
This morning I woke up, turned on my cell phone, and knew what the sunset looked like in Japan. I saw a European Robin in England, all puffed up against the cold. I looked in awe at snowy peaks in the Himalayas. All without getting out of bed.
This morning I woke up, turned on my cell phone, and knew what the sunset looked like in Japan. I saw a European Robin in England, all puffed up against the cold. I looked in awe at snowy peaks in the Himalayas. All without getting out of bed.
Recently an adventurous spirit has captured my attention. Every day around noon, I log on to the Audubon website and look for the daily update from Noah Strycker, a 28 year old birder who is trying to see 5,000 species of birds in one year. Given that there are around 10,000 species, that means he aims to see half of all bird species in just 365 days. Exhausting? Yes. Crazy? Yes. Impressive? Yes. And he has inspired me to continue my birding and up my game.
I’m already an avid user of eBird, a website and app that allow birders from all over the world to record their data, while simultaneously providing a wealth if data to scientists and conservationists. Given it’s importance as a citizen science project, I was thrilled to discover eButterfly, a more recent project with the same goals. Over the winter break I took some time to identify a few of my butterfly photos, and record my first observation.
Moose are an iconic species in Maine. They are the inspiration for thousands of stuffed animal variations, paintings, photographs, sculptures, even chocolate shapes. Yet, they can be difficult to see in the summer, and even more difficult in the winter. In fact, I had never seen a moose between the months of October and May. That is, until this year.
I ended 2014 and began 2015 in Maine, where temperatures shifted from the warm mid-forties to the bitterly cold single digits. Regardless of the weather however, Maine is always beautiful, and I was lucky enough to spend some time on the rocky coastline, searching for Snowy Owls.
Now that fall semester has ended, it is really hitting me that I only have one more semester at the Nicholas School. In addition to finishing my class requirements and Master’s Project, there are still local parks and preserves I want to cross off my proverbial list!
What better way to celebrate the end of a long semester than with a birding trip to eastern North Carolina? That is exactly what two Nic School friends and I decided to do this weekContinue reading
In life, it is important to be spontaneous. I am a planner by nature, but this past weekend decided to let my spontaneity fly when my fiance Brian suggested a camping trip to Linville Gorge.Continue reading
As of Sunday evening, the great Fall spectacle known as the North Carolina State Fair officially came to a close. Though it was a busy time academically, I found a few hours to check outContinue reading
The sun was going down as my fiance and I jumped out of the car, slamming the doors behind us. Cars whizzed past me on Route 98, but I hoped to quickly leave them behind and haveContinue reading