The Nature of Phenology | WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Red Squirrels Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. On a brief romp through the thick wintery Downeast woods, I was startled away from the tranquility of the chickadees chirping, trees creaking, and the soft “flump” of my wooden snowshoes pushing through the snow’s surface when...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Mourning Cloak Butterflies Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. When their wings are folded closed, mourning cloak butterflies are perfectly camouflaged against tree bark. The undersides of their wings are mottled with shades of brown, gray, and cream, giving the impression of...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Mad as a March Hare Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Right now in early March begins a very special time for our furry snowshoe-footed friends: time to start planning for the next generation of hares. Through the winter, hares keep to a small patch of spruce trees. When sp...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Raccoons Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. These cold, still days can make it hard to believe that several species are in the midst of their breeding season. One macabre clue, in this age of rapid transportation, that can help us ascertain some of the goings-on in the natur...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Doves, Wild and Feral Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Last month we had an intriguing inquiry from a WERU listener. This person was curious about why so many pigeons are found throughout our more built-up towns and cities, and yet only a few minutes from these places, nes...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Bird Irruptions Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. In parts of Canada, where many of these finches would happily spend their winters, there is a particularly poor food crop this year. Alder and birch seeds, mountain ash fruits, spruce and other conifer seeds are in low suppl...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Groundhogs Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. There is one animal above all that strikes the most fear and worry into the hearts of farmers and gardeners. They thieve from our carefully tended vegetable gardens, whistle in alarm at the mere sight of us, bolt like a sack of m...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Ermines Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Short-tailed weasels are year-round Maine residents, but we tend to call them ermines in the winter when they change from light brown with pale bellies to pure white with black-tipped tails. The unusually bright white quality of the...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Frogs in Winter Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. May and June are two months that are almost entirely defined by frogs—their cheery chorus sounds from vernal pools and along pond edges hoping to entice a mate to come for a swim. This time of year, however, we instead sit i...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Queen Anne’s Lace Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Finding animal tracks, listening to the nighttime calls of barred owl pairs, or spotting a perfectly camouflaged snowshoe hare or ermine offer a sense of excitement and change during a season that might otherwise fee...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Ice Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. “Frozen” is the operative term that can be applied to our neck of the woods for the coming months, though it is easy to keep warm and stave off the cabin nasties when shuffling across the frosty world on a pair of skates, skis, or snows...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Snowy Owls Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Not many people would imagine Maine being a warm respite in the winter, but to snowy owls, Maine is the perfect vacation. This large, mostly white owl spends summers living and nesting on the Arctic tundra where it eats small ani...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Frostfish Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. For those of you with a fondness for feasting on fine fish, you are probably quite familiar with various members of the cod family, which scientists refer to as the Gadidae. These gadiformes include many of the common firm, white-...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Eagles at Dams Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. As our seasons grow colder and bodies of water freeze, eagles are forced from their summer haunts on lakes, ponds, and large rivers to open water in search of food. The agitation of a surface-drawn dam, or the warm temperatur...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Bees in Winter Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. There are many adaptations that insects in cold climates employ to ensure the success of their species through a northern winter. Some leave only hardy eggs behind and count on their winter survival, with all adults dying off...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Muskrats Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Muskrats build little pop-up shelters on frozen waterways where they can catch their breaths and eat. They chisel through the ice and push mud and plant matter up through it to make a miniature shelter that does just the trick. Lit...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Woodpeckers Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Most people know them due to their noisy evidence. Whether chattering loudly, slamming on a telephone box in the spring, or pounding into a hollow tree in hopes of finding some bugs to eat, woodpeckers are pretty charismatic. Bu...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn River Otters Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. November: it’s not my favorite month. As a person who has, in some people’s eyes, an unreasonable appreciation for all things outdoors, this is saying a lot. Despite all of November’s shortfalls, over the past few years I have...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Heavy Frosts Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Frost can certainly skate fairy-like across our glass windows but can also drill its way like thousands of microscopic daggers into the fragile bodies of unprotected insects, breaching cell membranes as it goes. The post The Na...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Hackmatacks Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Hackmatacks are a coniferous needle-bearing tree that, from a quick glance, can blend in with the rest of its pokey kin in our northern forest. A closer look and feel, however, reveals that the stems are dotted with feathery cro...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Peak of Beaver Activity Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Late October is the peak of beaver activity. Busily they work to put on the final layers of mud and sticks to their lodges and to fill their larders full of fresh branches and twigs to ensure they are warm, secure, a...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Witch Hazel Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Growing along the sprawling branches of this shrub that can grow up to fifteen feet tall are small flowers with thin, crinkly petals reminiscent of one-inch strips of yellow tinsel arranged haphazardly around a center point—as i...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Birch Boletes Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. I once heard someone say, “my favorite color is October.” Here in New England, that attitude is quite understandable this time of year. The color palette of October can be a sight to see, but concealed under all that color is...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Cranberries Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com. Cranberries are a perfectly accurate representation of a New Englander. Rather crunchy, quite sour, and perhaps even a bit bitter at times. But if you take the time to get to know them—perhaps in the good company of a bit of map...

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn Beech Nuts Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com Beech trees can be readily identified by their smooth gray bark. I recall the many hikes I went on with my parents as a young child and how my mom would teach me my trees. She would always tell me that the trunks of beech trees lo...