Bryan's Blog
The Adventures of a Field Biologist and Boy Explorer

Flowers and Light
New research on butterfly evolution helps explain the force that drove these insects from the darkness into the light.

The Monarch Monsoon
A Monarch on its way to Mexico would seem to have no legitimate business 10 miles out to sea. Try telling that to the thousands of Monarchs here in the Gulf of Maine on Monhegan Island.

Fall Migration
Here in the woods of home today, rather than watching waves of hawks and Monarchs, I’m hot on the trail of a little caterpillar on its journey of only a few feet.

Defiance and Disguise
Shock, awe and subterfuge as survival skills among moth caterpillars I encountered this week.

The 2019 Monarch Migration Report
The forecast this autumn calls for Monarchs — maybe even lots of them in some places.

The Extinction of Meaning
Now that the Trump administration has advanced its plan to weaken the Endangered Species Act, here’s my essay, first published at Medium.com, about our fading ties to wildlife and wild places.

A Tiger Tale
In sun-dappled woods in southern Vermont, the discovery of a rare and charismatic dragonfly ended a mystery that began two years ago.

Messin’ With Texas
To leave Vermont in summertime is to take leave of your senses. But here’s my justification: a shock-and-awe dragonfly.

Of Black Flies and Bog Fritillaries
When you time your visit just right, about when the black flies and mosquitoes unite to defend their bogs from the likes of you, there is nothing better on earth than a Bog Fritillary.

What’s Next: Green Alert
The slow-motion spring across the northern forest now moves into a season of diversity, abundance and flight.

When Songbirds Fall to Earth
Delivered from the fog, the grace and irony of tired warblers feeding at my feet on Monhegan Island, Maine.

A Bog in Bloom
On an Atlantic White Cedar Bog in Maine yesterday, I did not find Hessel’s Hairstreak. But that’s okay. I turned my lens instead toward plants.