Ask an Expert: Where can you find a snowy owl on Martha’s Vineyard?
At least one of these magnificent Arctic birds of prey turns up here most winters, and in so-called “irruption years,” when prey shortages or overpopulation drive large numbers of snowies south into the northern...
Ask an Expert: What bird makes those big nests on top of poles around...
Those are osprey, or Pandion haliaetus, if you’re a biologist. A summertime resident on the Island, the osprey is a common nesting species and a much-loved part of our bird life. Under wholly natural...
Ask an Expert: What’s so great about a striped bass?
Unsurprisingly, since we live on an island, Vineyarders look to the sea for inspiration, recreation, and food. This is an island of fisher folk, and the striped bass, a large and delectable species, may...
Ask an Expert: Are those actual wild turkeys walking around?
Well, yes and no. They are turkeys, certainly: Meleagris gallopavo to ornithologists. But they’re better thought of as feral than as truly wild. Truly wild turkeys were wiped out on the Vineyard, and indeed...
Ask an Expert: What exactly is a beetlebung tree?
Beetlebung: a beautiful tree with a wonderful name. Many people are not especially tree-aware, but everyone perks up when they hear “beetlebung.” It is a catchy name, and belongs to a native tree that...
Ask an Expert: What is a pinkletink?
“Pinkletink” is a Vineyard name for a tiny frog, known to biologists as Pseudacris crucifer. I’ve never heard “pinkletink” used anywhere other than on the Vineyard; “spring peeper” is a more widely used common...