Wednesday, May 21, 2025
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Matt Pelikan

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Wild Side: Evolution is especially creative

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The easiest and most rewarding group of flies for amateurs like me to study is the family Syrphidae — that is, hoverflies or flower...

Wild Side: Very Definitely Spring

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This spring is the 26th I’ve spent on Martha’s Vineyard. From the very start of that run, Correllus State Forest established itself as my...

Wild Side: The indestructible seaside goldenrod

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Today’s subject is a bit unseasonable, since the plant I’m discussing doesn’t bloom until the shortening days of early autumn. But like most of...

Wild Side: Early bees

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In my last column, I confidently predicted both the species and the approximate timing of my first bee sighting of the season: I expected...

Wild Side: Giving the Western honey bee some slack

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Regular readers of this column will know that, in general, I struggle to muster much affection for non-native species, especially ones that may have...

Wild Side: Earthworm Day for robins

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Tuesday, Feb. 25, may not have been quite warm enough to pass for a truly fine day. But it was definitely a day that...

Wild Side: Winter owl woes

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Winter poses a stiff challenge for birds that remain at our latitude through the season, and the vagaries of winter weather can produce sudden...

Wild Side: Special spot for birding

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Are you an aspiring or beginning birder, looking to learn the common species and master basic birding skills? Are you a more advanced birder,...

Wild Side: Nature riffs like a jazz musician

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I’ve always had a fondness for the little clusters of closely related species that evolution can produce. Sometimes it’s a whole genus, like those...

Wild Side: The great egret

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Held on Sunday, Dec. 29, the annual Vineyard Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was a successful one. A few hours of drizzle in the morning...

Wild Side: Solstice sightings

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With the arrival of the winter solstice, bird life on Martha’s Vineyard has settled into a fairly stable winter pattern. Vagrants are always possible,...

Wild Side: Red-tailed hawk

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A robust and adaptable predator, the red-tailed hawk should be familiar to anyone who looks up on Martha’s Vineyard. The species is present here...

Wild Side: Red-legged grasshoppers

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The season for insect-watching never completely ends on Martha’s Vineyard. One can always hunt for and (and sometimes find) concealed, overwinter forms. Small pockets...

Wild Side: Wasp colonies

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It's hard to think of a less popular insect than the yellowjacket, maligned because they can sting. First, I should be clear that “yellowjacket”...

Wild Side: Hiding in plain sight

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File this one under “hiding in plain sight.” A relatively new arrival on Martha’s Vineyard, as far as I can tell, the jumping bush...

Wild Side: Drury’s longhorn bee

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On the last day of September, I got home from work and did what I do virtually every warm day throughout the year: turned...

Wild Side: Our Northern flower moth

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Regular readers, and our long-suffering neighbors in Oak Bluffs, will know that over a span of 20 years, we’ve gradually converted most of our...

Wild Side: Seed weevils

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“Seed weevil” is the kind of imprecise common name that drives naturalists to distraction. To start with, weevils, taken generally, are a vast group...

Wild Side: On the hunt

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On the long list of insects I’d like to see, one species near the top is the Northern mole cricket, Neocurtilla hexadactyla. The only...

Wild Side: A new Vineyard resident

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Climate change stands out as the greatest current threat to biodiversity. But when discussing nature, it’s axiomatic that no matter how dire a threat,...