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Archive for the ‘Fauna’ Category

Last weekend I took a stroll along my favorite fishing beach to see whether the striped bass had come in yet (affirmative, but I did not get any keepers). On the way there I returned to the waves a couple of live male horseshoe crabs, some 20 spider crabs, and a mantis shrimp. This was […]

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Hare trigger

Wildlife. I love it. Aside from the many birds, it runs the gamut from chipmunks, turkeys, opposums, raccoons, squirrels to the occasional coyote. I left out Peter rabbit on purpose because he’s on my bad list lately. This herbivore seems to have developed a taste for Uvularia grandiflora (large-flowered bellwort), the occasional non-native daffodil, and […]

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On the Monday after the Blizzard of 2013 hit Cape Cod, we got an unusual visitor – an adult Eastern Screech Owl fell into our fireplace. At first I actually didn’t know it was an owl, I just saw a dark grey or black living thing hopping around in the soot. I knew I had to move […]

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Winter is our favorite time to enjoy the natural beauty of Cape Cod marshes and woodlands. The combination of stark frozen landscapes and an off-season peacefulness make these walking paths particularly wonderful. It’s also a great time to enjoy the woods and marshes without worrying too much about ticks (although even on the coldest days […]

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Identification help?

I’ve spent a few years getting familiar with the taxonomy of native plants, and while there are certainly some species I have a tough time identifying, it’s peanuts compared to the problems I have in the insect and spider world. I’m reasonably good at pointing out a fly, bee, sawfly, butterfly, or moth. Beyond that, […]

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buzz time

They are back in force this year – I am referring to Sphex ichneumoneus, the great golden digger wasps. By adding more milkweed last fall I seem to be getting a lot more visits by many more of these insects… Read last year’s blog entry

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Hummingbird moths…

Sometimes a design is so good or successful that it is worth repeating, often over and over again. Just look at our marine mammals who have adapted over eons, in some form or another, the finlike appendages of fish. However, we are not going to be fooled easily in mistaking one for the other unless […]

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Honestly, it may take a quiz show and the willingness of the participants (spiders in this case) to help identify the right species of sac spider. The native sac spider (Cheiracanthium inclusum) is very similar to the one introduced from Europe in 1978 (Cheiracanthium mildei). In the picture from my yard I believe I have […]

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Back in March of 2011 I wrote about the appearance of bobcats on Cape Cod, now we are actually seeing what some have predicted – the return of the black bear to Cape Cod. The black bear, according to Mass Wildlife, has not been seen on Cape Cod since the 1700s. I refer back to some […]

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I started to worry that the hummingbirds had forgotten their way to my garden – the feeder’s been out for 3 weeks but it had not seen any visitors. Until today that is – the female hummers are back feeding. I have yet to see a male…

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