Winter 2009 / 2010 Sightings

January 5 - Jamaica Plain & Canton (Carly Rocklen)  This morning, there was a flash of white and pale-cinnamon-colored feathers as a hawk threaded its way mid-air between 3-decker homes in Jamaica Plain.

     And from inside my car, driving along Rte. 138 in Canton during the morning commute, I did a double-take as a high-stepping fox nosed its way through winter grasses in the snow-covered meadow at Indian Line Farm, at the top of the hill across from the Bradley Estate. Learn more about Indian Line Farm: environmental issues, public interest.

January 20 - Walpole (Andy Leahy)  I saw river otter tracks all along the north bank of the Neponset between Bird Pond and Plimpton Pond, in Walpole, yesterday. At Plimpton Pond near the dam I could clearly see where they had been walking-walking-walking and then sliding on their stomachs. I wish I actually saw them because they're so darn cute. I'll be back there again soon, so hopefully I can furnish a snapshot sometime...

January 20 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein)  At Knifeshop Pond in Sharon: Muscovy Duck, White-fronted goose, White-fronted goose with Canada geese, and an Eastern bluebird.

January 23 - Walpole (Andy Leahy)  Here are some pictures I took today of the otter tracks at Plimpton Pond dam, and of otter scat at Bird Pond dam. I read the link you posted about them, so when I saw the poop with all the fish scales in it, I knew it had to be theirs. Still no actual sighting. Pictures: Tracks 1, Tracks 2, Tracks 3, Scat. (Editor's Note: I cropped the pictures to zoom in on the tracks and scat.)

Week of January 25 - Dorchester (Mary Ann Folan)  ...I walk my dogs along the Neponset River, and sometimes I turn into the gas line trail that leads down to the river -- at the end of Bearse Ave in Dorchester. About 3/4 of the way down on the left side, there was what I think was a carcass of a blue heron -- just on the other side of the little water stream. I usually see two blue herons when I am walking. If I am lucky, I see these beautiful birds take flight. ...I don't know if you or anyone investigates these matters. Thanks for all that you do -- I really enjoy the pictures -- I find the river so peaceful and serene -- especially in the winter.

Weekend of January 30 - Jamaica Plain & Dedham (Carly Rocklen)  An early afternoon walk along the path ringing Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plain brought to sight a couple of canine trails paralleling each other across the snow-covered, frozen pond. I gathered that the paw prints were left by fox or a small coyote. (My reasoning:  The great majority of dogs walking that pond-side path are generally on-leash. Also, there were no human prints to accompany the canine. Because of the frigid weather over the past week, few people have been out walking. Also, the gait of the creatures who left the paths was indicative more of wildlife than domestic dog. Print a wildlife track identification card. I sure wish I'd had either the card or my camera at the pond!

     A mid-afternoon hike in Wilson Mountain Reservation in Dedham, graced us with views of stone outcroppings from a snow- and pine needle-covered forest floor. A black, white and red woodpecker squawked from its perch on a pine tree trunk before flying to another. We startled a herd of White-tailed deer, and eventually, after one individual watched us for a while, pawing the ground, the group crossed the walking path in front of us and then galloped into the woods. Tufted titmice called out, flitting between leafless trees as we crossed a boardwalk over a frozen, yet gurgling, stream. Such a welcome respite from the city! 

     Local nature enthusiast Anne Schmalze responds, "I read your report of the tracks at Jamaica Pond.  One thing about wild animals - coyote, fox and deer is that they do 'perfect-stepping" that is, their front and rear feet fall into the same track so that it looks like a single set of tracks instead of a 4-footed animal. Domestic dogs' footprints fall all over the place!"

End of January - Fowl Meadow (Wilbur "Dusty" Rhodes)  At Fowl Meadow, there were 60 Red-winged blackbirds near the end of January. They are considered the harbinger of Spring.

Week of February 1 - Dorchester (Andy Leahy)  ...I went and explored the marsh area, from the entrance off of Bearse Ave. ...The trail follows between the railroad line and the river for a couple hundred yards, beside feathergrass and prime birding land, before it meets with the paved path leading into Pope John Paul. ...Saw some mergansers diving, and red tail hawks. Heard the hawks screeching, too. Crows were floating on ice drifts in the river and there was a lot of scat from birds and mammals.

