Christmas Ducks - 12/25/10 There are river ducks and sea ducks, dabbling ducks and diving ducks, birds that look like ducks (grebes for instance), and ducks that look unduck-like. Mergansers – ducks though they are – have long thin serrated bills and relatively svelte bodies compared to most ducks. At the mere mention of ducks I challenge anyone not to have a positive reaction. » Read Full Article Musings on December Dawns - 12/04/10 December dawns are thrilling; they come in so many varieties. A dawn in December can be windless, peaceful, full of color and flitting bird activity; it can be silent, the color of grey flannel and dappled with lofting snow flakes; it can be achingly cold, wind-whipped and punctuated by the sound of cracking ice and creaking tree limbs; or it can be still and silent, the only evidence of bone-chilling temperature is the wafting sea smoke off the ocean: a siren song of beauty. . » Read Full Article October 23rd: The Best of Block Island Days - 10/09/10 More often than not, October 23rd proves to be the most spectacular of days in a Block Island year. The air is crystalline and snappy; the quality of light is golden and illuminating; and, the foliage color of the shad is gloriously subtle limned here and there by edges of scarlet Virginia creeper and offset by grey-barked winterberry festooned with its holly-like red berries. » Read Full Article A Time of Migrations and Metamorphosis - 09/11/10 Most people associated with Block Island are well aware of the pattern of spring and fall bird migrations to northern breeding grounds and southern wintering areas. And, many have come to know the incredible story of Monarch butterflies; both the phantasmagorical metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly, and the long migration at summer’s end from northern United States to a small mountain forest in Mexico. » Read Full Article Night Wonders and Night Tales - 07/31/10 August nights are the time for story telling. Can there be anything better than lingering over an evening’s supper recalling the adventures of the day? If you listen closely to the background you'll notice that the peepers of early summer have given way to a chorus of crickets, katydids and the occasional "guungk" of green frogs. But, sitting at your patio or porch table stories are shared of long boogie board rides, large fish almost landed, plentiful blackberries, a bird that might have been a piping plover and the most glorious sunset ever - or at least the best of the day. » Read Full Article July’s Pyrotechnics - 07/10/10 July can be a hectic, frenzied month on Block Island, as if all plants and animals (and especially humans) are trying to pack as much living - play and industry - into every daylight moment. Because of this frantic, almost insatiable, desire to absorb all that the summer has to offer we may forget to really take the time to notice and discover the little wonders around us. » Read Full Article The Long Days of June - 06/05/10 The long days of summer are upon us. Morning’s dawn stretches for more then an hour before the sun rises at just after 5 a.m. The cacophony of bird song starts at about 4:30 a.m. leaving the day filled with their voices until — at day’s end — robins can be heard settling down for the night in late twilight around 9:30 p.m. June is the month of welcome and fecundity. » Read Full Article May Days - 05/01/10 If it is true that "April showers bring May flowers," and that the amount of showers is proportional to the amount of flowers, then we are on our way to an amazing May bouquet. I agree with most that the Shad and other flowering shrubs have peaked early, and it appears that May 1 (May Day) will be celebrated with an explosion of apple blossoms. » Read Full Article Earth Day Essay Contest: “I want to Bike and Walk but…” - 04/24/10 I want to bike and walk but…” was the topic of this year’s Rhode Island Audubon Society essay contest, open to students in grades three through 12 throughout the state. And “but” is the key word. What holds kids back, what prevents them from walking and bike riding? Here on Block Island, five students, four sixth-graders and one seventh, had answers. » Read Full Article Lichen Life - 04/10/10 Lichens are a most amazing organism, and they are at their glory in April. Take a walk along any of the Island’s stonewalls at this moist time of year and you can not help but see the fantastic designs and colors of lichens adorning the rocks. In fact, if it is a foggy but bright day these green, grey and yellowish lichens appear as if they are glowing. Stop and look close: you will see a large pallet of color, of shapes, of texture, and of background substrates. » Read Full Article March Transition - 03/06/10 Just this week I opened the door to an early cloud covered morning of opaque light; a landscape dusted with snow; newly crystallized skim ice on the puddles; and, the sound of trilling Red-winged blackbirds around the edges of the pond. Although not quite, it was March. The old-timers say that there will be one more snow after the Red-wings return: the year’s blackbird blizzard. If it comes it will not last long, for March is a month of transition. » Read Full Article Love of February - 01/31/10 February, the last full month of winter, is upon us; and already we can sense the approach of spring. Ground Hog Day, February 2nd, has its roots in the even more ancient tradition of Candlemas – a Christian festival attended by blessed candles, and before that, a pagan celebration recognizing the return of the light. » Read Full Article Ocean View Foundation Connecting People and Nature