Tell us about the nature you've spotted in any of these Neponset River Watershed communities, or close by: Mattapan, Dorchester, Hyde Park, Dedham, Dover, Foxboro, Medfield, Milton, Norwood, Quincy, Randolph, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Westwood, and we'll post your sightings, below!

Winter 2012 Nature Sightings

Feb. 16 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron) Our flock of over ten to fifteen winter robins in Stoughton has gone into serious chowing of bittersweet berries. They would prefer the berries on the cedars, but they are long gone. I saw at least one on the lawn, apparently checking for worms, which I know are close to the surface underneath things like large chunks of firewood, because I gathered fifty or more the other day and added them to my compost pile. I expect the robins to be pulling out worms, any day now. I imagined that I heard a catbird, but I think it was a resident mocking bird. Having catbirds winter over here WOULD be a new development.

Feb. 6 - Fowl Meadow, Neponset River Reservation (Dusty Rhodes) First time seeing Red-winged blackbirds, this year. Smaller flock than last year.

Feb. 4 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) The Snowdrop flowers are very pretty outside my window, blooming away. The Hellebore and Witch-hazel (exotic cultivar provided by the Arnold Arboretum) are about to flower, too; flower buds are visible. // A female House sparrow has been visiting the bird feeder, the last two days. It's missing the usual long tail feathers. It only has fuzzy stubble. What could be the reason? // Caught sight of a curiously large flock of crows winging across a cloud-shrouded sky.

Feb. 2 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) Flocks of Canada geese have been passing overhead, by Ponkapoag Pond and Golf Course, along Rt. 138.

Feb. 1 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) Noticed a Green stinkbug walking slowly along a Poison ivy vine on my trek to Ponkapoag Brook. Skunk cabbage continues to emerge along the Brook, along with a mystery plant.

Jan. 24 - Dedham (Stephanie Radner) I saw Skunk cabbage today in Dedham.

Jan. 24 - Canton & Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Here in Canton, Daffodils and Skunk cabbage are emerging. Sphagnum moss looks brilliantly alive, compared to surrounding leaf litter and leaf-less trees at Ponkapoag Pond. The pond, itself, is semi-covered in ice. // Earlier this morning, in Roslindale, I was kvetching to myself that no birds were coming 'round to the bird feeders (except for a couple of Gray squirrels), when I happened to glance over at the neighbor's bird feeder. Who's perched on top of the bird feeder pole, breeze raking its head-feathers, but a hawk. No wonder the birds and squirrels were in hiding! From the hawk's coloring and relatively small stature, as well as its penchant for stalking bird feeders, it's either a Sharp-shinned hawk or a Cooper's hawk. A few more thoughts: Two of the Grey squirrels that come by the feeder are missing the longer fur on their backs, near the base of their head and on their shoulders. It turns out that these are probably female squirrels who have pulled the fur from their backs to line their nest (squirrels breed Dec.-Feb., and then again May-June). Also, for the last several weeks, a batch of Snowdrop flowers has been emerging.

Jan. 23 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron) Today, the dog and I walked over the furthest headwaters of the Steep Brook/East Neponset branch, near the Lessa Playground on West St. in Stoughton. Saw deer tracks and droppings interspersed with plenty of canine tracks from fox-sized to large dog.

Jan. 20 - West Roxbury (Carly Rocklen) This morning, after last night's light snowfall, I see that Turtle Pond is covered in snow.

Jan. 19 - Roslindale, West Roxbury & Hyde Park (Carly Rocklen) 'Heard a songbird singing a spring mating song, this morning. Later, I drove past Turtle Pond in Stony Brook Reservation, West Roxbury, and saw that the small pond is covered in ice. Then, I drove over Mother Brook in Hyde Park - more ice on Mother Brook!

Jan. 12 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Wind is tossing the treetops. Songbirds have been visiting the feeders in the rain - even a Carolina wren. Sodden House sparrows feed in a crowd of four on the seed feeder. Jewel-red Northern cardinal shakes out his feathers in the top of the twiggy shrub. In a jittery movement, a little, white and black Downy woodpecker changes position on the suet feeder. Fire engines howl past. Rain spews from the broken gutter. There's a steady throb of wind through surrounding trees, pushing the neighbor's swing back and forth.

Jan. 10 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Dark-eyed juncos are striking looking birds - especially when seen, this morning, against the thin layer of snow on the grass, and in the browned stems and flower-bunches of the hydrangea shrub.

Jan. 6 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Although the little bird is not moving at all...and, in fact, is positioned on the opposite side of the suet feeder, the double, pointy tip of the tail gives away that it's a Downy woodpecker.

Jan. 6 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) It's amazing, the birds that seed- and suet-feeders pull in. A Red-bellied woodpecker just fed at the suet-feeder, then flew away. Then, a female - and afterwards a male - Downy woodpecker flew in. And, these two birds were followed by Blue jays. Normally, I wouldn't see most of these - especially the woodpeckers - when walking around Boston. It's flurrying, today.

Winter 2011 Nature Sightings

Dec. 31 - Dorchester (Lucie, Sylvie and Dad [Dave Mareira]) Happy New Year! Just wanted you to know "we" spotted a Harbor Seal near the Hilltop Street kayak "put in" today while hiking along the marsh! Congrats on the Neponset folk for cleaning up the River enough for the Seal to chase the fish upstream past the cormorants looking like submarines waiting on an easy feed. All the best! 

Dec. 31 - Dorchester (Will Nelson, Citizen Water Monitoring Network Volunteer) Just wanted to report that on Saturday afternoon 3 pm, New Years Eve, I watched two seals swimming and diving on the estuary at the Granite Ave bridge, Milton-Boston at the Neponset River Greenway.  They were greyish and kind of  speckled at the face. Happy New Year.

Dec. 23 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron) We often have had mice and chipmunks come into our outside room to forage (a mouse was navigating our snow shoe x-country ski racks when I went out there, last night), but today a gray squirrel was in the room, scrambling frantically to get back out after I appeared. They must be hurting without any acorns, and there seem to be far fewer of them around. Here's hoping that the rodents leave the trenched carrots and the still "growing" parsnips alone. The deer are still ignoring the kale.

     The woods are also very quiet, except for the fishers screaming at night. In past years a small flock of chickadees often appeared, but this year there has been no sign of them.  