February 4 - Canton (Carly Rocklen)  During a late-afternoon walk, five or six Eastern bluebirds popped in and out of the bare Sugar maples lining the paved path from the parking lot of the Ponkapoag Golf Course to Ponkapoag Pond. [Local nature enthusiast Wilbur "Dusty" Rhodes notes, "I've been watching bluebird behavior for some time. This group has been at Ponkapoag all winter, and another in Middleboro. In the case of the Ponkapoag group: they tend to hang out with white-breasted nuthatches, flickers, downies, juncos, and a few other species. They survive by having a number of their species in the holes you see in many of the maples. It's an interesting technique, and doesn't occur every year."]

February 5 - Dorchester (Rob McArthur)  We were out at Bearse Avenue.... I again looked for the great blue heron carcass, but did not notice anything. Our meeting regarding the osprey platform however went very well and if we can come up with the materials to construct two of these platforms (for now), then they [NStar] will help us [DCR] to place them – one at the end of the berm that heads out from the end of Bearse Ave. to the river and a second one in Quincy off of Airport Road in the Squantum area. I did want to report that while out along the berm..., we spotted an adult Bald eagle circling overhead – quite cool.

February 14 - Jamaica Plain & Dorchester (Carly Rocklen)  We took an afternoon stroll through Franklin Park on the Jamaica Plain/Dorchester town line. We entered the park at its northern tip and walked south for about 25 minutes until we reached Scarboro Pond. We strolled the pond's northern perimeter path, looking into the woods (and noting the impressively smooth-and-silver-skinned, big, gnarled beech trees), saying hello to passersby, and gazing out onto the ice- and snow-covered pond, spotted with wildlife footprints. A few people sat on park benches, chatting. Such a welcome, quiet, calm respite from our normal jaunt around Jamaica Pond! 

     When we realized we'd been hearing Canada geese but not seeing any, we headed off the paved path, toward a portion of the pond that was not as iced-over. Eventually we spotted a flock of geese on the adjacent golf course. We also glimpsed a gaggle of ducks - mostly Mallards - perched at the edge of an ice floe. We heard a Blue jay hollering from up above, and when we strained to find it, noticed a hawk, puffed out and perched on a branch. The Blue jay was harassing the hawk. 

     Local naturalist Stephen Baird -- nestled into the roots of a nearby tree and bundled up in a big coat, his binoculars focused alternately on the ducks (he noted that besides the Mallards, there were Lesser scaup and American coots) and the Red-tail hawk -- was waiting for the hawk to sail into the crowd of ducks to grab a meal (regular occurrence). Stephen also told us that this was owl-mating season and that he'd begun to focus his binoculars on every tree cavity he could find, hoping to find an owl. He noted that dusk is the perfect time to hear Screech owls. 

     Franklin Park is here.

February 15 - Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen)  This afternoon, I took a walk around iced-over Jamaica Pond, followed by a descent through a small woods to the more hidden Willow (Ward's) Pond, and a stroll alongside the stream that winds away from Willow, toward Leverett Pond (view a satellite image of these linked ponds).

     Ice on Jamaica Pond has been contracting and expanding, melting and refreezing -- especially evident at the edges of the pond, where the ice sheet has kicked up frozen mud. Canine and large waterfowl prints litter the ice, and a few sea gulls wing overhead. No ducks or geese are to be seen. However, a trek across the road and down through the wooded footpath to Willow (Ward's) Pond revealed a lone Canada goose standing by the edge of the water...and a gurgling stream filled with lush, green, short aquatic plants (how surreal, in the dead of winter!). Wildlife and dog prints were scattered here and there over the pond ice. 

     From Willow Pond, I followed the winding stream towards Leverett. This stream is always of great personal interest; it's in the process of being "restored". You can see the restoration efforts in the form of tubing, stakes and native plantings; people are stabilizing the banks of the stream and populating the area with native plants. The plants will provide habitat and food for local wildlife. They also will shade the stream, cooling the temperature of its water so that more oxygen and better habitat for aquatic wildlife are available. -- A win-win situation for the Boston environment!

