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

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.

Insects: In the Air and On the Air (with me) Today

Tune in and bug out with me and Kent McFarland today on Vermont Public Radio’s annual insect show.

The Little Blue That Couldn’t

Here’s a case of unrequited affection between a pair of little butterflies known as Silvery Blues (Glaucopsyche lygdamus).

A Snail’s-Eye View in the Hardwoods

If you walk the hardwood trails too fast, you will miss one of our most elegant flowers of spring.

A Flock of Sunrises and a Singular Sunset on Monhegan Island

Yes, the dawn can glow through the fog on Monhegan Island. But these sunrises were tiny warblers, glimmering for us birdwatchers in hues of red, orange, yellow, bay, blue and green.

A Drop of Springtime

Flowers, forest and sky in a single droplet.

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