Summer 2011 Nature Sightings

Sept. 12 - Willett Pond (Cris Grady) Baby turtle going to Willett Pond: On ground. In hand. We see a lot coming through our backyard – we call it turtle highway – we try to help by giving them a lift when we see them. Keeps the dogs from messing with them, even when they find them they don’t seem to acknowledge that they are living – they sniff and walk away. I tried to get a better shot but didn’t want to keep him from his appointed rounds for very long – I could tell he was stressing out. He snuggled right down in the pond under the sand and debris to hide as soon as he got away! You have to admire the natural instincts.

Sept. 11 - Sharon (Faith Berkland)  In the afternoon, we were treated to the antics of a Kingfisher, sorry no picture. But I can describe what I saw. My son was over the house visiting us and took a walk around the house at one point. He told me he saw a kingfisher out by the small cow pond but by the time I went out there it was gone. I did a few things around the house, and an hour or so later I walked back there again, hoping to see it. And I did! It had something in its mouth and was making its cackling noise, flying from tree to tree above the pond. I had never seen one in the yard before. It stayed for the rest of the afternoon. I think it may have gotten a crayfish, we have them in the pond, and they can get pretty big by September.

Sept. 9 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) Took a short stroll by Ponkapoag Pond after work. Here's what I spotted: 2 dead baby Snapping turtles on the paved walkway that leads through the golf course to the pond. 2 hummingbirds fighting in the air above the water. 1 stripe-y Water snake, slender, slipping across lily pads and past Pickerelweed in the water, tongue flicking. 1 Osprey flew down into the water to catch a fish...and then flapped away...above the pines. 1 pale blue dragonfly rested on a leaf. 1 light green dragonfly darted here and there, from lilypad to lilypad. 1 Great blue heron changed foraging locations at the edge of the bog...and then stood there...still, like a dinosaur. Fragrant water lilies blooming along the water's surface.

Sept. 3 & 5 - Canton (Elisa Blanchard) I experienced a distinct slowing of activity around Ponkapoag Pond. I walked around with a friend Saturday morning and with my family Monday afternoon...perhaps my 35th or 40th trip around the pond since 2000 when I moved to the area. Walkers and hikers were many fewer on Monday and the AMC cabins were like a ghost town compared to their bustle of family activity and children's laughter on Saturday morning. The water level still seemed very low, though I think it had been brought down in anticipation of Irene...and we saw a few large healthy trees toppled across the trail on the southern shore. (Thank you whomever wielded the saws to cut the path clear :~) The new footbridge over the stream along the northeast corner of the pond was good to see along with the wide variety of fruiting fungi since the late summer rains. Next month I hope to see Little brown bats at dusk hunting along the trail as I did last fall.

Sept. 5 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) There's a reach of upper Beaver Brook (a tributary of the Neponset River) that can be accessed from Sandy Ridge Circle. It is beautiful town-owned conservation land with a dirt path that can be followed into the woods from the cul-de-sac at the end of Sandy Ridge Circle, but there tends to be some litter along it here and there. One year the Sharon Friends of Conservation cleaned it up on Earth Day. It's a great place to go for a quiet walk in the woods. If you go in far enough, the trail peters out, but you can keep going because the dense canopy has prevented dense underbrush from growing too thick. The stream forks into two tributaries as you move upstream. The left fork is the outflow from a spring-fed pond. Take your camera because you never know what kinds of woodland fauna and flora you might encounter. If you go there, notice the seeps and springs between the brook and the hillside. Keep in mind that the elevation of Beaver Brook in this area is lower than Lake Massapoag (to the southeast) and the Great Altlantic White Cedar Swamp (to the south), but higher than the three active town wells along lower reaches of Beaver Brook to the northeast. Some of the pictures I have taken back there can be seen at http://www.sharonfoc.org. Also see: Beaver Brook. White-tailed deer. Dwarf ginseng.

August 13 - Dedham (Carly Rocklen) While waiting for my car to get an oil change at Monroe Muffler on Rte. 1, I wandered along the banks of a stream that runs past the parking lot and under Rte. 1. Despite dumped tires and trash, and suspiciously opaque water, what looked to be 2 Painted turtles and 1 young Snapping turtle sunned themselves. Light-blue and light-green dragonflies flitted past. A couple of House sparrows flew in and out of stream-side shrubbery. An elderberry bush fruited at the water's edge, and a mockingbird picked off the berries and swallowed them one by one. It was lovely - the experience of calmly watching for wildlife, even in the midst of acres of pavement and strip malls, roaring traffic on Rte. 1, and the rat-a-tat-tat of machinery at the mechanic's.

August 9 - Hyde Park (Carly Rocklen) Wading through the tall grasses growing beneath a stand of Quaking aspen in the northern Fowl Meadow, I startled from the ground an American woodcock. With its speckled brown plumage and distinctly long beak, it flew up from the shaded tall grass and whizzed out of the stand of trees.

August 5 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) A Snowberry clearwing hummingbird moth harvested nectar from exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife growing in a wet meadow at Brookwood Farm.

August 5 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) In the morning, an adult American robin fed its very vocal and still speckled fledgling, the small, dark cherries from the Black cherry tree in which they'd settled.

August 4 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Around 8:30AM, I spotted a cicada that had recently emerged from its pupal skin. Both this new adult and its exoskeleton were perched on the New England asters I'd planted, last fall. The pale green adult cicada was sitting there, just a few inches away from its old, brown, crispy skin. (I wondered if its wings were hardening and sight sharpening.) This appeared to be a "Dog-day cicada" -- one of the "annual" cicada species, as opposed to the "periodical species" which emerge every 13-17 years, depending on whether they're in the southern or northern States. Dog-day cicadas have life cycles of 2 to 5 years, and the males sing to attract the females. 

August 3 - Milton (Carly Rocklen) Just before 6:30AM, as I stood along Eliot St. where it crosses Pine Tree Brook, taking water samples from the stream, a Great blue heron and then an Osprey flew quietly overhead, covered in morning sunlight.

August 2 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Just after 9AM, I was absolutely thrilled to spot a hummingbird zipping back and forth between red Bee balm flowers outside the house, sipping nectar from the narrow, tubular flowers. Then it zipzipped away. The most commonly seen hummingbird in MA is the Ruby-throated hummingbird, and this was probably a female Ruby-throated (it didn't have a scarlet-colored throat).