February 17 - Canton (Andy Leahy)  Stomping through the floodplains of the Neponset, in Canton today, near the Canton River, I found more evidence of otters, in our area. As I was about to cross a small stream, I noticed this bunch of prints - what seems like more otter prints, and scat. The small brownish area of melted snow is scat, and just above that, the otters' slide down into the icy brook is visible...must've just been stoppin for lunch, or a bathroom break. The scat was very similar to that found at Bird Pond, previously (fish scales, etc.).

February 18 - Canton (Carly Rocklen)  This afternoon, I took a walk through an unused green of the Ponkapoag Golf Course, when -- what did I see fluttering in a shaft of sunlight? A cloud of midges! What a surprise, for winter. Perhaps today's temp's in the mid-40s spawned a midge hatch in Ponkapoag Brook. I wondered who would eat these insects. Birds? Which species?

February 23 - Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen)  Tonight, the strong odor of Striped skunk seeped in through our apartment windows from the outdoors, and permeated the air as we went for a walk along the sidewalk. We haven't seen any skunks yet, though. It's skunk mating season, this month and next, and so, time to give those guys a wide berth! Learn more. 

February 27 - Canton (Andy Leahy)  On Sat. Feb. 27th I went for a walk and was outside the c.1725 David Tilden House, at Pequitside Farm in Canton. This is mixed-use recreation and conservation land, that prior to Europeans in the New World, Native Americans farmed for many centuries, even into the 1700's actually. There is a very ancient Sugar maple tree, a few steps from the granite stoop of the house. You can read all about the great storms of the last 200 years in the gnarly broken limbs and new directions of growth and in the first impression that this tree has seen a great struggle. I was admiring the abundance of prime real estate for wildlife- the fissure caused by a lighting bolt back before the Civil War- the hole where a branch was, cracked off when the plough hit the tree, as the boy learned to drive a team of horses. It was while I was still swimming back to the surface, after a dive into my imagination, that I noticed the clatter of claws running circles down the bark. Out of a fissure in the crotch of the trees' main trunk came a Red squirrel to survey me, while I finished surveying its home. I thought, "how lucky for you, to live with this tree."...and I don't see Red squirrels around here ever.

February 28 - Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen)  Walking along the sidewalk, during the early afternoon, what did we see - with HUGE surprise? Blooming flowers in somebody's fenced-in, little front yard! Snowdrops. Another welcome sign of the coming spring has been the Mockingbirds we spot along the streets -- in spruces and along telephone wires. Blue jays are also particularly active at neighbors' bird feeders and in cone-laden spruces. And, the other day, a Northern cardinal called out....

March 4 - Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen)  This morning, as snow had just begun to fall, I was drawn to the window because of birdsong. I couldn't believe how much there was! One of the calls was a beautiful, soft trill I hadn't heard for a season. Was it a Pine warbler? Dark-eyed junco? I couldn't see the bird. I stood there a long while, watching little songbirds (and some larger!) swoop in to the birdfeeders hanging in neighbors' backyards. I saw Purple finches or House finches, possibly a Pine warbler or a drably colored American goldfinch, Blue jays, a female Northern cardinal, European starlings, a crow, brown sparrows or finches, a Mourning dove and Gray squirrels. Eventually, I grabbed a pair of binoculars for a better look. A neighbor walked into her yard with a big plastic bag and carefully emptied whole peanuts (shells on) onto a pedestal at the edge of a filled birdbath. She moved to the side of the house and added peanuts to a hidden feeder. As soon as she made her way indoors and shut the screen door behind her, a Blue jay flew into her yard and snagged a peanut, shell and all, and flew away. The bird then landed on the ground and deposited the peanut in a layer of fallen, browned leaves. Then the bird picked up more leaves and placed those on top of the hidden peanut. Then it flew up to grab another peanut from our neighbor's yard....

