Uncategorized – Page 3 – the suburban naturalists

California Trip — Part 2

Scenes from RK’s last post— As you might recall from my March 1st post, I made a quick one week trip out to CA in late January and throughout, I squeezed in as much Birding and nature watching as I could. The second part of our trip took us to a conference in Newport Beach.Continue reading “California Trip — Part 2”

Writing About Nature

Sometime last year I decided to start writing about my most seminal experiences in nature. These are moments that are seared into my memory they are simply, unforgettable. I treasure each of these memories for the sense of wonder , awe or sometimes fear that they instill in me. These memories, collectively, bring me backContinue reading “Writing About Nature”

California Trip — Part 1

Back in January I made a one week trip out to the West Coast. I spent several days in Carmel, California and a few in the Newport Beach area. The stay was amazing. In Carmel, I was just a few miles from Point Lobos Nature Reserve and right up the street from Big Sur stateContinue reading “California Trip — Part 1”

Find Opportunities to Learn and Share

Sometimes opportunities to learn about your world present themselves like when wildlife appears in your yard, in your neighborhood or in a park or other natural setting. However, when opportunities are not presented to you it is beneficial to seek out those opportunities. A lot of parks in my county have nature centers that haveContinue reading “Find Opportunities to Learn and Share”

What Are Field Marks?

Peter’s January 25th post about backyard sparrows described the need for and the use of field marks. Glancing at a group of ground pecking sparrows, you might say they all look the same and be on your way, much the same way Carolina did. However, if you pause and look a little closer, you mightContinue reading “What Are Field Marks?”

Animal Tracks

I love snow days. I am a teacher so snow days for me are bonus days with my family. Another pleasure I glean from a fresh snowfall is checking out the animal tracks around my neighborhood and to see what wildlife has visited my yard. It has been a lot of fun to track animalsContinue reading “Animal Tracks”

Watch Your Step and Name that Scat

While taking the garbage out the other day, I looked down and found this pile of s-word awaiting my right boot. What the crap? And I found it odd for a few reasons. First, because I am not accustomed to seeing a pile like that in my backyard. Like, since the two years that IContinue reading “Watch Your Step and Name that Scat”

Backyard birding meets backyard learning

I am a birder. I enjoy birding. At times this really annoys my family and gets a few wise cracks from friends of mine but it brings me way too much enjoyment to really care and as my brother stated, in an earlier post, he and I are competing this year to see who willContinue reading “Backyard birding meets backyard learning”

The Ecosystem Near By

A simple Bing search for the term ecosystem renders the following definition – a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. So now we might want to search for biological community. Simply put, a biological community is a group or a collection of organisms that live together in the same geographic location andContinue reading “The Ecosystem Near By”

Red Fox

We see a red fox weekly in our neighborhood. To say it is common is an understatement. I see the red fox more often than I see some of my neighbors. Seeing a medium sized mammal species, like the fox, elicits excitement from my children from ages 4 – 9 and it is an invitationContinue reading “Red Fox”