July 31 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) 

July 29 - Hyde Park (Carly Rocklen) Steeplebush, Meadowsweet, Blue vervain, Swamp milkweed, Arrow tearthumb, and Buttonbush are blooming in the northern Fowl Meadow wetlands along Meadow Rd., as is exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife. Joe-Pye weed is getting read to bloom. Alongside the road, Common evening primrose, Steeplebush, Meadowsweet, and Tansies are blooming, and exotic, invasive Black swallowwort is fruiting. Wild grape also is fruiting, as are wild berries (Rubus spp.).

July 29 - Milton (Carly Rocklen) Swamp milkweed, Cardinal flower (1st time I've seen it here in the Neponset River Watershed!), Climbing hempweed and Buttonbush are just a few of the species flowering in a wet meadow along Unquity Rd. (besides exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife).

July 29 - Canton / Milton (Carly Rocklen) Today's morning visit to a wet meadow at Brookwood Farm in the Blue Hills Reservation revealed that exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife -- although short because of springtime stress from the feeding of Purple loosestrife biocontrol beetles -- is flowering. (Sigh.) The plants have recovered enough to flower, unfortunately. I'm looking forward to the next feeding frenzy of their biocontrol beetles and offspring. On a better note, native goldenrods are beginning to bloom around a large portion of the wet meadow (although interspersed with the Purple loosestrife). I also watched a sparrow swallow the fruits from an exotic, invasive buckthorn shrub bordering the wet meadow. When wildlife eat the fruits of exotic, invasive plants, and then later go to the bathroom elsewhere, they spread the seeds...and thus the population of the exotic, invasive plant. I was watching this scenario in-action -

July 28 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) I wandered down a paved path in the Arnold Arboretum and spotted - beneath a spread of apple trees on a hill - a small sparrow vigorously searching the mowed grass for insects to feed its much larger (giant-almost!) youngster, who trailed behind. This appeared to be an instance of "brood parasitism." A larger bird - probably a Brown-headed cowbird - had laid at least one egg in the sparrow's nest. The sparrow then raised that egg, potentially along with its own. (Sometimes the young of brood parasites push out the other eggs of the nest.)

July 26 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) Tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus). Learn more at BugFacts or at Wickipedia. Sighted Tuesday, July 26, 2011, at around 13:30 on the dirt road leading to the Gavins Pond dam in Sharon. It was so preoccupied with feeding on some decomposing organic matter that I was able to approach within a few inches. 

July 24 - Neponset River (Carly Rocklen) On an overcast morning, friends of the Neponset River Watershed Association (NepRWA) went for a canoe ride along the Neponset River, through Fowl Meadow. We launched our boats at Paul's Bridge, at the intersection of Brush Hill Rd. and Neponset Valley Pkwy. in Milton. Out on the water, we spotted dragonflies and damselflies, Yellow water lilies, Painted turtles, large Silver maple trees leaning over the water (we paddled our way around them!), a Northern water snake hanging out in a sunlit wall of grapevines, American goldfinches calling as they flew over us, Yellow warblers calling from hidden perches in water-side shrubs, Cedar waxwings calling as they landed in water-side trees, Gray catbirds calling from the woods, Sensitive fern and Royal fern growing along the riverbanks, native viburnum and dogwood shrubs (and exotic, invasive buckthorn shrubs!) growing alongside the water. What a beautiful morning -

July 22 - Dedham (Carly Rocklen) As a precursor to Sat., July 23's, Dedham BioBlitz, a small group of people got together on Friday night, July 22, to identify the beetles, moths, flies and more, drawn to the brightness of an outdoor light in a Dedham backyard. View a gallery of photo's of some of the insects we spotted, hosted on Flickr. View another gallery of photo's taken by Alexis Bywater and posted on Facebook.

July 20 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) After too many months of attempting and failing to build a nest on our front porch, a pair of robins has succeeded. And now, despite the intensely hot and humid weather and glaring sun of summer, 2 very small and downy nestlings have emerged, tweeting softly for food. Perhaps this is the pair's second attempt at bringing up nestlings; robins are known to raise two clutches of eggs, each year. Learn more about robins.

July 18 - Milton (Carly Rocklen) During an early evening walk along the Burma Rd. trail through the northern Fowl Meadow wetlands in the Neponset River Reservation, we heard the singing of yellow songbirds (potentially American goldfinches) and watched the trembling of aspen leaves on a grove of tall trees beside the path. Common reed is still growing - not as tall as it'll get, yet! Silky dogwood is blooming along the path, and Blue vervain is blooming in the wet meadow. Joe-Pye weed is beginning to bloom along the edges of the path and in the wet meadow. Tall meadow rue is blooming along the path. A whole variety of sedges are fruiting - such interesting shapes growing from grass-like plants! Take a look close to your feet as you stroll along. Wild grapes are ripening - yet an unripe green, growing up vines along path-side shrubs and trees. Thistle is beginning to bloom. Vetch, Bird's-foot trefoil, Tansies, Chicory and Queen Anne lace are all blooming along the path. Boneset is beginning to bloom. The fruits of exotic, invasive Glossy buckthorn are ripening, and the fruits of Mile-a-minute are still green.

July 18 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) The hardy buzz of cicadas has emanated from surrounding trees, this last couple of weeks. And, this morning - while watering the flowers - I glanced upwards toward a source of this buzz and found two House sparrows chasing after the noise, in the air. I couldn't fathom a cicada fitting in either of their tiny mouths. However, it sounds like I'm not the only one who's observed this. Learn more about cicadas.

July 13 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) Here's a sequence of Pearl Crescent butterflies mating, which I photographed today at about 2:00 p.m. near the Gavins Pond soccer field in Sharon. Photo 1. Photo 2. Photo 3. Photo 4.

July 12 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron) On today's kayak paddle with the dogs on Ames Pond in Stoughton, I spotted this year's swan family. We have had a fatality and a lone swan around much earlier in the season, but this particular pair has produced FIVE little ones. Earlier swan families that I recall have produced only two. A number of kingbirds, who seem to like pond-side nests eyed the dogs as they swam or leaped in the shallows beneath them. A few Barn swallows flew above us all. Hundreds, more likely some thousands of White pond lilies dot this eutrifying waterway. The town considered purchasing a pond raker/thresher, but public works said that they did not have the manpower to run it. The thickening weeds provide an added work-out for the dogs as they swim through them. So it goes.