Weekend of March 5 - Jamaica Plain, Brookline, Dorchester, Canton & Stoughton (Carly Rocklen)  A Muskrat paddled through a cattail marsh at Dead Meadow Swamp on the Canton/Stoughton town border; it nosed its way between cattail stalks to quickly disappear from view. High up, a hawk tilted through the sky - over power lines and wetland. Blue-grey Snow fleas hopped on the surface of the water between cattail stalks and chunks of ice. Soft, lush, emerald green moss shone at the edge of the wetland. Pale yellow and light green Sphagnum moss enveloped the base of cattail stalks and tree trunks and covered old wooden boards laying in the marsh. Along the forest floor at the wetland edge, acorns were cracked open on the ground, ready to root. Red-speckled, young Skunk cabbages were visible, too. I walked into the woods and sat down by the edge of a vernal pool, waiting to see something. Vernals pools are known for their colorful Fairy shrimp, a variety of active insect larvae, and the egg masses and swimming tadpoles of salamanders, frogs and toads. Vernal pools are just starting to get busy with life, this time of year. I spotted only Cyclopoid copepods. I'm looking forward to checking out the pools again in a few weeks. // Side note:  Red-winged blackbirds are returning; a few sing at Ponkapoag Pond in Canton and also in the salt marsh in Dorchester, along the Neponset Greenway path. 

March 9 - Canton & Stoughton (Andy Leahy)  Walking back to my truck this evening, at Signal Hill, in Canton, I heard at least one American woodcock. It was calling from the tall grasses near the stone wall at the base of the hill, on the east side near the parking lot. I then heard one calling from near the marsh, northeast of the trailhead. Sadly, no display was observed. Some fellow rangers saw one on Lovells Island a couple summers ago. 

March 10 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein)  On Gavins Pond, I spotted three Hooded merganser ducks (2 males and 1 female), 1 Common merganser, 1 pair of Wood ducks, several Ring-necked ducks, and many Mallards and Canada geese.

March 10 - Stoughton (Andy Leahy)  I was walking today up around Muddy Pond in Stoughton; I can get there basically through the woods from my house. The southern end is very nice. It's all native hemlocks and spruce and ferns and springheads and a pretty big cedar bog. It's a little, unique native ecosystem up there. Saw some Painted turtles sunning and plopping into the pond. They are awesome.

March 11 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein)  I saw woodcocks doing their mating flights at dusk at three locations along Gavins Pond Road in Sharon.

March 14 - Sharon (Craig Austin)  This guy was seen on Moose Hill Road in Sharon, just about 300 ft south of the power lines. This is a common crossing for salamanders, and it was wet enough for them, for sure, though the temperature was about 10 degrees cooler than ideal. There were not a lot seen on Sunday, perhaps four.  It's hard to predict when the 'peak' will happen.  I'm not sure what brook is right there, but it was raging, as well.

March 17 - Dedham (Carly Rocklen)  While waiting for an appointment in a building on Lyons St., today, I explored the adjacent natural area. From the parking lot, I walked down the bank of the Charles River and stood for a while at the water's edge, watching the river flow by in the sunlight. The Charles River Watershed borders the Neponset River Watershed on the northwest; view a statewide river watershed map. Common grackles jumped between leafless shrubs along the riverbank, calling out discordantly, their necks flashing purple and blue in the sun. Across the river, a huge flock of the birds cackled loudly, high up in a tree. A couple of Red-winged blackbirds sat quietly in water-side shrubs further downstream. Pussy willow is beginning to erupt - gray, silky, fuzzy egg-shaped fuzzballs are appearing along the branches. The buds of Populus trees along the riverbank (cottonwood, for example) are getting big. The water is still very high in the river. For instance, I could see the continuation of the river-side footpath...underwater. The height at which the water flowed along the bridge at Lyons St. appeared far higher than usual, too. 

March 18 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein)  Here are some views of Beaver Brook near the train station in Sharon. Big white suckers will be spawning here a month from now. Pictures: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 // Crocuses are blooming in my yard. Life is good.

