When walking through the woods or around a field’s edge, it is easy to dismiss tree snags (dead trees) as lifeless and unimportant. The truth is quite the opposite, as tree snags are essential for many species of wildlife to live and reproduce throughout the year. Snags come in all Continue reading “Sunday Nature Walk: The Importance of Tree Cavities”
New England is very fortunate, as the region is home to an extremely wide range of wildflowers. From beautiful trilliums, to the rare yellow pitcher plant, New England hosts habitats for many different species that vary dramatically from one another. The trick to finding wildflowers, Continue reading “Sunday Nature Walk: Spring’s Wonderful Wildflowers”
By late March, it is easy to see that something has changed… even while temperatures can still dip into the low 40s, the sounds of the forest are teeming with the calls of birds, amphibians, and mammals. Tiny green sprouts of the plants waking up from their long slumber dot the Continue reading “Sunday Nature Walk: Signs of Spring”
When the ponds, lakes and streams freeze over during the cold winter months, it is easy to believe that all of the waterbird life has headed south for the season. But our north is another bird’s south. In this case it is the ducks and water birds of the north that migrate south to Continue reading “Sunday Nature Walk – Winter’s Waterfowl”
Throughout January and February, it is easy to dream about the warm days of spring that are not so far away. Winter can seem lifeless and bleak, the only refreshing component coming from the occasional snow that offers a brief change of scenery before turning into a brown mush. However, Continue reading “Sunday Nature Walk: New England Winter”
While most of New England consists of mixed deciduous and early successional forest, at the upper reaches of the region begins the grand boreal forest. The boreal forest is a vast wooded area stretching from Maine all the way to Alaska. This unique biome holds many wondrous species Continue reading “Sunday Nature Walk – Visitors from the North”
Are you looking for a socially distanced holiday experience in the crisp winter air? Then you might want to head over to Maple Row Farm and meander through the farm’s 200 acres of land in search of the perfect Christmas tree.
Scott Edwards, an eight-generation farmer at Maple Row Continue reading “Easton Tree Farms Provide Holiday Cheer Amid Covid-19”
Easton is a dog loving town. Over 800 dog licenses were issued this year. For the most part, these are pets or self-appointed guard dogs.
Peter Neary, Easton’s fire marshal, and his family have three Labrador retrievers, two yellows, Sally and Holly, and one black, Coal. “As in Continue reading “Police Dog Talk with Peter Neary”
Not many birds capture the spirit of flight like that of the hawk. These fierce birds of prey are large, predatory masters of flight that spend much of their day soaring high in the sky, defending territory and searching for prey. Connecticut has eight different hawk species that Continue reading “Sunday Nature Walk: Hawks of Connecticut”
While Connecticut as a whole is considered a rather “tame” state in terms of wildlife, one species, in particular, puts that argument on its head. The great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) is the apex predator of New England and is a bird that can be found throughout the United States. Continue reading “Sunday Nature Walk: The Great Horned Owl — ‘Tiger of the Woods’”
