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Month: February 2019

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)

This is the time of year when I start looking for signs of spring: black-capped chickadees singing “spring’s here”, skunk cabbage flowers poking up through the ground, and buds swelling on trees and shrubs like this swamp azalea. But I can still appreciate the benefits of winter, namely that I can easily traverse a frozen swamp (rather than sinking into shoe-sucking mud) without getting devoured by mosquitos.  During yesterday’s frozen swamp exploration, I ran into one of the many evergreen…

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Orange-grass (Hypericum gentianoides)

Orange-grass (Hypericum gentianoides)

Yesterday’s snow managed to stick long enough for a lovely winter walk (unlike the last few snow storms that transitioned to rain before they were over and washed away all evidence of the snowfall by morning). One of the interesting things about a walk in the snow is that the stark white background makes the stalks, stems and seed heads of last year’s wildflowers even more evident. Among the much taller common evening primrose and sweet fern, even remnants of…

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Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris)

Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris)

Males are distinctly marked with a black head, neck, chest and back, and a clear white and gray patch on their sides. Despite their name, however, the ring-necked duck’s most visibly distinctive “ring” is a white ring around an otherwise dark gray and black bill. While I personally would have named this bird a “ring-billed duck”, its common name, as well as its scientific name “collaris,” actually refer to the difficult to see dark chestnut-colored collar on its black neck….

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River Otter (Lontra canadensis)

River Otter (Lontra canadensis)

North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) can be found anywhere there is a permanent food supply and easy access to water, and are common in both fresh and coastal waterways across Massachusetts. Thanks to their well adapted body design, including webbed feet, a streamlined body, a thick muscular tail, and a dense coat of fur, otters are accomplished swimmers and underwater hunters.  Small fish make up the bulk of a river otter’s diet throughout the year, but they will also…

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