Category Archives: Nature in a minute

Nature Notes for Orchard Cove: May 28, 2020

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Sean K.

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Pink Lady’s Slippers are blooming this week and next, especially in pine forests. Enjoy our latest Nature in a Minute blog post about Pink Lady’s Slippers.

Pink Lady’s Slipper Video from the University of Delaware

Lady Slipper Pollination

Enjoy this short video about pollination of lady slipper orchids. The lady slipper’s orchid is native to Europe, but this video shows how bees pollinator a lady slipper orchid and it is very similar to how the pink lady’s slipper is pollinated. If you are out for a walk and see large bumble bees – most likely queen bumblebees – flying around near pink lady slippers, take a few minutes to watch and see if the bumble bee flies into the slipper and has to maneuver out of the top of the orchid, it is a real treat to see this pollination in action.

Nature apps for your phone, tablet, or other device.

A nice article in the Boston Globe about 8 nature phone apps you can use when you go exploring.

Barry Van Dusen’s Blog Post about spring wildflowers, including Yellow lady slippers and other orchids.

High ledges wildlife sanctuary and paintings of yellow lady slippers.

West mountain wildlife sanctuary and paintings of the purple fridge orchis.

Painted Trillium at High Ledges Wildlife sanctuary.

Barry Van Dusen’s visit to Cook’s Canyon Wildlife Sanctuary, in Barre on July 11, and his painting of the Yellow blue-bead lily (Clintonia).

Green Frog Call

SUPPORT OUR WORK and Donate to the Museum of American Bird Art

Hi everybody, each week I (Sean Kent – MABA’s education and camp director) deliver a live online illustrated lecture called Nature Notes for the residents of Orchard Cove in Canton. I love nature and am infinitely curious with what is going on natural world. I am an educator, naturalist, accomplished landscape and wildlife photographer, and field biologist with expertise in native bee biology, species interactions, and ecology in general.

This post contains additional resources that correspond with the lecture, but might also be of interest to readers of Taking Flight in addition to the residents of Orchard Cove. Please contact me ([email protected]) if you or your organization/residence might be interested in live online illustrated lectures, including lectures on The Secret Life of Backyard Birds and Native Bees and other Pollinators. Be well and safe.

Nature in a Minute: What’s Blooming at MABA

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Sean K.

One-flowered cancer root   Orobanche uniflorum 

You can find this delicate plant in the grass beside the path through the meadow at the Museum of American Bird Art in Canton. Be careful not to trample it when you walk by. This plant has no chlorophyll, the chemical that gives most plants the green color in leaves.One-flowered cancer-root depends on other plants for its nutrients. It’s a parasite. 

Julianne Mehegan at Arches NP

Our guest blogger, Julianne Mehegan, is a wonderful friend of MABA, a birder and a naturalist.

Nature in a Minute: What’s blooming at MABA

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Sean K.

You can find a few Pink Lady’s slippers along the Main Loop trail at the Museum of American Bird Art. 

Pink Lady’s Slipper  Cypripedium acaule

Pink Lady’s slippers are large and showy.  The Latin species name acaule means “stem less” referring to the leafless flower stem. The two large leaves grow from the base of the plant. Pink Lady’s slippers are in the Orchid family of plants. 

These plants require a special fungus in the soil to supply nutrients. The flower and fungus have a mutually beneficial interaction called symbiosis. Bees pollinate Pick Lady’s slippers. They are attracted by the color and sweet scent. 

Julianne Mehegan at Arches NP

Our guest blogger, Julianne Mehegan, is a wonderful friend of MABA, a birder and a naturalist.

Nature in a Minute: Trailing Arbutus at North Hill Marsh, Duxbury

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Sean K.

One of the first Mass Audubon sanctuaries  to reopen is North Hill Marsh in Duxbury.  A four mile trail circles the pond, with shorter options available. Print the map from the Mass Audubon web page and take it with you.  https://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/north-hill-marsh

 There is an observation platform near the start of the trail system.   Look for Osprey flying over the pond or perched on a branch over the water.  The day artist-in-residence  Barry Van Dusen visited this sanctuary it was raining.  He was still able to sketch the Osprey, though representing the rain in the final drawing was a challenge. (See p. 74  Finding Sanctuary, Barry’s book about all the Mass Audubon sanctuaries.)

But the real treasure at North Hill Marsh is the Trailing Arbutus.  This low-growing evergreen plant has small white flowers in early spring.  An earlier name for this plant was Plymouth Mayflower.  This name is based on the idea that the plant announced spring for the winter weary Pilgrims at Plymouth colony .  Trailing arbutus became the State Flower of Massachusetts in 1918.

The Latin name Epigaea repens aptly describes the plant Epigaea comes from the Greek word “upon the earth”, referring to the oval evergreen leaves that hug the ground.  Repens means trailing, noting the interconnecting root system of the plant.

Barry Van Dusen’s Sketchbook Page of Osprey at North Hill Marsh

Julianne Mehegan at Arches NP

Our guest blogger, Julianne Mehegan, is a wonderful friend of MABA, a birder and a naturalist.

Milly’s Bird of the Day: The Chipping Sparrow

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Sean K.

Happy birding and please help Milly and her Bird-a-Thon team by visiting her fundraising page here.

Like Warblers, there are a lot of species of Sparrows who call Massachusetts home.

Sparrows are beautiful and charismatic, but some species can be very difficult to differentiate from one another. Milly is quite fond of Chipping Sparrows because they love the Museum of American Bird Art, and she can easily tell them apart from other Sparrows.