July 12 - Hyde Park (Carly Rocklen) Along the edge of Meadow Rd. in Readville, where pavement meets the thin strip of trees bordering the Fowl Meadow wetlands in the Neponset River floodplain, I strolled down a wooded, unofficial footpath into the wetland and came upon a fledgling songbird squawking from its perch on a fallen tree limb in the dappled sunlight of a sunny, piping-hot morning. Fuzzy feathers sprouted above its left eye. Adult robins twittered concernedly from surrounding trees. Meanwhile, also along the road shoulder, but in the sunlit, non-wooded sections, Meadowsweet, Black swallowwort, Nightshade and potentially Tall meadow rue and Spreading dogbane are blooming, and Blue vervain and Tansies are getting ready to flower. Within the wetland, Swamp milkweed is blooming. And, in an entirely different area of Hyde Park - along Stony Brook Reservation, where road meets moist woods, Swamp azalea is blooming.

July 11 - Milton (Carly Rocklen) While monitoring Purple loosestrife biocontrol plots in the wet meadow of Fowl Meadow along the Neponset River, we noticed that Bedstraw and Blue vervain are blooming among the tall grasses, Purple loosestrife, Spiraea and Swamp smartweed. Meanwhile, along the edge of open water and footpath, Swamp rose blooms. 

July 9 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) Northern water snake at Gavins Pond: picture 1 and picture 2.

July 6 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) Halloween penant dragonfly at Gavins Pond.

July 6 - Canton & Milton (Carly Rocklen) In the early evening, while waiting for a Beetle Rancher to arrive at our Purple loosestrife biocontrol treatment site at Brookwood Farm, I enjoyed early-summer nature: A male Baltimore oriole flew from tree to tree, crossing a small cattail marsh. A female Rose-breasted grosbeak called from a perch in a tree at the edge of the wet meadow. (This was the first time I'd seen a female grosbeak. Such a powerful, short beak and prominent eye-line. She looked like a big, powerful sparrow, or a juvenile of another species because of her coloring.) An oriole's nest hung gracefully from a slender branch by the cattail marsh. Joe-Pye weed is sporting flowerbuds, in the wet meadow. A few of the Purple loosestrife plants are blooming, and a few have flowerbuds. The new generation of Purple loosestrife biocontrol beetles are feeding on Purple loosestrife plants throughout the wet meadow. The Common milkweed plants recently reached the peak of flowering; the field by the wet meadow is filled with their flowers. And, in turn, these flowers are supporting a very visible and numerous population of the remarkable looking Red milkweed beetles, who are busy mating. Native dogwood shrubs are blooming along the edge of the wetlands, along with a couple of species of vetch. St. Johnswort is blooming at the edge of field and woods.

July 4 - Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen) On an afternoon walk through the Forest Hills Cemetery, a dense cacophony of bird calls led us to two Red-tailed hawks hunting together for Grey squirrels. One hawk would swoop out of a tall conifer to pursue a squirrel scrambling up another tree. Then the other hawk would fly from its hidden perch to land on the squirrel-occupied tree, close to the squirrel. This went on, squirrel after pursued squirrel. We did not see any "catches." Evidently, mated pairs of hawks hunt together; read more about Red-tailed hawks. We also spotted a Wild turkey and her two babies ("poults"), walking through the tall grasses, around gravestones.

July 1 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) If you have not yet seen it, check-out the photo gallery of Sharon's water features.

June 30 - Milton (Carly Rocklen) Took an early evening stroll into the Blue Hills Reservation, in the wooded hills behind the Trailside Museum. Wandered up the park road that starts near the Museum, and was awed by the masses of Whorled loosestrife growing tall and blooming (think tiers of star-like yellow flowers) in the rocky soil alongside the park road. Stunning display of delicate flowers.

June 29 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) Questionmark butterfly, Gavins Pond, 11:30AM. Learn more about Questionmark butterflies.

June 28 - Roslindale & Canton (Carly Rocklen) The fruits of the Black cherry tree are becoming visible. Still tiny green balls, gradually, they'll turn a dark purple to become the breakfast of choice for robins and other local birds. Though a few pale mulberries remain on the nearby mulberry tree, the Grey squirrels seem to be leaving them alone. I wonder why? Meanwhile, Common milkweed is blooming away in a field at Brookwood Farm in the Blue Hills Reservation, in Canton.

Spring 2011 Nature Sightings

June 20 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Grey squirrels and American robins munched on mulberries in a slender mulberry tree, this morning.

June 19 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron) On a kayak paddle with two grandchildren on Ames Pond in Stoughton, we saw a muskrat swimming ahead of us, surfacing two or three times before we lost track of him. He may have gone into an underwater den on the shore of the small island we were approaching. A barn swallow wheeled around us and five turkey vultures soared over us for a couple minutes. A swimming cormorant let us get closer than I recall ever getting in the past. There are a couple large rocks nearby, covered with cormorant droppings. On the island, we found five large (seven-inch) solid dark gray feathers and about the same number of four-inch lighter ones. Signs of molting? There did not seem to be enough to indicate a kill. Hundreds of white pond lily blossoms were open all around us, and a few yellow ones as well. Our two dogs were swimming with us, struggling to get through the lily pads, but seeing a gray squirrel on the shore gave them extra energy to swim through the pads and give chase.

June 18 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) While planting flowers, I noticed a large number of pudgy, orange larvae on a Bittersweet nightshade plant, carrying what looked like piles of miniature dirt balls on their backs. The larvae's fast progress up the nightshade was unnerving - as was the amount of damage they'd inflicted. Fortunately, I noticed that the only plant in the garden that the larvae appeared to eat was nightshade. Wanting to be sure that they wouldn't also devour the plants I was putting in, I looked them up on-line - first to identify them, and then to check their dietary habits. According to the information I found, these are the larvae of Three-lined potato beetles, and they feed specifically on Bittersweet nightshade and plants in that same family ("Solanaceae"). Unfortunately, the Petunias that I'd already planted in the garden and the Calibrachoa that I was in the process of planting are in Solanaceae, so they're a potential food source. Because of this, and because the nightshade is not a native plant (I tend to keep native plants around as food sources for small wildlife), I removed most of it - along with the larvae - and moved them over to another part of the yard where more nightshade grows. Now, back to the piles of "dirt balls" on the backs of the larvae; these are piles of fecal matter that the larvae use as a defense against predators. This "frass" contains a toxin from the nightshade, which many predators can't tolerate.

