Category Archives: Nature

Biking Cape Cod Part 2

by sicloot Posted on July 18, 2013

After our longer-than-expected bike ride to Truro, we spent the night at the Hostelling International (HI) hostel in Truro ($42 a person).

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Posted in Nature, Travel | Tagged Achillea millefolium, american copper butterfly, Ammophila breviligulata, ants, bicycling, birds, bugs, butterflies, cacti, cape cod, double-crested cormorant, flies, grasses, hoverflies, insects, Massachusetts, moths, northern pine sphinx moth, Opuntia humifusa, orange-tipped oakworm, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, pines, pinus rigida, piping plover, plants, Rosa rugosa, roses, vines | Comments Off

Jamaica Pond: Dashers and More

by sicloot Posted on July 17, 2013

We attended the Landmark Orchestra performance at Pinebank Promontory Sunday evening. Quite a number of people came out. It didn’t take long, however, for my three-year-old nephew to get restless. So, off we went searching for bugs. Turns out he is excellent at spotting dragonflies.

Male blue dasher at rest — Male blue dasher

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Posted in Nature | Tagged beetles, blue dasher dragonfly, Boston, dragonflies, insects, jamaica plain, jamaica pond, katydids, Massachusetts, wasps | Comments Off

Giant Black Beetles at Jamaica Pond

by sicloot Posted on July 12, 2013

We came across two large black beetles yesterday just off the path around Jamaica Pond. The beetles were possibly engaged in the act of mating. If so, the female beetle was much larger than the male and her orange belly was showing.

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Posted in Nature | Tagged American coot, bees, beetles, birds, Boston, Campanula rapunculoides, eastern chipmunk, insects, jamaica plain, jamaica pond, Koelreuteria paniculata, Lythrum salicaria, mallard duck, mammals, Massachusetts, Monotropa uniflora, mulberries, plants, red-eared slider, reptiles, Solanum dulcamara, trees, turtles, white-breasted nuthatch | Comments Off

Bats at Jamaica Pond

by sicloot Posted on July 9, 2013

Last week, we headed to Jamaica Pond at dusk to see if we could find any bats. Two friends with a bat detector joined us. This device picks up the echolocation calls that bats use to create an image of their surroundings in the dark.

We started detecting the bats around 9:30pm on the north side of the Pond near the old Pinebank mansion. The calls got louder as the bats approached us. We even managed to see a few, although it was too dark to take photos.

We climbed the stairs and proceeded to the baseball field. More bats!

Most of the bats called at around 30 kHz which, according to this chart, makes them big brown bats. This squares with Mass Audubon, which says that big brown bats prefer urban areas.

Thanks to Kieran and Sandy for teaching us how to detect bats.

Posted in Nature | Tagged bats, big brown bat, Boston, jamaica plain, jamaica pond, mammals, Massachusetts | Comments Off

Urban Nature Walk: Bussey Meadow

by sicloot Posted on July 4, 2013

On Sunday, Jef led a small group of us on an urban nature walk. We started at the Bussey Brook Meadow and moved on to the Arnold Arboretum, ending at the Forest Hills gate. Mosquitoes hounded us, especially in the Meadow.

Jef called the meadow a European wildflower garden. We saw some periwinkle-colored chicory flowers (Cichorium intybus) and bird’s-foot trefoil flowers (Lotus corniculatus) with orange streaks on bright yellow. These were among the many wildflowers native to Europe.

Bird's-foot trefoil flowers and flower buds — Bird’s-foot trefoil

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Posted in Nature | Tagged Ambrosia artemisiifolia, American toad, amphibians, Arnold Arboretum, asters, bees, beetles, Boston, bugs, bulbs, Bussey Meadow, butterflies, Cichorium intybus, common whitetail dragonfly, damselflies, daylilies, dragonflies, eastern forktail damselfly, eastern tailed blue, fungi, Hemerocallis fulva, insects, legumes, little wood satyr, Lotus corniculatus, Massachusetts, millipedes, moths, mushrooms, plants, Rhus typhina, shrubs, snails, sumacs, toads, trees, trifolium repens, Urban Nature Walk | Comments Off

Toadflax and Spindletrees

by sicloot Posted on July 2, 2013

On our Friday walk around Jamaica Pond, we came across both a plant and a tree in flower. The plant, yellow toadfloax (Linaria vulgaris), has a spike of yellow flowers with orange centers.