Chipping Sparrows are known for their pulsing 1 note trilling song and the rufous crown on top of the male’s head. Keep a look this spring and summer, from backyards to woods these little energetic sparrows are widespread across our state.

Happy birding and please help Milly and her Bird-a-Thon team by visiting her fundraising page here.

Nature in a Minute: Spring wildflowers

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Sean K.

The Resplendent Windflower
Wood anemone – Anemone quinquefolia L.  Buttercup (Ranunculaceae)

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Look for Wood anemone on your woodland walks. The pure white flowers on 4-8 inch stalks above the whorl of leaves makes this an easy wildflower to spot in the spring. The scalloped leaves are divided in 3 to 5 leaflets. 

The delicate flowers sway easily even in a soft breeze. This trait gives the plant its Latin name Anemone meaning windflower. The second part of the Latin name is quinquefolia, translating as five leaves. 

The root of Wood anemone is horizontal, with many flowers and leaves growing from a common root system. Because of this root system wood anemone can form a carpet of plants.                                                  

Julianne Mehegan at Arches NP

Our guest blogger, Julianne Mehegan, is a wonderful friend of MABA, a birder and a naturalist.

Nature in a Minute: Trail Camera Scavenger Hunt #2

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Sean K.

It’s time for the second set of trail cam scavenger hunt videos! If you missed our first, post, here’s the link. This time, we have footage from the vernal pool, the meadow, and out in the forest. Got your list ready? See what you can find! 

Vernal Pool Mysteries

Is that Milly making mischief of one type or another?

Oh dear, what’s in the meadow?

Hop to it!

Nature Notes: May 7, 2020

Posted on May 7, 2020 by Sean K.

This blog post complements our weekly virtual lecture called Nature Notes for the residents of Orchard Cove. To learn more about our weekly virtual illustrated lecture series called nature notes, click here.

Support our Bird-A-Thon and Support Our Work at the Museum

Bird-a-Thon is an annual state-wide fundraising and birding event for Mass Audubon that began in 1983. Each spring birders from all over the state raise money to protect the nature of Massachusetts and count as many bird species as they can during a 24-hour period in mid-May. During this challenging time, all the money raised will go directly to supporting our work at the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon.

Check out Sean Kent’s Bird-A-Thon Page.

Check out Milly the Raccoon’s Bird-A-Thon Page and Blog.

Learn more about Bird Migration

Bird migration is in full swing and many new migrants have been arriving over the past week.

Yellow Warbler photographed on May 3, 2020 in Easton, Massachusetts

Migration Forecasting from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Click here to see amazing migration maps and forecasts at BirdCast
Click here to see the bird migration forecast for May 2020

Study of a Prairie Warbler by Barry Van Dusen

Weather Radar showing Bird Migration over the Florida Keys from February 17, 2020

The Yellow and Green hues represent bird migration being picked up on weather radar.

Annual nocturnal migration patterns from 1995 to 2018

Annual nocturnal migration phenology measured by weather surveillance radar from 1995 to 2018. Measures show the aggregate behavior of hundreds of species.

Click here to see these incredible resources at Colorado State University’s AeroEco Lab that studies Bird Migration, Light Pollution, and more.

SUPPORT OUR WORK and Donate to the Museum of American Bird Art

Hi everybody, each week I (Sean Kent – MABA’s education and camp director) deliver a live online illustrated lecture called Nature Notes for the residents of Orchard Cove in Canton. I love nature and am infinitely curious with what is going on natural world. I am an educator, naturalist, accomplished landscape and wildlife photographer, and field biologist with expertise in native bee biology, species interactions, and ecology in general.

This post contains additional resources that correspond with the lecture, but might also be of interest to readers of Taking Flight in addition to the residents of Orchard Cove. Please contact me ([email protected]) if you or your organization/residence might be interested in live online illustrated lectures, including lectures on The Secret Life of Backyard Birds and Native Bees and other Pollinators. Be well and safe.

Nature in a Minute: Trail Camera Scavenger Hunt

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Sean K.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be starting an exciting new activity for kids, families, and all our readers here on the Taking Flight blog: a trail camera scavenger hunt! Every few days, we’ll post videos from cameras around our sanctuary. You’ll get to see cool, close-up views of animals that you might not get to see in person. We might even see some videos of animals that only come out at night! The cameras will be by the vernal pool, our bird feeders, and other places around the sanctuary. Watch closely to find out how many of these things you can see!  

Glowing eye

A splash 

An owl 

A wood duck 

A shaking branch 

A reptile 

A groundhog 

A perching bird 

A raccoon 

A squirrel 

A deer 

A mallard 

A frog 

A flying bird 

A fox 

Here’s the first set of videos: 

Wait for it…

Vernal Pool Mystery

Oh dear…what’s in that tree???

What other cool animals do you think will show up? Check the blog often to find out! 

Nature in a Minute: First flowers of spring – Goldthread

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Sean K.

One of the first flowers you’ll notice on your spring walks in the woods is the tiny Goldthread.  The small, three-part leaf of Goldthread hugs the ground. The delicate white flower blooms about three inches above the leaf on a delicate stem.  Coptis trifolia is the Latin name for Goldthread. Coptis comes from the Greek word “to cut”, a reference to the divided leaf. Trifolia means “having three leaves”.

The common name Goldthread is derived from the color of the root.  Scratch down below the leaf to uncover the yellow root.  This is a small section of root I pulled up  and placed on a rock for a better photo.

Julianne Mehegan at Arches NP

Our guest blogger, Julianne Mehegan, is a wonderful friend of MABA, a birder and a naturalist.