June 17 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) Galerucella beetle larvae on loosestrife, Gavins Pond. Larva. Chewed Purple loosestrife plant. Larva. Editor's note: Galerucella beetles and their larvae are used as a "biological control" mechanism to reduce the prevalence of exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife plants in North America. NepRWA and DCR have been partnering to raise and release these beetles in the Fowl Meadow wetlands and at Brookwood Farm. Beetles from similar projects throughout Massachusetts travel over the landscape, searching out Purple loosestrife plants on which to feed. Their feeding stresses the plants, causing the Purple loosestrife to expend energy to regenerate leaves instead of to produce flowers. This helps to reduce the spread of Purple loosestrife by reducing seed production.

June 16 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Mountain laurel shrubs have been blooming up a storm at the Arnold Arboretum.

June 14 - Foxborough (Carly Rocklen) During the Annual Meeting of the Neponset River Watershed Association, a group of more than 50 explored a little of the daylighted Neponset River that flows along the edge of the parking lot at Gillette Stadium. We saw a variety of species in the now lush, 10-year-old ecological restoration site: a small turtle nestled into the greenery along the edge of the water; a Canada goose pair and their four or so little ones, paddling along; a muskrat; waxwings; Song sparrows; a yellow bird; willow tree; tamarack tree; native dogwood shrub; cattails; native rose bushes; vetch; Purple loosestrife that's been chowed-down upon by biocontrol beetles and their larvae (larvae were visible on the plants; adult beetles were not); trees in the Elaeagnaceae family (e.g., like Autumn-olive); and also, in the water: crayfish of all ages; stonefly nymphs, daphnia, a leech, and other benthic macroinvertebrates.

June 9 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) Where Ponkapoag Pond and the Ponkapoag Golf Course meet, the air is alive with the sounds of Yellow warblers, Warbling vireos and Baltimore orioles. One oriole nest is very visible, and the adults come and go with food for the young birds.

June 6 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) I went for a walk around Ponkapoag Pond after work, today. I was grateful to see a few of the last Wild geranium flowers. It's been a while since I took one of these walks, and I can't believe how quickly we've moved from early spring to early summer. Everything is LUSH in the woods and the wetlands and along the edge of the pond. I was pleased to see Blue flag and Tufted loosestrife blooming at the pond's edge. And, along the brief segment of the boardwalk that I could access without sinking beneath the water, I spotted elegantly flowering Water arum. In the woods, Mapleleaf viburnum is blooming. I also spotted one of the plants in the Ericaceae family blooming (e.g., think blueberry or leatherleaf flowers - small, dangling, bell-shaped and white). Cinnamon and Royal ferns' reproductive fronds are a rich red-brown. Jack-in-the-pulpits' leaves are large now, and the flowers look diminutive in comparison.

June 2 - Sharon (Paul Lauenstein) Turquoise bluet, Gavins Pond.

May 30 - Dorchester (Jennice Phillips) I would like to report a Fisher cat sighting in Dorchester. I was walking my dog yesterday at around 8:30 a.m. along the back of the Baker Condos in Lower Mills. The river was to my right. I looked at the bank on the left because there are Lupines growing there, and I saw a Fisher cat. I know it was a Fisher cat because I had Googled it when I heard of people at Dorchester Park saying they saw one at the park and Cedar Grove Cemetery.

May 23 - Walpole (Christine Grady) We found this on the grass near the pond [Willett Pond]. Someone dropped their breakfast!

May 12 - Milton, Roslindale & Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen) I visited both the Blue Hills Reservation, in Milton, today, and also the Arnold Arboretum on the Jamaica Plain / Roslindale line. 

     During my quick, woodsy walk in the Blue Hills, I was excited to hear and then spot a Scarlet tanager hanging out at the top of a tall tree at the edge of a field. This is a bright red bird, with black wings. All kinds of ferns are unfurling along the walking paths. I didn't see any Starflower, Wood anemone or Wild geranium flowers, though I had hoped to; have they already come and gone? Have Marsh marigolds come and gone? Sessile bellwort flowers are few and far between; their remaining flowers are dried out. Pink lady's-slippers - just the leaves, so far - are rising from the pine-needle-covered forest floor. I wonder when Striped wintergreen will flower? Wild sarsparilla is flowering. Canada mayflowers and Solomon's seal-like plants are beginning to bloom. Yellow trout-lily has finished flowering, and the flowers have disappeared.

     In people's yards and at the Arboretum, Bluebells are coming up. Most tulips have come and gone, though some linger in the shade. Snowdrops are long gone, forsythia and Scilla flowers have passed, and the big hyacinths have come and gone. Grape hyacinth and Daffodils hang on. There is a very strong showing of lilac flowers. Lily-of-the-valley's just beginning to bloom, and Black cherry trees follow in their footsteps. Flowering dogwoods (white and pink), azaleas, Redbud, Viburnum carlesii, Wisteria, and violets (white and purple), Bleeding hearts, barberry, dandelions, Greater celandine, Garlic mustard and a neighbor's deep-purple irises are blooming. Magnolia trees are losing their flower petals as they leaf out. Apple trees (?) are blooming up a storm in the Arboretum, around Peter's Hill. A yellow flower - similar to Marsh marigold - is blooming along the ground beneath a wall of hemlock trees in the Arboretum. 

     Birds are calling all around the Arboretum -- Yellow warblers, American goldfinches, Baltimore orioles, American robins, Eastern towhees, Warbling vireos, Northern cardinals, Gray catbirds, Northern mockingbirds and a variety of tiny warblers with buzzy voices, while people chat and sniff lilacs.

May 5 - Roslindale & Canton (Carly Rocklen) This morning, an Eastern towhee's saying "drink your teaaaa, drink your teaaa" out our window, and I'm surprised to hear it. Besides it being the first time I've heard a towhee, this season, normally, I would expect to hear a towhee on one of the drier slopes of Blue Hills Reservation. Our street is a lot different than that Blue Hills landscape! Now, it could be that what I'm listening to is a catbird or mockingbird imitating a towhee.... Later this morning, as I'm sitting at my work desk in Canton, petals float past my window, willy nilly, sent by a flowering tree.... Also - on another tangent - exotic, invasive Garlic mustard has been blooming for the last several days.

May 4 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Spring flowers always come like a rush - unexpected, even too-soon. I don't feel open enough / believing enough to enjoy. And, now the calls of tiny, hidden warblers are here - seeping from newly-greened trees. Their burry calls drift up and up. Wrens hop about, too, with a water-whistle-like song. And, I wander around in the AM, coffee mug in hand, looking at newly planted flowers....

April 30 - Canton & Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen) I heard & saw my first Baltimore orioles of the season, today.

