Category Archives: Nature

Tide Pools at Wingaersheek Beach

by sicloot Posted on August 8, 2013

We left our campsite on bikes and rode to Wingaersheek Beach. If you arrive on bicycle, you will not be charged an admission fee. Bicycle parking is scarce, though, and we had to lock our bikes halfway up a “resident parking” sign.

We arrived near low tide and got to exploring the tide pools around a few large boulders. Even with its clever camouflage, a sand shrimp (Crangon septemspinosa) could not hide from us. This species of shrimp is commonly found in our shallow waters. Its color varies, probably to better blend in with its sandy surroundings.

Sand shrimp on sandy bottom — Sand shrimp

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Posted in Nature | Tagged barnacles, crabs, marine life, Massachusetts, north shore, periwinkles, shrimp | Comments Off

Birds of the Jones River Salt Marsh

by sicloot Posted on August 7, 2013

We went camping in Gloucester at the Cape Ann campsite this past weekend. On a sunny evening, we walked across the road to the Jones River Salt Marsh to look for birds. The tide had come in and the larger birds that we hadn’t seen at low tide had returned.

We saw a snowy egret with its snow-white feathers, dark bill, and yellow feet. I had seen this bird on a California beach but this was my first time seeing it in Massachusetts.

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Posted in Nature | Tagged birds, great blue heron, great egret, lesser yellowlegs, Massachusetts, north shore, semipalmated plover, semipalmated sandpiper, snowy egret | Comments Off

Arboretum: Giant Water Bugs and Biocontrol Beetles

by sicloot Posted on August 2, 2013

Exploring in the meadow of the Arnold Arboretum last weekend, I came upon this giant water bug (Belostoma sp.). This large insect — they named it “giant” for a reason — preys on creatures as large as small fish. It can inflict a very painful bite, and so is also called toe biter. Thanks to John Epler for the ID.

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Posted in Nature | Tagged Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, Arctium minus, Arnold Arboretum, asters, beetles, Boston, bugs, carrot family, Daucus carota, garden tortrix moth, goldenrods, grape family, impatiens capensis, insects, katydids, leafhoppers, Lythrum salicaria, Massachusetts, mollusks, moths, nettles, plants, Silphium perfoliatum, snails, spiders, Tanacetum vulgare, urtica dioica, Verbena hastata, verbenas, wasps | Comments Off

Ward’s Pond: Robins and Robber flies

by sicloot Posted on July 31, 2013

On my walk around Ward’s Pond last week, I saw a pair of hungry baby robins eagerly awaiting food from their parents.

Baby robins in nest — A pair of baby robins

The Pond’s boardwalk, which had been shut down for years, has been re-opened. According to the July 22 edition of Boston’s City Record, the 250-foot boardwalk was damaged by storms in 2010. Its restoration by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, to the tune of $111,000, was funded through FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Assistance Fund and the Mayor’s Capital Plan.
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Posted in Nature | Tagged american robin, aquatic plants, birds, Boston, common pondhawk dragonfly, damselflies, dragonflies, eastern amberwing dragonfly, eastern forktail damselfly, forget-me-not family, impatiens, impatiens capensis, insects, jamaica plain, Massachusetts, Myosotis scorpioides, Nymphaea odorata, plants, robber flies, sawflies, slaty skimmer dragonfly, ward's pond, wasps, water lilies | Comments Off

Tree of Heaven: Invasiveness, Immigration, and Racism

by sicloot Posted on July 30, 2013

I like to call Ailanthus altissima the tree of good or evil. Depending on your perspective, it is either the “ghetto palm,” an invasive pest, or the “tree of heaven,” a tough, hardy street tree once planted for its beauty.

Introduced into the United States from China in 1748, it was being planted as a street tree by the 1820s. Pollution-resistant, salt-tolerant, quick-growing, and with tropical-like foliage, what was not to love about this tree?

Ailanthus with green fruit — Typical greenish-yellow fruit of Ailanthus

Peter Del Tredici, senior research scientist at the Arnold Arboretum, held a tree mob on July 22 on a specimen of this tree (accession #695-80-B). Before eventually turning brown, most ailanthus trees have fruit that go from green to yellow. The tree that Del Tredici collected goes from green to red, hence the form “erythrocarpa,” which means red fruit. Del Tredici described the red on the tree as a spontaneous mutaton that appears sporadically.
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Posted in Culture, Nature | Tagged ailanthus altissima, Arnold Arboretum, tree mob, trees | Comments Off

Baby Mourning Doves

by sicloot Posted on July 28, 2013

I hear the cooing of mourning doves almost every morning at my place in Jamaica Plain. The birds, often in a pair, can be found within a hundred feet of the house. That pair has had babies! Yesterday, we saw the two young mourning doves in a Norway maple.