Spring 2010 Nature Sightings

March 25 - Canton (Carly Rocklen)  Around 5:45PM, I was walking over the dam at Ponkapoag Pond...and who was on the water in a group of about 10, but Ring-necked ducks. Two little Buffleheads floated nearby, too. All the ducks alternately dove, disappeared, then re-appeared, in their search for food under the water. Red-winged blackbirds perched on branches and reeds in and around the marsh, calling out loudly. A toad sang. The head of a Canada goose poked out of the bog, looking out from Leatherleaf bushes, probably guarding a nest. Multiflora rose was just beginning to leaf-out at the edge of the walking path, and soft, silver Pussy willow was out, too. A Turkey vulture floated over over the tall White pines at the edge of the woods, rocking side to side in the strong gusts of wind. In the woods, I didn't see much if any new vegetation emerging from the forest floor. The greenest leaves that I could spot (not counting the Skunk cabbage along the dam)  were the small, round leaves of Partridgeberry poking from the pine needle-strewn ground. 

Late March - Canton (Noel LaFrance, age 9)  My Dad said we could catch Spotted salamanders at night after the first big spring rain storm. And we did. We left at about 7:00. We went to what we call Snake Pond (because during the summer, some big water snakes live there). With Spotted salamanders, you can tell the difference between the males and the females because the males’ colors are brighter than the females’. Usually when you see a Spotted salamander, it means they are breeding. If you are lucky, you might find one under a log or rock. If you see them at night breeding, the females look fat because you can see eggs inside them (look like bumps on the skin). [See who we found - 1st image, 2nd image.] I also caught a frog which I named George. He is a Green frog. At Snake Pond we’ve caught Bullfrogs, Painted turtles, Green frogs, Leopard frogs, Pickerel frogs, Crayfish, pollywogs and eggs of all kinds. We have also seen Snapping turtles, geese and ducks. One night we even saw about 12 or 13 deer! We’ve also caught Giant water beetles, damselflies, dragonflies and other water bugs. Noel and his father (a biology teacher) temporarily maintain the animals in indoor environments (aquariums / terrariums) that closely mimic the animals' natural habitat, then release them at the exact location they found them.

March 31 - Canton (Andy Leahy)  I saw two Wood ducks, a male and female, in Canton. They were in a vernal pool on the grounds of the MA Audubon Center, near Pequit Brook. I didn't notice them, at first, but when I approached the pool, they flew up into a tree, from the water, while making their distinctive call. On the same walk, I saw a disembowled frog on the path, laying next to a very large egg sack...an obvious victim of an aerial attack.

March 31 - Dedham & Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen)  It's shrub flowering time! The small, wiry, yellow flowers of Forsythia are blooming, along with the tiny, cream-colored, bell-like flowers of Japanese pieris. Neither shrub is native to North America. Forsythia was imported from southeastern Europe and eastern Asia, and it's a member of the same plant family as olives. Japanese pieris is native to Japan, Taiwan, and some parts of eastern China, and it's a member of the same plant family as blueberries.

     Blooming now are also the deep-blue, grape-like flower clusters of Grape hyacinth ("Muscari"), delicate Crocus, the blue star-flowers of Chionodoxa (formerly "Scilla") and the bright yellow trumpets of Daffodils ("Narcissus," in Europe). Grape hyacinth is native to Eurasia. Crocus is native to central and southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia to western China. Daffodils are native to Europe, North Africa and Asia. Chionodoxa is native to Turkey.

     Magnolia trees are blooming, too. Magnolias are native to eastern North America, Central America, the West Indies, South America, and east and southeast Asia.

April 1 - Walpole (Roger Mann)  River otter sighting: 8:00 a.m., Elm Street, Walpole, between Robbins Road and the Commuter Rail Bridge. Did not get phone out in time to take a picture before animal disappeared back into water.

April 6 - Canton (Andy Leahy)  Kingfisher spotted, near sunset. It was chattering and flying inches above the water, on the NE corner of Reservoir Pond in Canton.

April 6 - Metro Boston (Carly Rocklen)  Hyacinths, tulips and myrtle (periwinkle) are blooming. Hyacinths are native to the eastern Mediterranean region; tulips are native to southern Europe, north Africa and Asia; and periwinkle is native to Eurasia.

     Along streams and ponds, Pussy willow continues to flower, and magnificent red flowers are visible on maple trees. 

