Browsing Bliss Awaits You

It appears you're using Internet Explorer or an early version of Edge, which is a bit like watching a black-and-white TV with "rabbit ears." You're missing symmetry, joy and actual knowledge — not only here on my website but across the internet. I suggest you upgrade to Chrome or Firefox. You’ll discover a lot more nature, maybe even actual rabbit ears.

— Bryan

Bryan's Blog

The Adventures of a Field Biologist and Boy Explorer

The Snows of Autumn

With a dusting of snow here in Vermont this morning, here’s your reminder that I’m now tracking the Snow Goose and Snowy Owl migrations for you this autumn.

Monhegan Migration Report No. 3

Migrate or die. Such is the fate of Monarchs here on Monhegan Island. But where do these Monarchs — 12 miles out to sea in the Gulf of Maine — spend the winter? I report from this Atlantic outpost.

Monhegan Migration Report No. 2

Cape May Warblers outnumbered Yellow-rumped Warblers here on Monhegan Island yesterday. Well, maybe it’s because I’ve learned how not to look at Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Monhegan Migration Report No. 1

Today on Monhegan Island, 12 miles out to sea off the Maine coast, the prairie dropped in for a visit. Dickcissels, lots of them, far from their heartland in the Great Plains, descended from the skies at dawn.

Self Portraits with Insects

Every now and then, I find myself in a photograph of a flying insect. (Okay, these are accidental self portraits.) In this case, I’m photobombing a dragonfly and a butterfly.

Naked in the Lake

The largest freshwater lake on the planet is the stage for our canoe trip on Lake Superior, where ancient rock and crystalline water conspire for some of the most beautiful paddling anywhere. The place is also in my DNA.

The Extinction of Meaning

One of the most imperiled animals in North America isn’t big and furry like a polar bear. It has incited no eco-wars like those over the gray wolf or the spotted owl. Instead it’s a tiny butterfly that I’ve watched dance across the prairie.

The Post’s Fake News on Dragonflies

The Washington Post published an article crediting rainfall this summer for elevated dragonfly activity. Fake news! Here’s my letter to the editor.

Giant Butterflies in Montpelier

If you’ve got no plans to visit Texas or California or even the wilds of Vermont this summer to watch butterflies, wander down Main Street here in Montpelier. You’ll see some giants.

When a Bluet Isn’t Blue

Congratulations, Vermont. You’ve got a new damselfly. It’s name is sort of an oxymoron. It’s one of the bluets — those blue and black damselflies we’re seeing at water’s edge. Except it’s a bluet that’s not blue.

Montpelier Goes Wild

Spring Salamander and Summer Azure. Lesser Purple-fringed Orchid and Greater Celandine. Pineapple-Weed and Chocolate Tube Slime Mold. They were all among the more than a thousand living things we discovered here in Montpelier this past weekend.

Check Out These Checkerspots

Thaddeus William Harris might have liked this series of images, including a mating pair of Harris’ Checkerspots and the female’s eggs on her host plant, Flat-topped Aster.

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