A week or two ago, as I was on the phone with a friend, I began narrating the battle between starling, sparrow, and woodpecker for control over the suet feeder. It lasted only a minute before a blue jay came in to claim their prize, sending the others scattering. As I finished up this ...

For a while there, the natural world was about two weeks early. It was promising, and so I started some seeds a little earlier than I normally would, cued by what was really happening outdoors, since the plants don’t know about the calendar, nor do they care. Then, just as we became mired in ...

“Sweet, sweet, sweet. I’m so sweet!” A bird called from the bushes and the group I was with claimed that it was saying those magical words. “Sweet, Sweet, Sweet. I’m so sweet!” All I hear is a series of tweets, but I nod and try to hear what the group hears and see what they are ...

Even before the coronavirus crisis sparked renewed interest in vegetable gardens and victory gardens, there’s been a movement toward more traditional gardening aesthetics. For example, there are what’s known as Grandmother’s Gardens. These old-fashioned, naturalistic flowerbeds rich ...

Springtime in the woodlands of Western New York is a treasured time of rebirth, revelation and resilience, even in the midst of April snowstorms and today’s COVID-19 crisis. Its unfolding brings reassurance and hope after the long gray months of winter’s chilly darkness, and spiritual, ...

Audubon Community Nature Center feels dead inside. The doors are locked. The lights are off. Heat is only on in the office and for the live animals in order to save money. It is cool, dark, and echoes with that odd quiet of places that are abandoned. Frankly, while there are still staff ...