     Exotic, invasive Japanese knotweed is beginning to emerge from the soil. 

     At wet sites around the Neponset River Watershed, Skunk cabbage grows. In some places, it is still slender, young, and unfurling its leaves (i.e., along Spring Brook, by Memorial Pond in Walpole), and at other sites, it's mostly the flowers that are visible.

     Just this past weekend, big, fuzzy, black-and-yellow bumblebees started to cruise around. Birds are starting to nest. For instance, this week a pair of Blue jays was trading birdseed between them, taken from a neighbor's birdfeeder, while perched high up in a White pine. House sparrows and European starlings are gathering nesting materials from the ground. Learn more about the controversy behind House sparrows (read more).

April 9 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron)  Great reports from people this past winter! Cormorants are back, joining the Mallards, Canada geese (now paired off), swans, Buffleheads, and Great blue herons on Ames Pond in Stoughton. Turtles are having more of a challenge finding places to sun themselves in the high water. The cormorants have to use the few exposed turtle-sunning logs until the water recedes and their favorite rocks re-appear. On the day when it was 90+, the sound of the peepers near the pond took on a different, constant, higher-pitched note. Does their call change as it gets warmer? Maybe it wasn't peepers, but something else chiming in. Any ideas?

     The brilliant Red maple streamer/buds have given way to tiny green leaves, and the Skunk cabbage is also greening out. 

     A few shoots of asparagus have appeared in the garden, along with many self-sprouting Egyptian Onions; last year's, missed garlic bulbs have sprouted multiple shoots and need to be separated and re-rooted. Rhubarb is almost a foot high. Thank goodness for last year's thick kale stems which bore (or at least carried) all winter and are putting out new green in the spring. The last of the carrots and parsnips were dug out last week.

     A couple weeks ago, a pair of Carolina wrens chose our window box as a place to build a nest. It was a great view for us, but they may have since relocated. Robins and Sparrows are all aflutter with mating hijinks, and the yard is filled with the calls of Blue jays, Cardinals, Nuthatches, Hairy woodpeckers, Tufted titmice, and others which I would like to learn. We get the occasional hawk cry or turkey gobble overhead or nearby, and the Turkey vultures have been around for some time. Do some stay all winter?

April 10 - Milton (Carly Rocklen)  As I drove along, this morning, a Pileated woodpecker flew over Rt. 138, headed for the Fuller Village complex.

April 10 & 11 - Canton (Carly Rocklen)  While Beetle-Ranching Volunteers harvested Purple loosestrife rootballs from a wet meadow at Pequitside Farm, a Red-tailed hawk perched in various adjacent trees (favorite = Tamarack) and alternately glided low over the wet meadow. Sometimes the large bird would fly over Pleasant St. to cruise over Reservoir Pond. (Though I didn't see it catch any animals, it did appear that the hawk was attempting to catch lunch.) Occasionally, the hawk would soar high above us all.

     Horsetails are emerging from wet soils (view another picture) and Skunk cabbage is unfurling emerald-green leaves. Exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife also is sprouting.

April 11 - Milton (Carly Rocklen)  Even Blue jays are preparing to nest, these days. As I drove along Rt. 138, this morning, a Blue jay flapped up into an evergreen, armed with old grasses or twigs.

April 12 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein)  Today was a beautiful spring day. I got some nice shots of Beaver Brook, one of Sharon's jewels. The suckers will be spawning soon. Beaver Brook ~ liquid gold ~ pictures 1 and 2.

April 14 - Milton (Carly Rocklen)  On a walk through the woods in the Blue Hills Reservation:  a variety of ferns are unfurling - large and small, light- and dark-green, different shapes. The leaves of Wild sarsparilla are taking shape, as are those of viburnum. Beech leaf buds are long, scaley and bronze. Blueberry shrubs are blooming. Sessile bellwort is unfurling its leaves and blooming. Horsetail is shooting up in wet meadows. Trout lilies are blooming. And, the leaves of Canada mayflowers poke from the forest floor.

April 15 & 16 - Canton (Carly Rocklen)  In the mornings, Wild turkeys are displaying in the field at Indian Line Farm, at the top of the hill on Rt. 138, by the Ponkapoag Golf Course.

