American robins in winter
A robin eats from a sumac tree. (Photo by Mary Holland) Editor’s note: This column by longtime former Harvard Press contributor Mary Holland first…
It’s Only Natural: Birds and their daily cycle of song
A male indigo bunting(Photos by Mary Holland) A male red-winged blackbird. A male yellow warbler. This is the time of year when the relative…
It’s Only Natural: My life with beavers
A beaver munches on leaves. (Photo by Mary Holland) My fascination with beavers began many years ago at Quabbin Reservoir, a 39-square-mile body of…
It’s Only Natural: Skunk cabbage
A warming hut for insect visitors, this skunk cabbage’s male flowers are fading as its leaves are starting to emerge.(Photo by Mary Holland) …
It’s Only Natural: Birds in Winter
There are very good reasons why many birds choose to leave for a warmer climate in the fall, despite the risks of migration. The…
It’s Only Natural: Mammal Hair
An excellent example of countershading in the summer, the long-tailed weasel is brown above and white below. In the fall long- and short-tailed weasels…
It’s Only Natural: Insect Overwintering Strategies
A click beetle overwinters as a larva under the bark of a rotting log. (Photos by Mary Holland) When you think of something as…
It’s Only Natural: Cocoons
The aquatic Climacia spongillafly larvae emerge from the water and spin a tiny cocoon (3-7mm). They then cover it with a silken net made…
It’s Only Natural: Dragonfly migration
Common Green Darner, Anax junius (Photo by Mary Holland) Bird migration is well documented and a familiar concept to most individuals, but birds are…
It’s Only Natural: Snapping turtle hatchlings emerge
A snapping turtle hatchling makes its way out of a nest. Tiny hatchlings the size of a quarter claw their way up through several…
It’s Only Natural: Spectacular Stinkhorns
The delicacy and the design of Stinky Squid, as well as its strong odor, make it one of the more distinctive stinkhorns in New…
