This Week in the Woods

This Week in the Woods, we never actually made it into the woods, because we got distracted by so much interesting life at the trees’ edge. We found this great egret stalking frogs in a…

This Week in the Woods, it’s common nighthawk migration season, and in what has become an annual tradition, Tig Tillinghast staked out a local dam site and riverside fields at dusk to…

This Week in the Woods, we found patches of cardinal flower blooming along the Connecticut River. As noted in this profile from The Native Plant Trust, these vivid summer wildflowers –…

This Week in the Woods, we were very surprised when a barred owl alit on a branch just a few feet from us, on a frequently-walked trail. It called once, then swiveled its head to track…

This Week in the Woods, we encountered a beaver just as it clambered up from a lower impoundment and splashed back into the water. This is a fun time to visit a beaver pond, to observe how the…

This Week in the Woods, assistant editor Meghan McCarthy McPhaul found two porcupines perched in an apple tree, chowing down on the developing fruit. According to Uldis Roze, in his excellent…

This Week in the Woods, we discovered a daredevil green frog in a patch of clover a good half mile from any pond or stream. Our guess it that it was hunting, and all the humidity and rain…

This Week in the Woods, after several days of warmth and wet weather, fungi are popping up everywhere, including American Caesar’s Mushroom. Unlike most Amanita species, American Caesar…

This Week in the Woods, we asked Jason Berard, vice president of stewardship at Upper Valley Land Trust, to take photos for this blog. He graciously agreed to help us, and shared more cool…

This Week in the Woods, some young fawns of white-tailed deer are still tucked in their hiding places, although earlier-born ones have started feeding on plants and may be easier to see. As…

This Week in the Woods, we’re giving a special shout out to the Thurston family, who jumped into action to rescue raccoon kits after their mother was hit by a car. After a cross-Vermont…

This Week in the Woods we discovered a black bear dozing on a rock at the edge of a field. He (or she?) seemed unimpressed by the humans passing at a distance, and after a brief…

This Week in the Woods we discovered blue flag irises blooming by a forested pond, attended by a number of small butterflies. As Laurie Morrisey notes in this recent Outside Story essay, blue…

This Week in the Woods, we visited our favorite pink lady’s slipper patch and discovered a couple of beautiful beetles crawling on the blossoms. Analeptura lineola, sometimes called the…

This Week in the Woods, Assistant Editor Meghan McCarthy McPhaul discovered a patch of little bluets. Also called known as Quaker ladies, these exquisite little flowers typically grow in…

This Week in the Woods, the small but spectacular spring wildflower fringed polygala (also called fringed milkwort and gaywings) is in bloom. This little evergreen reproduces both by…

This Week in the Woods, we spied this male blackburnian warbler hopping between branches in a hemlock tree and running his bill along the flat needles (no doubt to glean insects). Despite…

This Week in the Woods more warblers are returning, including this black-and-white warbler, which obligingly posed for a photo behind the Northern Woodlands office. Black-and-white warblers…

This Week in the Woods, we’ve seen several pumpkin orange-colored anglewing (Polygonia) butterflies. After some expert input, we’re reasonably confident that the butterfly in the…

This Week in the Woods, this handsome raccoon passed our remote camera. It was likely heading to a nearby vernal pool for a frog feast; this time of year, we often find raccoon tracks in the…