April 19 - Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen)  A Red-tailed hawk, perched in a tree in the Arnold Arboretum, tore at its snake meal while being mobbed by squawking Blue jays. Pieces of Snake skin fell to the ground beneath the tree. Eventually the hawk took off from the tree and flapped away, carrying the snake.

April 24 - Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen)  On a walk along a pond-side path, I spotted an Osprey floating in the air over Jamaica Pond. It alternately glided low and climbed high in the air. It was odd and exciting to see this black-and-white-feathered bird-of-prey; Ospreys are seen far less often by fresh water than by salt. Ospreys also are called "Fish hawks"; they catch fish.

Late April - Metro Boston (Carly Rocklen)  Spring has sprung! As you drive around or take a stroll along local roads, you'll see that exotic, invasive Japanese knotweed is growing tall. The bright-yellow flowers of exotic, invasive Fig buttercup shine in the spring sun among hardy green leaves. The tiny, white flowers of exotic, invasive Garlic mustard are visible. Snakes move around above-ground, warmed by the sun. Fiddleheads of a variety of fern species gain height and unfurl. Native lilies are beginning to bloom. The leaves of Wild sarsparilla develop. The delicate blooms of Goldthread poke up here and there on the forest floor. Highbush blueberry shrubs are blooming in moist soil. Barberry flower buds are visible. The green-yellow blossoms of spurge have emerged. Pussy willow catkins are in various stages: fuzzy/grey and spotted-yellow. Staghorn sumac, grape vines, native dogwood shrubs, and exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife are leafing out. Trembling aspen fruits and leaves have developed. The large blooms of trillium are visible in wooded areas. Wood anemones blossom in woodlands, too. The winged samaras of maple trees brighten wetlands.

April 28 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron)  Today's cold temperatures and occasional sleet kept the black flies away. Bright green shoots of Lady's slippers poking up through the leaves at the Bird St. Conservation Area in Stoughton. All sorts of other wildflowers greening up the wetlands. Small leaves of the Big-tooth aspen are all gray-white, with no trace of green yet. Wild dogwood blossoms opening. The northern half of Bird St is in Neponset watershed; the southern half is in Taunton watershed. Question: when was the last time anyone saw a kestrel?

April 30 - Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen)  Returning from a dusk stroll around Jamaica Pond, we took side roads back to Centre St. On our way...we heard the soft whinnying of a Screech owl. We glanced toward the call and spotted the small owl silhouetted against the darkening sky, perched in a tall, deciduous tree.

May 2 - Jamaica Plain/Dorchester (Carly Rocklen)  A wander through Franklin Park on the Jamaica Plain/Dorchester, MA line showed: Turtles sunning themselves on fallen branches throughout the ponds. Canada mayflowers, growing in blankets over the forest floor, just beginning to bloom. Blooming Lily-of-the-Valley, carpeting the forest floor - interspersed with blooming Sessile bellwort. The leaves and buds (but no flowers, yet) of Wood geranium. The white blossoms of Wood anemone, covering the forest floor. The yellow flowers of Greater celandine. The small white flowers and green foliage of Garlic mustard. The leaves of native grape vines continue to unfurl. Native dogwoods continue to sprout leaves on red stems. Native viburnum flowers are budding. Purple loosestrife is growing from the edges of ponds - AND the Galerucella calmariensis  and G. pusilla beetles have emerged from the soil and are feeding on the Purple loosestrife. Blue, pink & white Bluebells are blooming alongside wooded walking paths. The delicate leaves and buds of Solomon's seal are sprouting. Swallows flit above the pond....Flycatchers call out....Mallards, Canada geese and a Cormorant float in the pond...turtles bask....American robins hop through the underbrush...Ovenbirds call from the Beech-tree-laden woods. A Wood thrush may also have called out. Woodpeckers call from the woods... The leaves of a plant in the lily family (I'm hoping it will bloom and show itself to be a Pink lady' slipper) are emerging from leaf-covered ground. White-tailed rabbits hope within the edge of the woods...