April 28 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Spring-colored leaves and flowers are emerging all over the trees outside. The colors are tremendous -- especially the combo of Japanese maple leaves (maroon) directly in front of Norway maple flowers (bright green-yellow). There's a dim light throughout the house, this morning, and trees and shrubs sway in the wind -- including bright-yellow forsythia. Even the red tulips are moving. Heavy rain is expected.

April 27 - Canton & Milton (Carly Rocklen) Throughout the work day, Chimney swifts twittered over the parking lot outside our office. It's good to hear them again! And, early this evening, I stopped at Blue Hills Reservation to see that these wildflowers are up (meaning that spring has really sprung): Starflowers (leaves), Sessile bellwort (flowers & leaves), ferns (fiddleheads), Canada mayflowers (been up for a while, but they're *everywhere*), & Yellow trout-lilies are blooming.

April 26 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) The flies are certainly out. In force, during the day.

Mid-April - Milton (Walter Jonas) A small flock of turkeys, two hens and a tom, began coming up from the woods along the Neponset a few weeks ago. The tom puffed himself out, fanned his tail feathers, but the hens were demur, at least in public. This happened for several days. Then one day, I saw a crow dive bombing a fox in my back yard, the fox was chasing one of the hens, which flew up in a tree, about twenty feet, to a branch, and sat there. The fox took off. The crows went back to their patrol of the skies. It was the first time I had seen a fox, and I wondered how come I had never before understood that crows seem to be the police of the wilds. I had seen them take on hawks before, but did not realize they would also attack ground predators.

April 15 - Foxborough (Carly Rocklen) This morning, on a walk along the daylighted portion of the Neponset River at Gillette Stadium, we were excited to see budding & leafing vegetation growing throughout the river corridor - small trees like alder, willow and tamarack, and shrubs, sedges, rushes and grasses - as well as active bird-life, and a small, green-grey snake who we heard and then spotted wriggling through last year's fallen flower-stalks of native goldenrod and exotic, invasive Purple loosestrife.

April 12-13 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) On the commute into work on this rainy, warm morning, it was a joy to see the field at Indian Line Farm greened up; new, bright green grass blades have grown through last year's yellowed, dried thatch. And a walk in the early evening, yesterday, along the path that rims Ponkapoag Pond showed the new leaves of native Wood geranium and exotic, invasive Garlic mustard growing amidst the leaf litter, as well as Marsh marigold growing in a stream.

April 11 - Canton / Stoughton (Carly Rocklen) In the woods around Dead Meadow Swamp on the Canton / Stoughton line, Steph and I spotted harbingers of spring. A small, blue Spring azure butterfly flapped above the crushed pavement of the path, variously settling down and setting off again. A pair of Eastern bluebirds perched in trees at the edge of the woods and sports field (note to self, to remember: the female is hardly blue, and with an orange-y chest). Globular green buds lit up Northern spicebush (scroll down the hyperlinked page to see more photo's), growing along a stream, and a large gathering of Springtails covered the leaf-strewn path in a dusky blue. Also, during an early evening walk in the Blue Hills Reservation, it was exciting to see that the mottled leaves of Yellow trout-lily have emerged from the wooded bank of a brook.

April 9 & 10 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) Newly blooming as of this past weekend: Forsythia, Magnolia, Hyacinths, Chionodoxa, and Scilla. This morning I also noticed that the flower stalks of Grape hyacinth are emerging from the soil. Also, some shrubs are leafing out. Last week, the catkins of birch trees were noticeable. At the Arnold Arboretum, a Mourning cloak butterfly flapped by - a spring sign, for sure!

April 7 - Roslindale, Canton & Milton (Carly Rocklen) The spring song of Dark-eyed juncos lit up the soundscape in Roslindale, this morning; it's reminiscent of a water-whistle. Meanwhile, in Canton - where the Ponkapoag Golf Course meets the surrounding woods, cattail marsh, and pond - Spring peepers chorused in mid-afternoon. A magical and welcome spring sound! Robins called from perches in the maple trees lining the paved path of the golf course. New, red, folded pond lily leaves were visible through the water of Ponkapoag Pond, poking from the bottom muck. And, daffodils and dandelions bloomed alongside the NepRWA office. Later in the day, I stopped in Milton, at Blue Hills Reservation, on my way home from work. Walked about six min's into the woods & down to the edge of a field, where I stood just in the opening, warmed by end-of-day sunlight. I listened & watched. Eventually I heard two owls talking with one another - one with a high voice, the other low. Listened for a long while, and they moved here and there in the woods, unseen, voices alternately growing louder & softer. They were Great horned owls. Listen.

Week of March 28 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) While walking across the parking lot of the Ponkapoag Golf Course, I heard the call of a phoebe for the first time this spring.

March 23 - Quincy (Jean Mackey) Spring is coming! We live next to a little pond in Quincy. We spotted the first returning egret on Sunday. Today we've counted eleven! I love this time of year!

March 20 - Blue Hills Reservation (Carly Rocklen) During the early afternoon, Ale and I explored vernal pools in the Blue Hills Reservation, seeking signs of life. Wood frogs were quacking, a Spring peeper called, and a toad trilled. (Listen to frogs.) We spotted egg masses laid by amphibians, a few tadpoles, Fairy shrimp, isopods, floating frogs, a Caddisfly larva, and lots of little critters bopping around in the water. Ale also spotted a Red-backed salamander alongside the vernal pool. See our pictures. Learn more about these short-lived, significant wetlands - aka vernal pools.

Winter 2011 Nature Sightings

March 17 - Milton (Carly Rocklen) Took a dusk walk along a path through the northern Fowl Meadow wetlands along the Neponset River: Cacophony of duck calls from the river. Ducks flying over the flooded wetlands. Chickadees hopping through shrubbery. Red-winged blackbirds calling. Wild canid scat, old & new, with fur and bones visible - everywhere. Pair of Canada geese and a few Mallards paddled by, in the wetlands. Sound of Wood ducks overhead. Even scared up what appeared to be a Woodcock! Robins called. Very few plants are green - just moss and the weathered leaves of a few rushes, Garlic mustard and Rubus species.

March 15 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) The speckled red, green and yellow spathes of Skunk cabbage continue to emerge from the leaf-covered, wooded banks of Ponkapoag Brook. Some of the Skunk cabbage spathes are particularly colorful. Learn more about our native Skunk cabbage - a harbinger of spring. (Note that a mystery plant also continues to shoot from sunlit edges of the brook. I wonder what it will be?)

