We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
January is a good time for listening for owls. If they are active enough, you can see them in daytime too.
By coincidence, two friends sent me pics of Barred Owls last week. They are not rare. I've watched a pair for years using an old crow's nest in a Hemlock grove in Massachusetts.
Our readers know that the Honeybee is a non-native bee in North America. It was imported from Europe for agricultural purposes, mainly honey production. However, because they live in large hives, they have become industrial-scale assets for agriculture.
None of our native bees produce honey. There are 4000 native bee species in North America.
The Aug-Oct migration of the eastern Monarch butterflies from the US and Canada to one small area in central Mexico is, to my mind, more remarkable than the march of those cute penguins in Antarctica. (Those west of the Rockies fly to southern California.) As they pass through New England, I see them fattening up on my buddleias (photo yesterday), but they have been around the milkweed in the meadows all summer. And that's why birds never eat them - they ingest a nasty flavor from the milkweed and birds won't touch 'em.
Females of many species of Orb-Weaving Spiders (common in gardens) consume their mates following a romp in the web.
Same thing goes for many species of Fireflies. I am seeing lots of them in the morning darkness. Delightful beetles doing their courtship dance in the moonlight.
Most of their life cycle is spent under water. It's fun to put a net into the shore of a pond to discover how many critters live in the mud and rotting leaves. Tadpoles, pollywogs, baby fish, and all sorts of larvae. Maybe even a 2" baby Snapping Turtle.
Like most other bugs, their "adult" reproductive phases are usually brief - a week or two. However, their time as eggs, larvae (in this case, caterpillars), and pupae varies depending on species and climate.
Some even migrate (eg Monarchs) and some, like Mourning Cloaks, (photo) hibernate, which is why you sometimes see them fully-fledged on the first warm days of Spring. Tough buggers, live on tree sap.
The old inner harbor, Wellfleet, now silted up but once filled with tall ships, coastal schooners, and fishing vessels. The railroad dike - and the railroad itself -ended all that in the later 1800s. Congo Church steeple in distance.
I usually find turtle eggshells around these marshes. Diamondback Terrapin eggshells dug up by skunks and raccoons. This is the northernmost limit of their range. Rarely seen, wary, but they are around. Wonderful critters of the salt- and brackish marshes. They enjoy the edges of the spartina. Plenty of food for them. Problem is that they lay their eggs on the beaches. Despite predators of their eggs (fox, skunks) and of their babies (egrets), their species seems to survive.
Cape Cod may have had a little bit of topsoil long ago, but now the Outer Cape (aka the Lower Cape - north of Chatham) is pretty much all sand (which is why the Indians needed to throw a herring into each hill of corn), and the dominant tree is the Pitch Pine. Where it's subject to wind, it doesn't get much higher than a 6' scrub form.
Here's the path to our not-too-secret wild Blackberry patch, where it's not unusual to see a cheerful Eastern Box Turtle, to hear Bob Whites calling during the day, and Whip-Poor-Wills calling in the evening. Shrubs on front left, Beach Plum. Tree on right, Black Oak. Trees in background, Pitch Pine.
The basic outer Cape upland habitat is now Pitch Pine with an understory of Scrub Oak, with scatterings of Black Oak and feral Black Locust, with grasses below. In sunny spots, Bayberry, Blackberry, Poison Ivy, and Beach Plum. An occasional patch of wild blueberry filled with greedy Robins and Catbirds. This is officially known as Pitch Pine/Scrub Oak Barrens, but, for me, it's heaven. I hope that heaven, if I get there (doubtful) smells like hot sand, Pitch Pine, and Bayberry. The ground cover in the photo below is the dwarf shrub Common Bearberry with its small red berries in August. This was a foggy early morning:
Poison Ivy is a native vine to North America. Apparently humans are the creatures for whom it is an annoying weed. Animals seem to like it.
When your dog runs through a patch, be careful about hugging your dog.
I've had plenty of unpleasant experiences of it in my life. Now I know that Dawn detergent after contact is a miracle. Sometimes it is difficult to avoid.
We had a major incoming flight of warblers Friday night, so Sat. morning was full of warbler calls. I only know the calls of the most common warblers, but it is better to learn their calls rather than straining your neck for an hour to peer into the treetops.
Interestingly, that same flight left last night and there is nary a warbler this morning. Birders love those big flights that arrive overnight.
If you have poor memory for bird song, there is an iPhone app for that: Merlin Bird ID. It is not 100% accurate - but what is?
Saw a flock of around a dozen this morning which I believe are the first arrivals here from their home grounds in Central America. These acrobatic fliers are the most common of American swallows. If you have an open barn, you will get their poo all over your tractors and stuff. We would always put a tarp over the tractor.
You can read about these cool birds at All About Birds: Barn Swallow
I also saw my first Tree Swallow of the season this morning.
It's not about "climate change", it's about the loss of farm fields in the Northeast. Raggedy pasture is not much of a thing anymore. Pastures are back to woods, or to suburban sprawl, so these species are dropping in population.
When I was a kid, I would hear Bobolinks singing all the time during their migration from Argentina to the north. Spink spank spink.
Another pasture bird is the Eastern Meadowlark. Neither of these like lawns, but prefer 1000s of acres of hayfields and pastures.
The Eagle chicks I have been watching grow quickly. At this point, each chick eats about two fish daily. The parent drops the fish on the nest and the youth feed themselves. They seem to digest bones, fins, everything.
It is interesting to try to identify the species of fish. Some of the Catfish must be stolen from a fish farm.
Also interesting is that eagles are larger, when fledged, than mature adults. As they mature, their feathers shorten and the bird becomes thinner, sleeker.
What does their future hold? About half of eagles do not survive their first year. By maturity (about 5 years), only 1 out of 10 make it. It looks like a nice life, but it is hard.
It is amusing to see the eagle chicks shooting their white poo out and over the top of the nest. It is not poo, it's a mix of poop and concentrated urine being shot our of their cloaca.
Why do most birds never bother drinking water? Most of their food, unless fully-dried, is mostly water. The fish and red meat those eagles feed on is at least 75% water.
Bald Eagles are a type of sea eagle - primarily fish-eaters - although they will catch ducks, sea gulls, house cats, muskrats, rabbits, etc when given an easy chance. Yes, they will also steal fish from Ospreys.
Unlike Ospreys, they do not dive into the water but just try to snatch fish on the surface:
- They seem to have no problem catching enough fish. Funny how they seem to prefer the heads.
- Their attentiveness to the bobble-head chicks is great. The chicks have times to eat, times to sleep cozily under a parent, times to poop, and times to exercise. Easy life, with non-stop sashimi.
January is a good time for listening for owls. If they are active enough, you can see them in daytime too. 
Our readers know that the Honeybee is a non-native bee in North America. It was imported from Europe for agricultural purposes, mainly honey production. However, because they live in large hives, they have become industrial-scale assets for agriculture.
Females of many species of 
Like most other bugs, their "adult" reproductive phases are usually brief - a week or two. However, their time as eggs, larvae (in this case, caterpillars), and pupae varies depending on species and climate.
From last week on Cape Cod. Merlin made it much more fun. Mrs. BD is now hooked on it.
Poison Ivy 
Saw a flock of around a dozen this morning which I believe are the first arrivals here from their home grounds in Central America. These acrobatic fliers are the most common of American swallows. If you have an open barn, you will get their poo all over your tractors and stuff. We would always put a tarp over the tractor.
It's not about "climate change", it's about the loss of farm fields in the Northeast. Raggedy pasture is not much of a thing anymore. Pastures are back to woods, or to suburban sprawl, so these species are dropping in population.