Orange and yellow toadflax flowers — Yellow toadflax

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Posted in Nature | Tagged betula nigra, birches, birds, Boston, Canada goose, double-crested cormorant, euonymus, Euonymus europaeus, figworts, jamaica plain, jamaica pond, linaria vulgaris, Massachusetts, plants, shrubs, trees, willows | Comments Off

Family of Red-Winged Blackbirds

by sicloot Posted on June 28, 2013

It’s been a rainy June. Boston averages around three and a half inches of rain in June and we have had over ten inches of rain with more to come.

The Muddy River is starting to overflow its banks. I stopped at Willow Pond in Olmsted Park to watch a family of red-winged blackbirds. The male with its red wing-patch (partially covered in the photo below) is the most easily recognizable.

The female looks like a large sparrow with a white, streaked breast.

And I saw a juvenile in the same tree as a female.

Posted in Nature | Tagged birds, Boston, jamaica plain, Massachusetts, olmsted park, red-winged blackbird | Comments Off

New Hampshire’s Lupine Festival

by sicloot Posted on June 16, 2013

Lupine festival banner

June heralds the blooming of lupines in New Hampshire, and we headed up to Sugar Hill for the 20th Annual Fields of Lupine Festival. The two-week-long festival features parades, open houses, markets, and concerts, but none of these events were scheduled on the day of our visit.

We first stopped at Polly’s Pancake Parlor for a delicious brunch. I, of course, marvelled at the red oak just outside the restaurant that had been planted by Lucy Hildreth and Wilfred Dexter on their wedding day, the 24th of May, 1899. Over a hundred years old, this oak still stands strong.
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Posted in Nature | Tagged Asclepias syriaca, asters, bulbs, buttercups, Clintonia borealis, cockroaches, coffee family, Cypripedium acaule, eastern tent caterpillar, Erigeron pulchellus, fireflies, hieracium aurantiacum, insects, iris pseudacorus, irises, lilies, lupine festival, lupines, lupinus polyphyllos, Lysimachia borealis, milkweeds, Mitchella repens, moths, myrsines, new hampshire, oaks, orchids, plants, quercus rubra, Ranunculus acris, white mountain national forest | Comments Off

A Walk in the Arboretum

by sicloot Posted on June 6, 2013

I took photos of a wealth of natural life at the Arnold Arboretum yesterday. Among the birds, dragonflies, frogs, and plants, only one of the subjects was accessioned: Wilson’s spiraea (Spiraea wilsonii).

Wilson's spiraea flowers — Wilson’s spiraea

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Posted in Nature | Tagged American bullfrog, amphibians, Arnold Arboretum, asters, birds, Boston, butterflies, cedar waxwing, cherries, common pondhawk dragonfly, common ringlet butterfly, common whitetail dragonfly, cynanchum louiseae, damselflies, dogbanes, dragonfl, eastern chipmunk, eastern forktail damselfly, flies, fragaria virginiana, insects, legumes, leucanthemum vulgare, mammals, Massachusetts, plants, prunus sargentii, satellite flies, sawflies, shrubs, spiraea wilsonii, spiraeas, strawberries, trees, trifolium pratense, trifolium repens, twelve-spotted skimmer, vines, white-breasted nuthatch | Comments Off

A Walk through Olmsted Park

by sicloot Posted on June 5, 2013

I took a walk through Olmsted Park yesterday, a piece of the Emerald Necklace within Jamaica Plain. I saw a mother mallard duck with a dozen ducklings in tow.

A mother mallard duck with some of her dozen ducklings

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Posted in Nature | Tagged aquatic plants, Aruncus dioicus, birds, Boston, common whitetail dragonfly, dragonflies, European starling, insects, jamaica plain, mallard duck, Massachusetts, northern flicker, Nymphaea odorata, olmsted park, plants, tree swallow, ward's pond | Comments Off

Category Archives: Nature

Biking Cape Cod Part 2

Jamaica Pond: Dashers and More

Giant Black Beetles at Jamaica Pond

Bats at Jamaica Pond

Urban Nature Walk: Bussey Meadow

Toadflax and Spindletrees

Family of Red-Winged Blackbirds

New Hampshire’s Lupine Festival

A Walk in the Arboretum

A Walk through Olmsted Park

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