May 3 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) Chimney swifts are back! They twitter as they soar above the parking lot of the Ponkapoag Golf Course. And, the young of European starlings and House sparrows make a high-pitched racket from their nests around the edges of buildings. The adults fly to and fro, delivering food and nest materials.

May 6 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron) Catbirds were back three days ago, and I saw the first oriole yesterday. I know that there has been considerable discussion of the advanced Spring this year, but these arrival dates are not particularly advanced. Actually, someone might check the arrival dates for our spring-arriving birds over the last few years in our blog and report back. We probably don't have the consistency of one recorder, always reporting from the same location, but it's a start.

May 14 - Ponkapoag Pond & Golf Course - Canton (Carly Rocklen) Grackles and Red-winged blackbirds are nesting - hidden in the bog and marsh at Ponkapoag Pond. Walking the trail, you can hear the high-pitched cries of young birds. Just off the golf course, I can hear the cries of young European starlings emanating from the gutter above my office window. And on the grass at the base of the building, were two dead baby birds with hardly any feathers yet and with prominent yellow lines along the edges of their beaks.

May 15 - West Roxbury (Carly Rocklen) Stony Brook Reservation in West Roxbury neighbors the Neponset River Watershed Association, and shares many of the same plants, animals and landscapes. This weekend, as we walked a paved path in this state park, first we heard the voice of a Scarlet tanager, and then we spotted the radiant red bird with black wings hopping in the new foliage of an oak tree, catching insects. The bird sounded like an American robin with a sore throat. We also were very excited to see Pink lady's slippers growing on the forest floor beneath pines. The flowers were growing with blooming native Canada mayflower and Starflower. Wild blueberries along the path were beginning to fruit. Several green, globular oak galls were scattered along the trail. By Turtle Pond, we spotted evidence that biocontrol beetles have been feeding and laying eggs on exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife. We also noticed that exotic, invasive buckthorn is flowering. And, we saw a "gi-normous" insect resting on a wild grape leaf.

May 17 - Milton (Carly Rocklen) Walking along Wolcott and Carberry paths in the Blue Hills Reservation, I listened as a variety of thrushes called out, adding mystery and beauty to the early evening: Veeries, Ovenbirds and Wood thrushes. 

May 20 - Milton & Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen) 'Walk around Hemenway Pond, these days (along Rt. 138 in the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton), and you'll come across at least 4 or 5 species of ferns (including Sensitive fern and Cinnamon fern) - some still fiddleheads, while others have leafed out. Sensitive fern are even growing in the pond, itself! Poison ivy grows lushly, all around. Canada geese nest on the pond; I often see a pair feeding in the grass when I drive past in the evenings. Vocal Kingbirds and also armies of mosquitoes and gnats flit over the water. Over the forest floor are carpets of native plants - blooming Canada mayflower, ferns, Wild sarsparilla and Poison ivy. Unfortunately, European Lily of the valley also carpets the forest floor in places, and alcohol bottles litter the entire site. The skull of a White-tailed deer lies among the Canada mayflower.

     Over the past couple of weeks at Jamaica Pond, in Jamaica Plain, Mallard ducks have been caring for a few ducklings, and at least two pairs of Canada geese walk their goslings around the edge of the pond, nibbling grass stems. Meanwhile, the ducklings catch flying insects above the water and nibble on aquatic plants. In an apple tree along the walking path, young robins rapidly outgrow their nest; one of the babies almost has been pushed out by the other two nestlings. I watched a Black-crowned night-heron fly in to perch on a fallen willow branch in the water, by a turtle. The bird has striking coloration, big eyes and a trailing white head-feather.

Summer 2010 Nature Sightings

June 24 - Metro Boston (Carly Rocklen) At Brookwood Farm, on the Milton / Canton town line, the small, star-like blooms of native dogwood shrubs shine brightly between field and wetland. In the wetland, Joe-Pye weed prepares to burst into tall, pink flowers. Common milkweed is flowering across the field, yielding a heady, heavy, sweet scent and providing shelter for Wild turkey families. Along local roads, St. John's wort blooms, and in Roslindale Village, the delicate scent of Linden tree flowers hangs in the air.