environment
Go for goldfinches
American goldfinches (Spinus tristis), also called “yellow birds,” are small sparrow-sized birds with black wings. In summer, the males are brilliant golden yellow with a black forehead, and, despite the name, females are olive-yellow below and olive above. Read more Cult classics are in session Most songbirds nest and raise youngsters in the spring when […]
Cape Cod environmental crime drama has local flavor, minimal thrills
“The Scallop Plot” by former Boston Globe health columnist Judy Foreman seems like an ideal choice for a Cape Cod guest house bookshelf, a thriller to flip through idly on a rainy day. It’s full of immersive descriptions of Provincetown and vicinity, with plenty of local landmarks and restaurants namechecked. And it leaves the reader […]
Keep an eye, and ear, out for migrating nighthawks
Common nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) are crepuscular birds that eat flying insects. You’ll spot them swooping and wheeling like aerial acrobats to catch bugs in mid-air. They are closely related to whippoorwills with the same teeny beaks that open wide into surprisingly enormous insect-catching mouths. Read more Cambridge halves participatory budgeting to $500,000 as 13th annual […]
The worm stomping wood turtle is smarter than you think
Once upon a time, the wood turtle was the most common freshwater turtle in eastern Massachusetts. Today it is in severe decline. Naturalists Louis Agassiz and Henry David Thoreau documented their observations of this reptile in the mid-1800s. Read more This Cambridge physical therapist keeps dancers on their toes But these turtles have been around […]
Dragonflies are older than dinosaurs and still thriving
Of the more than 300 in North America, none are more interesting than the black saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata), so named because of the black patches on its hind wings. When viewed from above, the patches look to be resting on each side of the abdomen, resembling saddlebags draped across the back of a horse. […]
The birds that bounced back
Pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus)arethe largest woodpecker in North America — nearly the size of a crow — with a black body, white facial stripes, and a red crest. Pileated comes from the Latin pileatus, meaning “capped,” a reference to the red crest that looks like a cap atop its head. If the bird seems familiar, […]
Charles River Task Force members hopeful for future
The Charles River Task Force wrapped up a year of work Tuesday June 30 with the submission of recommendations shaped by the community for how the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) can engage with neighborhoods along the Charles River. Read more Dear Annie will close, though its owner says she’ll start something new […]
Herring and herons: signs of the Charles River’s vast improvement
From Boston’s Museum of Science to the Watertown Dam, the Charles River this spring was rife with river herring swirling in the water like scores of baby sharks. Near the dam, dozens of the aptly named herring gulls perched on rocks and plunged for the fish, while great blue herons waded out into the shallows […]
The many names of the wood louse
There are quite a few types of wood lice, but the Armadillidiidae family of wood louse is unique in that it can roll up into a ball, or conglobate (pronounced “con-glow-bate”). Many nonscientists have acknowledged this unique trait with their own descriptive names: pill bug, roly poly, basketball bug or curly bug. Read more Winding […]
Mount Auburn lays gas-powered equipment to rest
A crowd gathered at Mount Auburn Cemetery watched as James Farlowe powered on an electric weed whipper and showed off its near-silent operating capabilities, symbolizing a milestone moment for it as it became first cemetery in the United States to put its gas-powered handheld landscaping equipment to rest. Read more Lack of EV charger installations […]