March 13 - Foxborough (Faith Berkland) Bald eagle in Foxborough. I was on a walk with my brother, as is our habit. Usually we go up on the transmission line in Foxboro but due to the wet conditions we stayed on the road. As we started back we heard crows cawing behind us and I looked up ahead of me due to some motion and noticed a large brown bird flying. As I followed it with my eyes, it flew almost directly above me, it wasn't up very high, maybe 30 feet and we saw the distinctive white head. This was on Willow Street at the transmission towers, there's a turnaround there, and a Foxboro Canoe River Conservation Land sign.

March 11 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) On a dusk stroll along the path ringing Ponkapoag Pond in the Blue Hills Reservation, a Red-winged blackbird called from a perch in the cattail marsh. What a welcome sound of spring. They're migrating back!

March 10 - Hyde Park (Carly Rocklen) While I waited to turn at an intersection, this morning, a Red-tailed hawk flew up over the Readville train tracks to perch in a tree. An animal with a skinny tail hung from its talons.

March 9 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron) A small flock of blackbirds just flew overhead in Stoughton. First time I have heard those rattles this spring. The season is backwards because of all the snow, and the ice is still thick in most places on Ames Pond. Nevertheless, I have started to hear more Blue jay fine-weather "boink" (it is somewhat more melodic than that) calls and cardinal whistles. I need to find some worms to supplement the scanty crew in my compost pile. It was a bad winter for worms in the compost pile.

March 9 - Hyde Park (Carly Rocklen) This AM, on my commute into work, I parked the car, got out & walked to Mother Brook to watch a small flock of paddling white & black Common mergansers. Strikingly beautiful ducks. (See a photo from this morning.) Afterwards, I hopped back in the car and stopped at Meadow Rd., also in Hyde Park, where I took a look at the Purple loosestrife biological control site in the Fowl Meadow wetlands. NepRWA and DCR work here, each year. It's under water with all that snow- and ice-melt!

March 8 - Canton (Carly Rocklen) Took a brief stroll along the wooded banks of Ponkapoag Brook, at Ponkapoag Golf Course. Skunk cabbage is emerging all along the stream and in moist depressions in the woods! Another species of plant also is emerging; what could it be?

March 6 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen) After a night of rain, no more snow is visible in our backyard. And the darkness of the rain-soaked ground brings out the brightness of the white, bell-like blossoms of Snowdrops.

March 5 - Roslindale & Jamaica Plain (Carly Rocklen) 

In the mid-afternoon on this gray, warmer-than-usual day, I went for a walk through the Arnold Arboretum. What I saw:  The bright, string-y flowers of witch-hazel shrubs are putting on a spectacular show. The Arboretum is home to several kinds of witch-hazel, one of which has orange-colored flowers that smell like oranges, too. I caught sight of a variety of woodpeckers (a flicker, Downy woodpeckers, and a Red-bellied woodpecker) searching for food and tapping on tree trunks. (I also didn't recognize one woodpecker! I wonder what it could have been?) A loud flock of European starlings occupied a tall tree along the walking path at Peter's Hill. Robins chortled, here and there. Downy woodpeckers hopped through trees and shrubs, looking for food. I could hear the calls of Red-winged blackbirds or starlings, in the distance (every spring it takes a while for me to become re-accustomed to bird noises and recognize them again). Chickadees and Tufted titmice hopped along bare branches, chattering. A few goldfinches called, overhead. I heard the soft calls of either House finches or Purple finches, at one point. Meanwhile, cardinals called throughout the Arboretum. Two Red-tail hawks flew close together while screeching, visible through a stand of trees. They floated over the walking path. These birds were mostly white, with pale red tails (seen from below), and a prominent, darker stripe across the chest. A pair of crows pursued a hawk, one crow getting closest and being the most vocal. A flicker flew from a tree, swooping low to the ground. Blue jays screeched from the top of a conifer - one then taking off, and the other following. A Northern mockingbird flew from lilac shrub to fence post, the white markings on its wings bright against the dull late-winter landscape. A Mourning dove flew to a branch and sat still as another cooed from nearby. Snowdrops bloomed along the walkway.

March 4 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen)  This morning I just spotted Snowdrops blooming and Crocuses emerging from the chilly ground in our backyard. -- These flowers did not evolve in North America; they were brought here. According to Wickipedia, crocuses are "...native to a large area from coastal and subalpine areas of central and southern Europe (including the islands of the Aegean), North Africa and the Middle East, across Central Asia to western China." And, Snowdrops are "native to a large area of Europe, stretching from the Pyrenees in the west, through France and Germany to Poland in the north, Italy, Northern Greece, Ukraine, and European Turkey." A small flock of Dark-eyed juncos also scouted the frozen ground covered in yellowed, dried grass for food. Hop/pick/hop/pick/hop.

March 2 - Canton (Carly Rocklen)  During the week of February 21, yellowed daffodil shoots appeared by the front door of our office. I wondered if they'd sprung up beneath the snow, which had acted as an insulating layer, and if, once the spell of warmer weather and rain had come, the snow melted away to reveal the daffodil shoots. Now that the plants have had a week's exposure to more sun and slightly warmer temperatures, the shoots have grown to a deeper shade of green. Daffodils are not a native plant, here in Massachusetts. Wickipedia notes that they are from North Africa, Asia and Europe. Another source indicates the Iberian peninsula. 

February 24 - Canton (Andy Leahy)  Followed back-and-forth coyote tracks, across a frozen Reservoir Pond, in Canton, yesterday. I've seen Red fox along its shores as well. Also saw what I'm pretty sure were otter prints, along the Neponset, near Signal Hill, the day before.

February 21 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron)  Scattered feathers, a little blood, and cat tracks...but, I think the cat is innocent and the perpetrator a hawk, who left behind what you see here, and the cat explored later. Hawks pull out a lot of feathers, and cats usually not.

     Not far from this spot I once saw a hawk holding down a still living Blue jay, tearing out its feathers. I opened the door to take a picture, and the cat -- a different one, this was a number of years ago -- sneaked out and scared away the hawk. The half-naked Blue jay flew awkwardly to a nearby briar patch, but likely did not survive. (This time it was gray feathers, most likely a junco or a titmouse.)
     I am surprised that the nearby Cooper's hawks do not strike here more often. Lately there have been many sparrows and juncos feeding on top of the snow here, and plenty of squirrels as well. But I think that it is hard for the big hawks to catch the darting small birds, whereas the Blue jays are more like slow-flying Stuka dive bombers and a a bit easier to snatch, or so my theory goes. The kestrels would be better at getting the smaller birds, but the Cooper's hawks are suspected of decimating them.

