forest in January, most folks hunker down indoors to read a book, or to get started on their taxes. But for some hardy souls, winter is a time for hard work in the woods and watching the weather reports, anticipating the inevitable thaw that brings day time temperatures above… Read more

Blue Jay (Curt Chipman photo) The term “jaybird” has long been a slang word to describe someone who was a bit crazy, lazy or stupid. But the term is also a nickname for the blue jay, and this bird is definitely not lacking in brains, hustle or common sense. A member of the Corvid family… Read more

Otter Brook in winter (Ed Robinson photo) Unless you spent the holidays in the Southern Hemisphere, you know that we finally are experiencing one of those deep freeze winters that balance out a couple of mild years. There will be no golf in January, your snow plow guy is on speed dial and your partner… Read more

]Eirwin Soltesz photo In an earlier article, I described the lovely Cooper’s hawk. Here we will learn more about the smallest member of the same family, the sharp-shinned hawk. These birds, along with the sparrow hawk and goshawk, are members of the genus Accipiter from the Latin word accipere, meaning “to grasp.” The Accipiters are… Read more