by Marjorie Rachlin Have you noticed the mallard ducks swimming lazily in Rock Creek when it’s cold and there is snow on the ground? “Why aren’t they freezing?” a friend asked. I went to the web to find out. It turns out that birds have several different kinds of feathers that keep them warm. When […]
Advertisement
Backyard Nature: Insects produce the backyard symphony of August
by Marjorie Rachlin It’s 8 a.m., and I’m sitting on the back porch, looking out at the garden. No birds, no bees yet. It’s August and nature is slowing down. Suddenly a persistent buzz comes from the oak trees. In August and September, the sound filling the air is not bird song. This is when […]
Backyard Nature: The creatures that put on a magical light show
by Marjorie Rachlin Your backyard or local park is the stage for a magical light show each summer night. It’s firefly time. And I’ve been sitting on my back porch after sunset, watching the lights go on and off. As it gets darker, the yellow flashes appear up in the trees, over the garden, and […]
Backyard Nature: I went down the rabbit hole on the rabbit-fox connection
by Marlene Berlin This spring, I was getting numerous reports of rabbit sightings, with some neighbors complaining that the visitors were nibbling on stuff they shouldn’t. And I had my own cotton-tailed visitor, but this one seemed to behave itself, attacking no plants other than my grass. But I have not seen my bunny lately. […]
Backyard Nature: Sure, they’re big. But these snakes aren’t so scary once you get to know them.
by Ken Sands Every spring in our region, snakes emerge from their hibernation dens looking for food and water and to mate. And while snakes are not abundant in Rock Creek Park, they are present in sufficient quantities to be spotted regularly by particularly lucky (or unlucky) hikers. According to the National Park Service website […]
Backyard Nature: Our bullfrog neighbors are quiet now. But just wait.
by Marlene Berlin One day in late April I stopped by the lily pond at the Tregaron Conservancy to see how the bullfrogs are doing. I found the frogs – each guarding a water plant, and one out of the water that appeared to be guarding the whole pond. It did not budge as I […]
Backyard Nature: What to look for when venturing into parks and backyards in April
by Marjorie Rachlin April is a month of changes. Plants and animals begin to wake up. We become optimistic. And as we move into late spring and the temperature swings level out, we see and hear more as more plants burst forth with pollen and seeds, insects pollinate and spread seeds, and animals mate and […]
A frog song for your Friday – and other life at the Broad Branch and Linnean streams
by Marlene Berlin Now that it’s warmer, live outdoor concerts are happening every night at the Linnean and Broad Branch streams. The spring peepers and American toads were chirping away last Wednesday evening. I spotted many toads mating at the Broad Branch but it was too dark to capture any photos. But on my way […]
At the Broad Branch and Linnean streams, beauty in the cold
by Marlene Berlin Many of us might prefer to see our local streams in their spring and summer blankets of green, or in the winter, blanketed in snow. But there is beauty to be found there even now. It’s been fairly mild, but in late December it was cold enough to see ice in the […]
Backyard Nature: How do tiny chickadees survive the frigid cold? A boost in their brain power
We often see chickadees at our feeders in the cold of winter, taking sunflower seeds and flying off with them. They somehow make it through the frigid temperatures. But how? This interesting article by Mike Wilpers, a member of Friends of Sligo Creek, explains their strategies – including a phenomenal memory that helps chickadees find […]