>> PAST EVENTS <<
ZOOM Meeting:
|
|
We all had some mid-winter laughs when we tuned in to this entertaining program by Rosemary Mosco, creator of the nature-based Bird and Moon comics. Rosemary easily convinced her audience that cartoons and conservation are a natural fit.
It was truly enjoyable to see so many clever combinations
of engaging images and nature observations.
It was truly enjoyable to see so many clever combinations
of engaging images and nature observations.
|
Getting to know what makes Rosemary tick was part of the fun. We were able to experience how she blends science, humor, and heart to create books and comics about wildlife. Her Bird and Moon comics are collected in the book
Birding Is My Favorite Video Game, a 2019 ALA Great Graphic Novel for Teens, and have appeared in publications ranging from the scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution to the children’s magazine Ranger Rick. To learn more, visit http://www.birdandmoon.com/ |
EMPTY (BIRD) NEST
EXPLORATION WALK
Ware River Watershed “Prison Camp” Area, Rutland
Sunday January 17, 2021 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
EXPLORATION WALK
Ware River Watershed “Prison Camp” Area, Rutland
Sunday January 17, 2021 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
|
Eleven participants joined the walk along the roads heading out from the intersection of Prison Camp and Intervale Road in the (gated) Ware River Watershed property managed by DCR and MassWildlife. The appearance of this area is very different in winter. Obviously vegetation has died back and deciduous tree branches are silhouetted against the sky, providing opportunities to locate birds nests from prior years.
Found about 10 feet from the ground in a small tree near the roadway, this nest had deteriorated so that any fine materials that had been included were now gone. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak nest would fit in terms of habitat and nest structure. While Blue Jay nest might look like this when extra fine materials are stripped away, the habitat in which it was found isn't typical Blue Jay habitat.
Despite watchfulness by the group, only three old nests were found, perhaps due to the numerous fierce storms of late summer and fall. One nest tucked deep into dense, tangled undergrowth in the powerline area was difficult to photograph and is barely seen, demonstrating the inhabitant's desire to keep the nest protected and far out of sight. The nests are shown here. In addition, a Club member exploring another place in Rutland found a well-preserved nest of a different type, also pictured above right.
This is most likely the nest of a Mourning Dove. Described as a flimsy structure of crossed sticks and twigs, sometimes placed near the fork of a horizontal branch, the nest is built by the female, but the male brings materials to her.
These remnants of a nest belonging to a medium-sized bird species and tucked into a dense thicket in a powerline cut, could have been built by a species common to this location, a Gray Catbird. Northern Cardinals often choose a similar site.
|
This well-made, tightly-woven cup nest placed in the fork of branches appears to be that of an American Goldfinch.
While not the subject of the group's search, resident beavers were active, and everyone got a good look at the three, then two (when one decided to slip into the water), while they sat in the sun outside their lodge.
In addition, a rotted stump and log that had been ambitiously worked over by a Pileated Woodpecker, probably that morning, was easy to spot within a grove of bare saplings. In a leafier season it probably would have gone unnoticed. 
Although mammals will scratch and dig at rotted logs, the five large gouge holes left by the woodpecker's beak provided the clue to the identity of the hungry critter.
|
Beavers outside their lodge on Longmeadow Brook, which flows by the east side of the southbound section of Prison Camp Road.