wild

As summer begins, we should be aware the avian breeding season is not over yet.

Last month, I focused on the start of the birds’ breeding season; it is now well underway in our area.

You may have noticed that spring has sprung earlier than usual in 2023.

Birds that are mainly black in color are abundant at my feeders right now.

In 2014, on a birding trip with the New Hope Audubon Society, it was my good fortune to see and photograph a falcon that I had not seen before.

While we generally see “flashier” birds during the spring and summer, late autumn and winter migrations bring many waterfowl to the eastern half of N.C.

Autumn is now in full swing with colorful leaves turning brown and falling from the trees that they helped nurture.

One of my favorite local reptiles is the Carolina anoles.

Late summer and early autumn are wonderful times to walk in woods and meadows.

Last month, many Orange County residents were alerted to the eruption of profusely blooming sunflower fields that were attracting both birds and people.

All life on our earth needs water to exist — plants, animals, and humans.

While birds are quite active right now with nest building, incubating eggs, feeding nestlings and then guiding fledglings, there are also other beautiful flyers to see when we’re out walking and sitting in natural surroundings. Butterflies like those above are especially popular.

The title of this month’s column might lead older readers to expect a treatise about old cars being used for an afternoon outing.

You don’t need to travel much, however, to be able to see quite a few different types of birds.

We had freezing temperatures last week, and we could still have a few more brisk mornings this month.

When a bird turns up in an area where its species doesn’t normally spend time — either year-round or during migratory seasons —many people will travel long distances to see it.

With the relatively numerous days of temperatures in the 60s and even 70s in the past 6 weeks or so, it seemed as if “real” winter weather might be passing us by this season.

As 2021 draws to a close and many of us enjoy a few free days, we may take outdoor walks, alone or in the company of others.

This week, the town of Chapel Hill is celebrating Arbor Week, culminating in a Nov. 19 ceremony where Mayor Pam Hemminger will read an Arbor Day Proclamation and accept the Tree City USA Award from the N.C. Forest Service.

North Carolina is known among birders as a destination for “hawk watches,” i.e., gatherings of people to see groups of hawks that are migrating south (for winter) or north (for summer).

A combination of abundant vegetation and some kind of water — a creek, river, wetland, pond or lake — is one of my favorite types of natural area to visit for wildlife watching…

When an unusual avian visitor turns up locally, birders tend to get excited. Many birders keep “life lists,” records of all the different bird species that they have seen worldwide…

This year, National Forestry Week took place from July 12th-18th.

This past May, I had the opportunity to experience both wonder and awe when observing two interesting insects busy with life events. While not many people aside from entomologists….