Page 18 - Nature Notes News Today

His purpose is two-fold: a warning to male rivals to move on, and an invitation to local females to linger.

Turtles are particularly vulnerable, crossing roads to find spots for eggs.

By Steve Westerman

A Feather in her Cap A global trade in feathers, with London at its heart, saw hundreds of millions of birds killed every year. Emily Williamson waged a long and furious campaign against it. Settled into a comfortable married life in Didsbury, then a leafy part of Manchester, Emily Williamson held a succession of afternoon teas in 1889. Yet, while serving tea and fruitcake in her drawing room filled with ladies, Williamson, by all accounts a gentle and compassionate person, would become...

By Steve Westerman

NATURE NOTES: Golden threads along the ground Annie Reid Westborough Community Land Trust Our bare, leafless April woods offer wildflower treats that appear as sunlight floods the forest floor, allowing early spring woodland wildflowers to bloom. Goldthread is one such treat, with small white blossoms in spring. There’s another treat in fall when its thin, golden thread-like “roots” become easier to spot along the ground. Three-leaved goldthread (Coptis trifolia, Coptis groenlandica) is a...

Between 6am and 7.30am most days (before the traffic drowns the noise), the beautiful drumming of a greater spotted woodpecker can be heard in fairland park. 

Rudy Mancke served as naturalist and co-host of South Carolina ETVs NatureScene, which began its long run in 1978. His field trips, broadcast nationwide, have earned him a legion of dedicated viewers. Rudys knowledge of the complex inner-workings of different ecosystems and his great admiration for the natural world make him the perfect guide. In fact, the National Wildlife Federation and the Garden Club of America honored his commitment to resource conservation with special...

Rudy talks about the early butterflies that are starting show up in South Carolina, many of which have hibernated over winter.

The southern chorus frog (Pseudacris nigrita) is a species of frog in the family Hylidae, endemic to the southeastern United States. Its natural habitats