Martha’s Vineyard birders look out for vagrant migrants
With spring migration building up steam, Vineyard birders likewise ramp up their birding.
How insects survive Martha’s Vineyard winters
If you think you're glad winter is over, imagine how insects feel.
Below zero freezes up Martha’s Vineyard
Monday, January 24, dawned clear and cold, very cold.
Finches spice up winter birding on Martha’s Vineyard
The depth of winter is hardly prime birding season on the Vineyard, but this season is not without its consolations.
Christmas Bird Count reflects Island bird behavior
The 51st Vineyard Christmas Bird Count (CBC) took place on Sunday, January 2, with about two dozen Islanders and guests participating.
Soltice “” the invisible annual pivot point
Tuesdays lunar eclipse prefaced the solstice "” two powerful reminders that the earth keeps spinning in wonderful, mysterious ways.
Eastern screech-owls on Martha’s Vineyard
Matt Pelikan encourages Vineyarders to step outside on a still, cold night and listen. Chances are they'll hear a screech owl not too far off.
Tale of two oysters
Shellfish of any species ranks among my favorite foods, and oysters on the half-shell rank among my favorite shellfish.
Stream restoration on Martha’s Vineyard
Some of the best-known aquatic features of the Vineyard's "natural" landscapes are not natural at all.
Hawks – grace and ferocity combined
Fall is the prime season for birding on the Vineyard, and while October is generally past the peak of migration, it's our best month for viewing transient hawks.
Natural light shines on Martha’s Vineyard
With surprising regularity, guests at our house in Oak Bluffs walk out onto our deck at night, look up, and exclaim something like, "Wow! I've never seen the Milky Way before!" I don't know which impresses me more: The fact that our humble abode on the fringes of the O.
Tree swallows migrate over Martha’s Vineyard
Fall migration brings rare birds to the Vineyard, which makes Island birders happy.
Backyard nature on Martha’s Vineyard
Regular readers of this column will know that while I enjoy every aspect of nature, I reserve a special enthusiasm for nature that turns up where you don't expect it.
On the move, sadly
It's the start of Departure Season: this weekend, following illumination night, the O.
Bluestem, native to Martha’s Vineyard
August is the time of the most active growth and flowering for a surprising number of our native plants.
All hail swallowtails
The most famous butterfly may be the orange-and-black monarch, noted for its size, coloration, and prodigious migration.
Now you see them….
On a recent sunny Saturday, I slipped my blue kayak into the Lagoon at the Lagoon Road boat landing in Oak Bluffs.
Fledglings get a move on
In a hole in a maple branch overhanging Wing Road in Oak Bluffs, a pair of downy woodpeckers have been packing insects into two or three youngsters in a hole in a branch.