Category Archives: Archosaurs

Brood

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

Cuteness alert: Brown Betty (a bantam cochin chicken) broods her small flock of chicks. One of the youngsters has clambered onto her back, the others poke out from under her generous bustle or peer at the world from under her … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Bird skeletons alight in the library

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

“…there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone” This morning a small procession of bird skeletons made its way from the science building to the library: one last flight for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

John James Audubon exhibition at New-York Historical Society

Posted on March 16, 2013 by

It feels like blasphemy to admit it, but I have for some time felt over-Auduboned. In the world of ornithological and environmental studies, reproductions of John James Audubon’s work abound. Coffee mugs, posters, websites: he’s everywhere. Overexposure produces ennui. Surely … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs, Travels | 3 Comments

Why so many vultures?

Posted on February 25, 2013 by

Coasting down the hill on my bike, I turn my head and there it is, a dark angelic form, big as an eagle, soaring just off my left shoulder. We cruise together for a spell, then the bird banks away, … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Quiz: Bird Beaks

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

Last week my Ornithology class started their bird anatomy studies with dissections of road- or window-killed birds. The project will continue, as in years past, with cleaning of bones and reconstruction of the skeleton, ending with an articulated specimen. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Ugly Ducklings, Lent, French translations and counting birds

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

Some news about Cudzoo Farm and The Forest Unseen: Sarah has opened a new page on her soap website for sales and specials. These special prices on organic goat-milk soaps will be offered only intermittently, so I encourage you to … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs, Goats, Travels | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Eagles

Posted on February 10, 2013 by

My Ornithology class had some great views of bald eagles this week near Woods Reservoir. In addition to two adults, we saw a couple of young eagles circling overhead. Bald eagles take four years to reach full adult plumage. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs, Travels | 16 Comments

Shelf fungus as a rain shelter for woodpeckers?

Posted on January 29, 2013 by

Older black locust trees in our region are often rotten on the inside. Fungi worm through the tree trunks, digesting their cores. When these fungi are mature enough to reproduce, they sends filaments (hyphae) to break through the tree bark. … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs, Fungi, Trees | 12 Comments

Winter birds

Posted on November 23, 2012 by

This afternoon, I heard the querulous call of my first yellow-bellied sapsucker of the season. This migratory woodpecker breeds in mixed coniferous woodlands in the northern forests, then winters in the southern U. S. and in Mexico. Unlike their woodpecker … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Migration

Posted on October 1, 2012 by

As we slide down the slope behind the equinox, animals have accelerated their autumnal movements. My backyard now consistently hosts several migrant bird species each day. In the last week: rose-breasted grosbeaks, magnolia warblers, Tennessee warblers, American redstarts, gray catbirds, … Continue reading →

Posted in Archosaurs, Butterflies, Travels | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments