Sense of Place

Tag: birds

  • Why Does the Junco Flash Its Tail and Other Notes

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    Nicolette Cagle
    in

    A winter storm approaches. Light flakes of snow dance in the air, and the birds forage and feast, fighting to fill their bellies before snow blankets their food source and enforces a period of fasting. The Ruby-crowned Kinglets are acrobats, flipping and bouncing through the trees. The Cardinals are confident, their size and boldness allowing…

  • Daily Noticing

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    Nicolette Cagle
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    I cannot afford to live without the daily routine of noticing nature. I need to see the sparkling frost that rims the sycamore leaves on the forest floor. I need to hear the rhythmic, thumping calls of the Red-bellied Woodpecker in the morning. I need to feel the cold air sting my face as I…

  •  Öskjuhlíð, Iceland

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    Nicolette Cagle
    in

    We woke up and took a taxi to Öskjuhlíð with a driver named Viktor. We walked the waters edge, stepped on a sandy beach, climbed rocks to photograph Campions. We explored the edge of a runway, catching sight of a Whimbrel and Meadow Pipits. We turned around, tracing our steps along with shore and walking…

  • Vigur Island Heritage Farm & Nature Reserve, Iceland

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    Nicolette Cagle
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    People have been living on Vigur Island for over 1,000 years. It’s been the site of a working farm since 1650. It’s the home of Iceland’s only historic windmill, built circa 1840/1860 and operational until 1912. The island’s house, called Viktoria’s House, was built in the mid-1800s as an engagement present from goldsmith, Sumarliði Sumarliðason,…

  • Differentiating Local Hawks: Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, & Sharp-shinned Hawk

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    Nicolette Cagle
    in

    This morning, as I emerged from the Eno River woods onto a residential street, I saw a hawk flying towards a Mourning Dove in flight. In the Piedmont woods, we often see one of three hawk species perched on a branch at the ready to grab a meal, the Red-shouldered Hawk, the Cooper’s Hawk, and the Sharp-shinned Hawk;…

  • Whitebark Pine Ecology

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    Nicolette Cagle
    in

    The Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a keystone species in the sub-alpine forests from western Wyoming north to central British Columbia and Alberta. It can also be found at the timberline in the Cascades (think: BC down to the Sierra Nevada) and some mountains between the Cascades and the Rockies. The Whitebark Pine has been…

  • Sugarberry Review

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    Nicolette Cagle
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    Even in January, one might still find ripe red-brown drupes hanging off the sugarberry (Celtis laevigata). This uncommon tree species of the American Southeast can be found in bottomland forests or in areas with more basic soil. It’s best identified by its warty bark and leaves with a mostly smooth margin. The Lumbee people, an…

  • Maple-leaf Viburnum

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    Nicolette Cagle
    in

    This week’s plant feature is the Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium). The Maple-leaf Viburnum or Dockmackie, is found across eastern North America, ranging from Quebec to Texas. In the Piedmont, the Maple-leaf Viburnum is a small shade-tolerant shrub, found in bottomland and upland forests. This shrub typically grows in forests that have been growing for at…

  • Weevil Pests of North Carolina Trees

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    Nicolette Cagle
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    Weevils are beetles (order Coleoptera) in a superfamily (Cuculionoidea) of beetles with long snouts that host chewing mouthparts. These species tend to be quite small – less than a quarter inch in length, and they notable as economically significant insect pests. In North Carolina, Conotrachelus nenuphar is most commonly seen in April and May, with…

  • Piedmont Birds in November

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    Nicolette Cagle
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    By November, the song of the wood thrush has disappeared, replaced by the melodic tune of the hermit thrush. Juncos and a number of sparrows, including tree, fox, white-throated and white-crowned sparrows have returned. Brown creepers will start showing up on tree trunks, along with winter wrens (smaller and more shy than our year-round Carolina…