February 18 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen)  Whereas it was unclear over the last week, it's now obvious. The buds on a small tree and shrub in our yard are opening. Pale-gray fuzziness is exposed. Yes, just one more month 'til Spring! (Roslindale is just outside of the Neponset River Watershed. Adjacent communities of Mattapan and Hyde Park are in Neponset Watershed.) 

February 16 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron)  This turtle (or what was left of it) was out on the ice and snow on the pond today, twenty feet from shore.... I think that some critter had dug it up, eaten the parts it could get to and left it out on the ice. It hasn't been there long or it would have melted down into the snow more. 

     [On considering alternative hypothesis that early release from hibernation might be cause of death:  We did have two warm days (enough to have pools of water on top of the ice) followed by that severe snap back to the teens, but I would think that all the remaining snow and ice would have kept the turtle from coming out of hibernation. Still, quite a bit of melting took place right on the pond margins, and maybe the turtle's spot warmed up much too soon.] 

February 16 - Canton (Carly Rocklen)  This week, from my office window overlooking the parking lot of the Ponkapoag Golf Course and Canton Hockey Rink, I've seen V-formations of Canada geese flying overhead. Migration time? 

February 9 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen)  Bright red Northern cardinal, dark-grey and white Dark-eyed juncos, a little chickadee, a sparrow with a striped head and mottled brown and white body, and a pudgy Grey squirrel are hopping and leaping around the snowy home-scape, this morning. I write as I watch them, from indoors. Tufted titmouse just showed up. It's perched on the chain-link fence that separates our property from our neighbor's. Another titmouse has flown to the branch above and is looking around. Blue jay's popped in. Male cardinal is chasing a female around. Small group of feisty, vocal Blue jays is wreaking havoc in shrubbery along chain-link fence. It looks like the buds on a scraggly tree are starting to open -- they're either starting to open or a squirrel or bird has munched on them

February 9 - Dorchester (Ned Flaherty)  I was driving in to work this morning and saw a Bald eagle in the marsh right before the Keystone building.

February 9 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen)  Brilliant red Northern cardinal is SINGING in the shrub outside the window. Spring's on the way! Do the bubbling song of the cardinal & the fly banging on the window pane mean a seasonal thaw?

February 1 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron)  Otter sign at base of culvert. See otter scat right where the culvert, which runs under our property, empties into the pond. I need to study these tracks more to try to distinguish them, if I can, from what I think are the fisher tracks. I also should put one of my motion-sensitive cameras here. 

     This is clearly the scat of an otter. There are fish scales in it, and it is close to one of the open spots where they can get under the ice. This spot melts along the shoreline because of shallow water, shelter from the wind and -- it faces south. Otter sign: It looks as if the otter left some splatter on the snow, but that may have been from our other dog checking out the hole before I arrived. Drier hole. Editor's Note: Learn more about River otters.

February 1 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron)  Fisher moving first. Or so my theory goes. You can see tracks on the surface as well, possibly the same animal moving on its circuit a day later when the crust had frozen. But I see no sign of the rear foot print, which on a fisher is longer, more oval than the round outline of the front paws. I don't think that fishers like such wide-open spaces, either. Another photo of the tracks. Editor's Note: Learn more about living with Fisher cats.

January 30 - Roslindale (Carly Rocklen)  It's early afternoon, and I've just watched a small hawk catch a European starling on the snowy ground outside my window. Slowly, patiently, the hawk killed its prey, using sharp claws to puncture the starling and exerting pressure (suffocatingly?) with strong yellow feet. Once the starling had quieted down, the hawk began to tear feathers from the nape of the starling's neck; they fluttered down around the birds, landing on the snow. Then the hawk began to feed. Set against blood- and berry-spattered, feather-dotted snow, eventually I turned away. I searched my bookshelf for a bird-identification book, and after a few minutes of debate, identified the small predator as a juvenile Sharp-shinned hawk. A short while later, the hawk flew off with the mangled starling in its talons to land in a cedar tree up the hill, where it consumed the rest of its meal. The wind proved a challenge; fluttering wings and shifting perch were visible. While the urban hunt scene was captivating, now I always will bear the slow-moving image of the starling as victim, opening and closing its beak, narrow tongue working, blood dripping onto snow, attempting to move a wing, with the hawk reacting by adjusting strong yellow feet on the victim. I found myself torn - wanting to stop the process and free the starling, while appreciating that a native predatory bird had found a winter meal - especially one that consisted of an exotic, invasive species. I was horrified for the starling, who had simply set out to eat berries on a rough wintry day, with a flock of friends and family, and now was here, in intense pain, life ending at the shear whim and violence of another bird. There at the window, I silently thanked the world for the starling's life. (Roslindale is just outside of the Neponset River Watershed. The adjacent communities of Mattapan and Hyde Park are both in the watershed.) 

January 27 - Stoughton (Dwight Mac Kerron)  Sparrows bathing.

Late January - Roslindale (Linda Burnett)  Had a hawk munching on a Junco in my backyard last week. I believe the hawk was a Red-tailed hawk, but having never seen one quite so close-up before, its well-feathered legs and compact size made me question my initial ID. The ultra-deep snow cover is allowing us to witness uncommon behavior in ALL species! I love birding because it shows we haven't killed off absolutely everything yet.

     A couple of years ago, there was a coyote sighted by several people on Mendum Street. I have seen coyotes crossing South Street between the two pieces of the Arboretum. I once saw hawks mating in a tree there, and a deer, plus unbelievable amounts of cardinals and other sorts of common birds. I once THOUGHT I saw a fox on that same stretch, between the Peters Hill part of the Arb and the new footpath, crossing South Street, but it was night and it might have just been a smaller coyote. 

     BTW, the coyote from a couple of years ago was accused of killing at least one housecat -- left nothing but a bunch of fluff! (Roslindale is just outside of the Neponset River Watershed. The adjacent communities of Mattapan and Hyde Park are both in the watershed.) 

January 7 - Milton (Carly Rocklen)  A coyote crossed the road in front of me, as I drove into work this morning. It crossed from a field by a condo development into the woods of the Neponset River floodplain, in the Fowl Meadow Area of Critical Environmental Concern. A magical moment, for this city resident.