Fledgling mourning doves on a branch
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Posted in Nature | Tagged birds, Boston, jamaica plain, Massachusetts, mourning dove | Comments Off

Arboretum: Southern Magnolia, Wildflowers, and Parasitic Plants

by sicloot Posted on July 25, 2013

Can Southern magnolia trees survive in Boston? I thought not. Even the Arboretum’s own Bulletin of Popular Information, didn’t think so, saying in May of 1911 that Magnolia grandiflora is “not hardy at the north.” That changed in 1983, when a tree was planted behind the Visitor Center. More accessible, however, is a tree just off Meadow Road behind a red maple. Planted in 1998, this cultivar — Bracken’s Brown Beauty — is doing very well.

Southern magnolia flower (accession 278-98-A)

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Posted in Nature | Tagged aquatic plants, Arnold Arboretum, asters, bladderworts, Boston, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Circaea lutetiana, coffee family, cuscuta, eastern cottontail rabbit, eutrochium, Hibiscus moscheutos, Lythrum salicaria, magnolia grandiflora, magnolias, mallow family, mammals, Massachusetts, morning glory family, Phytolacca americana, plants, pokeweeds, primrose family, rabbits, shrubs, Silphium perfoliatum, trees, vines | Comments Off

Arboretum: Skippers, Skimmers, and Killers

by sicloot Posted on July 23, 2013

I paid a visit to the Arnold Arboretum on Sunday, the first day after the end of our long heat wave. Insect life was abundant.

I found five species of butterflies, three of them skippers. A least skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor) was roaming near the meadow. This skipper is mostly orange with thick black borders on its hindwings.

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Posted in Nature | Tagged Arnold Arboretum, beetles, Boston, butterflies, cabbage white, cicadas, eastern forktail damselfly, eastern tailed blue, flies, hoverflies, insects, leafhoppers, least skipper butterfly, Massachusetts, meadowhawk dragonfly, northern broken dash butterfly, robber flies, silver-spotted skipper butterfly, twelve-spotted skimmer, wasp | Comments Off

Attracting Monarchs in the City

by sicloot Posted on July 22, 2013

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population has been declining precipitously, in large part because the milkweed plants that the monarch caterpillars feed on are being destroyed. A number of organizations have encouraged the public to grow milkweed in their yards to offset some of this destruction.

On a November’s day walk through a Southborough field, we collected a few milkweed pods that hadn’t yet released their seeds. I separated the seeds from the cotton and placed the seeds in the refrigerator for a few months.

In mid-March, I removed the seeds and soaked them in warm water, planting them in a biodegradable tray. It took a while for the seeds to sprout. Perhaps they were waiting for warmer temperatures (our house is rather cool during the winter). The seedlings were up by May and I planted them outdoors on May 6.
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Posted in Nature | Tagged Apocynum cannabium, Asclepias syriaca, butterflies, dogbanes, insects, monarch butterfly | Comments Off

Boston Harbor: Spectacle Island

by sicloot Posted on July 20, 2013

On Monday, when Boston’s current heat wave was in its infancy, we took a ferry from Long Wharf to Spectacle Island, one of the many Boston Harbor Islands. Spectacle Island has gracefully taken Boston’s garbage and, recently, much of the dirt from the Big Dig. The flora is now re-establishing itself. The island features a visitor center, a sea kayak program, and a small swimming beach.

Visitor center and beach on Spectacle Island

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Posted in Nature, Travel | Tagged american goldfinch, birds, black swallowtail butterfly, Boston, boston harbor, butterflies, double-crested cormorant, great black-backed gull, insects, Massachusetts, red admiral butterfly, red-winged blackbird, spectacle island | Comments Off

Category Archives: Nature

Tide Pools at Wingaersheek Beach

Birds of the Jones River Salt Marsh

Arboretum: Giant Water Bugs and Biocontrol Beetles

Ward’s Pond: Robins and Robber flies

Tree of Heaven: Invasiveness, Immigration, and Racism

Baby Mourning Doves

Arboretum: Southern Magnolia, Wildflowers, and Parasitic Plants

Arboretum: Skippers, Skimmers, and Killers

Attracting Monarchs in the City

Boston Harbor: Spectacle Island

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