What’s been seen: Sometimes we just have to face the fact that we’re in love with the biggest, the strongest, and the most beautiful and iconic species of any form of wildlife – animals described in the category of “charismatic megafauna.” We use them as symbols for conservation efforts. Many are threatened or endangered and…
What’s been seen: The best birders are strategists. That’s not to say that they have to be to have fun and be successful – success, of course, being a personal definition. It’s perfectly fine to wander and discover. But a plan that takes into account season, weather, habitat, and past history can lead to wondrous…
What’s been seen: The best birders are strategists. That’s not to say that they have to be to have fun and be successful – success, of course, being a personal definition. It’s perfectly fine to wander and discover. But a plan that takes into account season, weather, habitat, and past history can lead to wondrous…
What’s been seen: It was a quiet month for bird sightings on the beach proper, for a variety of reasons, including heavy human usage (we finally got some beach days) and the remnants of a hurricane. (Note to the wannabe birder: The aftermath of a storm is a great time to look for vagrant, wandering,…
What’s been seen: Shorebirds have started their southward migration from the Arctic Circle and are already passing through Hull. Least sandpipers and semipalmated sandpipers have been tracked in July at both Nantasket Beach and on the edges of Straits Pond. Semipalmated plovers have also been seen on the beach, and a short-billed dowitcher has been…
What’s been seen: Back in the 1800s when Americans really took up birding as a pastime, gentlemen and ladies with the time and the desire recorded personal and detailed observations about birds in field notebooks that built up our modern-day knowledge of avian behaviors with fun and flowery prose. For some, that tradition continues. One…
What’s Been Seen: As expected, May was a whirlwind in Hull. It certainly ended on a down note for all of us, with heavy rain dampening everything for the final three days of the month. But migration happened, and in a big way for Hull. Fifty-five species of birds were reported from Straits Pond throughout…
The piping plover population on Nantasket Beach has doubled since last year, from six to 13 pairs, and the time seems right for the Plover Ambassadors – a volunteer group formed several years ago to protect and preserve these seasonal feathered residents – to reach out to fellow Hullonians and ask them to join their…
Water Wisdom A column by the Weir River Watershed Association ‘Going green’ can mean rethinking traditional summer yard care “In nature, nothing exists alone.” – Rachel Carson Area nurseries need police details to direct traffic, and no one can get the landscaping companies to call back – it’s spring on the South Shore. Visions of…
With the 2021 growing season underway, the Plant.Grow.Share. program is again asking for help in supplying our area food pantries with fresh produce. All community members – from green thumbs to first-time gardeners – are invited to participate by growing, then donating a portion of their harvest, to one of our area food pantries. “People…