It’s a well-known fact that most birds fly south for the winter. But what about our feathered friends that tough it out throughout the winter, how do they survive? Our backyard songbirds such as the Black-capped Chickadee or the Northern Cardinal survive by using instincts, species adaptations, and of course, with a little help from…
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Our favorite winter residents are back, the Snowy Owls (Bubo scandiacus)! The first sighting for Nantucket was at Smith’s Point this week. If you consider yourself a birder, or just an admirer, it is always thrilling to see these stunning birds of prey with their intense yellow eyes. Snowy Owl at Eel Point (Photo: Libby…
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by Elizabeth C. Buck It may seem like August has just arrived, and there is still plenty of summertime to be enjoyed by all, but our shorebirds are already thinking about fall migration. Nantucket is home to many nesting shorebirds that now have young fledglings ready to make their journey south to their wintering grounds.…
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*Please note, this blog post was originally published in The Inquirer and Mirror on July 21th 2016 pg 6B in the article series Island Ecology. The Foundation’s Science staff will be regularly contributing to our local newspaper and reprinting articles here the following week.* As we all know, Nantucket is unique in so many ways…
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by: Libby Buck, NCF Shorebird Monitor For the past three seasons, there has been resident pair of Ospreys nesting on the ground at Eel Point. This is a very rare occurrence, since Ospreys typically nest off the ground in an old dead tree, an artificial structure such as utility pole, or a human constructed Osprey…
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Early spring is here: now’s the time to find male American Woodcocks (Scolopax minor) putting on impressive aerial displays to attract a mate. There are a number of locations around the island where you can catch a glimpse of this rite of spring. A calm night — even better, a calm night flooded with moonlight —…
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Osprey, (Pandion haliaetus) Osprey, also known as fish hawks, are one of Nantucket’s most iconic birds of prey. They nest predominantly on platforms erected adjacent to beaches and ponds. Although dead trees can serve as naturally-occurring nest sites, this species seems to prefer artificial structures such as nest platforms, cell phone towers, channel markers and utility…
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Grey Catbird (Dumetella caroliniensis) To be seen and not heard, is certainly not part of the upbringing of these feisty chatterboxes. As soon as you near, they are sure to alert you of their presence – perhaps by launching into a melodious cascade of sounds to rival a nightingale – or going on in a…
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By Libby Buck, Shorebird Monitor and Invasive Species Field Assistant I have a very unique position at Nantucket Conservation Foundation. For the first part of the season I was the Shorebird Monitor and as the shorebird season wound down, I became the Invasive Plant Species Field Assistant. I was able to be immersed literally in…
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By Neil Foley, NCF Coatue Ranger/Shorebird Monitor Those who have had the opportunity to visit Coatue this time of the year know how gorgeous and interesting the property is, separated from the bustle of downtown and covered in windswept cedars, blooming native flowers, and flocks of birds. The beautiful beaches and marshes, wealth of interesting…
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